Catch of a lifetime; Kevin Owen risked his home to pursue his angling dream.Byline: DAVID JONES David Jones is a common name, particularly in Wales, and there have been several well-known individuals with this name. Variations include Dave Jones and Davy Jones. THERE'S always an element of casting fate to the winds when someone takes the plunge and sets up a new business. It was no different with Kevin Owen Kevin Owen is a Welsh television news presenter. His early career included a spell presenting local news in the HTV West region and he also anchored Sky News. He is now a presenter with the TV channel, Russia Today. after a career change saw him leave the nuclear industry. He had always been interested in fishing and when he took early redundancy from Trawsfynydd nuclear power station in 1995 after 12 years service as a plant operator to start Bron Eifion fisheries, near Criccieth, it was the fulfilment of a lifelong ambition. The site of just under 30 acres, which includes two lakes and mature woodland, was once part of the Bron Eifion Estate. Mr Owen and his wife Carole, who helps out with the administration, had to sell their family home at Criccieth to fund the development and they now live in a static caravan on site until a permanent property can be built. Mr Owen said: ``I was coxswain with Criccieth lifeboat until last year so when I was considering setting up my own business I did not want to leave the area. I thought there was a good opportunity to develop these lakes as a new fishery. ``I have risked everything in this and it is working. We have had two good years, this year and last. '' Bron Eifion's facilities have been described as ``a fisherman's paradise'', offering a six-acre coarse lake stocked with Adj. 1. stocked with - furnished with more than enough; "rivers well stocked with fish"; "a well-stocked store" stocked furnished, equipped - provided with whatever is necessary for a purpose (as furniture or equipment or authority); "a furnished apartment"; carp, bream bream: see sunfish. bream European food and game fish (Abramis brama) of the carp family (Cyprinidae). Found in lakes and slow rivers, the bream lives in schools and eats worms, mollusks, and other small animals. , tench, golden/blue orfe and roach and another two-acre trout lake Trout Lake may refer to:
It took Mr Owen three years of negotiations to acquire the site which had not been for sale at the time. It now attracts sportsmen from the Midlands and further afield and recently landed a major event when it hosted the international Wales versus Scotland Coarse Fishing Championships after beating off fierce competition from other sites throughout Wales. Eric Humphreys, Welsh fishing manager, said: ``Our guests from Scotland were impressed with the facilities and we had a great event. '' Five log cabins on the site have a four star Wales Tourist Board grading and the enterprise has received financial support from Nat West Agricultural Services and grant aid to develop the accommodation from the Wales Tourist Board. Mr Owen said: ``There is a lot of competition around here with farmers diversifying and so you have to be good to survive. Our strong points are the site itself, the fact that the lakes are commercially stocked and the accommodation on site for the anglers and their families. '' He is planning to add more log cabins to the site as part of an ongoing development of the business. Gwilym Jones Gwilym Hayden Jones (born 20 September 1947) is a British Conservative politician. At the 1983 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Cardiff North, retained his seat until the 1997 election, when was defeated by Labour's Julie Morgan. , Nat West's senior agricultural manager for Dwyfor, said: ``Growing and expanding businesses are vital to the Welsh economy and Nat West is there to help in every way that it can. ``I would like to congratulate Kevin and Carole on attracting the championships and for the hard work they have put into their enterprise. '' CAPTION(S): Kevin Owen shows Gwilym Jones, Nat West's senior agricultural manager for Dwyfor around his fisherman's paradise |
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