Do you have a spare £1499 ?

[Duckett]

I have a lot of respect for what Dick Walker achieved and how in particular he raised the national interest with his 44lb Carp! I think that this rod represents good value as it looks little used!

I’m becoming increasingly concerned that, without ever realising it, Dick Walker cut the first turf in the grave of angling.

OK, so this week moronic carp obsessives with not one scintilla of angling craft have been driving me to distraction whilst I have been trying to enjoy a week of quiet angling for anything but mud pigs!

Phil

I agree with some of what you say, but I think that Dick Walker inspired a generation of carp anglers that advanced the pursuit of carp. They experimented as he did with baits, presentation and rigs, Some of these later carp anglers became icons themselves, but the spin off has been many fisheries heavily stocked with carp, with anglers with not much idea but masses of tackle!

All very true. In my calmer moments I can accept that. On the plus side, it was partly the idiots that led to my taking up ‘pin and cane.

Phil

[Lea Dweller]

That is a big plus!

[PershoreHarrier]

I think you are right Ted (LD). I fished for Carp in the late 1960s through the 70s and into the 80s and to say the least it was very hard going especially early on. It was the best part of 15 years before I caught one from a BAA water but what joy. The problem became more clear with the opening of the commercial type fishery which have waters that are 4 feet deep with no hazards and 5 feet deep of Carp. It is a shame really as much of the magic has gone but it is popular with many so I suppose I should not criticise. It is all too easy though when I see folk with rods that have a 3lb test curve - reels with 20lb line and a bait boat that not only delivers bait to the spot you want but also takes your terminal tackle to the same spot so you don't even need to cast.

Dick Walker's writings in AT and his books inspired me as a teenager and frankly they still do although I have read them all dozens of times but things have moved on and sadly some not for the better. The fact that Carp are referred to by some as mud pigs is such a shame - in my youth they were considered to be the ultimate in terms of fresh water fish so much so that a friend of mine and I rode our bicycles some 40 miles to see a 4lb Common Carp caught by a friend of ours from the Warwickshire Avon and taken home and slipped into his garden pond.

£1,500 for a rod seems to some at least not a lot of money these days - didn't someone pay £8,000 for a reel a few weeks ago? The sad thing is very little of this tackle gets used and whilst one can marvel at the skill of the person who made such wonderous items did they make them to see them spend a life in a glass cabinet?

[Lea Dweller]

I am sure that the development of fisheries which are heavily stocked with carp, has contributed greatly to the problem that we now have. I recently took my two Grandsons (28 & 26) to a commercial fishery and together with my Son showed them the basics of fishing for carp. Within four hours they had both caught a number of carp up to 14lb! I was pleased for them, but it was just so easy! I am concerned that they will think that this is the norm and be disappointed when they go to a water that is more difficult!

[Dave Burr]

When Walker caught his 44 there were already carp obsessive anglers pitting their wits against a noble opponent. In the years that followed, many more men and a few women, were to discover that despite the folk lore around the carp, they were indeed catchable. The rest is history.

The negativity around carp is driven purely by market forces and society instilling a reduced attention span into our easily distracted brains. Patience seems to be a thing of the past and there's always somebody willing to take your cash to lay it on a plate, not just in fishing but in everything. Yes, a complete novice can catch in many still waters but the same applies to all species. As a kid, the rod was put down and you waited seemingly forever for interest in many of the pools I fished. Nowadays so many seem 'better'/over stocked. But the skilled angler always has an edge over the novice.

I hear reference to Mud Pigs for carp, River Pigs for barbel and all sorts of slurs against bream - I've used them many times about the bream myself. But I still enjoy fishing for bream and catching them when they are my target as opposed to them nicking bait intended for others. Barbel can be easy to catch but also they can be as cute as you like. As for carp, they don't choose when or where they are going to be born and possibly later stocked. Man uses them as a convenience but they'd all like to be living in a 1940's Redmire rather than a muddy hole in the ground. They all deserve respect so please, no more pig references, it reflects more about you than the fish.

