0:06

Welcome

0:06

to the Think Attackers podcast. Now if you

0:08

haven't please hit that subscribe button

0:10

so you don't miss an episode. And today,

0:12

I am delighted to be joining the studio by one of

0:14

my best mates in Angling Jimmy Armstrong,

0:17

a man who has caught an awful lot of big

0:19

carp over the years and actually someone who

0:21

has been on the podcast before, but we didn't

0:23

focus an awful lot on the

0:25

big carp side of his fishing and that is a there's

0:28

a lot to be discussed.

0:31

I think you definitely put us.

0:35

So Jimmy, thank you so much for joining us,

0:37

mate. No worries. That's always a pleasure to see you.

0:39

don't think I think you I mentioned in the last podcast,

0:42

we don't see each of that much these days.

0:44

No. We don't. I was having this conversation with

0:46

that with my wife the other day actually. It's funny how

0:49

he can be best friends not I don't think I've seen

0:51

you for Hey,

0:53

mums, Jordan. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know who to

0:55

speak enough. And and I know what you're up to.

0:58

which is mainly fishing these days, which is

1:00

great. How do you? Yeah.

1:02

Well, I know it's true. Yeah. I almost

1:04

don't believe that because you two have been like two school

1:06

kids since we're getting this room. No. But we III

1:09

think I think we must speak at

1:11

at at least every other day. You said They ring me everywhere.

1:14

That's because she never answered what I mean. So basically,

1:16

I ring me. He's my friend. I'm

1:18

not here. That's not true. No. There's

1:20

a I think that's a good image to your

1:22

friendship. What I do wanna set oh, here

1:24

we go. Yeah. So we'll come back we'll

1:27

come back thirty minute. What I do wanna set straight

1:29

though is at the out of the podcast

1:31

that you did with Simon that we that you did before,

1:35

you were set up with AAA list

1:37

of jimmyisms, and I was

1:39

unfairly blamed. Right. I think you

1:41

assumed that I'd done it. Absolutely. I

1:44

thought it was nothing to disabuse you of

1:46

the theory that art that I'd done this art. I had nothing

1:48

to do with it myself. So let's just get us through.

1:50

I apologize for the inconvenience either Garth or

1:52

Elliott. Sorry. I'll be lying there. Yeah.

1:54

No. Absolutely. We're not nothing like that this

1:56

time, but we do have this rather in in shot. And and

1:58

for those of you listening, it's it's

2:00

it's from two thousand and six, I think.

2:03

Yeah. We've been working together for about a year.

2:05

and we did our it was our maiden trip to France.

2:07

Have you been to France before at this point? No.

2:09

No. So I first joined France and we went

2:11

together and and What are you drinking there?

2:14

Well, I think that's probably frankly, I

2:16

don't know. It's not it's not the Rosie.

2:18

Is it? It's not the Rosie. It's really looks

2:20

empty. but we we've clearly prioritized

2:22

crisps, as I mentioned, source of

2:24

nutrition for the shrimp. Crisps and toast.

2:27

Go to France and buy crisps. Yeah. I do

2:29

like for Chris Lang. Well, there's a bit of Cameron Bear

2:31

in there, but this was this I mean, Toby, there

2:33

are some seriously embarrassing shots in this

2:35

in this in that photo. I lost

2:37

me. They'll find the silver. Is that

2:39

like mister tea down? You are yeah.

2:41

You're a proper chap. It has to be said in the at this

2:43

point, aren't you? Yeah. Like, where was the

2:45

inspiration? for the big the big chain

2:47

and the and the bracelets and the ring. I mean, you've

2:49

got and for a public earrings, I mean, we can't see that.

2:51

Yeah. There was. Yeah. There was an i ring. Did you have an

2:53

i ring? no. No. There was a there was a top hoop in

2:55

the earl. Probably from the backstreet

2:58

boys sort of days, mate, I think. Yeah. I mean,

3:00

again, target reference. If anyone's remotely

3:02

and they were ever clearly talking now and but

3:04

no. They were exciting times. We're not gonna

3:06

dwell on those. And we tell you

3:08

what surprises with some some

3:10

of those shots then then fine. But

3:12

we're actually I I really wanna talk about your

3:14

fishing visit. You know,

3:16

you could be you you're

3:19

so present on on like Instagram these

3:21

days. I mean, a lot of the stuff that you're talking about

3:23

is how to. It's,

3:25

you know, the kind of thing that that people who

3:27

are Instagram influenced would talk

3:29

about, but I think that misses the point -- Yeah.

3:32

-- to to a big degree because you caught some

3:34

fabulous carp. And actually, thing

3:36

I do wanna talk about from the word go -- Mhmm.

3:38

-- is the way the scene has has changed.

3:41

You know, we talk about it quite a lot and I talk about

3:43

with friends a lot. And -- Yeah. -- I

3:45

think in order to understand where you are with

3:47

with your big carp fishing, we need to understand

3:49

your influences. Yeah. So where

3:51

do you get Or where did you get

3:54

this idea that a certain type of

3:56

carp was interesting to you? Books,

3:59

they did the probably a

4:01

lot of people's favorite books, you know, you you teary

4:03

hands of this world already's books. Obviously,

4:06

you probably looked at the pictures. I think that

4:08

the bipoli couldn't read at the time. No. No.

4:10

Yeah. I obviously read some of these books.

4:12

I had a huge influence, as you know,

4:14

a very old school carp Wrangler who

4:17

isn't with us anymore, Ken. Do remember Burnside

4:19

Castle do? Yeah. So he

4:21

he was a huge influence of my angling from

4:23

from age of But

4:25

I don't suppose he was the one that cemented the

4:27

image of what your perfect cart was.

4:30

No. No. Probably not. In

4:32

spite, probably the light of Dave Lane, Terry

4:34

Hearne, the the the popular guys

4:36

back then -- Mhmm. -- wrote in the magazines.

4:39

Maybe even the likes of Nick Hillier -- Mhmm.

4:41

-- back back then were were guys who,

4:44

I would say, then, catching these beautiful

4:46

dark old crusty old carp and

4:48

and it's fair you have spent a lot of

4:50

time chasing that image. Absolutely.

4:53

Absolutely, mate. And and I feel

4:55

like I've I've I've caught some carp of that

4:57

pedigree. He's got along the way. How and the fascinating

4:59

thing about for all of us now who come out of

5:01

that era, you can't

5:03

find those fish. Not easily rich.

5:06

Not easy. The world has absolutely fundamentally

5:09

changed around us. Yeah. Yeah. It hasn't. And we often

5:11

have this conversation, don't we? Where are we gonna

5:13

go next? to catch them. There's not many around that

5:15

don't exist. Oh, no. We've almost

5:17

desired around as a cart world, which is

5:19

incredibly dense and rich with

5:21

Bitcoin -- More than we could ever dreamt.

5:23

Mhmm. -- and yet somehow it's

5:25

not the same. No. No.

5:27

It's really not. I'm I'm knocking up I've

5:29

got a couple of gyms still. But

5:31

yeah, they're they're not that accessible anymore,

5:33

are they? No change. How do you find?

5:35

How do you find a cart like a throwback cart

5:37

then because you have spent a lot of time looking as well

5:39

having your own Yeah. Yeah. Well,

5:42

again, you know, but for the people that that that listening,

5:44

I've I've got lists on my phone of

5:46

of fifty,

5:48

sixty, seventy lakes that I that I

5:50

just add to over the years and and they're

5:52

like my places that I'm gonna try and ever

5:54

go on. Some of them will be

5:56

finished by now because I've got lakes on there

5:58

that go back ten years that I'll put them on.

6:00

But I I liked keep

6:03

one step ahead. But at the moment, I hear about somewhere

6:05

or see a fish that I like, it'll be in

6:07

my phone. I mean, we've missed some incredible

6:09

fish, you know, and and you on your doorstep. I

6:11

can't feel like I don't know if we're allowed to say

6:13

the name, but if we can't, Toby, complete

6:15

it. But but fish like the leanies in high lane,

6:17

for instance, down the road from you and You

6:19

didn't you were Well, I I think

6:21

I I think I was five five maybe ten

6:23

years too late for that one, mate. I don't

6:25

know if you I feel like there was still the odd one make.

6:27

I think the odd we got we got

6:30

blindsided by that a bit. Yeah.

6:32

And I just I don't know whether I was would

6:34

have been at that stage to fish somewhere

6:36

like that when they were around. Mhmm. I think I

6:38

was still quite young when literally down

6:40

the road down the road range. But I I

6:42

don't know whether I was at that stage in my carp

6:44

fishing. to be able to tackle somewhere

6:46

like that at the time. I think I'd have been

6:48

fifteen years old, maybe. So so think what

6:50

we're saying is and it's the same for me.

6:53

imagery, which is what we ended up

6:55

doing largely as we'll do, is really

6:57

important in terms of inspiration. Absolutely.

