Carpworld June 2016 by Angling Publications

T H E O N LY R E A D F O R T H E D E D I C AT E D A N G L E R

ISSUE 309 JUNE 2016

ISSUE 309 / JUNE 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75

A I M F O R T H E S TA R S

LEE WAGNER’S KINGSMEAD

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THIS ISSUE DARRELL PECK HEADS TO GERMANY FOR A NEW ADVENTURE B I L L C O T TA M TA K E S A W RY L O O K A T OUR CARPING WORLD

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BIG ON Z I G S

SIMON CROW TA K E S A N I N - D E P T H L O O K A T TA R G E T I N G B I G F I S H

P169

A MAN WITH A PLAN

P149 Ben austin continues his exciting european adventure

OVERSEAS FISHERY FOCUS

P166 cretelakes is the perfect holiday destination

<< NEWS AND CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

ECHOES

P157 All the latest news and captures from around the globe

LOOKING FOR A CARPING HOLIDAY? C HECK OUT OUR HOLIDAY DIRECTORY P 176

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C O N T E NTS The Carpworld Contents / Issue 309 / June 2016 T H E O N LY R E A D F O R T H E D E D I C AT E D A N G L E R

ISSUE 309 JUNE 2016

ISSUE 309 / JUNE 2016 / MONTHLY £4.75

A I M F O R T H E S TA R S

LEE WAGNER’S KINGSMEAD

carpworldmagazine.com

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST CARP-ANGLING MAGAZINE

THIS ISSUE DARRELL PECK HEADS TO GERMANY FOR A NEW ADVENTURE B I L L C O T TA M TA K E S A W RY L O O K A T OUR CARPING WORLD

carpworldmagazine.com

SIMON CROW TA K E S A N I N - D E P T H L O O K A T TA R G E T I N G B I G F I S H

FOR THE WORLDWIDE ANGLER

BIG ON Z I G S P169

A MAN WITH A PLAN

P149 Ben austin continues his exciting european adventure

OVERSEAS FISHERY FOCUS

P166 cretelakes is the perfect holiday destination

<< NEWS AND CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

ECHOES

P157 All the latest news and captures from around the globe

LOOKING FOR A CARPING HOLIDAY? C HECK OUT OUR HOLIDAY DIRECTORY P 176

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ON THE COVER: A great image of Lee Wagner with his 52lb mirror from Kingsmead 1.

Editor’s Comment This month Steve got to achieve a long held dream, and that was to fish the beautiful Mangrove tucked away in the Shropshire countryside.

Gazette All the news and views from around the carp-angling scene to keep you up to date with what’s going on including the latest Carp Society news.

It’s All In The Mind Simon Crow Targeting in fishing takes a very specific mindset, and here Simon reveals how he sets about doing it, why he enjoys it so much, and why he’s so successful.

Stars In My Eyes Lee Wagner Lee has had a great 2016 so far, with two 40s, five 30s and numerous 20-pounders from RK Leisure’s fantastic Horton complex. With his consistent run of form, his confidence was high when he went to Kingsmead 1 for a two-night session.

A Week of Monster Darren Belton Read about Darren, and his friends, and their fantastic week session on Elphicks, in Kent, where they banked an unbelievable amount of fifties.

Carping Allegedly Bill Cottam This month, Bill takes another wry look at the carping world, and discusses a near-death experience involving ladies’ underwear, talks bait, reveals why Bin Laden is to blame for the price of essential oils, and finally realises that he’s never going to be a carp tiger.

Ask the Experts Our panel of experts answer readers’ questions, and if yours is chosen as the question of the month you’ll win £250 of Mainline bait.

Bait World Featuring Joe Turnbull This month includes Eclipse Baits, DNA, Spotted Fin, Dynamite, British Aqua Feeds, Mainline, RG Baits, Beechwood Baits, Kent Particles and Enterprise Tackle.

This Carping Fishing Life Mick Tuck This is a reflection of an ordinary life, and a man’s hobby called carp fishing.

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TICKLE THEIR TASTE BUDS!

F: facebook.com/CarpworldMagazine / T: @CarpworldMag FOR THE WORLDWIDE ANGLER

one of his new waters, the Scout Lake. Which is a great achievement considering there is only about 20 fish in 12 acres so we consider that’s a right result.

106

The Long Road – Dan Chart Here’s the second part of Dan Chart’s fascinating look at the recent happenings on the historic and famous Longfield complex, and it’s a great read.

113

Rig World Featuring Mike

Kavanagh This month new backleads, hooks, reel line, bait screws and a past ground breaking stiff hooklink material, part two of Rig Talk with Kev Page from Essex, and Rig Marole Linkteq.

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Issue 147 January 2016

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MY BEST YEAR EVER

P136 The Nash lads continue their awesome European adventure

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P143 Dave Moore’s amazing haul from the Hungarian super-water, Euro Aqua

UNDER THE BRIDGE

P157 Inner-city madness – Raf Swinnen tackles the River Maas

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Think Tank If you visit a new water for the first time, are there any specific types of features you look for right from the off, or do you rely solely on watercraft and seeing fish? This is the question put to our panel. NEWS AND CAPTURES FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

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The F Word Paul Forward In a great month for Mr F he managed to catch the two biggest fish from

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T I M PA I S L E Y

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The Big Freeze Ryan Heaton Here’s a fascinating topic – is frozen or refrozen bait more effective than fresh? RG Baits’ Ryan Heaton takes a closer look at this controversial subject.

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SIMON CROW

IAN CHILLCOTT

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Changing Tides Adam Clewer Adam reflects on his carp fishing, and the changes within it, including a new adventure on the wellknown Sandhurst Lake.