[Duckett]

When Walker caught his 44 there were already carp obsessive anglers pitting their wits against a noble opponent. In the years that followed, many more men and a few women, were to discover that despite the folk lore around the carp, they were indeed catchable. The rest is history.

The negativity around carp is driven purely by market forces and society instilling a reduced attention span into our easily distracted brains. Patience seems to be a thing of the past and there's always somebody willing to take your cash to lay it on a plate, not just in fishing but in everything. Yes, a complete novice can catch in many still waters but the same applies to all species. As a kid, the rod was put down and you waited seemingly forever for interest in many of the pools I fished. Nowadays so many seem 'better'/over stocked. But the skilled angler always has an edge over the novice.

I hear reference to Mud Pigs for carp, River Pigs for barbel and all sorts of slurs against bream - I've used them many times about the bream myself. But I still enjoy fishing for bream and catching them when they are my target as opposed to them nicking bait intended for others. Barbel can be easy to catch but also they can be as cute as you like. As for carp, they don't choose when or where they are going to be born and possibly later stocked. Man uses them as a convenience but they'd all like to be living in a 1940's Redmire rather than a muddy hole in the ground. They all deserve respect so please, no more pig references, it reflects more about you than the fish.

Not for the first time Dave I have to disagree with you regarding modern carp catching. If my reference to mud pigs says more to you about me than modern carp catching, then so be it. Please don’t let that stop you challenging me but it won’t stop me saying it as I see it.

For the record, I love fishing for the wonderful Bream!

Phil

[Dave Burr]

When Walker caught his 44 there were already carp obsessive anglers pitting their wits against a noble opponent. In the years that followed, many more men and a few women, were to discover that despite the folk lore around the carp, they were indeed catchable. The rest is history.

The negativity around carp is driven purely by market forces and society instilling a reduced attention span into our easily distracted brains. Patience seems to be a thing of the past and there's always somebody willing to take your cash to lay it on a plate, not just in fishing but in everything. Yes, a complete novice can catch in many still waters but the same applies to all species. As a kid, the rod was put down and you waited seemingly forever for interest in many of the pools I fished. Nowadays so many seem 'better'/over stocked. But the skilled angler always has an edge over the novice.

I hear reference to Mud Pigs for carp, River Pigs for barbel and all sorts of slurs against bream - I've used them many times about the bream myself. But I still enjoy fishing for bream and catching them when they are my target as opposed to them nicking bait intended for others. Barbel can be easy to catch but also they can be as cute as you like. As for carp, they don't choose when or where they are going to be born and possibly later stocked. Man uses them as a convenience but they'd all like to be living in a 1940's Redmire rather than a muddy hole in the ground. They all deserve respect so please, no more pig references, it reflects more about you than the fish.

Not for the first time Dave I have to disagree with you regarding modern carp catching. If my reference to mud pigs says more to you about me than modern carp catching, then so be it. Please don’t let that stop you challenging me but it won’t stop me saying it as I see it.

For the record, I love fishing for the wonderful Bream!

Phil

Fair enough Phil, it's just one of those things that irks me. When someone catches loads of silver fish on the float, and let's face it, they are not exactly Mensa material, it's celebrated as a great day's sport. There are some weird prejudices in the angling world. But have a look at PershoreHarrier's face as he poses with his 20lb "Mud Pig" and look at the pleasure he has taken from the event. It's the anglers that have ruined much of fishing and what we feel it should stand for, not the fish.

But I won't fall out over it - I just have a habit of voicing my opinion.... you may have noticed that

[Santiago]

Personally, I don't like the idea of fishing for carp in commercial settings that I know are over stocked. When I was a teenager I fished a local pond that was a mixed fishery with mainly carp, crucians and tench, and a few big chub. It was great fun, and none of the carp went over 6lb. That was back in the late seventies before the advent of the over stocked waters. Moving forward a few years saw another local day ticket water become a carp syndicate and a big change in stocking with hundreds of carp, and what was a great balanced fishery was ruined. Then I moved to London for work and a year or so later in the mid eightees the latter lake, where I learnt to fish, became a holiday lakeside cabin carp commercial. Sometimes, they say its best never to go back to your childhood haunts. Needless to say, I've never been back!

