Northern Carp School
At the end of July the very first Northern Carp School was held at the very pretty
Newbridge Lakes, near Hull. Event organiser Steve Blow told Carp-Talk: “The aim of
the event was to teach a selection of youngsters some of the finer points in carp
fishing as well as raising money to help my nephew Elliott and his family with the
ridiculous cost of the disability aids he requires after suffering meningitis. Mid
afternoon Saturday we took a break from the fishing and had the pleasure of watching
Tim Wagner from Dynamite and Trevor Child from CC Moore in a casting demonstration.
There are too many companies to thank to go into full detail but the following all
supported the event with some very generous donations: La Fonte, Lake Heritage, DreamLakes,
Fat Catz & Fine Carp, Mid Kent Fisheries, Linear Fisheries, Rob Hales at The Monument,
Dave Moore, Selby 3 Lakes, Wyreside Lakes, Cobbleacre Lakes, Greys, Trakker, Aqua
Products, Nash Tackle, Newfields Bait Supplies, Sticky Baits, Bait & Feed Company,
CC Moores, Dynamite Baits, Korda, Chips4Carp, Sutton Fields Tavern, Hull and last
but not least Pink Kipper Publishing. This event could not have gone ahead without
a lot of hard work from several people. Personally I need to thank Adam Snowden,
Steve Carrie (aka 'Lil steve') and my better half Lizzy. The teachers were fantastic
throughout with every kid loving the event. Myself, Iain (Ting Tong) Macmillan, Neil
Smith, Tim Wagner, Adam Snowden, Ian Elsworth, Trevor Child, Jason Trought, John
Reynolds & Mark Hogg taught them everything we possibly could. I know already that
one or two of the kids have gone and beat their pb’s already only days after fishing
in the event. Lastly, I'm delighted to say that Elliott has recently been able to
go to a special physiotherapist in London as a direct result of the £2500 that we
raised and this will help him in his rehabilitation to regain the use of his limbs.”
Golden competition 2007
A 24-hour carp competition titled Golden Boll***s 2007 will be taking place at Hawkhurst
Fish Farm in Hastings during the dates of 16th-17th September. A total of 25 anglers
will be taking part, all aiming to raise money for Cancer research UK. The minimum
entry fee is £100, with the winner receiving the GB trophy for the overall heaviest
weight of fish. Prizes are also available for first, second and third, plus a heaviest
fish prize. For more information, contact C. Cale on 07707495967 or Nick Norton on
01580 753322.
Charity carp competition at Nickolls Leisure
A charity carp match is being held at Nickolls Leisure carp fishery, Hythe, Kent,
during the weekend 14th-16th September. Event organiser Andy Underwood revealed:
“All proceeds are going to the Dreams Come True charity for a terminally ill child
who we wish to send on holiday with his parents. We have 40 anglers fishing the match
and plenty of visitors coming along so proceeds should be very good.” Anyone interested
in attending should contact Andy on 07745516113.
Kent carp anglers raise money for disabled kids
August saw 13 Kent carp anglers organise a sponsored charity fishing competition
at a South East day-ticket carp fishery. The event was in aid of the Mid Kent Portage,
which is the South East division of the National Portage Association, and also Cobtree
Mencap Children’s Centre, Maidstone.
The 13 anglers competed to be crowned Harriet’s Big Fish-In 2007 winner. The competition
was a close match with the majority of anglers catching carp and catfish ranging
from 20-34lb. First place and the trophy was presented to Mark Lindsel of Maidstone
who caught a winning mirror carp of 35¼lb.
The anglers with the help of local businesses also held a raffle for a selection
of prizes donated by well known fishing companies and was topped by a French fishing
holiday for five. With the generosity of the sponsors and the fishing, the event
managed to raise over £4000 for these two children’s charities.
The organisers would like to thanks the sponsors including: Lac Unique, Bill’s Lake,
Angling Lines Holidays, Ace Baits, Kent Particles, Catcher Baits, Theseus Carp, Rod
& Line Angling Centre, Anglers Base, Maidstone Angling Centre and Monk Lakes for
their generosity of prizes donated.
Carp Deaths
The Environment Agency is investigating the unusually high number of carp mortalities
that are being reported this year. Environment Agency Fisheries Advisor Nigel Hewlett
said: “Overall, we have seen fewer carp mortalities in 2007 than in previous years.
However, an unusually high number in August and September have been investigated
by the Environment Agency’s Fish Health, Ageing and Species Team based at Brampton.
We have seen large carp dying in a number of waters in the Midlands and Thames regions.
As well as investigating individual cases, we are gathering information that allows
us to look for common causes. However, our investigations have so far revealed a
number of possible factors, either acting alone or in combination. We have not detected
a single common cause. Unfortunately, we are aware that not all cases have been reported.
It is very important fishery owners report problems to us. Our investigations can
help prevent future problems and help us study the wider picture of losses to find
trends and common causes. All of the cases we investigate receive the same prompt
and high standard of examination. This not only provides samples for examination
but also gives the fisheries owners the opportunity to review fisheries management
practices and reduce or prevent future losses.”
We all like a bargain and as most anglers are aware, much of the incredibly cheap
tackle is cheap for the simple reason it’s manufactured in China – often with competing
UK brands deriving from the same Chinese factory! As many have pondered in the past,
there are real concerns about how the industry (both in China and the UK) can sustain
the present setup. A local tackle shop once sold a rod for £200 and took a 30% profit
- let’s say £70. They now sells a better rod for £80 and that 30% profit would now
give £26. And the chances are they won’t get 30% anymore because unless they get
their prices similar to those advertised on Ebay it’ll sit on the shelf. You can
easily see how ever cheaper tackle would drive down the shop owner’s wage at the
end of the week, so we end up with fewer tackle shops were we can buy maggots and
personally check out tackle before we buy. Well, if you were one of the sharper tackle
dealers you might have seen the writing on the wall and moved into mail order. But
mail order is no longer the panacea of survival it once was. Badger International,
who were big time ‘box shifters’ and sourced a lot of their own products direct from
China, have now gone belly up - which won’t be good news for their creditors.
And can China continue to produce these goods at ridiculously cheap prices? It can’t
just be because of low labour costs.
At the moment the tackle trade is reasonably buoyant - but last year it went through
a bit of a rough period with many predicting dire consequences. As long as the anglers
keep spending then closures of tackle shops and mail order companies will remain
the exception rather than the rule, but if interest rates continue to rise and the
general public tighten their belts then we could see some real problems.