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COLD-WATER CARPING Dave Levy reveals his winning winter tactics

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Pecky’s Progress Darrell Peck Our manD on the bank unW O R L his last session on C A R Pdertook CH R E D E APark, D E L I V E Northey before he S H P L Uon a heavy filming M O N Tstarted T H I S ! for Masterclass A L Lschedule 4. This time he headed for northern Germany, where he ran into a spot of inclement weather.

THIS ISSUE

DARRELL PECK HAS A GREAT SIXFISH CATCH FROM NORTHEY PARK

DAN CHART ON HIS TIME ON THE HISTORIC LONGFIELD

ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS HOW TO START A NEW

ED BETTERIDGE REVEALS HOW TO START A NEW CAMPAIGN

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T H E O N LY R E A D F O R T H E D E D I CA T E D CA R P A N G L E R

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ISSUE 309 JUNE 2016

ISSUE 308 MAY 2016

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WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE: • • • • • • • • • • •

12 issues of Carpworld £57 Avid Black Baseball Cap £6.99 Two Tone Zig-Line 10lb £4.99 Avid Carp Tail Rubber Long £2.99 Avid Carp Zig Clips £3.50 Avid Zig Grub Kit £2.49 Avid Carp Ziglites 10mm Black/Green £3.49 Avid Carp Ziglites 10mm Black/Orange £3.49 Avid Carp Ziglite Barrels 12mm White £3.49 Avid Carp Ziglite Barrels 12mm Orange £3.49 Avid Carp Reaction Hooks Wide Barbed Size 8 £5.25 • Avid Carp Reaction Hooks Wide Barbed Size 10 £5.25 • Avid Carp Zig Box £14.99 • Avid Carp PVA Transfer Tape £4.50 • Avid Carp Swivel Size 8 £2.99 • Avid Carp Surface Spod £7.99

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fea t ur e

the big ryan heaton 92 Carpworld June 2016

~ Here’s a fascinating topic – is frozen or refrozen bait more effective than fresh? RG Baits’ Ryan Heaton takes a closer look at this controversial subject.

his is a question I’ve been asked more times than I care to remember, and no matter how long or hard I think about it, I always reach the same conclusion because there is no definite answer. As I make such a statement, there may be a number of you frowning in total disagreement, but hear me out and look at it from my point of view – it may just change your mind. If I were to take a vote on this, I think it would be fair to say that I’d be able to split the voters into three categories: ones who like to use fresh bait and will only refreeze the once; ones who refreeze a maximum of three times before rendering the bait spent; and finally, the ones who sit on the fence and actually don’t give a monkey’s! If I had to put myself in a category, it would be the final one, and this is solely down to personal experience. Believe it or not, I have more confidence in a bait which has been frozen than one which is fresh, which I will explain in due course. As anglers, we seem to be willing to invest a lot of money and thought into the bait we use, and in some cases, the bait offered to the fish is deemed more important than what is consumed by the angler! I’m not suggesting this is a bad thing, nor am I about to start a lecture on well-being; it’s more to the point that carp are simply carp, not some form of complex machine that needs to run on refined fossil fuel. I’m all for giving our quarry a quality food source which will be of benefit when ingested, make no mistake about that, but I do feel that at times, carp food can be a little overdone. My take on the whole scenario, especially when creating a bait, is as follows. The fish need to like the taste of what you’re giving them in order for them to want more; they need to easily process the food and pass it at the other end, which allows them to

eat more; and they need to be getting something from what they’re eating in terms of nutrition. Cover all the bases and you’re on to a winner. Anyway, back to the big freezer debate. Looking at it from a neutral perspective, I totally get the whole idea about wanting to use a bait in its freshest possible state. To us humans, fresh food has a slightly better taste than that of frozen, but does the same theory apply when it comes to carp? I don’t think there is any evidence that scientifically proves the theory to be true or false, but my view is that when carp are actively feeding, there is no etiquette and they aren’t fussy eaters. They don’t just pick up our free offerings, they literally gorge on the lakebed and filter out the food from the mouthful of debris they’ve sucked in. The receptors in their mouths do the best possible job of segregating food from lakebed matter, but take my word for it, on more than one occasion, I’ve witnessed carp passing out silt and other chod along with digested bait. With this in mind, I’m more than certain they aren’t going to be picky to the point that they turn their nose up at bait which has been sitting in a freezer for a period of time. Take, for example, the number of fish caught on freezer baits purchased from a tackle shop, up and down the country, week in, week out; it’s in the hundreds. The bait accounting for these fish could have been sitting in the freezer for weeks prior to being bought, and between leaving the shop and arriving home, the thawing process will have started to some degree. Nine times out of ten, the bait will be chucked back in the freezer, ready for the process to start all over again when the bait is thawed out for a coming session. The truth is that the bait will Carpworld J u n e 2 01 6 93

F ea t ur e

still do its job, and catch fish regardless. Freezing, and its effect on nutritional value, is a big concern among anglers. I’m often asked if freezing a bait will make it less effective due to depletion of nutrients. Luckily for anglers, the bulk of ingredients used in carp baits are also used in human foods. For obvious reasons, the food industry invests billions of pounds a year to ensure that what we eat is safe. Enter any mainstream supermarket and you can’t help but notice that the freezer section takes up a considerable amount of floor space. I’m not sure on the exact figures, but I think that of the food we consume as a nation, roughly 50% is frozen at some point in the cycle. From the billions of pounds in the annual food research budget, a hefty proportion of it is invested into frozen food, and from all the studies carried out over the years, the evidence shows that freezing a food stuff only marginally

94 Carpworld June 2016

reduces nutrition; I’m talking decimals here. Despite the lack of capital available for research into carp baits, I’m led to believe that the same theory applies to a frozen boilie, and can see no reason why it shouldn’t. The fact that the majority of my fishing is a spur-of-the-moment affair means I never have chance to prepare and plan when I need my bait. If I’m lucky enough to get an early finish at work and squeeze in an overnighter, I will do. It’s just a matter of grabbing my bait out of the freezer and letting it thaw between leaving work and arriving at the water. The following morning, when I arrive back at work, my bag of bait once again goes in the freezer until time allows for another session. I may repeat this process half a dozen or so times until the bag is empty. I personally feel this has no detriment on the effectiveness of the bait, and without blowing my own trumpet, I must say my results aren’t any worse

LEft All bait benefits from freezing. Above We dont mind eating frozen food so why should the fish?

