26.01.2018

Bob Nudd: 30 Jahre Browning-Sponsoring

Tostedt. In 1985, the late Terry Freeman spotted the talent of one Bob Nudd and became  his first sponsor. It was Terry who introduced the Browning brand to England as an agent. Bob recalls: “In the first year, all I received was a T-shirt.”
However, the career of Bob Nudd would develop rapidly. In 1990, he won his first of four individual world titles to date in Yugoslavia. Other wins followed in Hungary in 1991, on home soil in England in 1994 and in Spain in 1999. For good measure, he is a seven-time team world champion and winner of countless other national and international competitions. And all of them have been won with Browning poles.
Looking back on his first world title, he says: “In Yugoslavia, I fished with a 17-metre pole that was horribly stiff by today’s standards. I was probably the only angler that could actually hold a pole of that length. And it paid off. In my sector, only five anglers caught any fish at all. Out of a total of 20 fish, I landed 11 of them!”
Down the years, Bob has always advised Browning on product development, with many ideas coming directly from him. The man with the trademark white flat cap is particularly proud of the window feeder, which is now indispensable for feeder fishing in many countries. And nowhere more so than in Ireland, where Bob still spends ten weeks a year actively fishing to this day.
Bob Nudd on his role in product development: “It continues to fascinate me how high-end materials can always be developed further. I had the good fortune of always having a first-class tackle sponsor at my side in Browning. When I look at the current range, particularly the poles and the sensational Sphere feeder rods, I am both happy and proud that I can use these products.”
Frerk Petersen, Operations Director for Zebco Europe, parent company of Browning Fishing: “With a brief two-year hiatus, Bob has been a loyal brand ambassador, who is appreciated and respected across all national borders, for 30 years. Browning would probably never have become so popular without Bob Nudd. The brand and the man are inextricably linked. Everybody somehow knew that when Bob had a brief affair with another sponsor.”
To mark the professional angler’s 30 years of service, the company gave him a special edition of the very latest Browning pole. Shortly before Christmas, he received an early present in a custom-made version of the latest Xitan Z16L pole, to be launched on the market in March, at the Zebco Europe headquarters in Tostedt.
Bob Nudd, who was awarded an MBE in 1996, is tireless and will continue to represent Browning, including meeting fans at events and fishing exhibitions throughout Europe.