Regardless, fishing has changed immensely since the mid eightees for many reasons, towards carp fishing. Predominantly, I think this has been pushed by the trade. Whether or not one thinks this has benifited angling depends on one's perspective, but I don't think it helps this debate to view fishing through rose tinted glasses. Basically, it's changed and moaning about it will not do much good.

Sadly, fishing is in decline, again for many reasons like the advent of computer games etc! So to my point, the only tackle shop to have survived in my local town has done so because it sells mainly carp gear. The four other shops where one could by match rods etc, and a bit of fly fishing stuff, closed several years ago, mainly because of the switch to carp fishing and Internet selling, such is the decline in our sport. But at least there's still one tackle shop still open. The owner has to make a living so one has to acknowledge his right to sell tackle that will sell, namely modern carp stuff. Not that I buy any. But he does sell maggots! If he closed I would have to breed my own!

Ultimately, its a personal choice where and how one fishes and I don't think it helps by slagging off one camp over another. We all know what carp commercials are like, and most of us have a similar view. However, ironically, the choice of fishing for other species like roach and bream, by a circuitous route, is now largely dependent on the carp tackle trade, as illustrated in my local town. Should that decline, we'll all be a breeding our own maggots! Otherwise, our only hope is that the tackle trade swings back to general coarse fishing. Fat chance!

[Duckett]

When Walker caught his 44 there were already carp obsessive anglers pitting their wits against a noble opponent. In the years that followed, many more men and a few women, were to discover that despite the folk lore around the carp, they were indeed catchable. The rest is history.

The negativity around carp is driven purely by market forces and society instilling a reduced attention span into our easily distracted brains. Patience seems to be a thing of the past and there's always somebody willing to take your cash to lay it on a plate, not just in fishing but in everything. Yes, a complete novice can catch in many still waters but the same applies to all species. As a kid, the rod was put down and you waited seemingly forever for interest in many of the pools I fished. Nowadays so many seem 'better'/over stocked. But the skilled angler always has an edge over the novice.

I hear reference to Mud Pigs for carp, River Pigs for barbel and all sorts of slurs against bream - I've used them many times about the bream myself. But I still enjoy fishing for bream and catching them when they are my target as opposed to them nicking bait intended for others. Barbel can be easy to catch but also they can be as cute as you like. As for carp, they don't choose when or where they are going to be born and possibly later stocked. Man uses them as a convenience but they'd all like to be living in a 1940's Redmire rather than a muddy hole in the ground. They all deserve respect so please, no more pig references, it reflects more about you than the fish.

Not for the first time Dave I have to disagree with you regarding modern carp catching. If my reference to mud pigs says more to you about me than modern carp catching, then so be it. Please don’t let that stop you challenging me but it won’t stop me saying it as I see it.

For the record, I love fishing for the wonderful Bream!

Phil

Fair enough Phil, it's just one of those things that irks me. When someone catches loads of silver fish on the float, and let's face it, they are not exactly Mensa material, it's celebrated as a great day's sport. There are some weird prejudices in the angling world. But have a look at PershoreHarrier's face as he poses with his 20lb "Mud Pig" and look at the pleasure he has taken from the event. It's the anglers that have ruined much of fishing and what we feel it should stand for, not the fish.

But I won't fall out over it - I just have a habit of voicing my opinion.... you may have noticed that

I suspect you and I share the voicing my opinion gene Dave

There are a few photographs out in the ether of me smiling over what some on this site taught me are feral, or even in one case wild, carp. I’m seriously considering getting them registered as a separate species! However, I have to be honest and say I was fishing for something else at the time!

Despite my experience of the last week, I have seen one improvement this past 18 months. Against the flood of clubs putting Carp in every available water, one club of which I am a member has removed all Carp from 3 of its ponds in order to introduce Crucian to 2 and save the Crucian stocks in another. For balance Bream, Tench and some Roach have been added.

Look forward to crossing keyboards with you again!

[Dave Burr]

Waters returned to mixed fisheries - music to my ears. Alas the only waters receiving aid to put up otter fences are carp fisheries. Crazy ennit.