7:00

Like, you know, picture of tell

7:02

with man's or laney

7:04

with, yeah, you know, or less a cluster.

7:06

I don't know. Those sort of images

7:08

are what which we were trying to recapture.

7:11

Absolutely. And it seems at times, actually, you've been

7:13

quite you know, you more than most

7:15

have been quite conscious of how

7:17

it looks at Absolutely. Yeah. I mean,

7:19

that's your memory. That's your big memory, isn't

7:21

it to to look back on? I know that they're in your

7:23

brain, but in in in in print and

7:25

and looking at those old photos, that's

7:27

that's all you've got as the memory. So

7:30

yeah, I I wanna look back fondly and think,

7:32

wow, that that fish and and and

7:34

the way you're holding it and the the

7:36

story behind it. But even what be wearing.

7:38

Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You've had to get crazy

7:40

some crazy ideas. Yeah. Absolutely. Well,

7:42

we a lot of people just wanted to mimic

7:44

that old school tell look. Didn't they? And well,

7:46

Lainie look. And that almost also that a lot

7:48

of the images that offer you fox pool there

7:50

and and around that were guys come straight off

7:52

from work. That was fine. And and I

7:54

feel like your British equities your jacket

7:56

shirts, rigor boots, and gray goggles, and a

7:58

vest. I'm not sure they had rigor boots. You are

8:00

the rigor boots, so you are the rigor boots. you

8:02

like them now? Yeah. Not any catch books anymore

8:04

though. They might they might make an appearance

8:06

again, winter maybe. Absolutely. I love a pair of

8:08

rigor boots. I'm just out I'm just out of interest,

8:11

which out of out of you, an Elliot Gray,

8:13

which one of you wore a check show at first because

8:15

he had a little go at it, didn't he wear in

8:17

his grafted jacket. Oh, no. I

8:19

was before then. Yeah. But but I don't think

8:21

however we're a vest with it. But that consciousness

8:23

about what your images look like and it and it

8:25

extended to what you look like in the image as well. Right?

8:27

It must have done. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it likes a

8:29

Bailey intern and that still take themicky to this

8:31

day. I used to wear bagger gray joggers

8:33

if they weren't as just as just as just

8:35

as gorgeous as that. Absolutely. But

8:37

I don't know how conscious I could have been if I was

8:40

wearing baggy old gray joggers with the

8:42

vest and the checkups. Well, actually, this is a really

8:44

interesting point because you you in a

8:46

way pushed against being

8:49

just the same as as people who wanted to

8:51

be tell for instance, and you wanted your own

8:53

look. Good for mix. Yeah. You did your

8:55

own thing. whether, you know, there was some disasters

8:57

going everywhere. Absolutely. But you did the

8:59

same with your fish. Yeah. But you you you've

9:01

always been very keen to never tread the same

9:03

path as as you make -- Yeah. -- for instance,

9:05

literally. You did wanna hold the same cup. Tell

9:07

me about that, about why that is.

9:09

I wanted to make my own story, my

9:11

own journey mate. You know, I I would

9:14

look at carp other people had caught your tails

9:16

and date langers. But, yeah,

9:19

III wanted to take my own pathogen.

9:21

At the time, there were plenty of old

9:23

carp to go at and I'd rather

9:25

choose my own path than than than copy

9:27

others. Mhmm. And it but it's extended

9:29

well, it certainly extended through the period when

9:31

you were just fishing for single fish. Yeah. Yeah. For

9:33

target carp, if you like. I know things have changed a

9:35

bit now. Yeah. Like, we've only got just the

9:37

waters now where there are multiple big carp,

9:39

which isn't where we started out. No. No. Not all

9:41

what we aspire to start doing anyway. We

9:43

just couldn't have imagined that there'd be so many

9:45

big carp. No. In waters, they've had

9:47

so many and they've all come to

9:49

fruition. in a in a mad kind

9:51

of way, but it means that it's all a bit diluted,

9:54

I think, for me anyway. It is. If you

9:56

can't fixate on that one. No. Not that little

9:58

family line. And we're gonna talk about some of the little

9:59

families have that you have fish for. But

10:02

but I wanna start out which

10:04

in what I think was probably your first,

10:07

you might disagree. Mhmm. And say, Dove

10:09

Cotton. What was your first serious big

10:11

cut watering? That's Lindford number one, which in

10:13

the area at the time was right. It

10:15

was the top of the tree. It wasn't Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

10:18

Limfin 1II know you're not we're

10:20

not gonna cover Dovecock, really, but

10:23

I expected to spend a lot of time

10:25

there. I used to get dropped off. My mom and

10:27

dad would drop me off there on a

10:29

Friday afternoon after school, and I'd quite often

10:31

stay there till Sunday. Didn't have a car or

10:33

anything, so I was pretty much fixed

10:35

to to a few pegs. You can actually

10:37

drive around the lake at the time. But

10:39

yeah, Lymphad one was probably the

10:41

proper first known water at the time. The time

10:43

that we've done with said the likes of like

10:45

Jason can was a fixture there. They were an

10:48

influencer. Yeah. I mean, at the time, maybe so

10:50

much Jason Cam, but Tim Hodges -- Mhmm. -- used

10:52

to work in Lynford tackle. Well, they were they were a bit

10:54

of a duo weren't there. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, they they were a

10:56

big influence. I used to go into Lynford

10:58

tackle to to to buy me bits. And I actually

11:00

remember at the time, Tim would give me,

11:02

like, three pots of origabolamas

11:04

pop ups. Do you remember them? No. Aribolages. He

11:06

was his his nickname. Well, he had

11:08

types of pop ups called origalamas. They

11:11

were amazing. Like they were like this this

11:13

fruit blend and they they would catch a lot of

11:15

coffee. He would give me like these freebies

11:17

and and and Bob's and special tiger nuts

11:19

and all that sort of stuff. And I followed

11:21

their footsteps a little bit. I saw them catching

11:23

from Lynford. Obviously, I saw pictures of Tim

11:25

and Jason with Big Fish and Lynford

11:27

one. saw pictures of the likes of

11:29

Clover, Malcolm's big originals.

11:31

I think I think

11:33

Clover might even still be going to

11:35

this day. really, really old miricap

11:37

and then I wanted to taste of

11:39

that. Pason's paint his little picture because they're quite

11:42

Malcolm's was a different looking fish. A huge

11:44

slab like a dink -- Mhmm. -- or clover.

11:46

And there were other gray mirrors in that

11:48

lake. A lot more rounded, a bit more

11:50

leathery, very very dark,

11:52

lovely round tails, real

11:55

classic looking, beautiful

11:57

artwork. Talk to me about about

11:59

what Lynford the complex was

12:01

like. Like -- Yeah. -- paint a picture for for the people

12:04

listening us to -- Yeah. -- what it what it

12:06

was like at the time. So and

12:08

me it was a mixture. They they were like seven

12:10

lakes. It wasn't like a

12:12

syndicate as such. It was like a debentures scheme. I

12:14

think it's still the same to this day, although

12:16

some of the lakes have been sold off some of the day

12:18

tickets. But back then, you joined

12:20

well, I mean, I think it was about three thousand pounds

12:23

something like that to but then when I get a twenty

12:25

five year ticket out of that, I think something like

12:27

that. No. Nine hundred ninety nine. Okay. Yeah. So you're

12:29

getting nine hundred ninety nine years, but you could sell the

12:31

ticket on. You could rent the ticket out.

12:33

Blah blah blah. I was a kid at the

12:35

time of a paper round. Here's

12:37

one of the so we just popped one up. I

12:39

mean, that that is the best

12:41

example, I think. That yeah. I mean, that was a

12:43

limphur one strain, wasn't it? So I talked about

12:45

that fish just for the people who see it. Yeah.

12:47

What a wonderful, wonderful old carp. I think

12:49

that that went I can't remember, Rich.

12:51

But it looks thirty six, isn't it? Thirty

12:53

seven's maybe, I I can't

12:55

remember. Yeah. But it was around that.

12:58

But at the time, I I was struggling on

13:00

Lifford One to begin with. Mhmm. I was a novice you

13:02

know, a novice to to to to to big carp anglia.

13:04

It was very very

13:07

weedy, like super weedy.

13:10

that was actually caught chucking

13:12

a method feeder into the

13:15

weed. So bear a bit like solid bagfishing burying

13:17

everything inside a method feeder and

13:20

launching it into into the

13:22

thick weed bed. And I got

13:24

by do. Remember distinctly you coming in after

13:26

that weekend's fishing with it -- Yeah. --

13:28

with, you know, these photos. But but

13:30

but, you know, I I someone recommended

13:32

me me to do that method. I I was a

13:34

head bang I'd start with for me. Yep. I mean, what I

13:36

wanna say about that fish is, right,

13:38

to some people that might

13:40

look like a plain mirror that you see, you

13:42

know, fairly widespread. But for me,

13:44

it's anything but that No. You know, like a

13:46

fish that you might classes, I don't

13:48

know, a simo, let's say. Yeah.

