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A great angler

Interesting topic this . Mention has been made of anglers of the like of Terry Lampard , Richard Walker , Ivan Marks , Chris Yates et al . Other comments have been made along the lines of a truly great angler is someone who consistently cathes fine specimens , helps others along the way but doesn't crow about there catches . Well certainly Walker , Yates and Lampard all wrote extensively about outstanding fish that they caught , does this diminish their greatness , old Ivan certainly wasn't shy of publicity , does that apparent immodesty maker him a lesser angler in the annals of the greats ? In my view all the above were great anglers , without their writings many of us would have struggled a lot more with our fishing , their willingness helped and inspired us all , but they did in effect tell the world about what they caught , were they crowing ? I often wonder how Richard Walker would have got on with the internet , I reckon he would have loved it , he never shied away from a good argument , many of his critics , and indeed his allies saw him as a bit of a big head .
 
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I often wonder ho Richard Walker would have got on with the internet , I reckon he wouls have loved it , he never shied away from a good argument , many of his critics , and indeed his allies saw him as a bit of a big head
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Mike, so are you suggeting that Walker's post on the 'carpfishingworld' new record thread may have read something like this back in 1980 (if the internet had been in existence):

"That's never over 50lb!";)
 
we got a candidate right here on bfw, Dick, a real likeable geezer who catches fish where there shouldnt be many, :)
 
Mark Anderson said:
Hi men ,

Mike , he would have loved it , and he would not still be using wooden rods ! :D


Hatter
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I think he would Mark , and yes he would probably have a right laugh at us throwbacks still fishing with sticks . Walker was a true innovator , helping to develop the first carbon rods was only one of his involvements at the cutting edge of angling technology . I think he would be flattered that there was a still a very healthy market for cane rods with his endorsment on them .
 
Anthony Pearson said:
Mike, so are you suggeting that Walker's post on the 'carpfishingworld' new record thread may have read something like this back in 1980 (if the internet had been in existence):

"That's never over 50lb!";)
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Haven't looked at the thread Anthony , but good old Dick was a bit prone to over estimating the size of fish , claiming to have clocked 8lb Perch and 20 lb Barbel , bless him .:D
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
Interesting topic this . Mention has been made of anglers of the like of Terry Lampard , Richard Walker , Ivan Marks , Chris Yates et al . Other comments have been made along the lines of a truly great angler is someone who consistently cathes fine specimens , helps others along the way but doesn't crow about there catches . Well certainly Walker , Yates and Lampard all wrote extensively about outstanding fish that they caught , does this diminish their greatness , old Ivan certainly wasn't shy of publicity , does that apparent immodesty maker him a lesser angler in the annals of the greats ? In my view all the above were great anglers , without their writings many of us would have struggled a lot more with our fishing , their willingness helped and inspired us all , but they did in effect tell the world about what they caught , were they crowing ? I often wonder how Richard Walker would have got on with the internet , I reckon he would have loved it , he never shied away from a good argument , many of his critics , and indeed his allies saw him as a bit of a big head .
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Much as I admired the man hugely Mike, he proved himself to be a big head by giving his record carp (Clarissa) to London zoo, to be displayed in their aquarium...so that everyone could see how clever he was. However, he was a true 'great', so I think we can forgive him for that :)

Cheers, Dave.
 
David Gauntlett said:
Much as I admired the man hugely Mike, he proved himself to be a big head by giving his record carp (Clarissa) to London zoo, to be displayed in their aquarium...so that everyone could see how clever he was. However, he was a true 'great', so I think we can forgive him for that :)

Cheers, Dave.
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Yes , the ultimate publicity stunt that one Dave . . The size of the fish was so amazing I think many would not have believed it unless they saw it in the flesh , bit like a few folks on this forum today ! The capture of that fish alone caused a seismic shift in the angling world , and convinced many that given application and skill anyone can catch a monster specimen , it wasn't that many years previous to Clarissa's capture that fishing for carp was seen as a waste of time as they were impossible to catch , they often only got a fleeting reference in angling books in the early decades of the 2oth century
 
Mike. And we also tend to forget that at about the same time the majority of anglers thought barbel were also pretty uncatchable and only a few diehards bothered trying for them.

Probably 99percent of anglers thought 5lb line was tow rope.

I think this partly explains the fact that salmon anglers were among early record holders.

