Carp and the Carp Angler, George Sharmaan

[Mark]

I must get my copy out.

[SeanM]

Wow! I missed out on this book as by the time it was published I'd got a bit fed up of carp fishers and turned my sights to chub and pike.

[Olly]

Published in 1980 - with contributions by Rod H, Chris Y and Fred W - the bait magic guru!

[Shaun Harrison]

George is an incredibly intelligent man who loves to dig deep, research and still be able to think totally out of the box.

He was our British Carp Study Group Scientific Officer until quite recently, a position he stepped aside from after many years due to health issues but still contributes regularly to our bi annual magazine.

I felt for George a little as his marvelous tomb of research and experimentation moving carp angling forward was an incredible book when first released but soon overshadowed by that dreaded 'Carp Fever' that was to change carp angling for ever more, turning it from a minority pastime, for let us say 'characters,' to the soulless monster it is to-day.

The fact that a lot of it was written about my local pool and my friends as well as being fortunate to catch a few fish from it's pages, I guess made it even more special for me. An incredibly advanced piece of work, but released a few years too late for the impact it should have had.

[Dave Burr]

George is an incredibly intelligent man who loves to dig deep, research and still be able to think totally out of the box.

He was our British Carp Study Group Scientific Officer until quite recently, a position he stepped aside from after many years due to health issues but still contributes regularly to our bi annual magazine.

I felt for George a little as his marvelous tomb of research and experimentation moving carp angling forward was an incredible book when first released but soon overshadowed by that dreaded 'Carp Fever' that was to change carp angling for ever more, turning it from a minority pastime, for let us say 'characters,' to the soulless monster it is to-day.

The fact that a lot of it was written about my local pool and my friends as well as being fortunate to catch a few fish from it's pages, I guess made it even more special for me. An incredibly advanced piece of work, but released a few years too late for the impact it should have had.

Spot on Shaun. I read it when I was considering a move to doing some serious carping but Carp Fever hit the shelves and it all changed. I have to say that Carp Fever both inspired and repelled me in equal amounts. I became bait focussed which put so many doubts in my mind about my baits it actually sucked my confidence almost dry. Soon it became a casting competition on my local waters with days long waits for bites - which did not fit in with my life - I refused to join the fashion and I returned to the rivers.

Doing my best to catch up now though

[Gary Bills]

I suppose the one point I'd make is that we don't really have to fish for carp one way or t 'other - we can make choices. We don't have to fish for known fish on circuit waters or on commercials were carp have been stocked big and tend to be reliant on anglers' baits. We can still fish waters where no else is fishing and we can catch fish without names - how we want to catch them. Following the edits of Carp Fever was never compulsory, after all. I think Sharman's book was the best of the Old School journey - the final destination - and how fresh it reads, and how exciting. Perhaps that does point to a division, between what Chris Yates called "the heavy industry" of the modern carp scene and "classic" carp fishing - the domain of the carp fishing purist? This thriving site is evidence enough that a lot of folks feel uneasy with the modern scene - and I suppose an obsession with Mitchells or cane can be seen both as an eccentricity and - I think - a minor form of protest. If we go down the traditional path of seeking solitude and fish without names, we are unlikely to land fish comparable to the monsters of The Monument or The Avenue, for instance; - but does that really matter so much? Last Saturday, while fishing a mere farm pond with my nephew, I managed three carp to low double figures - and nothing remarkable in that. The fish were not large even by my own low standards..! But look at the condition of this low double - one of the most gorgeous commons I've ever seen, and completely unmarked. (You'll need to use the "magnifying glass" app to bring it up...!)
http://www.carpinggnome.com/197224951

These are the sort of places I want to fish and the kind of carp I want to catch, regardless of size.

[JAA]

George is an incredibly intelligent man who loves to dig deep, research and still be able to think totally out of the box.

He was our British Carp Study Group Scientific Officer until quite recently, a position he stepped aside from after many years due to health issues but still contributes regularly to our bi annual magazine.