13:50

Nothing like No. Thirty one point

13:52

one point five. Oh, thirty one. Okay. I I did it. Must

13:54

be because I'm holding it out like a rocket. But that is

13:56

that that is I don't know if that's like a

13:58

I don't know the history of those fish, but

14:01

those Ouz Valley

14:03

mirrors. Yeah. There were a few that like, and Clover

14:05

was like an year ago. Exactly, Richard.

14:07

Exactly that. I mean, I would love to

14:09

fish for carp like that right now. Yeah. I'd love

14:11

to go back and and be in that sort of

14:13

era. I there aren't many of them left in

14:15

there now. So on on on Lynford one,

14:17

despite your success there, I feel like

14:19

Lynford one, it didn't

14:21

get markedly easier for you why did You started a

14:23

hard graph together. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. It's

14:25

actually cool. I I mean, I I think

14:27

it was the stage in my angling, Rich.

14:30

Obviously, don't know how many years it

14:32

is later now, but I feel

14:34

like if it was me going back there now

14:36

with the knowledge I've got, I I feel like I would I

14:38

would better it now. Of course, you would Of

14:40

course, it would. But but at least then, it was yeah.

14:42

Yeah. We were obviously It's those experiences that, you

14:44

know, that was probably the weirdest lake you'd

14:46

ever fish. Yeah. By a long way. Yeah. Yeah.

14:48

Yeah. After the surface. But And actually,

14:51

there are throughout your fishing

14:53

at a one lake that we're not gonna talk about --

14:55

Mhmm. -- it should've put Brendan. Mhmm. I

14:57

can't feel like you fish in the weed there too. Like

14:59

So these themes keep goes back. Absolutely. Yeah.

15:01

But but I went when I went to Brendan,

15:03

I I had the confidence to do that knowing I've

15:05

done it in the past and and Yeah.

15:07

You you got a fish where they they wanna be. How

15:10

quickly did did the tactics that you

15:12

would use? Because you, you know,

15:14

you haven't Apart apart from those

15:16

early years at DHL, you haven't chopped and changed

15:18

too much. No. No. How quickly did those

15:20

tactics start to emerge? the the stuff you're

15:22

gonna end up hanging your hat on that

15:24

fluorocarbon rig. Yeah. How

15:26

quickly was that actually gonna come in together?

15:29

because I think it wasn't for quite a few years

15:31

after Lynn thing. No. No. Probably, no.

15:33

I I think the the magazine helped

15:36

mold my thoughts and

15:38

processes on rigs and stuff into

15:40

No. And

15:42

that that you you don't there there there is no

15:44

one rig or anything like that. We went out with

15:46

so many anglers then. We had them penning,

15:48

Laney, Ian Russell. They

15:50

all used something different, and it would

15:52

be very easy. And and I did to

15:54

start with to you Lai Lane, he's just

15:56

caught one on that week. I'm gonna I'm gonna use that

15:58

this week. penning. Look at that. That's a wonderful

16:00

looking really. Look at that. That's really cool. We're gonna

16:02

try that. But quickly, III came

16:04

to know that that that they all

16:06

do the same thing pretty much me.

16:08

And and I I came up with, yeah, with

16:10

joy music. Joy music. I I

16:12

just came up with something that worked for me and so

16:14

that you don't use And actually, that that rig

16:16

that we sort of laughing, they called Johnny's rig,

16:18

because it was the way that Dave Levy would pronounce. Yeah.

16:20

It was. Yeah. So that was an

16:22

effective a simple rig but an effective rig. So tell

16:24

us a little bit about that and where and how that

16:26

fitted with your angle at that point? Really, it was

16:28

just it was just a blowback rig with a split

16:30

shot on it -- Mhmm. -- on, like, to to to

16:32

to to be below the bait. Right?

16:34

Yeah. Yeah. It was just all it was doing was balancing

16:36

a pop up out on the hair to

16:38

make it a washer. It's just a blowback

16:40

rig with a with a washer on it really.

16:42

And this was probably a phase

16:44

when I feel like you hadn't settled on a --

16:46

Yeah. -- target. What you we we were all

16:48

fishing around a lot because of the nature of the

16:50

job, features. Yeah. We were we were a one week

16:52

I'll be away of Neil Smith, an ex-up movie in

16:54

Russell. So I might be of Neil Smith up

16:56

on I don't know. He didn't name me in

16:58

Northern Water. Neil Smith Fish's

17:00

You went to Worthington Lake. Worthington Lake. So

17:03

I might be there one week, but I'd fish next to

17:05

him. And then the next week, I'll interview

17:07

him Russell one. on Oxley's. And then at

17:09

the next week, I might do a bit my own fishing, so

17:11

we're flitting about so much only at the

17:13

time. But but that rig was well,

17:15

I I think even before that, you were quite keen

17:17

and we both were on that sort of the sort of curve

17:19

shank presentations. And that's it. We're simple

17:21

and we used it in the b mainly

17:23

the BCACs. Yeah. Yeah. We did.

17:25

strip that braid, it's simple to tie --

17:28

Yep. -- play that back. Slow that ring. No. You

17:30

wouldn't bother with the stick these days. At least do you

17:32

stick simply? But they worked in there. Yeah.

17:34

I so well. I I

17:36

last year sorry. Would it be in this no. In

17:38

the spring this year, I started using PVA

17:40

sticks again with a straight bottom bait and

17:42

it worked wonders. I think that is the thing

17:44

that I mean, I don't wanna crash this

17:46

podcast in in terms of what I was

17:48

doing, but we did a lot

17:50

together and because we fished around a lot. That those kind

17:52

of presentations, you could

17:54

take them anywhere. Absolutely. It felt

17:57

anywhere. And and we did

17:59

do okay in the BCACs.

18:01

I mean, it's hopes you've got some BCAC

18:03

pictures. Like, we did alright one

18:05

year. We did. I think we offered to the final. Didn't

18:07

we? We did. Frankly,

18:09

like, we're so far off the fish in the final.

18:11

We may as well have gone home. I I think that's why we never

18:13

did it again. Right? Probably. got

18:15

into the final, got a bum drawer, and we may as we

18:17

sat into it in our arms doing, I remember one night we were

18:19

just looking up at the stars talking apps

18:22

I do remember that. Do you remember? We we yes. It was a

18:24

sort of there you go. So that that's

18:27

She still had the she still

18:29

had the bling on. Yeah. There's

18:31

been it will be a few years. And and you still got those

18:33

bits, those at the bracelets. Yeah. You just

18:36

what now, probably sold them for millions. They're

18:38

worth a lot more. And not

18:41

Yeah. Look, there we are celebrating the fact we're semi. Is

18:43

that a willen? Is that a willen? Yeah.

18:45

Yeah. Obviously, a lake I feel like you shouldn't even really

18:47

be in that photo, Richard. Are

18:49

we Why why why is that Richard?

18:51

Well, because you because you just slept

18:53

through everything. You pretty much qualified us for

18:55

this for that for

18:58

Luckily, you came good at chillin. So

19:00

Richard, for some reason, that

19:02

in that semifinal, was

19:05

very tired. I was growing at that

19:07

stage. His alarms were going off

19:09

constantly with green, and he wouldn't

19:11

get up. And we'd we'd agree -- Wouldn't get

19:13

up? -- we'd agree that we're gonna spot every

19:15

two hours. So I ended up

19:17

spotting, reeling in brim on his

19:19

rods, casting mine out, casting his

19:21

back out. But I remember

19:23

getting quite angry one night and trying to

19:25

pull you, but you're obviously a big lump like

19:27

if you you ain't getting out if you don't want to. If

19:29

you remember the practice that we did

19:31

with those ground bait. We

19:33

we've gone we've gone a couple of weeks previous thinking.

19:35

Right? We're gonna be really clever. We're going over

19:37

the ground bait. which obviously would have been a disaster given the storm in

19:39

the lake. It was me casting the ball, wasn't it?

19:41

You placing them into the pulp. That's it. But

19:43

when they were exploding in the yard and they were

19:45

rolling out and then you just you just

19:48

smashed a sling. We got nothing in it. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah.

19:50

But then we we that this is all

19:52

around the sort of those curves shank --

19:54

Yeah. -- side hooks and Yeah. And

19:56

the the simple it was sticks. It

19:58

was all sticks on the sticks. It's a blank

20:01

to be honest, I think we'd been quite influenced

20:03

by the quarter -- Yeah. -- way at that

20:06

point of you know, that that that the corn pellet hemp --

20:08

Mhmm. -- with a bit of a whittle down job

20:10

over the top of it. With a stick on the end. Yeah. I

20:12

mean, look impact, we were obviously influenced

20:14

by what we were seeing in in

20:16

the match side of I mean, it's fair to say

20:18

call it at that point in the Investor Day. time in

20:20

Dan and Damon would probably do it at that time.

