An American Fisherman In London...

Born in Chicago, Mick was fishing from the age of 5 all over Chicago and Evanston, IL, while spending his summers with Aunt, and Uncle Mary Jim Cowger cabin on Horse Show lake in Mingong, Wisconsin.  The Thill family moved to London England when Mick was 12, where he had the good fortune to meet many great British anglers who taught him the basics of European-style fishing.  After just six years of constant practice, and patient watchingand listening Mick by age 18 was fishing and winning in London's top teams and would go on to be acknowledged as one of the country's top hand made float designers, and makers, having studied and improved upon the design of floats handed to him by older anglers in England, and France.

                                           World Champions Mick & Bob Nudd & Dennis Salmon Florence 1982

From 1964 to 1966, Mick worked in one of the top tackle stores   in London - Benwoods of Church St, in Paddington.  There he to meet many of the great English Anglers , ( called Specimin Hunters ) Dick Walker, Fred Tayor, Peter Stone to name a few.

Most importantly he met Andy Partridge who was the same age as Mick, and had the same passion for competition. Andy was already a member of the Osprey A C. club one of Londons top Matchfishing clubs, lead by London fishing Ledgends Bill Gardner, Charlie Chapman. 

Mick was to win a place into the team after winning, and placing 2nd in his 1st to club matches, goin to win the Osprey Club Championship, Individual Knock Out Trophy, top scorer in the Shield.

Off the water, Mick learned to improve his tackle making , especially loats, studying under master tackle maker Benwoods Harold Martin, and reading French Fishing magazines.  Mick's first commercially-produced floats, handmade Norfolk Reed Floats were sold in Benwoods.

Mick left the store in 1968, as his work schedule meant he would not be able to practice on Saturdays,  and too often conflicted with matches also on Saturdays.  Though he no longer worked in a store, Mick continued making and selling special matchfishing tackle for Stanobs on the Harrow Rd London, Stan Preater was so patent with me, he also meet Jim Peters, the man who started modern balsa float design.

When Mick first started making floats as a teenager in England in the 1960s, the best designs were not commercially manufactured or distributed - fishermen generally made their own, and those that were for sale were often quite expensive.  It wasn't until the early 1970s that commercially-manufactured floats started appearing widely in European tackle stores.  Around this time, Mick moved back to the United States (though this time to New York City) and was surprised at the backward state of float fishing in America, and by the fact that professional-quality floats were unavailable in American stores.

Mick decided to apply his talents as a tackle-maker and passion for fishing and teaching to introducing float fishing to the country of his birth.  In the process, this American-born, English-raised young fisherman launched a movement that would revolutionize angling in America today.

Of course, it wasn't easy.  While Mick first saw a huge potential for modern float fishing in America back in the 1970s, it took until 1986 - after years filled with study and prototypes - for him to develop a series of floats adapted to America's fish, and American waters.  His ability to envision new ways of presenting a bait under changing conditions earned Mick a reputation as an innovator who helped define the cutting edge of modern European methods.  Mick travelled throughout the US, Britain, France, Scandinavia, in Africa - studying local masters, local waters, and local fish.  Especially enlightening was his trip to Finland in 1988 and 89, where he learned advanced Scandinavian ice fishing methods from Ari Paataja, one of Finland's top writers, match & ice anglers. 

Some of Micks Medals from US and Candian events

 Besides designing equipment, Mick has also made great efforts to promote the sport of world-class competitive fishing in America.  Largely through Mick's efforts, America was finally accepted into CIPS (governing body of International fishing competition) in 1982, with the founding of the American Fishing Association (AFA).  Mick still coaches, and fished for, Team USA in the World Championships.  Mick has won 19 Team & Individual National titles in the USA since 1988,. winning his first 2 National Champions Rings at Crab Orchard lake in Southern Illinios  Mick helped Canadas Jeff Turner* to oragnzie the now annual Canada Vs USA Matchfishing Team Challenge now in its 4th year. 

Even now, Mick continues to work dowards his dream of seeing float fishing take off in America the way it dominates the sport in much of the rest of the world.  He has also coached Team USA every year since America gained entry to world competition, competing in both open water and ice fishing events.

"I've seen what floats can do," he says.  "I want America's anglers to discover the magic, too."

Here's what America's leading Fishing publications have said about Mick Thill's work in the USA.

"Tens of thousands of anglers, young, old, inexperienced and veteran, have improved their skills with the float fishing technologhy Mick Thill has brought us.."

-- Spence Petros, Fishing Facts Magazine

"Mick has had an amazing impact on fishing in America."   

-- Doug Stange, In-Fisherman

Mick is the ideal person to teach the fundamentals of fishing to America. He's a World Class angler and a World Class person."

-- Homer Circle, Sports Afield

"Mick Thill is an energetic and insightful angler, devoted to improving the basic fishing skill of North American angelrs."

-- Ken Schultz, Field & Stream

"Mick is an untapped mine of valuable fishing information and experience."

-- Jerry Gibbs, Outdoor Life

"It was the most amazing demonstration I've ever seen."

-- Gary Thomas, IL Outdoor Highlights

"If I hadn't watched the whole thing happen, I wouldn't believe it did."

-- Gene Laulunen, Midwest Outdoors

(After Gary and Gene watched Mick catch 90 fish in 45 minutes from a suburban Chicago-area lake where they'd seen one fish caught in the previous 10 years).

CLICK HERE to read an article on Mick from the Chicago Reader.

Credentials

• Mick is one of only about 100 certified English National Angling coaches, qualifying as both a beginning and advanced instructor.  He qualified as a National Fishing Instructor to teach Basic & Advanced Fishing, after written, oral, and practical testing.after passing written, oral, and practical tests at Holme Pierepoint in 1981   In 1981 Mick's fishing class from the Moberly Youth Center in London was the 1st to take, and pass the Swan Vesta Bronze award programme, every boy passed.
  
• Coached and developed Pat Burmeister, young American angler who is defending Gold Medalist in the World Ice Fishing Championships.
  
• Selected as one of the 20 most important Anglers in England by the Anglers mail Magazine in their 1983 Magazine.

• Selected as an American Angling Legend by In-Fisherman magazine in their 25th Anniversary Editon in March 2001.  An even greater honor was Doug Stange selecting Mick as the best all roung Angler, and teacher he had fished with in the USA.

      2005     Inducted in the USA Fishing HAll of Fame as Ledgendary Anglers in 2005.

 New Pictures here soon of the Kids Teach-In with Morton Grove Fishing & Hunting Club July 2005