I felt for George a little as his marvelous tomb of research and experimentation moving carp angling forward was an incredible book when first released but soon overshadowed by that dreaded 'Carp Fever' that was to change carp angling for ever more, turning it from a minority pastime, for let us say 'characters,' to the soulless monster it is to-day.

The fact that a lot of it was written about my local pool and my friends as well as being fortunate to catch a few fish from it's pages, I guess made it even more special for me. An incredibly advanced piece of work, but released a few years too late for the impact it should have had.

Spot on Shaun. I read it when I was considering a move to doing some serious carping but Carp Fever hit the shelves and it all changed. I have to say that Carp Fever both inspired and repelled me in equal amounts. I became bait focussed which put so many doubts in my mind about my baits it actually sucked my confidence almost dry. Soon it became a casting competition on my local waters with days long waits for bites - which did not fit in with my life - I refused to join the fashion and I returned to the rivers.

Doing my best to catch up now though

Really good to hear George is still involved with carp fishing Shaun.

I think 'Carp Fever' is short on poetry, but for me it's a text book, rather than a ripping yarn. Having said that the modern carp movement only took a part of KM's message. When KM fished a spot, very often days and days of observation had preceded it and he knew carp would come by there at a particular time in particular conditions. The modern scene is heavy on 'fishing the sessions' and light on the preparation that goes forehand. Can't blame 'Carp Fever' for that.

[Dave Burr]

I suppose the one point I'd make is that we don't really have to fish for carp one way or t 'other - we can make choices. We don't have to fish for known fish on circuit waters or on commercials were carp have been stocked big and tend to be reliant on anglers' baits. We can still fish waters where no else is fishing and we can catch fish without names - how we want to catch them. Following the edits of Carp Fever was never compulsory, after all. I think Sharman's book was the best of the Old School journey - the final destination - and how fresh it reads, and how exciting. Perhaps that does point to a division, between what Chris Yates called "the heavy industry" of the modern carp scene and "classic" carp fishing - the domain of the carp fishing purist? This thriving site is evidence enough that a lot of folks feel uneasy with the modern scene - and I suppose an obsession with Mitchells or cane can be seen both as an eccentricity and - I think - a minor form of protest. If we go down the traditional path of seeking solitude and fish without names, we are unlikely to land fish comparable to the monsters of The Monument or The Avenue, for instance; - but does that really matter so much? Last Saturday, while fishing a mere farm pond with my nephew, I managed three carp to low double figures - and nothing remarkable in that. The fish were not large even by my own low standards..! But look at the condition of this low double - one of the most gorgeous commons I've ever seen, and completely unmarked. (You'll need to use the "magnifying glass" app to bring it up...!)
http://www.carpinggnome.com/197224951

These are the sort of places I want to fish and the kind of carp I want to catch, regardless of size.

I fully agree with you nowadays Gary. But back in my innocent youth, I was taken in by the immediate success of the new methods and let's face it, Maddocks was a catching machine. Despite loving the approach of Yates and Hutchinson, my local waters all bowed to the modern trend. I knew that given the time and effort I would get a few but my fishing time was so short, I just wanted my float to dip a few times when I managed to get out. I think I was actually a little scared of gaining an obsession.

I still rate one stalked from the margins to be worth ten from a distance on a hair rigged boilie though.

[Gary Bills]

I suppose the one point I'd make is that we don't really have to fish for carp one way or t 'other - we can make choices. We don't have to fish for known fish on circuit waters or on commercials were carp have been stocked big and tend to be reliant on anglers' baits. We can still fish waters where no else is fishing and we can catch fish without names - how we want to catch them. Following the edits of Carp Fever was never compulsory, after all. I think Sharman's book was the best of the Old School journey - the final destination - and how fresh it reads, and how exciting. Perhaps that does point to a division, between what Chris Yates called "the heavy industry" of the modern carp scene and "classic" carp fishing - the domain of the carp fishing purist? This thriving site is evidence enough that a lot of folks feel uneasy with the modern scene - and I suppose an obsession with Mitchells or cane can be seen both as an eccentricity and - I think - a minor form of protest. If we go down the traditional path of seeking solitude and fish without names, we are unlikely to land fish comparable to the monsters of The Monument or The Avenue, for instance; - but does that really matter so much? Last Saturday, while fishing a mere farm pond with my nephew, I managed three carp to low double figures - and nothing remarkable in that. The fish were not large even by my own low standards..! But look at the condition of this low double - one of the most gorgeous commons I've ever seen, and completely unmarked. (You'll need to use the "magnifying glass" app to bring it up...!)
http://www.carpinggnome.com/197224951

