The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Carp fishing books are constantly being published.Surely there's nothing new to be said.35 kilo's of bait bla bla bla,my favourite takeaway bla bla bla,suddenly had a take on my 4th rod bla bla bla.............I have been a carp angler,I still have 'all the gear' but the modern carp scene is tedious,fuelled by some big ego's and contaminated with product placement..........The best carp book ever written and will never be surpassed is Quest For Carp by Jack Hilton.My carp fishing enthusiasm disappeared almost overnight when in 2000 I stalked a 31lb mirror,surface caught from Savay.I thought to myself that my carp fishing would never get any better than that event.Now,I like a comfy seat and a pretty float or quivertip to stare at...

Hear,hear to the above.There are however,some very good carp anglers who buck the trend and actually think for themselves,Terry Hearn being one of them.
This has all been said before but it's so sad these days that so many young beginners jump straight into the deep end and fish for Carp from the off instead of serving an "apprenticeship".
I have spoken to modern Carp anglers and many have never even heard of Dick Walker or Redmire!
No wonder many well known Carp anglers have become disillusioned with the current scene and switched to other species.
Modern Barbel fishing is also going the same way unfortunately.

I prefer George Sharman's 'Carp and the Carp Angler' myself, and have all of Jim Gibbinson's carp books, but agree with the sentiment Russell.

I showed one of my own antenna floats to a young carper (A good carper too) at our lake..........."What's it for ?".........I was speechless.
This is only a suggestion................All young carp anglers should have these words emblazoned on their foreheads..........DICK WALKER-REDMIRE....No,not with ink...............with a branding iron

There does seem to be quite a glut of carp fishing books in recent years and although I've not read them all, I doubt many would inspire me. From what I can tell (from those I have read, and from reviews of those I haven't), many seem to follow a rather tired format - the same places, the same 'target fish', the same worn-out cliches. That said, they seem to sell pretty well so somebody is enjoying them, which I suppose is a good thing.
Leaving aside the 'how-to', instructional material, readers were quite lucky in the past in that some of the most prominent carp anglers were also good writers - either through literary talent or simply the ability to engage readers. We had people like Walker, BB and Yates in the first category, Hilton, Hutchinson and more recently, Dave Lane and Terry Hearn in the second. Lately it seems, we are not so blessed. The most successful or high-profile anglers still produce the most books but the content is nowhere near as engaging, nor is the style. In fact, some of the best angling writers of today are very far from high-profile.

JAA wrote: ↑Mon Mar 28, 2022 10:01 pm I prefer George Sharman's 'Carp and the Carp Angler' myself, and have all of Jim Gibbinson's carp books, but agree with the sentiment Russell.

Carp and the Carp Angler, definitely my favourite book too. George Sharman really put thought and effort into his fishing and inspired many to do the same.

Wal.

I think we were (mostly) all fishing for carp in the early days when there was mystery . It stopped for me on Darenth in the 80s when prior to weighing a fish, I was told by someone watching, its weight and the previous two captors.

And the current TV programmes where anything under 25lb is not worthy of the weigh sling are a candidate for a quick channel change.

The early Rod Hutchinson books are my favourites, he avoids covering too much of the " social" side of the full time carp fishers!

I think the post above explains my loss of interest in 'big carp' fishing.

Added to that was the meeting, as a fishery rep/bailiff, of many of the anglers, some articulate - a few not. With some books written by 'ghost writers' as the angler(s) was/were illiterate!

Many bending or breaking the Fishery Rules. In one instance the whole lake was baited with one particular flavour not a bag full but several sackfulls. Other anglers left as they were not catching - the lake left dormant except for one angler - he who put the boilies in! After a week on the lake not fishing just 'camping' he started fishing and became the most successful angler on that lake ever! Not real fishing - but due to the captures became 'famous' - still is as the books are still selling - but - well I dont know what to call it really!

Not my idea of angling!

Quest for Carp was the book that started me carping in the 70's... yes there have been some dire tomes about the subject, also some superb ones... Terry Hearn for example, whilst not a prolific writer, does produce some superbly written photographed and illustrated books, Rod Hutchinson also did some good ones...
Keith Jenkins Semi-autobiographical books The Myth and The Keeper are well worth a read
But whilst I'm here, please lets not forget that many of us still fish for carp with varying levels of traditionalism

This was me on tuesday till thursday last week...

Sharpes 9'3&6" mated to Abu77 Cardinals, yes the alarms are modern in the interests of fish safety but the rigs were stock 1oz running leads to that new fangled hair rig baited with maize... suffice it to say I never had a touch, yet I thoroughly enjoyed every minute...

A Modern Traditional setup!