It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Roy Marlow, who died on February 16th at the age of 76.
Roy appeared on the angling scene as one of the most successful young match anglers in the sixties and seventies, in fact he was the youngest angler to fish for England at the age of 18 in 1966.
His talent earned him a place in the legendary Leicester AS match squad that enjoyed huge success at the highest levels of competition in what many consider to be the golden age of match angling.
The Leicester team were nicknamed “The Likely Lads” courtesy of an Angling Times journalist after Roy won the Saturday CIU National in 1967 such was their potential at the time. This victory was one of countless successes in Roy’s match fishing career which included an individual first in the 1971 Nene Championships, a win in the Severn National and an individual fourth place finish at a World Championships.
Roy’s skill as an angler saw him join Daiwa along with fellow teammate and “Likely Lad” Ivan Marks in 1978 as a consultant. From that initial brief to design match fishing tackle, Roy would go on to develop match fishing gear at Daiwa for almost 25 years.
Not content with just designing gear, Roy also opened one of the most famous and well respected angling retailers in the UK that of “Marks and Marlow” in Leicester. Indeed Roy’s partnership with Ivan Marks in both tackle development and retail represents one highest profile partnerships the industry has ever seen.
Ever one for the angling challenge, Roy’s passion took him to the far flung corners of the world in search of the ultimate fishing foe. Over the years he fished a number of exotic locations including the Florida Keys where he clocked up more than 25 years of blue water fishing with the mighty Tarpon being top of his list of challengers.
Roy’s passion for angling also turned his attention to fishery ownership and in 1995 he started development on what was to become one of the UK’s most respected multi-lake venues, the Glebe Fishery next to Mallory park race circuit.
His energy for fisheries development was a significant influence on many in the industry and he was a key player behind initiatives to improve the quality and access to angling on many waters.
Roy continued to be a vocal and influential trade voice right up to end, working with many industry stakeholders including the Angling Trade Association. His experience was always freely given, and his passion can be seen in the many tributes paid to him across many forums, blogs and magazine articles.
Roy Marlow 1947 – 2024