These are the sort of places I want to fish and the kind of carp I want to catch, regardless of size.

I fully agree with you nowadays Gary. But back in my innocent youth, I was taken in by the immediate success of the new methods and let's face it, Maddocks was a catching machine. Despite loving the approach of Yates and Hutchinson, my local waters all bowed to the modern trend. I knew that given the time and effort I would get a few but my fishing time was so short, I just wanted my float to dip a few times when I managed to get out. I think I was actually a little scared of gaining an obsession.

I still rate one stalked from the margins to be worth ten from a distance on a hair rigged boilie though.

Yes Dave, the arrival of Maddocks was like a storm from nowhere, wasn't it? I was a teenager at the time - happily catching singles on crust and corn from a local canal and loving the ethos of 'traditional' carp fishing, especially the mystery of it all, and this guy comes along, seemingly from nowhere, and he seems to catch fish of a lifetime every week....I suppose the little revolution repelled me also - a repulsion only countered a little by the arrival of Casting At The Sun, a few years down the line. I suppose, however, my focus on pike and tench in the 1990s was down to a feeling that the modern carp scene didn't really appeal. It took me ages to realise I could fish for carp in ways of my choosing...

[GregF]

I suppose the one point I'd make is that we don't really have to fish for carp one way or t 'other - we can make choices. We don't have to fish for known fish on circuit waters or on commercials were carp have been stocked big and tend to be reliant on anglers' baits. We can still fish waters where no else is fishing and we can catch fish without names - how we want to catch them. Following the edits of Carp Fever was never compulsory, after all. I think Sharman's book was the best of the Old School journey - the final destination - and how fresh it reads, and how exciting. Perhaps that does point to a division, between what Chris Yates called "the heavy industry" of the modern carp scene and "classic" carp fishing - the domain of the carp fishing purist? This thriving site is evidence enough that a lot of folks feel uneasy with the modern scene - and I suppose an obsession with Mitchells or cane can be seen both as an eccentricity and - I think - a minor form of protest. If we go down the traditional path of seeking solitude and fish without names, we are unlikely to land fish comparable to the monsters of The Monument or The Avenue, for instance; - but does that really matter so much? Last Saturday, while fishing a mere farm pond with my nephew, I managed three carp to low double figures - and nothing remarkable in that. The fish were not large even by my own low standards..! But look at the condition of this low double - one of the most gorgeous commons I've ever seen, and completely unmarked. (You'll need to use the "magnifying glass" app to bring it up...!)
http://www.carpinggnome.com/197224951

These are the sort of places I want to fish and the kind of carp I want to catch, regardless of size.

A great post which sums it up very well. There are indeed no rules and no need to follow the herd, whichever herd that may be.

I never bought and have never read Carp Fever. I knew enough about Maddocks from his appearances in the mainstream angling press to recognise his approach and attitude wasn’t for me, while all around my fellow carp-heads bought into it wholesale. Years later, some of his techniques inevitably found their way into my armoury but not without a great deal of filtering through the minds and words of others.

George Sharman’s book on the other hand was like a bible. I sold my original copy along with a few other bits and pieces when desperately short of funds as a student (and had stopped fishing) but bought another copy a few years back. I was pleased to find it as thought-provoking as I remembered.

Regarding monsters from the Avenue and the Monument... I'd rather fish for minnows than set foot on one of those soulless plastic hell-holes.