20:23

Yeah. They you'd like Chris and Steve and -- Yeah.

20:25

-- Steve on the web sort of revolution. Yeah.

20:27

Yeah. Yeah. Didn't they catch carp?

20:29

Tell me what a method. why

20:31

have we changed? Aren't there

20:33

a catch now? Well, I think we've changed

20:35

I mean, you ended up with two rigs.

20:38

I don't want to get sidetracked by the name of it, but you

20:40

had your fluorocarbon rig -- Yep. --

20:42

and you had a hinge. Yeah. A few more memory there were

20:44

the two things that you would Yeah. And and

20:47

yeah, we'll talk maybe a bit about hook Sharpen and stuff because it

20:49

it bears -- Yeah. -- that was a big like It

20:51

bears talking about the fact that you were probably

20:54

like you would I feel nice. I did

20:56

very poorly, and you were Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, you it

20:58

came from Jason -- Absolutely. -- who was

21:00

a big influence at the time. He came from

21:02

there. Okay. So that's That was

21:04

in a qualifier, wasn't it? Yeah. That's I

21:06

think you're qualified at Chile. We

21:08

came second,

21:09

didn't we? No.

21:10

I think

21:13

I think on paper. On paper, we came second,

21:16

but actually, we probably came third. But Because

21:18

even if you could talk a second, we're we're really angry

21:20

with us. It didn't matter for us. three

21:22

was qualification. Why were they angry with you?

21:24

Because because they felt they'd come

21:26

second. Yeah. And they felt they knew they'd come

21:28

second. And I we thought we'd conferred.

21:31

Yeah. But the the official results were,

21:33

like, we gave some second.

21:35

There's no money at stake. There's no, you know, the And

21:37

it's top three qualified. Yeah. And we all qualified.

21:39

There was nothing at stake, but I think they were just

21:41

pretty angry that that that that Sam and Marshall's

21:43

got it wrong. We we reached you, sir.

21:45

Don't know. Yeah. so sorry, mate. Yeah. I've done

21:47

a lot. But but this was another

21:50

another good thing. So this is the BCAC --

21:52

Mhmm. -- qualifier chiller mill --

21:54

Yeah. -- which is, you know, think

21:56

to to, of course Tuff any of that. And you, we've

21:58

been we've been pretty happy. Yes. To have caught on

22:00

a session -- Yeah. -- that we'd fish. To call that four

22:02

or five, did we? Yeah. You fit

22:05

yep. remember you, mate, fishing. I know I had a little puppy about

22:07

Whelan because you were a big lazy dove.

22:09

But on this one, I remember but

22:11

I was in, like, the oh, my god. I'm

22:13

so sorry. Which I fancied about

22:16

that. And you fished off the side and I

22:18

didn't I wouldn't have fancied that, but you were casted. I

22:20

remember to a tiny little gravel patch

22:22

by the and do you remember? And that did a few

22:24

fish, didn't it? It did. A few fish on

22:26

a on a picture that won't you won't ever

22:28

leave me alone because you won't ever.

22:30

I stopped showing Hey, love this movie. Toby somewhere where

22:32

we had some we had some like some

22:34

roadies, some groupies with us. Amazing.

22:37

Toby, thank you. give me two seconds.

22:39

I've already seen it. It's dreadfully exposed.

22:42

Amazing. thinking. No. Because it was a

22:44

quick snap. I didn't want it to But you

22:46

know, they're all was incorrect. But somehow,

22:48

obviously, there you go. Look at this. I'm not sure if

22:50

that's the same. It is the same car. Amazing.

22:52

Right. So these these guys I'll

22:54

say, guys, girls came

22:56

And they didn't speak a word of English. They just came

22:58

and sat in Richard's swim by his boat land.

23:00

And had a picture in the b b -- Yeah. -- BCAC

23:03

qualifier. Yeah. Big blanket down on

23:05

the floor just sat down and and started

23:07

having a

23:07

picnic. No. We

23:09

we laughed. We loved it. It was brilliant when it was

23:11

a lot of chill. Did they stay for? Oh,

23:14

how makes us long enough. Isn't it in the whole

23:16

swim? Like, just just buy Richard's

23:18

alarms. Clearly, I had a bike during that, and you

23:20

did? They're they're picnic, but and they were

23:22

probably fascinated. But There we

23:24

go. Amazing. I love that I love

23:26

that picture, mate. Can we can we

23:28

we're gonna divert back to to Linford because

23:30

I wanna finish that bit before we get

23:33

entirely sidetracked by the BCAC, which ultimately we didn't win.

23:35

So what are the things

23:37

that you learned at Lynford? And

23:39

and did it get any better than that thirty one

23:41

and a half you go at Lynford. I

23:45

think

23:47

yeah. Yes. I

23:49

had I had a

23:50

few fish in the winter, but that wasn't

23:53

actually from the inferred one that was on the other lake,

23:55

Rockla, which was also on the inferred complex.

23:57

Mhmm. They had they had more than one a decent

23:59

lake there. Yeah. Rockla,

24:01

I had I had a couple of the bigens out of Rockla.

24:03

Again, they would have been low to mid thirties at

24:05

the time. There was always a bit of tree around

24:07

like Black Horse and and Red House and that that were

24:09

Well, the the big one was arboretum. Right.

24:12

Not in terms of size, but that was like the big

24:14

mystery lake. Do you know what, mate? I I

24:16

wish I could go back again and go and fish

24:18

arboretz, and that had a a

24:20

handful of mid thirties in it, but

24:22

they were old Lynford Fish.

24:24

And I think it's been filled in now,

24:26

but it's like this small little pond, maybe

24:28

like Ashley pool Lily's

24:31

everywhere, the most beautiful little place. But

24:33

again, III just thought it'd be too

24:35

granite for me at the time. So I

24:37

didn't do it. But go

24:39

back there now and have that. I'd I'd love

24:41

to I'd love to go back in time and have a go there,

24:43

Rich. Yeah. We had some dreadful trips to

24:45

Park Farm, didn't we? Yeah. dragging

24:48

strips. Yeah. When when I couldn't I couldn't hit the

24:50

spot on the Javelin, I'm a rod into the raids because I

24:52

don't know if she's probably too much for me.

24:54

Yeah. I remember. But

24:56

the or a a really reliable winter

24:59

water park farm wasn't it? Brilliant. I remember

25:01

going to park farm two a few times

25:03

in fishing. into the reeds of

25:05

you. That's right. They lift. That's what I mean. Yeah.

25:07

Those trips. Yeah. Yeah. Brilliant. Great

25:09

fishing. Super super

25:11

complex. Yeah. Yeah. And and one that you don't

25:13

hear about anymore and and barely was

25:15

talked about then. We're we're in a weird way because of the

25:17

debentures system presumably, you couldn't just drop

25:19

on and No. But you could rent a

25:21

ticket. I rented a ticket for a year, which is

25:23

like four hundred quid or something. You can still

25:25

do that now. But what

25:27

is interesting about that period for

25:29

me is you went on to be really successful. As

25:31

a as a a guy who caught the big

25:33

ones that he was after, you didn't catch

25:35

him out of Lynford one, but

25:37

some stage between that and probably your next

25:40

thing, some it's clicked into gear.

25:42

Yeah.

25:42

My

25:44

thing, I feel I think my

25:46

my love for fishing and my I

25:49

started doing time, Rich. At at the

25:51

time, don't think I'd have had a girlfriend at the time.

25:53

Or even if I did, I I just

25:55

went, Rich, That would have

25:57

been I'm trying to think whether Lynford one

25:59

would have been in my magazine to watch when

26:01

you you came in with those pictures

26:03

to to DHP. came in with those.

26:05

No. No. You've caught those fish at the

26:08

weekend. Ryan, and Mark Holmes was was claiming

26:10

credit for having steered you onto the the

26:12

maintenance. So we Yeah. III

26:14

think the I think just before I may

26:16

well have been responsible for I don't know. Yeah. No.

26:18

Yeah. No. He was. I I think just

26:20

before DHPI I started going

26:22

into turbo mode for carp fishing as in living,

26:24

breathing, and spending every single minute.

26:26

I can thinking about it going.

26:30

Yeah. After Lynford won well,

26:32

I think we're gonna say it's Erchester. Right?

26:34

That was that's a different

26:37

league. to Limford one. Yeah.

26:39

That was a proper when we started a

26:41

DHP -- Yeah. -- if you were in

26:43

that sort of North Hampshire area -- Yeah. -- that was

26:45

top of the tree that we could get that we could

26:47

access. I think I'd seen some again,

26:49

there was no social media back then. So it was

26:51

all in the magazines and and and talking

26:54

to people. saw Tony make piece. Do you remember Tony? Yeah. Of course.

26:56

With with some cracking fish. And

26:58

I think it might have been Tony that got

27:00

me a ticket on there.

27:03

talk to me about what about what Erchester

27:06

was then?

