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Fish and Game

Fish and Game

By: SideCountry Network
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A SideCountry Network podcast about British fishing, shooting, hunting, wild food, working dogs and life in the field.

Presented by Avian Sandercock, Sam Turner and Jake Woolf.

Fish and Game:
https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/fish-and-game/

Presenters:
Avian Sandercock: https://sidecountry.co.uk/people/avian-sandercock/
Sam Turner: https://sidecountry.co.uk/people/sam-turner/
Jake Woolf: https://sidecountry.co.uk/people/jake-woolf/

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/fishandgamepodcast/


More from SideCountry:
https://sidecountry.co.uk/shows/

Support SideCountry:
https://www.patreon.com/c/SideCountryNetworkSideCountry Network with Sandercock, Turner and Woolf Art Cooking Food & Wine
Episodes
  • So You Want to Get Into Country Sports?

    So You Want to Get Into Country Sports?
    Oct 7 2026
    How do you get into country sports when you didn't grow up around them?

    Listener James has recently moved from a major city to rural Wales with his young family. He wants to get involved in country life but has no shooting or fishing background and nobody locally to show him the ropes. So where do you start? Apply for a shotgun certificate? Buy a fishing rod? Book a shoot day? Join an organisation? Or simply find somebody who knows what they're doing?

    Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner reckon the answer is much simpler: don't rush out and buy all the kit. Go beating.

    They explain what a beating line actually does, how to find a local shoot, what you need for your first day and why listening to the keeper and watching the people either side of you is considerably more useful than trying to learn all the lingo beforehand.

    But beating is also about much more than moving birds towards a line of Guns. For somebody new to an area, it can provide an instant community and a route into dogs, clays, game shooting, pigeon shooting, fishing and the wider rural world. It can also involve flags, radios, sausage rolls, chocolate-based bribery and, apparently, free sloe gin from 9.30 in the morning.

    There are also stories of children disappearing into bogs, beaters quietly starting to support the pheasant after enough Guns have missed it, and the particular satisfaction of coming home wet, tired and covered in brambles after a day spent outside with good people.

    And, as James has now proved, they really do read the emails.

    In this episode:
    • How to get into country sports when you have no previous experience
    • Why you probably shouldn't buy a gun or fishing rod straight away
    • Why beating is one of the easiest ways into the shooting world
    • What a beater actually does
    • How to find a local shoot and introduce yourself
    • What to wear and what to take on your first day
    • Understanding the beating line and listening to the keeper
    • Taking children and family along
    • Beaters' Day and getting your first experience on the gun line
    • How beating can lead to dogs, clays, pigeon shooting and other country sports
    • Why chocolate, sausage rolls and port can make you surprisingly popular
    • The social side of joining a shoot
    • Favourite memories from the beating line
    Useful links:

    - BASC: Beating
    - Fish and Game: From Zero to Salmon - sort of
    - SideCountry Network

    DISCLAIMER
    Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • The Gentlemen: Shooting, Etiquette and CGI Ducks

    The Gentlemen: Shooting, Etiquette and CGI Ducks
    Sep 30 2026
    What does The Gentlemen actually get right about a driven shoot?

    Season two of Guy Ritchie's Netflix series opens with a grand shooting party at the Horniman family estate. There are aristocrats, international guests, matching guns, loaders, helicopters, business deals and some fairly questionable CGI birds.

    Spoiler warning: this episode discusses the opening episode of season two of The Gentlemen.

    But if this was your first glimpse of driven game shooting, how much of it resembles the real thing?Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner go through the shoot scene and separate the television flourishes from the surprisingly authentic bits.

    They look at why shoot days are such social occasions, the difference between an invitation from a mate and the shooting equivalent of a corporate box, and why the gamekeeper remains in charge regardless of how wealthy or important the Guns might be.

    There is also etiquette, loaders, picking-up teams, gun choice, hot pegs, the final bag and what someone going on their first driven day should actually expect.

    And because a Guy Ritchie crime drama cannot be allowed to pass without consequences, Sam finishes with a quiz asking Jake and Avian to distinguish between varieties of pheasant and varieties of weed.


    In this episode:
    • What The Gentlemen gets right about driven shooting
    • What television inevitably gets wrong
    • Why a shoot day is about more than pulling the trigger
    • Invitations, networking and the shooting equivalent of a corporate box
    • Why the gamekeeper runs the day
    • Shoot etiquette and knowing how to behave
    • Guns, loaders and picking-up teams
    • Greedy shooting and sporting behaviour
    • What happens at the end of a driven day
    • What to expect from your first shoot
    • Why syndicates can be a good way into game shooting
    • CGI birds and suspiciously summery shoot days
    • Weed or pheasant?
    Useful links:
    • Netflix: The Gentlemen
    • The Code of Good Shooting Practice
    • SideCountry
    Please note: If you are new to game shooting, seek appropriate instruction, listen carefully to the shoot briefing and always follow current firearms law and safety guidance.

    Part of the SideCountry Network.

    DISCLAIMER
    Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
    Show More Show Less
    33 mins
  • Partridge, Pear Trees and Small Bores

    Partridge, Pear Trees and Small Bores
    Sep 16 2026
    What makes the grey partridge so special, and why is its French cousin now a far more familiar sight on British shoots?

    JOIN THE PATREON HERE: https://sidecountry.co.uk/support

    With the partridge season underway, Jake Woolf, Avian Sandercock and Sam Turner take a look at one of Britain's classic game birds.

    Jake has already been lucky enough to shoot both red-legged and wild grey partridge this season, which leads into the differences between the two birds, why grey numbers declined so dramatically and the habitat and predator management required to restore wild populations.

    They also get into the shooting itself, including walked-up versus driven partridge, why they somehow appear faster than pheasants, identifying greys and red-legs on the wing, and the particular challenge and privilege of shooting a sustainable surplus of wild English birds.

    Then there are cartridges, small-bore guns, early season shooting in shirt sleeves and Jake briefly believing he had mastered the .410 before normal service quickly resumed.

    Finally, they turn to the table and ask whether young partridge might actually be one of the finest game birds to eat.

    In this episode:
    • Grey versus red-legged partridge
    • Why red-legs are known as French partridge
    • The decline and conservation of the wild grey
    • Habitat, chick food and predator management
    • What a covey is
    • Walked-up and driven partridge shooting
    • Why partridge can be deceptively difficult to hit
    • Identifying quarry before taking a shot
    • 12-bores, 20-bores, 28-bores and .410s
    • Steel cartridges and lighter early season loads
    • Why the season begins on 1 September
    • Why partridge deserves a place on the dinner table
    Useful links:
    • BASC: Shooting seasons
    • Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust: Conserving the grey partridge
    • GWCT: Partridge Count Scheme

    Please note: Grey and red-legged partridge seasons and regulations vary across the UK. Wild greys should only be shot where monitoring shows a sustainable surplus. Always follow current legislation and the instructions given at the shoot briefing.

    Part of the SideCountry Network.

    DISCLAIMER
    Views are those of individual speakers and do not necessarily represent SideCountry, its presenters, contributors, partners or sponsors. For general information and entertainment only. Laws, seasons, access and guidance change; check official sources, obtain permission and act within your competence.
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
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