This fish was taken on a refrozen boilie.

Below

than other anglers on the lakes I fish. Going back to the point I made earlier, with regards to my preference of using a bait that has been frozen rather than a freshly rolled bait - carp bait on the whole can be somewhat of a minefield. I think things are often overcomplicated, with high-tech scientific theories that aren’t necessary. I can see why, as everyone is looking for the next big edge that carp can’t resist, but realistically, it’s never going to happen, for which reason I like to keep things simple. Although it may sound contradictory, my preference of freezing a bait prior to use does actually incorporate a degree of science, but panic not, I can explain. As I’ve mentioned before, my limited time for fishing means I want the bait to work from the off, breaking down and releasing attraction from the moment it hits the water. Incorporating certain ingredients in a recipe quickens the breakdown process and aids with releasing attraction. This is an advantage where a quick bite is concerned, but

LEft Feeding hard and colouring the water up.

This fish fell to a fresh bait but did it make a difference?

Below

the use of such ingredients can hinder the longevity of a bait, hence why I freeze a bait before use. When a bait is rolled and boiled, the process it undergoes causes the ingredients to be compressed, which gives the bait its firmness and an outer skin. Although baits generally have an air-drying process of some description prior to being bagged, they still contain a percentage of moisture, freezer baits more so than shelf lifes. As you will know from basic science at school, liquids expand when frozen. I’m sure most of us have been there – pop a bottle of beer in the freezer on a hot day to give it a quick chill, only to forget about it and return to it some time later to find the top burst off, with a frozen drizzle of ale creeping out of the neck of the bottle. Now picture this happening with bait; take a whole boilie made up from a number of ingredients, and among all the flours and powders are molecules of moisture. If the bait is put in a freezer, these molecules do exactly what any other liquid does, and expand to some degree, in turn causing a cracking/shattering effect within the bait. This cracking obviously won’t happen to the point where the skin of the bait is forced open, and

most probably won’t be visible to the naked eye, but I genuinely feel that this process has a knock-on effect on the breakdown of a bait when submerged. What I mean is that the expansion of moisture molecules weakens or breaks the bonds between ingredients, and when submerged, water ingress to the bait increases, in essence causing the bait to break down faster. I’m not suggesting that if you put a frozen bait underwater at the side of a freshly rolled bait, and then jump forward 24 hours, the frozen bait will be more a pile of sloppy ingredients than that of a firm boiled ball – far from it. I feel there will be some difference, albeit marginal; however, my thought process is that freezing a bait plays to the advantage of an angler on limited time. Just something to bear in mind. So that’s my take on the whole debate. Some of you may have a different view on the matter, which is understandable, and that’s why angling is so interesting. We all have different opinions on things. I think half the battle with this game is to do what you feel is right, and have confidence in it. As I said at the beginning, regardless of how much thought is put into it, there is no right or wrong answer. As anglers, we find success in certain approaches, so stick to what you know and what works for you. Until next time, be lucky! CW

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CO L UM N IST

PAUL FORWARD

THE F WORD THE DIARY OF A COMPULSIVE CARP ANGLER

In a great month for Mr F, he managed to catch the two biggest fish from one of his new waters, the Scout Lake. This is a great achievement considering there are only about 20 fish in 12 acres, so we think that is a right result.

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C O L UM N I S T

here is no doubting the fact that both April and May are top months for carp fishing, when the fish are in superb condition and also at their top weights (if that sort of thing matters). The more difficult waters have only just begun to produce their first few fish of the year, and there is a real buzz of excitement around all the venues. However, the weather has been changeable, to say the very least. One day it’s early-morning frosts and hailstones the size of golf balls falling out of a sky as black as night itself, and then just a few days later, it’s a mini heatwave with temperatures in the high-20s. I’m sure that these topsy-turvy weather patterns do nothing to improve the actual fishing; in fact, the very opposite happens, creating a situation where the carp become moody and can’t decide what exactly is going on. My exploits this last month have been mainly on one of my new waters, which is called the Scout Lake. It’s a 12-acre venue with a hint of mystery and the unknown, and I told you about it last month. Whenever the sun has been out and I’ve had a spare hour or two, I’ve been walking the lake and watching from high banks and treetops, trying to uncover some of its secrets. The water is gin-clear this year, and apart from the dense reedbeds, there is literally no hiding place, even in 12ft of water. I know very little about the venue’s inhabitants, but as ever, I hoped to spy an unknown monster or two. The venue contained some really big fish in the past, and I can’t see any reason why it won’t do again. I probably counted 20 or so different fish which were over 20lb, mainly commons,

plus a fair few doubles and singles. Of the 20 bigger fish, I recognised the Long Common, which had been caught for the first time last year, and more recently in early March by my good friend Martin, who’d also had a gorgeous low-30 common late last autumn. I’d seen that one too; so many times, in fact, that I decided that if I had my way, our next meeting would be in the bottom of my net! One thing I like about Scout Lake is that there are only five swims, with one bank (almost half ) being out of bounds. This allows plenty of room for each angler to do his own thing – not that it is ever busy, far from it. One thing obvious from my recces was that the fish were spending most of their time in the out-of-bounds bank, which, to be honest is as expected,

This was before making the swim.