27:06

Yeah. So Erchester was

27:11

a very very windswept, Nen

27:13

Valley water. Yeah. I I wouldn't call it the

27:15

most beautiful place in the world. It was a

27:17

it was a Nen Valley water.

27:21

very windswept, very cold at

27:23

times and a

27:25

huge step for me. There were three or three or four,

27:27

like, there. I think the four lakes there, the

27:29

car park, which was the

27:31

granite lake, the big lake, which

27:33

was hard, but catchable,

27:35

an easier one called the Island lake. and

27:37

then the prison lake, which was fairly unknown at

27:39

the time. But there were some

27:42

very good anglers that fish that lake back

27:44

then. And it it

27:46

was a big step, but it was a step that I

27:48

wanted to take, see if I could achieve

27:50

something there. But it's fair to say you weren't

27:52

short on confidence when you landed up at Erchester.

27:54

No. No. And

27:57

I think that might have been although,

28:00

it was probably a bit bit

28:03

arrogant at the time. It probably stood me in in in good

28:05

stead to a degree as well because I would

28:07

just go for it wherever I

28:09

went and I'll

28:11

not so much anymore. But at the time, if it

28:13

if it upset people along the way, I

28:15

I didn't really bat baton

28:18

island. So It's the arrogant to youth, isn't it?

28:20

Is that is this idea that -- Yeah. -- you

28:22

know, you're a new guy

28:24

on the scene. And to be fair, there's two

28:26

ways to approach a new water,

28:28

where where potentially you're at. In-depth, wants to go

28:30

balls out like you did. Yeah. He wants to shrink away

28:32

and be like -- Yeah. -- talk to anyone. Yeah. So But I

28:34

I felt like if I was gonna be one of those ones

28:36

that that that shrunk away and was a

28:38

quiet little mouse. I wouldn't

28:40

succeed on that. There's some great anglers on there,

28:42

Rich. They'd have walked all over me. I felt like at

28:44

the time. Ain't it? I probably wouldn't have

28:46

done, but I felt like that. So I

28:48

thought, you know what? I'm gonna pass your chest out and and

28:50

try and be. Do you think that that kind of that

28:52

kind of the mentality? than

28:55

the competitiveness was your

28:57

biggest strength at that time. Probably. Yeah. Probably.

29:00

That that might be why we did alright in the matches

29:02

as well. I think Yeah.

29:05

Yeah. I was I was I was very confident for

29:07

some reason. And you did did

29:09

you start on the Big Lake or a

29:11

Big I mean, I remember you've been on the

29:13

car park, which which was the jewel of -- Yes. --

29:15

of of the Stiller's. It's Stiller's? Yeah.

29:17

Tiny lake. Yeah. Three acres of

29:20

granite. why was it so hard? There wasn't there wasn't loads

29:22

of carp in it. Doesn't explain why it's so

29:24

hard though. No. No. I agree. Why was

29:26

it so hard? Lot of naturals, very silty.

29:28

They were very

29:31

aware of your presence because it was small.

29:33

I

29:33

don't know.

29:34

They they they were just extremely cagey cars

29:37

that the the Queen of Lake swirly at that point.

29:39

Was it swirly? It was swirly. It was

29:41

swirly in it. Yay. It was. And I think

29:43

that she catch really. I would

29:45

have loved to. But, yeah,

29:47

I I didn't. I did catch some nice ones along the line.

29:49

It did feel a bit like me that to me at the

29:51

time that this was you growing up a level, though. No.

29:53

No. Yeah. Even now, like, it would cut

29:55

the car park would be somewhere, you know, I'd love to

29:57

go back and have a go. Mhmm. Some great fish

30:00

in there. Oh, there. Some some

30:02

Spanish now as well, isn't it? I think a little bit interesting.

30:04

Yeah. Yeah. It's kept quite quite quite quite quite,

30:06

but they're they're still about -- Yeah. --

30:08

probably not that those those

30:10

fish, but No. Let's check to her. Let's shook up a picture because

30:12

we we need to talk about these the character

30:14

of these Northampton comments because it's gonna

30:16

come back to to us in a bit. But -- Yeah. --

30:18

but like the a sort of

30:20

dark bluey purpley sort of black

30:22

light on me. You can tell it and then

30:24

valley fish at the moment. You you

30:26

flick through a magazine or on the Instagram today.

30:28

Yeah. Would it be fair to say though

30:30

still despite the fact that that

30:32

you'd leveled up a a

30:35

newer starting to put the pieces together as big carp angler

30:37

that you didn't really catch what what you

30:39

should have done or could have done from there and

30:41

and left without the big ones again?

30:44

Absolutely, mate. Yeah. Yeah. I I think

30:46

because there's so many more fish to fry. It's

30:48

crazy. III thought, you know what? I'm not gonna flop.

30:50

I'm not gonna stay there. Because it did also seems to

30:52

I'm in your defense. shortly after that,

30:54

you caught everything you fish for. Yeah. Absolutely. And

30:57

and and and again, mate, somewhere that I

30:59

would I would like to go back to and and

31:01

have another go at, but they're not the

31:03

same fish now, even though there's some lovely ones in there. Are they the same

31:05

strain? I mean, must be, shouldn't they? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know

31:07

how these things work. Could they could they have

31:09

become friends of mine fish there and they they look yeah.

31:11

They look they look similar strain. these

31:13

pictures So go to Birch.

31:17

Yeah. Birch. And then okay.

31:19

But It's not actually Yeah. So just wind down

31:21

there by accident. So next one down

31:23

from there. So so you I mean, this is

31:25

twenty five pound common. Right? Yeah.

31:27

you've gone for a very magazine y sort of post, but

31:29

what would you let's look for No. That's a

31:31

random. That's a random, ma'am. That's a these

31:33

are just a big fancy. I that, if you

31:35

go up type, if you go up a couple, that that's

31:38

very typical. It's a chest start. I mean, it's a

31:40

horrendous photo. He's at Ireland Lake

31:42

or no Yes. See, that that's where I

31:44

started. I started on the island lake, which was

31:46

a a higher stock. Again, just to

31:48

get the feelers for it, really. Yeah.

31:50

That it's gone. But, yeah, that ambassionateypical.

31:52

There is an invalid strain,

31:54

you know. Super deep. Yeah.

31:56

Fixed set of comms with it with silvery

31:58

grain as well as yeah. I see it's bang on. You've you've

32:00

described them perfectly. Yeah. But and

32:02

and I I do remember you having I

32:05

think it was almost at the end of

32:07

your time purchaser. I don't wanna skip over this because I wanna

32:09

dig back into what you did on there.

32:11

Yeah. But at the end of your time, there

32:13

you were you in

32:15

the a bit of a a race to catch the bigger

32:17

at the prison that I feel I feel like the prison that could've

32:19

done a bigger that I had. Yeah. But I

32:21

didn't actually do that much time the prison, man.

32:23

My time was mainly on the on the big lake. And

32:25

I think probably by the end of that, the Oscars were

32:27

starting to become formerly an issue. Yeah. But

32:29

I know it's not it's not anymore. No.

32:31

But on Earth yesterday, you

32:33

did some you know, I

32:35

feel like you did quite a lot of margin work. Yeah. I

32:37

did. A lot of margin because the car park was

32:39

was small. Mhmm. You could see a lot

32:41

of the spots did a lot of wading, a lot of

32:44

rebating. That's what culminated in in

32:46

in that sort up a fair Let's find this picture,

32:48

so there's a there's a there's a megapixel that we

32:50

wanna just describe and

32:52

see, which is a you know, we wanna

32:54

see one of these car park lake fish which

32:57

were just where would we look? Jimmy, down

32:59

the bottom thirty six six -- Yeah. -- that one. Go

33:01

right away to that fold at the bottom thirty six.

33:03

Yeah. He got that one.

33:05

Right. Right. Yeah. So he's cool.

33:07

I mean, the pictures that I've got to do those

33:09

pictures. No. They're her enders, and they they were

33:11

probably taken. All of those type. That's settled

33:13

on the airline. That

33:15

that was what it would have been taken on like

33:17

a I don't know. Like, the power shot. Do you

33:19

remember the power shot eight sixes? Look how round

33:21

it's tailored? No. they just described that

33:23

fish for people that can't see it. They're they're just absolutely incredible,

33:25

sort of nice little sloping

33:27

head, really, really rounded tail and

33:29

and fins. Sort

33:32

of dark, bluey, purpley sort of back.

33:34

Big fins. You feel like it's amazing. Yeah.

33:36

Huge pecs. Look at them. It might not size them. Who

33:38

knows? Compared to my hand. Let me

33:41

classic old ProLogic wider. Everyone had them. This

33:44

wider's on the planet. They saw someone in them the other

33:46

day. I think it was in Russell or Horst. You you that's

33:48

they're not the same, but you can now get done.

