Ian "Chilly" Chillcott - Nash Off The Hook Podcast - S2 Episode 69
This week the podcast welcomes a truly inspirational man and iconic carp angler in the shape of the lovable character that is Ian “Chilly” Chillcott.
WARNING! This podcast is a real emotional roller-coaster so be prepared for tears as well as plenty of laughter and epic story telling!
Chilly takes us all the way back to his paratrooper days sharing funny stories and describing how he, even from a frankly scary young age, always wanted to jump from the sky. His para days took him all over the world into various hostile environments and in contact with some pretty menacing characters but throughout it all his love for fishing and carp angling in particular blossomed.
Moving onto his incredible “early days” carp angling exploits on the likes of Horton, Yateley Car Park Lake, Wraysbury and Farriers to name but a few, which include the captures of infamous carp such as “Jack The Net Ripper”, “The Dustbin” and a host of epic big commons. Chilly shares his experiences in terms of his angling and how his friendships blossomed with fellow anglers such as Dave Lane etc. His success in his angling also led him to contribute to written angling media a lot as well as him being involved working in the industry with Fox International. Chilly talks openly about how his angling progressed overtime and how his involvement within the trade changed, up until one faithful day where his life changed.
The life changing event was the discovery of a life threatening brain tumour. He describes in a raw unedited way how he came to undergo and pull through a very intense surgery and how his recovery has changed him as a person as well as his angling. It’s a truly inspirational and confronting tale of how incredible the human mind came be but also how fragile life is. Throughout it all Chilly has always had angling to “Light His Fire” and this fire is burning away brighter than ever as he continues to chase his carp fishing dreams.
Chilly rounds of his podcast by thanking significant people who have helped him recover as well as talking about his prognosis for his future and what that looks like with a very surprising but exciting development.
There’s one thing for sure you cannot fail but to truly admire the man, despite everything he has battled and continues to fight, his drive, determination and shear stubbornness combined with his love for carp fishing means that he is still out there catching incredible carp and will continue to do so for as long as he can!