ABOVE

BELOW RIGHT

Abbey Meads, my next water.

BELOW LEFT On the most-wanted list.

although it can be reached at very long range from either of two swims. When I arrived mid-morning, a brisk northwesterly was blowing straight into the swims, which made the task of reaching the range necessary very difficult. After careful consideration, I made a decision to leave it until another day, when conditions were a bit more favourable. I pointed the van up the motorway towards Paddlesworth, and I had mixed feelings which wouldn’t go away, even after arriving at the deep Kent pit. The lake was busier than I’d expected, and after a couple of hours of walking the banks, my heart just wasn’t in

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it, so I headed off back to the Scout Lake. With the lake to myself, I plumped for the middle swim on the road bank, and hoped the wind would ease as evening approached. I needed a cast in excess of 120 yards, so I tooled up with 25lb Fox sinking braid, which is only 0.28 diameter, and 4oz leads, and they should just about do the job. The sky was full of heavy black clouds, which every so often spilled out a torrent of wintery showers, but when the skies cleared, the wind eased off just enough to enable me to propel a couple of single hookbaits out to the horizon. Satisfied that all was well, I put another bait with a few freebies down the near margin to my right. The wind was pumping in there, and to be honest, it didn’t look a bad shout. One of my old buddies, Si Bater, popped down for a yarn and a barbecue in the evening, which livened up what was otherwise a miserable bitter-cold evening. At dusk, the wind eased yet again, and we even saw a couple of fish roll close to the long-range spots. Not long after Simon left, I swiftly snuggled into the warmth of the bag with a hot-water bottle, feeling like I might be lucky, but not overconfident. It was around 3.30 a.m. when the lefthand rod signalled a dropback, stirring me from the land of Nod. I donned my waders and shot down to the rods to see what was occurring. The line was indeed slack, and after retrieving a few yards, I was into a fish. What happened next was a tad bizarre, and I must admit it had me confused, because after gaining just a few more yards, the middle bobbin dropped back too, leading me to believe that I’d picked up the other line; they were only about 10 yards apart. My first reaction, apart from muttering, “Oh b******s,” was to open the bail arm on the offending rod and concentrate on landing the fish. All of a sudden, the line started flying off the spool of the middle rod, which I again ignored, thinking the fish, which was getting close, must be towing the line. It was

After making the new swim.

ABOVE

I was chuffed with this one.

RIGHT

BOTTOM Stalker Russ with one of his many floatercaught fish.

were both commons, I had to roll a fag, so close that I could just about make out it and still grinning from ear to ear, put the was a pretty decent one, and fortunately, kettle on. Upon inspection, both fish were it went straight in the net first time. But immaculate; one was a dark bronze tube, instead of there being an unholy tangled almost black in colour, weighing 22lb, and mess of line, it was just my rig – no more the other was much chunkier, and one of – and then it dawned on me that I’d had the two beauties on a double take! I left my most-wanted the first one where list. With the scales it was in the net and “The water is hovering around the picked up the middle gin-clear this year, 30lb mark, I settled rod, and realised that for 29lb 12oz. To be again I’d been lucky. and apart from the This one was still dense reedbeds, there is truthful, the weight firmly on the end, literally no hiding place, really doesn’t matter when they look so while engaged in even in 12ft of water” like this. One tea another long-range followed another battle, I somehow until first light. I was managed to pull my buzzing so much with the night’s events spare landing net out of the quiver, snap that there was no chance of any more sleep. the arms together, with the rod between I’d sort of put the rods back out, but it was my legs, and eventually slide carp number a task obviously best done in daylight, and I two over the net cord! Honestly, I could also messaged my old mate Rodders to pop hardly believe what had just happened. down and do some pics. As another dawn After safely securing the fish, which

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C O L UM N I S T slowly unfolded, I sat and savoured every moment. Every so often, I found myself smiling, realising what a lucky fella I’d been, and how much I love this magical sport of ours. I felt as though I had a bit of an edge, and with the lake all to myself, I pulled out the stops to wangle myself another night. The wind had dropped off considerably too, and even though I thought I had actually fished the spots better the second night, and yet again saw a few fish, I’d probably spooked them all a fair bit and the result was a blank. It mattered not. I was off the mark with a brace of fabulous commons, I’d learned a lot, and couldn’t wait to get back. Knowing a couple of guys had fished the swim the following weekend put me off going back in there, so much so that it was time for plan B. During my last visit, Martin, the farmer, and I had talked to Mark the bailiff about reopening an old swim which had grown over, and hadn’t been fished for donkey’s years, and he said it would be fine. Bearing this in mind, I took a saw and a pair of long-handled loppers to deal with the thick bramble and two small bushes. Less than an hour later, covered in cuts and scratches, and because we were experiencing a mini heatwave, extremely sweaty, I’d finished. A fine job too, just enough for a couple of rods, but what a swim. It opened up a previously inaccessible part of the lake, with a snag bush close on the right with a gravel bar running off it, which I could now reach with an underarm flick. Both reels were loaded

with 40lb braid and fished with 2oz leads on lead clips. Hookbaits were Cell wafters, with just a handful of the same freebies. As you can imagine, I was buzzing as the sun set in the cloudless sky. The temperature felt like midsummer, and I was confident that something special was going to happen. It was 4.15 a.m. when the right-hand rod absolutely ripped off, which saw me leaping out in just in my socks. I kept the rod low to avoid the snag, and managed to turn and steer the powerful fish to my left. With my trusty old 2½lb rods wrapped around to the limit, the fight was both brutal and short-lived, and within a few minutes, the long bronze flank of a common carp rolled over the net, almost magically coinciding with the first rays of light. The sheer length of this magnificent creature was incredible. It was perfect in every way, and I was ecstatic. Matt, who had packed and was on his way to work, popped round to do some pics, and in the earlymorning sun the fish looked truly amazing. You’ve probably guessed by now that it was the other one I really wanted, so yet again I suppose I’d been a very lucky fella. The only downside to the Scout Lake, if it’s a downside at all, is that at present it is very low stock. After managing to extract the two largest commons I know of, it’s extremely difficult to know what to do next. Obviously, I’ve watched the fish during the hot weather, during which they spawned for 2