33:50

sort of scrunchy materials. I mean, it lasted about five minutes, but they

33:52

were they were amazing. Well, they lasted -- Yeah. -- we went through

33:54

a larger then. But you can see them background

33:57

that shot, got Reed's, not a lot

33:59

of backdrop because these were, like, windsor

34:01

to open pit. No. There wasn't there

34:03

wasn't big overhanging trees and all that

34:05

sort of stuff on the And and and to write that small bushes, which -- Yeah.

34:07

-- small willows probably. Yeah. And they've actually I'm

34:10

sure it's grown up a lot now. Yeah. But but it but

34:12

it would it would it

34:14

would go deep quite quickly. I imagine if if you were

34:16

there any kind of like like we're at the

34:18

minute sort of into autumn, it could be

34:20

pretty gnarly in the

34:22

valley. Yeah. you get you yeah.

34:24

There there were many times that I

34:26

woke up to me busy blowing in the bush, you know.

34:28

It's probably not Probably as well. It was probably

34:30

actually silly. Yeah. It was or like a

34:32

fox evo. Do you remember the old evo? Of course. We we all like

34:34

them. Didn't we back then? And yeah. Yeah.

34:37

They they were good sines,

34:39

Rich. I remember catching one of the carp

34:41

there. I'd I'd climbed up a tree and like I said, it

34:43

was deep margins, very

34:46

weedy. And I remember seeing

34:48

seeing fish petrol in the margins. I actually just don't remember lowering a

34:50

choddy on top of the weed. I think I was

34:52

doing like a feature with Mark Hutchison on

34:54

her chest at the

34:56

time. And Actually, I didn't put the

34:58

picture in there. I remember doing that one

35:00

night, and it rattled off the next morning. I

35:02

think it was like a thirty six pound common or something. I

35:04

haven't actually put that in the folder. Mhmm. That's

35:06

where we have a really hot up for those of yours

35:08

of your new That's a nice cup. Yeah.

35:10

Yeah, Megan. But the why

35:12

do you think that you never ticked any

35:14

of the boxes with the big ones there because I think we've

35:16

established at that point that you are very driven

35:19

-- Yeah. -- and very ambitious.

35:22

Yeah. I mean,

35:24

it was a it was

35:26

a tough lake, Rich. You

35:28

know, you could you'd you'd go

35:30

5678 nights without catching

35:32

anything. And and and I was only because we

35:35

were working for DHP, I I was

35:37

quite often getting there at at night,

35:39

seven eight at night and

35:42

leaving it. back there, like, six in the morning would have to pack up for them

35:44

sometime. So

35:46

I I think a lack

35:47

of time I

35:50

didn't really

35:50

do any daytime fishing. It was all

35:53

night time fishing.

35:56

I think time,

35:58

Rich. I'm I'm I'm lucky over the years that I've done more and more

35:59

time. And maybe I'm Well, I mean,

36:02

these captures are perhaps some of your

36:04

most You mentioned treasuries. possibly,

36:06

Rich. Yeah. Yeah. Because I because

36:08

I was getting there in the dark and and leaving in the

36:10

dark -- Mhmm. -- which is hard. Yeah. It's

36:12

hard to do that. Yeah. All the time that most of

36:14

this time. Yeah. You were certainly I I remember at the

36:16

time were very you know, you were coming in

36:18

every now and again with shots of fish like the actual at

36:20

that stage I didn't caught. Yeah. These were much bigger than

36:22

But I was turning, most of us were catching the

36:24

HP. Like, you were you were the guy who was on the trajectory at that moment? Yeah.

36:26

Turning up stinking because I've I've been there

36:28

all night, you know, covered in mud. and

36:31

the poor El Gail designers up there, Polly Ford. I was like,

36:33

well, actually, and I think you were quite always

36:35

quite robust about this idea that you turn

36:37

up in people. I'll fish it again. Maybe be like,

36:39

yeah, because I love it. Absolutely.

36:42

And and I wasn't turning up late to work or

36:44

anything like that. I was I was leaving work,

36:46

going to her chester, coming back.

36:48

Yeah. I was tackling I think before we leave that, sorry,

36:50

to No, sorry, mate. But before we leave that period, we

36:53

need to talk it

36:55

must've been around then that you caught your first forty pounder, and that

36:58

was whilst in a picture with

37:00

with him with the Yeah. Garfaliemi.

37:02

Yeah. You

37:04

know? Yeah. someone is no longer with us, but it must

37:06

it must still be a, like,

37:08

very amazing, easy to remember that trip. Oh,

37:10

yeah. Talk us through it. Talk us through that

37:12

trip. Where

37:14

it was. That was me doing a guesty with you, but not a

37:16

guesty. This was a guesty because

37:18

I was shooting a feature with you, and we were

37:20

lucky when we could

37:22

whilst we were doing features if it

37:24

was long enough session. So if

37:26

it's this was like a two forty eight hour

37:28

session with you, I remember

37:30

getting there. We're talking well into Country Park. We're

37:32

talking well into Country Park. We

37:34

got there within. He was set up

37:36

on the you know the

37:38

smokehouse point, boathouse point, who's on the

37:40

point? He'd seen some fish there. He was already

37:42

fishing. I turned

37:44

up. we just fished by the side of him because we were there to do

37:46

work. Within a few hours, they've

37:48

started to go in front of

37:50

me off the side of you fishing

37:52

towards that them towards the

37:54

island. But I was actually fish they were showing in

37:56

ocean water. Yeah.

37:58

Overweed.

37:59

But art

38:00

caught fish out of weed from nymphad. Yeah. So I wasn't scared of it. Mhmm. Gena. Forged

38:02

Gena. I'm just gonna fish in it. I'm

38:04

gonna fish out a scatter of Skypex

38:07

squid at a time. Yep.

38:09

Big eighteen millers, snowman rigs,

38:12

big long hook links, snowman rigs, straight in the region.

38:14

It wasn't method feeders like any bags or

38:16

foamers. And you I found a phone one. Yeah. Yeah. I think

38:18

I was just using phone rates -- Yeah. -- big long hook

38:20

links on on on clips. And I

38:22

was just casting out to the show in

38:24

fish, I over scattered eighteen minutes, again, drops or or or or or

38:27

Soft. Soft. Soft. Soft. You know what

38:29

I mean? But but when I

38:31

mean long hooking, I'm, you know, I'm talking

38:33

this sort of length. What?

38:36

Fourteen, eighty sixteen inches

38:38

maybe. Yeah. Maybe. On sort

38:40

of a semi stiff comb that would probably have

38:42

been leg clips at that stage. It would have been leg clips.

38:44

It'd have been through to those old old

38:46

sort of curve CarMax hooks.

38:48

Mhmm. And, yeah, I

38:50

I ended up going on a catch in like six

38:52

fish in forty eight hours, one

38:54

like thirty nine pounds fourteen ounces,

38:56

I think it was. And

38:58

then the big one was So I

39:01

had the dark one and folded tail. Fold tail was the one just

39:03

under forty. But dark one's forty pound four?

39:05

Forty pound four. Yeah. I'm pretty sure they were both

39:07

in the same night.

39:10

Let's have a look at those type of Which was crazy. That

39:12

that was the dark one. Oh, shit. Sorry.

39:14

I think I'm wearing lipstick. That was

39:16

the dark one. I mean, what what an

39:19

incredible cut back I mean, even now, like,

39:21

forty pounders. I think at that stage, we were probably

39:23

all a bit blown away by that.

39:25

Blown away. Blown away. you

39:28

know, your mates didn't catch forty pounders really. Didn't happen, did it. And and

39:30

then and and folding towel. I mean, is it

39:33

was that autumn? Was that spring? spring,

39:35

isn't it? Early spring. Look at the leaves. There's the

39:37

old little really fresh green. Maybe like April

39:40

time. I think

39:42

March, April time. Yeah. But the activity That

39:44

was that light to to capture that fit. That's

39:46

that's the dog. Incredible bit. But but Iain,

39:48

of course, was absolutely an email

39:51

look at them. Fold the tails, such a cool Amazing

39:54

fish. Fajid. Fajid fish.

39:56

Not long after maybe. Was it? Bag.

39:59

So the idea was just

39:59

blown away as I was, you know. Obviously, I was there

40:02

to do a feature on the internet, he catch.

40:04

No. So I've had six fish in the air

40:06

brakes of forties, and there's

40:08

pee like up for the camera. But you you wouldn't have given a shit,

40:10

though? Absolutely. No. No.

40:11

I want anymore. Yeah. Only more.

40:13

I I was almost

40:15

like I care about his feature. Yeah. I'll be back to all the cats who

40:17

are big in. Sorry. Sorry, Colson. No. You might get

40:19

a crap feature in it. But yeah.

