30 YEARS OF
THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
SEP – 2018 Issue
336 £4.75 IN THIS ISSUE: ALBERT ROMP IAN CHILLCOTT TERRY HEARN MYLES GIBSON KEVIN CLIFFORD CARPWORLD 1
MARTIN CLARKE PAUL FORWARD ED BETTERIDGE JIM WILSON LEWIS READ JULIAN CUNDIFF LOZ EAST
ROB HUGHES DAVE LANE ADAM PENNING DARRELL PECK CHRIS BALL TIM PAISLEY KEVIN NASH
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YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
‘My First Thirty’ In theme with our 30th anniversary celebration we asked some wellknown faces about the capture of their first thirty
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The 30lb 2oz common from Langmans Lake in Send, Woking in 1990
Terry Hearn
It was the summer of 1990 and with my driving test passed and the L plates whipped off my first pride and joy, an Escort 1.3 Estate, I would no longer be restricted to the closest parks and ponds reachable by bus and moped. Now the whole world was my oyster. I could drive to the back of beyond, all the way to the other side of Surrey – specifically, Langmans Lake, in Woking... I could see it was huge as it slurped down the floaters not six feet from the bank. A little bit further out were the pads, dense and thick, piled high on top of each other. The outer leaves jostled and quivered as the giant re-entered their cover, brushing against the stems. Now was my chance. A gentle underarm flick landed the free-lined double Chum hookbait mid-channel between the bank and the pads. Soon they plucked and jostled again... closer, closer, please keep coming... Suddenly there it was, breaking through into the channel, long and wide, and heading straight for my hookbait... Shaking hands, breath held, time frozen... slurp... wallop! A huge explosion, a spinning reel handle, and power like I’d never felt before. No chance of slowing it, certainly not on the tackle of yesteryear. I just prayed for the 11lb Sylcast and size 6 Drennan Super Specialist hook to hold firm. Ten yards or more disappeared from the spool, through the outer edges of the pads and beyond. The water was shallow and so seconds later I was following it, throwing the landing net ahead of me every few paces. Bit by bit the line pinged free from the pads, until, eventually, I was past them and in direct contact with the biggest carp I’d ever seen, let alone hooked. Please God, please let me land it... Whilst time froze at the moment of the take, for those last few seconds it passed in a flash. I was stuck in thick silt up to my waist in water, sun in my eyes, monster carp wallowing about beneath the tip, but somehow, into the net it went. To me, at just 18 years of age, it was a huge, and I knew it had to be the lake’s biggest common, the one all the big boys fished for. It blew me away in the water, but the impact it had once I had it on the bank was way more lasting. Thirty pounds and two ounces, from an era when 30lb commons were the fish to be dreaming of. Twenty eight years later, the buzz lives on.
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Excuse the quality of the shots. I had to photograph them whilst still in the album as I doubt they’d survive being removed, and they’re the only pics I could find
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YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
I KEVIN CLIFFORD
Redmire Memories To fish Redmire in its prime was the dream of many an ambitious carp angler. But every dream has its price and few that became bewitched managed to break away untouched or unscathed
t was inevitable that any anniversary issue of Carpworld was bound to invoke a lot of memories in me. I can remember those early days of Carpworld at Grosvenor Square, with Steve Wilde on his Apple Mac and notable anglers of the day drifting in and out of the office. There was an excitement and joie de vivre at that time that towered way above the threadbare carpets and distressed furniture that an embryonic business engendered. It was a period in my life when I felt charged with anticipation of what every new day would bring – carp fishing was still a mountainous mystery, at times seemingly unsolvable, but as young bucks we felt we were on a spectacular road of discovery. That was all a long time ago – but now locked into this memory game, one thought turns to another – especially at my age as the days when I smell the roses along the way become fewer, and I occasionally think about another use of flowers. As the perceptive Stephen Fry once remarked: “Don’t keep reminding me about my age, I’ve got my bladder to do that.” So thoughts of my youthful fishing have drifted here and there, but it was my early carping that was the natural genesis which, I guess, blossomed into those unforgettable days at Redmire. It’s always good to start at the beginning, or