"Perhaps it would be better to "freeze" the era in the 80s so we could have the hair!" . . . Do you mean on our heads or the hair rig ?
why do you think 95% of us wear a hat whilst fishing?
I have decided to fish one of my carp waters just with centrepin or on the fly- just to make captures more challenging and difficult- next stage with "modern" carping is a firm offering a casting out service- if you can buy the complete setup with bait and rigs with no personal input- getting it in the water seems the only "skill"left
i am finding it difficult to resist the temptation to launch a tirade of scorn upon the modern carp magazine,for they are surely a major contribution in the popularity of carp fishing as it is known today.I preffered it when there were less carp anglers about and carp were more respected as a species,they appear to be seen now more as a means to an end for many ie,a way to win a match or a reason to get your photo in one such magazine.As acarp angler of 30 years,i find myself reluctant to describe myself as such as it seems to be a bit tainted now to me as certain practices which were hitherto frowned upon are becoming normal,catch fish at any cost is widespread now.
SparrowHawk, I agree. I make a point of no longer buying any carp magazines. I have also written to a couple of the editors complaining about the rubbish they publish, one even replied ! These magazines are, in my opinion, the main driver for the deterioration in carp fishing standards.
Sounds like a reasonable idea though. But I would hope the contributors would be able to write, nice concise appealing articles that are interesting and inspirational. Some fishing mags, especially one called 'P--- and P-------' that a friend of mine buys, and I flick through whilst drinking tea around his place, is full a complete waffle; and one would need hours and hours to read through and sieve out the usefull bits. Far too many glossy photographs and far too little meaningfull text! Sadly, (in my opinion) far too many contributors to modern day fishing mags, although they might be very good at fishing, are pretty inept at writing about it in an interesting and inspiring manner! And whilst reading them I end up being bored about a hobby I love!
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"
What's P..and P... stand for. I can't think of any? Perch and Pike? Oh, Pike and Predators - just looked it up, never heard of it before.
Apart from Waterlog, I rarely buy any of the others, especially the coarse mags which seem the worst of the lot (though sea fishing ones are in the same boat - geddit). Most are of the instructional kind - loads of pictures of fish and grinning geezers with nets of fish and long poles sticking up all over the place, a few brief snippets of text. Then the carp ones are full of interminable articles that drone on and on and on, and pics of blokes holding unfeasibly fat fish. And why have they all got "total" in the title?
Fly fishing ones are generally better but also very samey in their content. But none of them has much I would say is an enjoyable read - one or two pieces from time to time. It's just that few fishermen are good writers.
The American magazines are a little different, though only of any interest to fly anglers over here I think. But even they tend to have too long articles, and many of them are the short-sentence, kick-ass kind - "I got me my rod and hit the river ass first."
There is only Waterlog as far as I can see, and clearly not everyone here likes that one. I have my reservations too, though possibly for different reasons.
you certainly wont find anything new in any carp mags,they've been recycling the same old guff for yonks and are nothing more than vehicles to advertise products,even the articles are adverts in most mags.A couple of sayings:-theres nothing new in fishing and theres no rules in fishing!
Good evening gentlemen , my opinion is that there is now big money to be made in carp angling i.e. tackle, permits etc . most new to carp fishing now start out with all the new gear and can go to venues where they stand a good chance of catching a very large carp straight off using all the new rigs and baits . you cannot blame them for that .But a lot of them burn out and pack up . All the good carp anglers of my age have started from the bottom having to work it out themselves , a lot of them are still at it now . They are because it is their passion in life . Regards . Woolly Bear .
The problem with carp fishing, and indeed carp magazines these days is that there seems to be little in the progression of the sport for the good.
I remember when Maddocks and Middletons 'hair' took it by storm. I remember Maddocks' and Taylor's Chantecoq antics. Names like Savay, Longfield., Yately and Wraysbury seemed distant and only for them in the know. Carp fishing was the ultra cult.
Carpworld had stuff you'd never heard of before within it's pages.
What it also had was great writers, I remember Jim Gibbinsons Line Aligner articles. Later our very own Shaun Harrison made people think with his articles on bait re-hydration, and other excellent thought provoking articles.
Alas, these days it seems that the majority are imitators, not innovators. Same old, same old. I've yet to see have of the new crop inspire me in a way the previous era's writers did. It's not easy today, the pioneering has been done.
There is one carp magazine that shines still, Big Carp, produced by another old school thinking angler Rob Maylin.
The methods described within the pages aren't what we would call traditional, but it's attitude is old school.
Of course, a magazine needs advertising to be profitable. At the end of the day we all have to make a living and the industry needs to reach the masses, though the new vehicle is increasingly the internet.
Don't tar all carp anglers with the same brush though, many care greatly for the sporting ethos, we are afterall, all brothers of the angle.