40:22

Amazing. Probably wasn't, though. No. because

40:24

back then you could you know, rattled off fifteen good photos and

40:27

and you how easy was she Did you

40:29

wish to go into the the piece? Probably

40:31

not. No. Probably not. Look, it was a

40:33

piece on oily fishing ringers or something

40:35

there. Yeah. It would have been it had been scattered

40:37

scattered baiting because that was the thing to do there. Wasn't

40:39

it throwing stick boilies? And and not for me, this

40:41

is the hay day of Willie, not Not when they were at the

40:44

biggest. No. The hay day. That was

40:46

When when he made a message about it,

40:48

and it wasn't quite as well known

40:50

as it would -- No. -- it would be ten years on. So it wasn't quite the year in

40:52

pool stage. But then when you had when they first

40:55

no. It's all Mickey Gray. No. Antus,

40:57

you know, they they all did it in a it was kind of the

40:59

year after that when when he admitted

41:01

it. Tim Waggoner's meant for him to

41:03

be really rock rins. It was at the start of

41:05

the period when when people got annoyed with how well known it was.

41:07

Yeah. to welly this welly that was a bit discreted. It wasn't it

41:09

back then. It wasn't really giving the credit, and I think

41:12

that's why it disappeared off the scene. It was

41:14

a man amazing. Wasn't

41:16

it? We won't see the like of that. No. Never

41:18

water lake. No. It's shallow.

41:20

Incredible. Plenty of

41:20

features. Lot lots of long range fish. It's

41:22

just a no. It loves our eyes at that must

41:25

be from Wellie, you know. But actually that was Did you feel that at the time when, you

41:27

know, were were you hearing that when when you

41:29

I think that was just

41:31

slightly before it went wild as well. Just

41:34

before. I think it went wild. You

41:36

know what I mean? Tim Wagner was

41:38

catching the

41:39

hoards of him you remember? Ofage of

41:41

photos, I think, as well. Fourage of them. Picky. Then Picky went

41:43

and slayed it, didn't he? And but

41:45

I think that was just

41:47

before it got sort of that. Well, they

41:49

were forties, not fifties. So at that stage -- Exactly. -- but ridiculous, really.

41:52

Yeah. They were the big ones weren't they then? So you've

41:54

had you've had two PBs in the

41:56

trip.

41:57

Yeah. Yeah. I can't remember. I I whichever which one I

41:59

caught

41:59

first. So it wouldn't have obviously no. It

42:02

wouldn't

42:02

have been a bit, but I can't remember. I and I'm sorry.

42:04

I know I mean, two fish that would

42:06

have new people actually measure it. Yeah. Yeah. I think my baby would

42:08

before that might have been I don't know whether it

42:10

would have been Lim fed or Orchester. I can't remember.

42:13

Probably Orchester. Yeah. six out of it.

42:15

I mean, what a great fish. And then, you

42:18

know, actually, when you look back on those Wellyfish,

42:20

which because they're still there. Some I think males just

42:22

fish, you know. Yeah. But do I I remember the

42:24

time, almost being a bit

42:26

like I wanna get the Wellie PB

42:28

off my

42:30

back, a bit because of the way it went that's what I

42:32

was saying. Yeah. Did you feel any pushback when

42:34

you were like, I've caught I've caught these

42:36

fish. Maybe when it started to go

42:39

a bit crazy like when when other people battered

42:41

it. Yeah. Yeah. No. I think it did.

42:43

Yeah. Yeah. But did did you have a PB from there

42:45

as well? Yeah. And I buy I think

42:47

I remember having this discussion with you.

42:50

It'd be nice, it'd be nice to catch anything else. You know

42:52

what I mean? Yeah. We both did our own

42:54

gas sessions every year. But now I look back.

42:56

I'm like, what? They were incredible,

42:58

but that was credible painting and the fish will do that. You know,

43:00

again, you need to have a good eye for a fish.

43:02

Mhmm. If you look at the Wellyfish,

43:04

they are really

43:06

sensational, like I love the place

43:08

though. I'd love to go back there now and

43:10

feel amazing place. I love the hustle

43:12

and bustle of a park bank. It's thank the

43:14

rest of the scene having sort of come up

43:16

around Wellie, it it it's

43:18

been normalized to a degree as well. It's not

43:20

that Wellie is so far above

43:22

everything else anymore. Yes. It's an awful lot of places

43:24

a lot of fifty pounds. Right? But when when

43:26

when Wellie really burst

43:28

through to be in the the

43:30

preeminent Big Fish Water of our era --

43:32

Yeah. -- it was a head and shoulders. I've

43:34

seen late. Obscene. It it

43:36

was not like it was a lot

43:38

of bait, you know, and that's a good combination, shallow water, whether, you know, here's some who

43:40

what setup is that's not

43:43

yours. That looks like Steve Renee had set up to me. I've

43:45

seen the Wellie fold. I've seen the Wellie fold. I made it up. Maybe I just nicked

43:47

some random pictures that I liked

43:50

from Wellie. But

43:52

that definitely wasn't myself, but

43:55

that is really look, the

43:57

Neville the Neville Snack neville snack

43:59

bars

43:59

Bars like like Steve. Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm almost certain that Steve. I I think

44:02

it is, but yeah, well random. But I don't know

44:04

if there's any more Wellyfish on there type

44:06

of I had that six

44:08

six in in

44:10

the hours and they were. Well, some of the small ones probably went to fifty

44:12

pound. Yeah. I mean, there was one there was a

44:14

common light with this split tail that was twenty eight

44:16

eight at the top. Yeah. It's actually

44:18

probably it. that? I mean, he's pretty cool, and he

44:19

and and -- Yep. -- it does look cold, didn't

44:21

it, Rich? Yeah. That's got to be March

44:24

time. first time. Oh, there you go. I mean,

44:26

that's a

44:28

cool that cork in Lovely fish mate. Almost certainly did forty pound that

44:30

because they nearly all did. smashed. It's done. Yeah. Look.

44:32

I got lipstick on again. Maybe I saw a lip.

44:34

Maybe that maybe even punched me for

44:37

getting my face. We couldn't put your little girl,

44:39

surely. We can have twenty

44:42

sideburns. Wow. Look

44:44

at it at least we've been spared

44:46

the highlights, I think. Yeah. I was gonna

44:48

say your folders. Well, I've gone through it. It's got different

44:50

hair in each time. I was

44:52

I was heavily influenced by Kevin Peters in Managed Yellow here, I

44:54

think. Yes. What? Great

44:56

carp. Yeah. That is a great carp. Yeah. That is

44:58

lovely. Lovely.

45:00

IIA little insight on the

45:02

post. But did it did that affect your official

45:04

when you came back from that trip and you'd now

45:06

appear to be out of sight,

45:08

really? Yeah. But I think that may have been the the the catalyst for going

45:10

on to bigger things. Right? Yeah. Yeah. Like wanting

45:12

to target those those big

45:16

old carp. Yeah. I mean, we we got to

45:18

fish in great lakes. That's a great I mean, it

45:20

still goes on today. I'm sure if you

45:22

wanna film now, you get

45:24

permission to go in places. Perks, man. We

45:26

had good Perks when we ended up. But there was a

45:28

bit more slack in your time budget when you

45:30

when you shooting a magazine feature because --

45:32

Yeah. -- would you do now Film inside a

45:34

thing. You you can't put the camera down.

45:36

No. No. But You shoot one in ten minutes

45:38

now magazine feature. But back then, it forty

45:40

eight hours. We've got a hard install into, you know wanting to put bring something

45:42

really, really good. You'd come back with like,

45:44

now if I shot a feature, I'd take fifteen

45:48

shot and all fifteen would be the ones. Back then, you'd take hundred and

45:50

fifty shots. Two hundred shots when you -- Yeah. -- then

45:52

you'd have to go through the model. Jim, you put it on

45:54

there. You put it on the contact

45:56

sheet.

45:56

Contact sheet. you you pick

45:59

which ones were the best. nicely soft.

45:59

Nicely soft. And then it get

46:01

edited. But, anyway, I mean, that's a little

46:03

window into what we do in

46:05

time, but we were stick we were stick on course with

46:07

the fishing. So we we were doing

46:09

just to say what

46:12

she found. Oh, I see. I've just done some digging. Where is this

46:14

from that?

46:16

Why would he do that? He's he's he's he's he's he's

46:18

he's a butcher? He's were you a

46:20

butcher? chair then. What was explain to me why that's a but But it just looks like

46:22

a butcher's hat. Well, like a like a I'm just I've

46:24

just pinged her for him, and it's the only

46:26

one I can't make any sense so

46:30

on. who's calling for help.

46:32

It's a picture of me

46:34

wearing a a Shimano tribal

46:36

hat as popular as one like,

46:39

hell yeah, with AAAAA

46:41

distressed whistle in my mouth and a satoric

46:43

life can't get around my neck.

46:45

Any problems just whistle. I'll I'll come out and help you. And

46:47

the problems that we had was me misweighing my first ever forty pounders.

46:50

That was amazing. So we

46:52

didn't actually have a forty.

46:54

But at a time he had. We

46:56

we yeah. We're calling the forty. I had a forty pounder on that trip, and this is to a Tang DiMargo in France.

