It is with great sadness that Planet Sea Fishing has learned of the passing of Tony Caton, the man, the mind and the driving force behind Gemini fishing tackle. Neil Mackellow, Steve Souter and Tony Burman say farewell to a friend.
Neil Mackellow: “There can be few people in the Sea Angling world who didn’t know or know of Tony Caton. Tony was the guy who started Gemini with his wife Lyn and their sons, and dreamed up all those little gadgets and gismos that make our life as anglers that much easier. He took great delight in showing people how they worked, and his stand at the NEC was always lively and interesting. Tony revelled in showing people how to improve their rigs and presentation.
Gemini is a family run business, and since last year Mark and Wes, Tony’s son and grandson have been in charge of the reins since Tony decided to retire. Although officially retired, Tony was still experimenting with new innovations. In fact he was ironing out some wrinkles on his latest gadget when he was taken ill and died suddenly. Our deepest condolences go to Lyn and all the Caton family.”
Steve Souter: “Tony was one of sea angling’s great thinkers and innovators. He never stood still and constantly sought to create new rig components and tackle items that would ultimately make fishing easier and more enjoyable. TC most definitely thought outside of the box and brought about many pieces of fishing tackle that the vast majority of sea anglers very quickly took for granted. Perhaps one of the biggest tributes to Tony’s forward thinking is how widely but poorly copied Gemini products now are.
Tony Caton quietly assisted more people than is widely known, and will be missed as much for his resolve and sense of humour as he will be for his unrelenting faith in sea anglers. Our thoughts and sincerest condolences go out to Lyn, Mark, Chris, Wes and the rest of the family at this terribly sad time.”
Tony Burman: “Tony Caton’s burning passion for both shore and boat angling and getting more people involved was fantastic. His drive and passion rubbed off on others.
Tony was a man with a strong sense of family and would always encourage youngsters into sea angling, generously supporting many initiatives to that end. I vividly remember one coaching session at Humberston Creek where Tony was surrounded by eager youngsters wanting to learn how to tie rigs. He spent hours demonstrating, answering every question and encouraging those young anglers who stood spellbound by his wisdom and knowledge…they also came away loaded down with bags of Gemini goodies.
Sea angling has lost a very good man without whose vision, technical know-how and determination we would not be as well equipped, or the sport as advanced as it it today.”
Picture courtesy of Sea Angler Magazine
