Unnessecary carp gear??

[davidP]

The way my fishing has been at times I've often thought bait was totally unneccessary

[Wordbender]

Woodzzz:

Yes but that's a drastic measure!

 

Last resort sorta thing

 

I field test PVA as well so no problems in that department

What - sorting 50 PVA bags? And drying the hemp, corn, parti-blend etc. before filling them? C'moooon Woodzzz, even you GOTS to admit that this is spod territory, mate!

 

Just another carp-tool, Woodzy, and a veeery handy one at that.

 

Terry

[Vagabond]

RobStubbs:

As for camo gear it just makes me laugh. A mate has 'cammo'd' his water bottle and bait bucket

One of my mates has camouflaged his wallet - he can never find it when its his round :mad:

[peter mccue]

Woodzzz,

 

I didn't see the reference to pressure.

 

But consider this, the amount of Carp in lakes those days were a fraction of the populations we have now.

 

The tackle available was wholly inadequate to start with & had to be developed as they went on.

 

For the main part they were dealing with (virgin) Carp that survived quite happily on natural food due to low stocking densities, always a tough Carp to catch no matter what era you're in.

 

No simple covenient boilie orientated Carp to fish for, bait choice was a real problem.

 

Then you think about the rigs they had!!!

(Gawd bless you Mr Middleton & ******** )

 

Lastly, check out their catch rates, compared to modern carpers, abysmal.

 

Even with the increased pressure, Carp fishing has never been easier.

 

I'm a huge fan of Chris Yates so we're in accord there.

 

I'm genuinely interested in those authors you consider to be Walkers equal, providing we're talking on the instructional front. As I mentioned I am an avid reader & would love to read their books.

[poledark]

Having been lucky enough to have fished for "virgin" carp back in the early fifties I can tell you that they were easier to catch.

Biggest problem was finding them, and even when you did find them there were probably only a few of any decent size. This is where I was also lucky(?) enough to be able to see the ongoing effect of how quickly they learn to avoid baits and anglers (when feeding). Anyone starting out on a water that has been fished for more than a couple of seasons will be fishing for carp that are well clued up.

 

Bite alarms were designed to alert the angler to a pickup, remember we fished without hair rigs and had to strike the hook home or miss the fish, and for that reason alone they were a fine idea.

Very few modern carp anglers have ever seen a twitch bite, let alone struck at one, but that became the norm on most waters if you bottom fished, surface fishing you could see the number of times that your bait was inspected and refused.

 

Chris Yates.....I love his writings, but I am sure, that at that time, he only used old tackle because he was so hard up that he couldn't afford to buy up to date tackle.

 

There will always be misunderstandings between the younger anglers and some of us old timers, but he simple fact is that we used the most modern tackle we could get, and if we couldn't buy it we made it ourselves, how many of you made your own landing net?,not just buying a bit of netting and putting it on a frame, I mean actually getting a needle and weaving your own?

 

I remember the search for the platinum coated GPO relay contacts, the ones that did not corrode when they got wet.

 

Catching a couple of carp from a lake that only held 6 very old and wise specimens, on Bemax. Seemed obvious then... fish like bread.... fish scared of bread.....so try something with a bit more "bready" stuff in it! I remember having a conversation with a young Fred Wilton at Horton Kirby, and mentioning this, saying that "all animals recognise bread as food, so there must be something in it that they like" A few days later he came to me with a bait he had made up, it smelt very yeasty........and that was the start of the special bait era, which is still going today.

 

Therein lies the difference between us old timers and the younger newcomers, we were stuck with our old ideas on bait, but Fred took it to the next level, in the same way that Middleton took rigs forward,using lead weights and exposing the hook.

 

If I have any doubts about modern carp anglers it is in the area of baits, so many of them do not have a clue as to why they are using them, and I will say it again, if you take away the hair rig then almost no carp would be caught from pressured big fish waters. (I do not include heavily stocked ponds and reservoirs)

 

I also think that a well equipped carp angler, with all the latest gear is nice to see, it does compensate for the low catch rate that they have to endure, why should they have to suffer with the brollies and blankets that we started with.

 

Den

[carpking]

here here, Well put Den

[peter mccue]

Den,

 

Great post, thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

 

I think I'm probably the next generation on from you...the rapidly approaching old timers!!

 

I too have fished for virgin Carp & once you had located them & educated them to the bait you were using, they were easier for a short while, however, I assess difficulty on an overall basis.

 

Loved the story of you & Fred Wilton..what a memory.

 

Couldn't agree more about the hair rig, probably the most important singular factor in the catching of Carp & subsequently the popularity of modern Carp fishing.

 

I think it was Voltaire who said "If I can see further than anybody else, it's because I stand on the shoulder of giants" The struggles of Dens old timers provided the platform for the modern day heroes. Easier fishing..I can't believe that.

[Vagabond]

Good post Den Your account of Bemax reminds me of a favourite surface bait I used to use.

 

My grandmother used to make dog biscuits for their lurcher (called "Link" - short for Lincolnshire Poacher) by soaking stale crusts in a bit of gravy and baking them in the kitchen range.

 

The dog loved them, and so did carp. Nowadays I just buy a packet of Chum mixers.....

[Steve Burke]

peter mccue:

I think it was Voltaire who said "If I can see further than anybody else, it's because I stand on the shoulder of giants" The struggles of Dens old timers provided the platform for the modern day heroes. Easier fishing..I can't believe that.

Not Voltaire, but Issac Newton in an attempt at conciliation in a letter to his arch rival, Robert Hooke.

 

However, I certainly agree with the rest of the paragraph.

 

As to Dick Walker, younger anglers must remember he was way, way ahead of his time. He more than anyone was responsible for the revolution in carp and specimen fishing.

 

Walker truly was a giant, and later anglers do indeed stand on his shoulders.

[carpking]

gentlemen arn't we getting off the original post a little bit? :confused: :confused: