A MAN with a passion for fishing has made been able to make his hobby a full-time job after the coaching business he ran in his spare time was snapped up by a regional country pursuits company.

Olly Shepherd, 31, from Felixkirk, near Thirsk, has always been a keen fisherman and had set up Fly Fishing Yorkshire four years ago after training to coach fishing properly following requests from friends.

He said: “I had never wanted to teach people to fish without getting qualifications because I didn’t want to give them any bad habits I might have picked up.

“It was getting to the point where I was struggling with the amount of bookings I was getting while still working full time as a green-keeper for a golf course.”

Mr Shepherd said when he was approached by Mount St John Sporting, one of the top game shooting businesses in the region, he was delighted.

“This meant I could follow my dream to go full time as a fly-fishing instructor. It is not an easy position to get to – there must only be around ten full time fly-fishing instructors in the UK,” he said.

For more information or To book a group or individual lesson, contact Mr Shepherd on 07850-506870 or olly@mountstjohnsporting.co.uk