Graham
 
My wife's Great Uncle, Bob Richards was one of the first people to put the potential of Redmire on the map and seriously target Carp there......
Sadly, my Father in Law has little in the way of memorabilia about him and holds no real Interest in fishing !!!

What defines a great angler is open to opinion and debate, as has been said earlier !!!
 
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Mike Hodgkiss said:
Yes , the ultimate publicity stunt that one Dave . . The size of the fish was so amazing I think many would not have believed it unless they saw it in the flesh , bit like a few folks on this forum today ! The capture of that fish alone caused a seismic shift in the angling world , and convinced many that given application and skill anyone can catch a monster specimen , it wasn't that many years previous to Clarissa's capture that fishing for carp was seen as a waste of time as they were impossible to catch , they often only got a fleeting reference in angling books in the early decades of the 2oth century
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Agreed, Mike and Graham.

Walker was recognised by many as the greatest allrounder of his time...he was the specimen anglers angler...a true legend in his own lifetime. He was a highly intelligent man, university educated and an engineer by profession. When he and his merry band started fishing for carp by design, there was virtually NO suitable equipment available....nothing :eek: On top of that, there were NO books on the subject, and most certainly NO glossy mags to give word by word instructions on what rod, reel, line, rig and bait to use for any given situation...and NO pointers to the best swim on the best lakes that held the biggest carp. When Walker and co started out, you literally designed and built your own tackle, or modified what little there was available to make it work. You made your own bait from scratch out of stuff gleaned from animal feed suppliers, pet shops and corner store foodstuffs, because there were NO bait suppliers or even stockists of ingredients...there weren't even any supermarkets...nothing! Of course boilies did not come on to the scene until much later...the stuff they used was far more basic....but it worked! To top it off, there were NO recognised carp fisheries...simply because nobody fished for them, as they were considered uncatchable. There were in fact relatively few lakes that held any carp, and even fewer that contained big ones. If you wanted carp, you fished what few waters there were that were known to hold one or two, and then you traveled the country with maps, chasing rumours.

When the fish were found and fishing started in earnest, Walkers brain and engineering background both proved very useful in solving many of the numerous problems that arose in this groundbreaking effort he and his pals had embarked upon. It eventually lead to him inventing numerous items we now take for granted, including the Electronic bite alarm, the original split cane carp rods, the dynamically shaped Arlesey Bomb...and he even played a big part in the designing of the first carbon fibre rods. For me though, astonishing as those things were, there was one thing that Walker invented that topped the lot....and that was carp fishing itself, literally. He then added the icing to the cake by catching his long standing British record carp....at a time when nobody had a clue that fish of that size even existed, let alone how to catch one. Add that lot up and you get one hell of an angler and man. He was not a saint...but in my book he was a man unparalleled in angling ability and vision. That is why he is MY idea of the greatest of them all. Just my opinion.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
I think he would Mark , and yes he would probably have a right laugh at us throwbacks still fishing with sticks . Walker was a true innovator , helping to develop the first carbon rods was only one of his involvements at the cutting edge of angling technology . I think he would be flattered that there was a still a very healthy market for cane rods with his endorsment on them .
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Don't know whether its urban ledged or not, he told Yates to grow beans up the Mk IV he caught Clarissa on after Yates paid a small fortune for it at auction.

Incidentally the reason Clarissa ended up in the zoo was as he fully intended to claim the record, the alternative ending for Clarissa was a bang on the head.
 
also as an added bonus nobody else could catch the current record carp at that time, not being picky but we all know how careful the man considered things;)
and i am certainly not trying to stain his character or the greatness of his catch:)
 
Great angler

Great angler ... Well certainly he will have great water craft skills, and location depending on what species he fishing for ,also he would have put time and effort on feeding patterns, and fine turning his rigs, and his catches if he wishes to share, messi may be voted the greatest player on earth,but hasn't won a World Cup medal , so define (great) ......
 
QUOTE, also as an added bonus nobody else could catch the current record carp at that time, not being picky but we all know how careful the man considered things.
A true great angler Richard Walker, at the time Redmire held a number of fish bigger than the 44lb record fish.The main reason was the survival of the fish,not to avoid a recapture record.In those days there were no recapture records they were all killed. I seem to remember a story,Shortly after capturing the record carp Walker netted a mid 50 lb mirror that had grounded itself and kept pretty quiet about it.
 
Whenever the subject of Richard Walker crops up on this forum,one person always springs to mind.I would love to think he's still walking up and down the banks of the Hampshire Avon looking for those Barbel.:)

Jason
 
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