so they say – thus, I suppose, my first real connection with Redmire came through the British Carp Study Group. That was the first rung of the ladder in so many ways. Up until applying for membership of the Group I was just a local angler who had become a bit obsessed with carp, like a few before but so many since. Of course, I’d read about Redmire and its monsters via Walker – but the fishery was an intangible, somewhere I’d never visit and always a distant mirage. The BCSG membership saw my circle of carp fishing friends increase significantly from my insular little world and my main fishing pal Mally. The local group of allies soon included Kev Roberts, Rod Hutchinson, Bob Ford, George Sharman, Mick Brown, Pete Melbourne, John Shucksmith, Pete Evans, Trevor Moss and Rex Elgood – and various invitations were arranged that allowed me to spread my wings from my home waters at
I suppose, my first real connection with Redmire came through the British Carp Study Group. That was the first rung of the ladder in so many ways
Carp Diary During a let-up in proceedings at Dinton, due to the fish spawning, Myles sets his sights on a venue he last fished over a decade ago – with startling results! MYLES GIBSON
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YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
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A
After the session during which I caught The Unit again, a few days later the fish started spawning. The lake was closed for four weeks and, instead of using that time to fish locally and bait Black Swan, I fancied a new venture. Something was telling me to go elsewhere and have a fresh take on things, especially after spending a few seasons there. I decided to go back to a lake that I had previously fished some 10 years ago. It was a big lake, over 120-acres, with a large sailing club and a low stock of carp – somewhere in the order of 70 carp to go at. You could only fish a certain percentage of it and, with no boats allowed, it is very restricted. With all the buoys, large weedbeds, deep water and so on, it was always going to be a tough ask in the short window I’d afforded myself, but, despite this, there were a few shallow bays and areas where you would expect to find carp in the warmer months. Although I knew roughly what was in there, the big fish don’t get caught enough to really be sure. Rumours and myths of giants still did the rounds and this side of it really excited me. We had a handful of images from a few years earlier, but as with any lake like that, photos of the carp you want to see are hard to come by. However, I remember many years ago standing on the high bank at the lake and watching a few really big fish. So, in reality, I didn’t need photos to confirm their presence – I knew there were a few good ’uns present. There was also the known big mirror, which did get caught, and had been out at high 40s in the past. This was the main aim, to catch it, but anything from such a lake would be considered a result. I obtained a ticket for the lake, even though it would only be a few weeks’ worth of fishing. The plan was to fish on there until they re-opened Dinton, which gave me a month, at least. I arrived early one Sunday morning and from what I had been told, the lake had only produced eight bites during the whole of the previous season. It was never going to be easy, but that buzz and challenge, is what it is all about. The Mrs had her mum
visiting on the Saturday night, so I travelled down during the hours of darkness and arrived early hours, so that I could walk around and soak up the atmosphere. I was shocked at how busy it was, with at least 15 people. A strong wind blew into the out of bounds bank and into some of the shallow bays. By shallow, I mean really shallow, only two feet deep and you could see the bottom in the gaps in the weed. In certain places, there was a lot of the Potamogeton weed about and thick areas of it, which grew off the shallow, marginal shelf. It was hot early and with a gentle breeze pushing in, the bays looked prime. I stood there for a while, in hope that I could see something. I didn’t see anything, even after a few laps, and I eventually settled in a small bay – off a bit of a muddy track – so it was a swim, just not a popular one. I got the rods sorted on small clear spots, which took an age to find. Once everything was done, I sat back and watched, in the hope that a few fish would start pushing in. As the afternoon wore on, I started to notice the odd one popping its back out. I only had two rods out there, but one spot in particular went down with a right crack and felt perfect. It must have been no bigger than an unhooking mat and took a few casts to land on it. Each was baited with the catapult, just a few whole baits, mainly to keep things quiet and avoid the tench and bream that inhabit the lake. I was using strong line and big hooks, just in case I did hook something worthwhile. Nothing happened that night though, but as the following day went on, more and more carp turned up in the bay. I had my eyes on a 30lb common and a couple of smaller ones too – it looked so good. A few friends popped down to say hello, when, out of nowhere, the rod fished on the really small spot just burst off. There was a huge explosion in the shallow water and all hell broke loose. As far as we knew, this was the first fish hooked this year and it was a very nervy experience. A big battle followed, LEFT