BOTTOM

What a magnificent creature.

whole days, but as yet, haven’t noticed anything other than the same 15 or so low-20lb commons, plus a couple of similar-sized mirrors. While I’m sure these fish will grow-on well in such a perfect environment, I can’t help but think that I’m more or less done there – for now. Other than Scout Lake, I’ve been up to Abbey Meads for a couple of recces, and must say that now the trees are in leaf and the reeds are beginning to sprout, it does look amazing; it’s probably my next port of call. Up at Paddlesworth, for everyone apart from one really nice guy called Stalker Russ, it has been a real struggle. This fella is just absolutely brilliant at floater fishing, which is virtually all he does – he carries just a bucket, two rods, a small rucksack, and an unhooking mat, and he’s made it look easy. He’s been down several times for an afternoon or evening session, and bagged himself eight or nine fish, some big ones too, with several going over 35lb, while everyone else has struggled for a bite, or, more often, blanked. The fish in this deep clay pit have been right up in the top layers, possibly not even visiting the bottom at all, which is 28-30ft in most places, and Russ has exploited this expertly. Well done, mate, top angling indeed. That’s all for now, so tight lines until next month. Mr F.

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C O L UM N I S T

still carping on

tim paisley T i m Pa i s l e y i n c o n v e r s at i o n w i t h C h r i s B a l l

‘These are a few of my favourite things…’

HRIS, BACK IN THE ’80S I INTERVIEWED YOU ABOUT YOUR ACTUAL CARP-FISHING

LIFE FOR THE CARP SOCIETY’S MAGAZINE CARP FISHER. I SEE THE FRAMED COVER IS UP ON YOUR WALL. YOU’RE STILL AN ENTHUSIASTIC CARP ANGLER, BUT YOU’RE ALSO AN ARCHIVIST, AND A COLLECTOR

OF ANGLING AND CARP-FISHING ARTEFACTS. I’VE JOINED YOU IN THE CARP ROOM TODAY TO TALK ABOUT SOME OF YOUR MORE PRIZED POSSESSIONS. BECAUSE YOU HAVE SO MANY VERY SPECIAL CARP-RELATED POSSESSIONS, I’VE HAD TO LIMIT YOUR LIST TO 10 OR 12 PRECIOUS OBJECTS, SO LET’S BEGIN AT THE TOP AND

Hilton. That was my era; that early’70s period during which I got to meet him. A couple of times he came to the BCSG meetings they used to hold at the Crooked Billet at Staines, and I also met him at Tom Mintram’s house once. Back in those days, it wasn’t a question of whether Jack was going to break the carp record, it was a question of when he was going to break it. Obviously, in hindsight, we know that he didn’t, but the aura that surrounded him was just amazing at the time. Over the years, I’ve managed to acquire a number of items of Jack’s, and one of them is a rod. It’s a fibreglass rod of 11ft in length, and it’s one of a pair he made on what were known as Goddess blanks.

ABOVE

Chris in his Carp Room, with the prized Jack Hilton rod, which may or may not have caught Jack’s two special fish from Ashlea and Redmire.

of 1966, and they are described as being built for carp; he made them especially for Ashlea Pool. Anyone who has read Quest for Carp will know that he had a love affair with Ashlea, and eventually he caught an Ashlea record of 28lb 12oz, in 1966. The following year he was involved with the Herts/Chiltern anglers, as he had been for a number of years, and during 1966 and 1967, Redmire became available for fishing for the princely sum of £1 per day, and the fishing was offered to the major specimen groups. This was the John Nixon scheme which ran for those 2 years. Jack went in the September of 1967, with Roger Smith, Graham Igglesden and Mike Mintram. There were the four of them there, and the only carp caught that week was by Jack, and it was the biggest carp recorded in this country for that year. This was a fish of 35lb which became a well-known Redmire fish, later known as Pinky, because of its colouring. Anyway, back to these two rods. The blood brother to the rod I’ve got is owned by Jack’s son Keith, and about 20 years ago, I mentioned to Keith that I’d got this rod, and that it was purported to be a Jack Hilton rod which he’d used for carp fishing. Subsequently, I went to Keith’s house and we compared rods, and I had one of those shivery moments when I realised that what I owned was, in fact, a Hilton rod. During the last few years, in one of Len Arbery’s books, there was a picture I hadn’t seen before

Chris’ carefully selected collection of B. James and Sons carp and Avon split cane rods.

RIGHT

TALK ABOUT WHY THE CHOICES THAT FOLLOW MEAN SO MUCH TO YOU.

WERE THESE THE GREEN

I’ll start with a general explanation that although I later became friendly with Richard Walker, at one time, I was too young to really appreciate him. But while I was too young for Dick Walker, I was definitely the right age for Jack

GODDESS BLANKS?

