Marine VHF radio, Vital for Active Sea and Shore Users

For some time now, Anthony Wood, journalist, blogger has been using Icom radio equipment to pursue his fishing and coastal foraging hobbies. Anthony uses an IC-M330GE fixed marine VHF radio on his boat and an IC-M25EURO as a portable safety device.

Anthony started fishing at the age of nine in 1983 with his Grandad who taught him how to make a basic fishing paste from trout pellets and bread. From then on he was hooked on not only fishing but making his baits too. He soon started sea fishing on various family holidays. However, the first outing on a boat resulted in much leaning over the boat's edge until he established his sea legs. He was then in and on the water as often as possible, even getting himself the PADI advanced open water diver qualification.

In the late 90's Anthony got into lure fishing on the local canals and caught well over 1000 zander in the next 5 or 6 years as well as perch and a few pike. He started writing and contributing to various fishing magazines and became a team member of a few fishing brands and was sponsored by Relax Lures for his predator fishing.

Anthony is now self-employed as a social media manager at A&J Connections. He has various fishing clients, restaurants, security companies, bushcraft businesses, survival companies etc. He still writes product reviews and articles for magazines such as Sea Angler and Talking Carp.

Anthony said, 'When doing your coastal pursuit, whether fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, foraging, windsurfing or even just going for a coastal walk, I always tell people that they should do a minimum three things to keep themselves safe and they are.

• Tell someone where you plan to be and your planned route.
• Wear a floatation device such as a self-inflating life jacket
• Get yourself a good quality reliable VHF Marine Radio. I have an Icom IC-M330GE fixed VHF/DSC on my boat and a portable IC-M25EURO.'

Anthony said, 'I like both my Icom radios because they are a nice size and intuitive to use.’

He added, ‘I like the safety backup of the IC-M25EURO. Not only is it waterproof, but more importantly, it floats!! So, if you fall off your boat, kayak, etc or if you heaven forbid take a tumble from some cliffs and are lucky enough to be alive the radio will float (you can attach it to you with a length of paracord or something to stop it floating away) and it will also start to flash allowing you to locate it easier in the dark.'

'The build quality is second to none and the audio on both radios is extremely impressive. All round, I love my Icoms and I wouldn't go out to sea or out on the coast without an Icom VHF as a backup.'

If anyone would like to contact Anthony, you can reach him through his business page.

21/06/2021