A very nice welcome back present, in the shape of this 28lb 8oz common
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YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
Simply the Best –
A Fond Farewell
With the sad and untimely passing of Rod Hutchinson, Albert contacted us expressing his wish to pen a fond farewell, reminisce and share a story or two from their time on Savay together Albert Romp
I
think the words of Tina Turner’s song Simply the Best sum Rod up better than I ever could! Rod was a hero of mine, as he was for many other well-known and respected carp anglers. When I first started carp fishing, over 50 years ago, if ever carp fishing came up in conversation, you could guarantee that Rod’s name would always come up. I’m not much of a reader myself, consequently I never read many of his articles but some of my friends and acquaintances used to tell me about his ideas and theories, which I always found very interesting. I always hoped that one day I would get to meet him and many years later I was lucky enough to acquire a Savay Lake syndicate ticket, of which Rod was also a member. Rod was a hero of mine
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Can you imagine just how excited I was? Not only was I going to meet him, I was going to be fishing alongside him... Up until that point, it had just been an out of reach dream! It was during those formative syndicate years that I really got to know him and learn from him, by watching and listening to his words of wisdom. I think it was then that I realised he wasn’t just another carp angler, he was gifted, something special. For example, when he turned up at the lake, regardless of weather conditions and the direction of the wind, he would always seem to know just where the carp were – whether they were going to move and if they did, where they were going to move to! I remember one time when I turned up at Savay for a session and Rod was fishing in an area
Win R E UB E N H E ATO N Co mpe tito n
SPECIAL EDITION REUBEN HEATON CARPWORLD 30TH ANNIVERSARY SCALES
10 SETS OF LIMITED EDITION SCALES
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THE ORIGINAL SPECIMEN SCALE To celebrate our 30th anniversary we’ve teamed up with scale specialists, Reuben Heaton, to create some limited edition Carpworld scales. Reuben Heaton needs no introduction, as with over 160 years of service to the angling industry it’s no wonder they are most angler’s first choice when it comes to weighing their catches. We’ve got a feature on the history of Reuben Heaton in this issue, so be sure to check it out to find out why Reuben Heaton are the official scales used for many competitions all over the globe, and for weighing record-breaking fish.
HOW TO ENTER To be in with a chance of winning one of these mega prizes, simply answer the following question:
Question: What year was Reuben Heaton founded? A: 1757 B: 1857 C: 1957 ENTER ONLINE Head over to our website www.carpworldmagazine.com to enter The competition is open to UK and European entrants only. The 10 winners will be selected at random and will be notified within 28 days of the closing date. No cash alternative available. CARPWORLD
START DATE: 24/08/2018 37 END DATE: 18/10/2018
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YEARS OF THE ORIGINAL AND STILL THE BEST
Next Month In the October issue Julian Cundiff Jules takes a trip down memory lane, with more musings from yesteryear and the days when a curly perm was (almost) socially acceptable. Steve Briggs Steve runs the rule over Lake Balaton in Hungary, with an actionpacked stay from some lakeside accommodation on Europe’s largest natural water. Jamie Bellhouse Jamie recounts a story from his time across the Channel, fishing in comfort at a well-known holiday venue and then taking on a wild river in the same session.
Dave Lane, Kevin Nash Interview - Part 2, Darrell Peck, Ian Chillcott, Tim Paisley, Paul Forward, Loz East, Hutchy Back Along the Way - Part 2
On sale: Friday 21st September 2018 | Subscribe now to have next month’s issue delivered to your door! www.gifts4anglers.co.uk
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