Fishing with Chris Yates in 2014 (eBay auction)

[Gary Bills]

For me, Walkers approach was that of an engineer, a problem solver, he liked the challenge of using design to overcome the odds, he was at the forefront of angling technology at the time, the MKIV & he designed one of the first bite alarms.
I dont think he was a "traditionalist", his methods at the time were cutting edge, new ideas & theories about tackle, bait & fishing methods, which he tested & improved over the years.
Chris Yates as an angler cant really be compared to Walker (& I dont really like to compare them) Chris's fishing is more of a lifestyle choice.
He is a better writer of fishing stories than Walker but they are/were both great ambassadors for angling in their own way.

I agree, Northern Eel.

[The Old Buffer]

For me, Walkers approach was that of an engineer, a problem solver, he liked the challenge of using design to overcome the odds, he was at the forefront of angling technology at the time, the MKIV & he designed one of the first bite alarms.
I dont think he was a "traditionalist", his methods at the time were cutting edge, new ideas & theories about tackle, bait & fishing methods, which he tested & improved over the years.
Chris Yates as an angler cant really be compared to Walker (& I dont really like to compare them) Chris's fishing is more of a lifestyle choice.
He is a better writer of fishing stories than Walker but they are/were both great ambassadors for angling in their own way.

I agree, Northern Eel.

I second that!

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Indeed, I compare Chris Yates more to Bernard Venables, and possibly quite the opposite to Richard Walker.

[Gary Bills]

All true, SK -but I still think we must say - no Walker, no Hilton etc, and probably no Yates as a carp fishing legend.

[Gary Bills]

All true, SK -but I still think we must say - no Walker, no Hilton etc, and probably no Yates as a carp fishing legend.

After all, who made the rod that Yates used for the Bishop?
Walker was no traditionalist, certainly - taking off for Farnborough asap, to look at carbon fibre etc.
Before then....only time has added enchantment and poetry to the adventures of the CCC. To most anglers of the Fifties, they must have come across as anglers from a different planet - Planet Walker!
However, while I think I would feel comfortable in Yates' presence, to meet Walker would have had me nervous in the extreme, at least initially, because I do think he was a "one off", - indeed, The Carp Fishing Godfather himself!

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Ah, but he would have made you feel at ease from the off with a "Watcha Cocker"

[GarryProcter]

Or perhaps even "L.O. Mycock"

[The Sweetcorn Kid]

Indeed...

I think it was Len Arbury who said the first time he spoke to Dick on the phone he was petrified, this was Dick Walker!!! His wife answered and said, "Len, its Dick Walker".

Trembling Len answered the phone expecting to be star struck when Dick calmly said something along the lines of "Watcha Cock". After that Len felt as though the pair had known eachother for years, such was Dick's way.

[GregF]

However, I'd think his image masks his real achievements, to some extent. After all, he was one of the great pioneers of particle bait theory, and this led to remarkable success at Redmire, of course. The young Yates looked like a hippy and he fished with ambition. He was a world away from the tweed-wearing Kelly-kettle wearing chap we see on APFA: and this early Yates was the Yates who caught the Pot of Gold and the The Bishop. I would like to meet Yates and yes, talk about fishing, naturally; but I would also like to talk about poetry with him - a shared passion. His politics would be interesting too. I understand that his parents were communists.. All I'm saying is, we have a fixed image of Yates that somewhat resembles Kevin the Scarecrow, and this perhaps obscures the real man - a far more interesting figure, in my opinion.

Spot on, FB.

[Julian]

If I had not watched APFA back in 1996 I more than likely would have stopped fishing a year or so later.

If it was not for APFA and being introduced to Chris Yates on the screen we would not be having this discussion gentlemen because the TFF would not exist.

A sort of similar scenario for me.
I had stopped fishing for around ten years but it was watching a couple of the repeated episodes of APFA for the first time round about 2002 that was the driving force to make me start angling again, and in particular Chris Yates who greatly inspired me through that programme and also from reading most of his books. Without that it is also highly unlikely I would have taken up a traditional style of carp fishing or started to have an interest in vintage tackle.