No, not the Green Goddess… These two rods were a light straw colour to start with, although, in fact, Jack painted them brown, and it is a durable finish. He made these two rods in the spring

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of Jack with a crucian from Ashlea, and this very rod that I’ve got is propped up on his shoulder, and it is this rod. The reason I know that is because the whippings are slightly different on the butt on each of the two rods, so they are identifiable individually. It sent a shiver down my spine when we put the two rods together. So that’s nice to have something like that from Jack, because he meant so to me much during that formative period over 50 years ago now. I confirmed from Keith Hilton that these were the two rods in use when he caught the Ashlea record in 1966, and Pinky from Redmire the following year. There’s an even chance that the rod I own landed one, or both, of those two very notable fish, although it doesn’t really matter. It’s enough that I have one of the rods that Jack built, and fished with. THAT’S A LOVELY STORY, SO WHAT’S NEXT ON THE LIST, CHRIS?

I’ve always been keen on floater fishing, and part of my so-called reputation is probably founded on that. I concentrated on floater fishing long before there was a general interest

in the approach. Over the years I’ve caught lots and lots of fish on floaters, and I gradually started to target waters which had bigger fish in them, places like Linear, and other waters where floater fishing hadn’t been overused. I’ve got a nice frame of a few of the 30lb+ fish I’ve caught off the top, all from different waters. I checked this morning, and I think I am up to 17x 30lb+ fish caught on floaters from 15 different waters. I’m proud of that, and I’m still out there plugging away on floaters, and one day I may land a 40-pounder off the top. Who knows? So, this collection consists of pictures of half a dozen of my bigger fish caught on floaters over the years. WHAT’S YOUR NEXT CHOICE?

Next on the list is a trio of three pictures of the Little Pond at Frensham. IT’S DESCRIBED AS THE LITTLE POND, BUT IT WASN’T LITTLE, WAS IT?

Good grief, no! The Little Pond was approximately 30 acres. AND THIS WATER FEATURED STRONGLY IN YOUR BOOK THE KING CARP WATERS, OF COURSE.

That’s right. It was a little pond in comparison to the big one, which was possibly twice the size, and a bit of a mystery really. Certainly, the bulk of the stocking of the waters, with Leney fish in 1952, about 100, went into the Little Pond. It was close to where I lived at the time, in Guildford, and when Terry Glebioska, Jan Wenczka and I found out about the stocking, we decided to have a bit of a go at it. We started fishing there, and on about the third or fourth session, on the 7th of the 7th (7th July) 1983,

LEFT Jack Hilton with Chris’ rod over his shoulder, with an Ashlea-caught crucian carp.

The Frensham Little Pond; time-lapse pictures covering a period of 30 years.

BELOW

BOTTOM LEFT

Just a few of Chris’ floater-caught 30lb+ fish.

I managed to catch three fish, one after another. We were all working, so it was before work; I’d be away and gone at 8.30 in the morning. We were getting there at 4.30 a.m., or some such time, and the dawn period was a productive time of day. On that day I was the only one out of the three of us fishing, and the fish got bigger and bigger. I started off with a 23-pounder, I had a 26-pounder, and then a fish of 31lb 2oz, my first English 30. This was in the days long before mobile phones, but Chris Yates lived fairly close by. I knew Chris pretty well in those days, and I went to the local phone box, rang him up, and asked if he could come and take some photos of my fish. He came down on his old police bike, Hercules, all the way through Hankley Common and the rough heathland, and took a load of pictures of my trio of fish. After he’d gone, the mist disappeared and the fish were still mega-active, so I took a picture. By then I’d rung work to tell them I wasn’t going in that day. The fish were jumping, and I was trying to get a shot of one on my little camera, and I failed. There’s a small ring in shot in the top picture, but that was as good as it got in terms of action shots that

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C O L UM N I S T morning, but the thing is was that it was a very special day, and the date stuck in my mind, as special dates do. Almost 20 years later, a couple of days before the 7th of the 7th, the date registered, and I reflected that the special morning had been 20 years earlier. I lived nowhere near Frensham Ponds by then, but I decided to go and replicate the picture I took in 1983, in more or less the same spot, which I did. And then, crazily enough, in 2013, which was 30 years after the event, of course, I went back again and took another picture. Those three pictures are in a frame, and I suppose it’s a bit daft, but it means something to me, and that’s what memorabilia is about.

to become big fish into the 40s. None of the 1952 Leney carp are still alive, although there may be some offspring, but the majority of the catches now are of the Burton-Bradstock fish. WHAT’S NEXT ON YOUR LIST, CHRIS?

OF COURSE IT IS, AND IT’S A STORY I CAN RELATE TO. SO, IS FRENSHAM LITTLE POND STILL A CARP WATER? MANY OF OUR READERS WON’T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A SERIOUS FISH-KILL WHEN THE WATER WAS AT ITS PEAK, IN THE MID-’80S.

Yes, it is. The fish-kill happened in the winter of 1986/87, and no more than 10 or a dozen fish survived, and so did the stock fish which caused the problem, the Burton-Bradstock fish which came from a fish farm. None of those perished, and they’ve grown-on

Next on my list is a Brian Mills carving. Brian was a carpenter by trade, and by inclination a carp angler, and he has produced many marvellous wood carvings, as many people will have seen over the years. These are mainly made out of Brazilian mahogany. I have a number of them, and over the years I’ve seen many others. I don’t know how many he did in total, but he did a lot, and not just carp, but all freshwater fish. I got to know Brian pretty well, originally through the British Carp Study Group,

ABOVE

Mary’s scale, framed and illustrated by the renowned artist, the late John Searl. BOTTOM LEFT

The lovely speciallycommissioned Brian Mills’ floaterfish carving.

