Chris Yates is quite a special character. A purist and traditionalist Chris fishes old ponds for old Carp using vintage tackle and even wears old clothes!!! From the age of 5 Chris Yates has been mesmerised by Carp, among other species and lets nothing get in his way when it comes to going fishing. (Although these days he spends more time nattering than actually fishing!!!) He is noted for his eccentricity and his passion for all kinds of Angling from Perch on rivers to bass in the sea. His love of centrepin reels is strong also.
It all started for Chris when walking around the village pond at Burgh heath. He would watch the fisherman in their pursuits to catch perch and gudgeon and wanted to give it a try. Then, one day, he saw the fish of his dreams, the monster that would haunt him forever, Carp!!! They were spawning at the time but he wasn't to know that, all that mattered was that there were monsters in that mysterious pond and he wanted to make contact with them.
The early days for Chris Yates were spent with his brother Nick and some friends catching mostly perch, gudgeon and if they were really lucky, a roach. There was one end of the pond, by the tea rooms and sweeping willows where the older anglers would fish. It cost money to fish from this end so it was the adults only, and this was where they witnessed tench and some small Carp being caught.
Chris Yates and his brother Nick would also fish the river Mole for its chub, river fishing for barbel was to become another favourite of his and after he caught the record Carp his carp fishing took a bit of a back seat and barbel was his one and only true love. This is the period when he wrote the books "The Deepening pool" and "The River Prince". They would also do some rock fishing for Wrasse when their family visited the seaside on their holidays.
Chris's love for carp grew and grew into an obsession until that fateful day he was introduced to a Mr Jack Hilton, who then ran the syndicate at Redmire. Once in the syndicate the first week he fished there he was to bump into another well known Carp Angler and together they fished and became the best of buddies. The Anglers name was Rod Hutchinson. It was with Rod one day that Chris Yates, who had a tin of Sweetcorn for his lunch, decided to try a few grains on the hook. The result was staggering and they quickly visited the local shop in Ross-On-Wye and bought numerous tins. When they got back they catapulted the yellow grains all over Redmire and history was made. This is where Chris Yates gets the name The Sweetcorn Kid, Bob James called him it in A Passion for Angling. The nickname I stole!!!
Chris Yates again made Carp Angling history when on June 16th 1980 he caught a carp of 51 and a half pounds to beat Dick Walker's long standing record. Dick Walker's fish was a famous fish called Clarrissa which lived in London Zoo from 1952 when it was caught until 1970. Chris's fish was an equally famous fish having been caught by many a great angler before. The fish was called "the Bishop" and Chris was the last person to catch it.
Since the Record capture Chris Yates has appeared in many a TV programme, the most well known being the series "A Passion for Angling" It has achieved such a following it is said its the best fishing programme ever to be aired. The follow up "Caught in Time" was another masterpiece. "The Secret Carp" is another early video Chris made and is well worth looking out for, they sell fairly cheap on Ebay.
But probably the most important thing Chris Yates has done for carp Angling is the literature he has produced. Some of the finest books you'll pick up, and once you do, you won't be able to put them down. “Casting at the Sun” is almost an Autobiography telling the tale from the early days on Burgh Heath Pond up until the Record capture. Four Seasons is his personal fishing diaries from 1977 till 1981. Falling in again is a collaboration of short stories, mostly about sessions that went wrong for one reason or another. The Waterlog Years are all the columns and stories he wrote for the famous magazine "Waterlog". The Secret Carp is more fictional and elaborates on his dreams, and fishing fantasies. Shadows and Reflections is a collaboration of Carping stories by anglers of the past and the present. The Deepening pool is about his time fishing for barbel on the Hampshire Avon. The more recent books are How to Fish which is about Perch fishing on rivers and Out Of The Blue which is mostly about his Sea fishing adventures. The two of his books that I don't yet own are River Diaries and The River Prince. I will one day buy these so to complete the set. My copy of Out Of The Blue I got signed by Chris Yates when I met him at a book signing, I got him to sign the book To The Sweetcorn Kid. So its really from himself to himself!!!
