The one that landed Clarissa

[Jardine]

I refer you to page 88 of "The Carp Godfather" - in the Walker article called "My Best Carp Rod" ..
Walker writes: "I still have the original MK IV. It is still as straight and steely as ever after landing carp of 22lb 12oz, 31lb 4oz (which was the 34lb fish - he lied to Bob Richards and said it was 'only' the weight of his former record carp of 31lb 4oz), and 44lb...
We now know that the 34lb carp fell to the Mk III....
As I say, what does all this mean? Where is the evidence pointing?

I was told by a friend that knew Dick Walker that he (Walker) lied to Bob Richards about the weight of the carp because he didn't want to upset him by beating his 31lb 4 oz record fish a second time ( the first time was Ravioli). I think that Bob Richards may have been present at the time of the capture of the 34lb fish..
So this was a lovely and kindly gesture on Dicks part. Can you think of any modern day angler who has done this?
And human memory isn't always perfect and it is quite normal to have variations in the same story told by any one angler, ie there are several versions of the same story, told by the same angler over a period of time.
Best regards
Jardine

[Gary Bills]

Yes, it was the kindly gesture of a fine sportsman - I do agree...

[Nobby]

If that was true it was a very thoughtful thing to do.

I'm not sure I see RW as 'a kindly man', he certainly liked an argument in the angling press, even going to so far as to write letters to the editor of a magazine he even had a column in and he wasn't averse to using the column to have a dig at others either. Yet he is famous for replying to so many letters and he does appear to have given away an awful lot of tackle over the years.

What I can't figure out is this; if RW was having to buy in blanks to make rods for his pals, why was he fishing with one of these on the 13th. September '52? Why not use one of the rods he had built for himself from the Allcock's cane? Yet he appears to have written that it was a rod he built that took the record fish and he appears to have written to J.B.Walker that he caught the record fish with a rod built from their cane. Both statements can't be true, can they?

It may simply be the meaning of the words 'made' or 'built'. He may have used the words to imply making a rod up with cork handle and rings onto a bought-in blank and he may have used the words another time intending to mean that he built the rod from the culm up. In the letter to J.B.Walker he doesn't specifically mention their cane, just " materials" supplied by them being used in the rods that had accounted for a number of big fish including the record breaker.

[Santiago]

If Walker liked the MKIII more than the MKIV why didn't he promote and market that version instead of the MKIV?? To a rational mind it would appear he must of preferred the MkIV and in all probability caught Ravioli on a MkIV built with JB Walker cane. If he caught Ravioli with a MKIII then why lie about it? Clearly if he had used a MKIII on that evening, then he would just have stated that in writing after the capture and gone on to promote and market that version instead. I suspect that this is one of several flaws in this conspiracy theory! Something fishy about this one!

[Gary Bills]

The MK IV was already being developed and marketed by B James by September 1952, the MK III, which is a more complicated double-built design, and heavier, was not. Now, what would you say, in Walker's position - that you caught the fish on a special, complicated carp rod which no one can actually buy, or that you caught the fish on a rod that anyone can now buy?
Remember, Walker's aim was to popularize carp fishing. That's my reasoning. I might be wrong.

[Paul D]

The MK IV was already being developed and marketed by B James by September 1952, the MK III, which is a more complicated double-built design, and heavier, was not. Now, what would you say, in Walker's position - that you caught the fish on a special, complicated carp rod which no one can actually buy, or that you caught the fish on a rod that anyone can now buy?
Remember, Walker's aim was to popularize carp fishing. That's my reasoning. I might be wrong.

That's my thinking Gary, oh I do love a conspiracy

[Nobby]

Well, maybe the reason that the fish got 'weeded' was because he was using a Mk.IV and not the Mk.III ?

[JohnN]

I may be wrong but I've always thought that the Mk4 was the "double built" design, though perhaps double buil and "double taper" refer to different designs?

[Santiago]

But the MKIV he claimed to catch Ravioli on was marketed by JB Walker and not B.James. If it was a purely marketing ploy and a fib, then why didn't Walker claim he used the B.James version. I imagine B.James were actually quite annoyed with Walker because some of their customers would have been attracted away to buying JB Walker's kit version. Seriously, if he fibbed as a marketing ploy to increase B.James sales then why would he write to JB Walker endorsing their product with the capture of Ravioli? With no endorsement for the B.James version?

[Jardine]

How many MK III rods were built?