and after I’d seen his carvings, after the Frensham disaster, I asked him if he could make a replica of one of the fish I’d caught from there, which he did, and it was wonderful. It is about a third of the size of the actual fish itself, I suppose. I managed to get him a few commissions, and he was very grateful, and he said he would like to do me a carving as a thank you for helping him get work. He asked me what I wanted, and after thinking about it, I told him: “I don’t know how you’re going to do it, Brian, but I’d like a floater one. Somehow I need a fish coming up for a piece of mixer, although I don’t know how you can manage that. And if you can make that fish a fully-scaled mirror that would be even better.” Some time went past, and he rang to say it was complete, and could I go over and collect it. It’s a long way from where I live, but I went with my wife Lynne, who knew Brian and his wife. When we got there, Brian wanted me to look at the carving straight away, and as you can see, it’s quite amazing – a fully-scaled mirror coming up under lily pads for a piece of mixer. Sadly, Brian can no longer do carving because of chronic arthritis in his hands, but a couple of years ago I asked him if he had ever done anything similar, and he told me no. He never did another floater-fish carving, so it’s a one-off, and it’s special to me. AS YOU KNOW, I HAVE SOME CARVINGS OF BRIAN’S, AND I OFTEN GET ASKED IF HE STILL DOES THEM, SO THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE HEARD THAT HE HAD TO STOP MAKING THEM. HE USED TO DONATE THEM TO THE CARP SOCIETY AUCTIONS, BLESS HIM, AND I SUPPOSE THAT AT ONE TIME WE WERE SO FAMILIAR WITH THEM THAT WE TOOK HIS TALENT FOR GRANTED. HE IS A SPECIAL MAN, AND HE CERTAINLY HAD A VERY SPECIAL FLAIR. NEXT, CHRIS.

Next is a scale of a very famous record carp, Mary, which lived in Wraysbury 1, 142 Carpworld Ju ne 20 1 6

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INTO THAT DISCUSSION TOO, I CALLED THE PIECE THE ART OF ANGLING. RIGHT CHRIS, NEXT ON YOUR LIST.

and though I fished there and caught a number of those carp, I don’t think I ever saw Mary. It wasn’t a big fish when I was fishing there in the ’80s; when I started fishing Wraysbury, the fish from Rayners had only just been placed in there, and I was the first one to catch Mallins and Cluster, which later grew into 40lb fish. I think it was Kenny Hodder who said to me, when he saw the pictures of these fish, “I don’t want to be funny, Chris, but you did catch these fish from Wraysbury, didn’t you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen these fish in there.” Later, the full story became known that four fish had been transferred to Wraysbury from Rayners. Mary was the biggest fish of the four which were moved from Rayners, at around 28lb. She was around when I was there, but I certainly never saw her in the water. Anyway, 10 or 15 years ago – I think it was when we were living here in Lymington – Johnny Allen came down, I think to come over and see the Carp Room when I first got it together here. As soon as he arrived he said, “I’ve got something for you here.” He had it in an envelope, and he put it down on the table, saying, “There you are, you collect stuff like that.” It was a scale from Mary, which he’d found in the bottom of his landing net after he caught Mary at 49lb. “You collect all this rubbish,” he said, “so you can have that!” I knew John Searl very well, who sadly died a few years back. He had a wonderful shop called The Art of Angling in Ringwood, and I would call on him every couple of weeks or so. You could watch him drawing at the

ABOVE

Part of Chris’ remarkable collection of early bite alarms and Ambidex reels. RIGHT

Commemorating 50 years of catching carp. Chris hasn’t changed at all…

back of the shop, where he had an easel and a drawing board. Anyway, I told him that I would like a presentation done in a frame. I’d been fortunate enough to witness Mary on the bank three times, and had many pictures, so I gave him a bunch and asked him

to create a framed presentation with a drawing of the fish, and mount the scale alongside it, which he duly did. A week later he rang, and this is the result, and I think it’s beautiful.

Next is what I call the 50-Year Picture. In 2011, I realised that it was 50 years since I’d caught my first 10lb+ carp, back in July 1961. I was 15 years old then, which was so long ago that it was even before the Beatles became famous! That first double was a fish of 10lb 4oz from the famous Cut Mill Fishery, near Farnham in Surrey. I was thrilled, and I then became exposed to the world of big-carp fishing. A double-figure fish in 1961 meant you were doing very well. In 2011 I suddenly realised that my 50th anniversary of that capture was coming up, and I felt I should go out and try to catch a carp. I don’t have the actual date of the first double, so in the middle of July I went to Linear and I caught one, a nice mid-20, and I got Roy Parsons to come round and take a picture. I put these two together in Photoshop, and produced a little postcard that I sent to a few of my friends saying, ‘50 Years of Carp Fishing’. So, there

is a little bit of self-indulgence in that particular prized possession, I suppose. SELF-INDULGENCE FROM YOU, CHRIS, SURELY NOT? (LAUGHTER…) GOING BACK TO YOUR FIRST DOUBLE, CUT MILL,

I HAVEN’T TOLD YOU THIS, BUT WHEN

AKA THE TARN, WAS VERY MUCH ONE

I WAS COMING DOWN THIS WAY A

OF THE HIGH-PROFILE CARP WATERS

WHILE BACK, AND WANTED TO COME

FOR A GREAT MANY YEARS, WASN’T IT?

AND DO THIS FEATURE, WE COULDN’T

Very much so. In the ’50s it came to great fame through Dave Steuart’s exploits. Dave and Kay Steuart fished there exclusively for the carp. They were both experienced carp anglers before they got to The Tarn, where they made some tremendous catches. By 1960, Kay, along with May Berth-Jones, was one of the most successful lady

GET TOGETHER BECAUSE YOU WERE AWAY ON YOUR 70TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS WITH LYNNE. SO I PUT TOGETHER A FEATURE WITH DAVE IVEY, WHO LIVES AT FERNDOWN, NOT A MILLION MILES FROM HERE. BECAUSE OF THE SUBJECT MATTER, AND THE FACT THAT JOHN SEARL’S SHOP CAME

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C O L UM N I S T carp anglers in this country. She had caught in the region of 30 carp over 10lb, which really was some going. Dave’s 1955 book, Carp in the How to Catch Them series was based largely on his experiences at The Tarn, although unfortunately, there are no pictures in the book, only drawings. THE TARN WAS STILL FAMOUS AS A CARP WATER BY THE END OF THE ’70S. SOME OF THE FIRST COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE CARP VIDEOS, FILMED AND PUBLISHED BY CLIVE DIEDRICH AND MALCOLM WINKWORTH, WERE FILMED PARTLY AT THE TARN, I BELIEVE.

Yes, there are a number of sequences in those films of Clive and Malcolm fishing at The Tarn, including the famous one of Malcolm erecting his Big Waterlot, complete with mallet, on the sandy slope swim, and Clive catching what was probably the biggest fish in the water at that time. Dave Steuart has some cinefilm from the ’50s, and some of that appeared on a separate film which Clive and Malcolm made about Dave’s fishing. It is available on VHS, but it never got the exposure of the four films which became known as the Richworth videos. AND IT IS WORTH MENTIONING THAT MUCH LATER, BEFORE KAY STEUART WAS SADLY TAKEN FROM US, SHE APPEARED ON THE COVER OF CARPWORLD. WE’RE STIRRING

had always been paranoid about in the antenna days. The wheel was connected to a vane, which could have two paddles, four paddles, or more. The moving paddle broke the constant stream of the two LED beams inside the Optonic, which ultimately made it bleep. I once interviewed Frank Sams, one of the originators of the Optonic, and he told me that before the buzzer was sold to Sundridge, over half a million units had been shipped to outlets around the world. Anyway, the principle of the Optonic was given to one person to fieldtest, which brings us back to Brian Mills, who was, and still is, a very notable carp angler. In Kent, Brian used this prototype, and although it doesn’t look like an Optonic unit, it had the breaker beam and worked on the principle that eventually became the Optonic working system. He gave this version a clean bill of health, and it got redesigned into the shape that went on the market. In my dealings with Brian through fish carvings, he told me this story, and asked me if I would like the prototype for my collection. I couldn’t thank him enough. It’s resided with me ever since, and that would probably be 25-30 years ago. So, the prototype I have here is the forerunner to all that has happened since, and is absolutely unique.

UP SOME MEMORIES HERE! WHAT’S NEXT, CHRIS?

I GUESS ANYONE WHO DIDN’T LIVE

It’s the Optonic bite alarm, which first appeared in 1977. Prior to this, alarms had been operated via a moving antenna making a connection, a system devised by Richard Walker, the most famous, or most publicised, being the Heron. We all had them back in the day, and they were alright, but lots of things could go wrong with them and they were very unpredictable. They were more affected by weather and temperature than actual carp activity! There were a number of variations on the antenna theme, and I have an extensive collection of early handmade bite-alarms, some of which were quite advanced. But everything was swept away in 1977 with the arrival of the Optonic bite alarm, which used a roller to signify the line moving forwards or backwards; this minimised the resistance we

THROUGH THE ANTENNA ERA WON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT A QUANTUM LEAP FORWARDS THE OPTONIC WHEEL SYSTEM REPRESENTED. BACK TO RODS, THEN, CHRIS…

Yes, back to rods, and certainly in the

ABOVE Richard Walker items, including the Mitchell reel presented to him to commemorate the famous match against Tom Sails. BELOW

The prototype fieldtest Optonic, tested and approved by Brian Mills, who later presented it to Chris.

’50s, one of the most prominent manufacturers of carp and specialist rods was B. James & Sons of West Ealing, London. This was a company that started back in the late-’40s and came to prominence with the introduction of the Richard Walker Mk IV Carp Rod, which was released to the general public in late-1952. The growth in carp and specialist big-fish fishing, and the advent of the Mk IV rods for stillwaters and rivers, led to rods which were miles better than anything that had been produced before. It opened up a lot of opportunities, and B. James, being the premier rod-making company, produced, between late-1952 and when their production ceased in 1966, some 15,000 Mk IVs, so there are a great many of them out there. Like anything, there was good split cane, and pretty awful split cane, just like there was later with fibreglass and the early carbon rods. I’ve used cane for many, many years, and still use it now, and 35-40 years ago, I started collecting examples of B. James’ rods. Through the years I’ve improved the collection by getting better models, and now I think I’ve got the best examples I can find of a progression of rods. They’re nice to have, but the collection is only to do with carp and Avon rods. They are still highly collectible these days, especially the early-’50s ones, in good condition, with their maker’s bag. They regularly make upwards of £300. They ceased production in 1966, when fibreglass was taking over and the company was being restructured. RIGHT CHRIS, ITEM 10.

I guess my Carp Room is really a shrine to Redmire. There are lots of other things

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NEXT MONTH

THE BIG INTERVIEW WITH ALAN TAYLOR

PLUS Tim Paisley Simon Crow

We get an insight into the world of bigfish angler Alan who relives some of his truly hilarious adventures.

Paul Forward Darrell Peck Ben Austin re nd many mo

WIN! ONE OF THREE PAIRS OF GREYS SPOD/MARKER RODS + BAIT FROM C&G BAITS

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S A L E :

F R I D A Y

1 S T

J U L Y

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