46:58

Yeah. Again, going back to our first

47:00

choice. Sorry. I didn't

47:04

mean to it. Is that this picture here? Hang on. Oh, but I should yeah.

47:06

But so oh, yeah. That's it. So let's yeah.

47:08

Maybe not that one. But Why not this

47:10

here another one? No. I don't I don't

47:13

I'm not trying to lay fish on its belly

47:16

load. You know, I

47:18

think, generally James James up up,

47:20

but anyway Yeah. I know. It turned

47:22

to Mark go in the actual fold of me. Yeah. And there's there's there's there's there's

47:24

ground You see, it's it's look

47:26

at the hat go up again. No. No. Just look at the

47:28

James with the sturgeon that you

47:30

know, that's I'm keen to do that. Team Corder, look. Team Corder has

47:32

aspirations of yours. show everyone. I reckon, by that stage,

47:34

you'd probably decided you want to come to

47:37

Corder, but mate without out. Look at

47:39

those dairy boots. Rich. Yeah. And the truck So you know, the track suit bottoms and dairy boots.

47:41

What a look? That is a look. Yeah.

47:43

But my first forty pounder wasn't a

47:45

forty pounder type it

47:47

it's quite an unremarkable fish. So, you know We have

47:50

also held up like that. We held the scales by the

47:52

bottom and it just scraped for it. So they probably

47:54

think they were just like, come on. Oh, I

47:56

didn't know. Did we? Didn't know. We didn't

47:58

know. Yeah. Every young suspect then. But you

48:00

still see that going today? People hold me now. I don't

48:02

know. around the bottom. I've seen him good

48:04

angles doing it, Rich. Don't don't

48:06

get me wrong. It's a lot easier to wear fish, of

48:08

course. It also makes them bikesets. It

48:10

also makes them bigger. We got we had a good

48:12

trip that trip, mate. Yeah. You had a real big and you had

48:14

A44 which was huge to us time. No. But they got

48:16

four. Like I say, it's not That's the thirty

48:18

nine twelve. Yes. For it won't even be thirty. It'll

48:20

be thirty eight. Why do we look we're

48:23

buffering lipstick all the time. Do you reckon it looks

48:26

extremely cold, though? It looks cold. Yeah. It does

48:28

look cold. Mate, look how fit you look there. You

48:30

look fit as our horizons now.

48:32

Never never. was in

48:34

your angry football days.

48:36

We're still going. That's true.

48:38

So after the Welly

48:41

thing. Right? I'm trying to think what I'm trying to think where you'd

48:43

have gone because at some point, you're gonna make one of these campaigns

48:46

stick, aren't you? Yeah.

48:48

Like where you you're gonna catch the big Can I

48:50

go to the Keno then. Yeah. Thanks to the

48:53

Kenos. But I don't remember. Right? So tell

48:55

us about the Kenos because I don't remember much about

48:57

this from the time. No. So so it's

48:59

called the canals, for obvious reasons,

49:01

it was next to a canals, so you'd hear

49:03

dogs barking all night long. But

49:06

this was a little lake in the NEM Valley. How did you get a

49:08

ticket? Because

49:08

it it was it was tricky one, wasn't it? Yeah.

49:10

So back so back then, there were the a

49:12

good way to get tickets like

49:15

on on these waters was to send a letter. So

49:18

you still Yeah. I mean, like, random

49:20

text messages and all that sort of thing. They

49:22

they would getting ignored. I remember there was mister Perkins, it was.

49:24

I remember writing this letter probably

49:26

in workup. So how did you hear about it on

49:28

Rochester? Yeah.

49:30

Yes. probably threw Tony make a

49:32

piece again. It was quite oh, I guess it

49:34

was a small influence on me about them for getting

49:36

to know waters. I remember sending

49:39

mister Perkins' letter And he

49:40

phoned me, said, come and meet me. So I I drive

49:43

down to the kennels, went went along this bumpy old track,

49:45

and he had a big house. a

49:48

big old mansion on the lake. Took me in there, I had a cup of tea. And

49:50

I've got to know him quite a while, like and

49:52

and he obviously liked me. I was only a youngster at the

49:54

time to know what would have been twenty

49:56

twenty too or something. Yep.

49:58

And I I got a ticket on the

49:59

lake, a couple of hundred pounds,

50:02

small lake, but

50:03

deep. It was like five

50:05

acres, but when went down to, like, twenty five for me. Yeah. Yeah.

50:07

It was class. A couple of big fish in there. One was

50:10

called Stumpy, which is beautiful, all

50:12

common.

50:12

And the other one was a big

50:14

leather. Now I look back now. I think that

50:16

level might have been a bit of a ramen. I don't think that was in English. But

50:18

by then, I had no idea.

50:22

Anyway, I went on to catch,

50:24

obviously, stumpy.

50:26

Pretty quickly, wasn't it six months maybe?

50:28

I don't remember in that long. Maybe

50:30

I remember being that that I remember. This was the first

50:33

time I think that I just genuinely felt like I'm

50:35

a bit jealous of

50:38

that you had a real bigger than that. And -- Yeah. -- you're you're like pulling away onto

50:40

a onto a trajectory that's gonna carry on

50:42

going. Yeah. Did I stick? Was it? Got

50:45

a bit a plastic corn on the end on a playback rig? Why did

50:47

you do it like that? Good

50:50

good question. We

50:53

were

50:53

using that a lot when Oh, yeah. We

50:55

were. I think just because it was it's just something

50:57

that works everywhere. Like, it was just my go. Last

50:59

week, it's it's it's it's a departure. I

51:01

was I was feed a lot of corn. Other people on there, I know we're using boilies

51:03

and everything, and I think I just fancied being a bit different,

51:06

Rich. I started feeding a lot of

51:08

corn in the edge.

51:10

This was literally lowered onto the

51:12

shellzer because it was deep. It went off. It

51:14

was sort of a bit of a ledge, and then it would go

51:16

down into the depths.

51:18

And I think

51:20

it was I don't know it was like late spring, but but the fish were getting

51:22

up on the shelf. So this was literally

51:24

lowering off the tip, feeling the dog on

51:26

the shelf. and and leaving it

51:28

there. And I remember calling my old man in

51:30

the morning. He did the photographs, did it. He's

51:32

not been amazing, but it

51:34

was nice that that he came down. What's doing before? we never seen a lot of

51:36

that. Five giant for him. And he was thirty

51:38

nine yeah. Thirty nine four or

51:40

six or

51:42

something. And he was delighted, mate. Yeah. He

51:43

came down before work because he used to work

51:45

in Northampton. So he stopped en route

51:47

to work. And I

51:50

remember them. Forgive it. Is it? That's it. Yeah. Yeah. Look

51:52

at it. What a what a wicked fish. Look

51:54

how tiny its tail is. I mean, that's

51:56

a sweet carp. Yeah. He's a threat.

51:59

that that fish

51:59

with the thin tail risk like that. Obviously, I

52:02

know of a few. The door adjuster fish were very

52:04

similar, but they're so rare to see.

52:06

Bless it. Walk up. And and not like a

52:08

again, typical of the NIM

52:10

Valley, not like the most beautiful lake in the

52:12

world, quite plain really the the lake, but

52:14

but the characters in it were store?

52:16

You've got a daffodil in the background, so must have been spring again. Yeah. Is that

52:18

o is that o six, Toby? Can we see it? Can we see

52:21

it? Can we see it on there for you? Yeah.

52:23

Amazing. Water car. at

52:26

the correct dates on his calendar. I think this yeah. Maybe not, but Yeah. My seat

52:28

was around. He's a scarred up common for those people with

52:31

a with a really interesting thin tail.

52:33

So Great. o seven. Yeah.

52:36

And I caught a few in the winter there as

52:38

well. They used to be

52:40

like this. little fishing

52:42

hut on the lake. Yep. And I I would

52:44

I would bit bivvy up, not bivvy up in there. I'll

52:46

stick my bed chair in there. How to how to kettle and

52:48

everything and let me roll it out the front.

52:50

Lovely bit fish him really?

52:52

Not a lake that I've heard of before or since.

52:54

No. They're still there. And I I think

52:56

he's got some some ones that have grown

52:58

on now. I don't

53:00

think I'll ever go back there, but I've been offered some guest

53:02

guest sessions for a bit in nostalgia movie. Yeah.

53:04

But -- Yeah. -- I don't know what it's like. I mean,

53:06

that'd be beautiful now. is this is

53:09

this is different because you went there and quite quickly knocked

53:11

out the big one. That was there as well.

53:13

That wasn't a small fish. No. That was a,

53:15

you know, twenty nine, twenty nine,

53:17

ten, I think peck. You know? Actually, he's

53:20

smelting that. His little face. That

53:22

was a fish that you would describe as being wise,

53:24

Jimmy, isn't it? wise old fish.

53:26

Yeah. Wise looking fish. I mean,

53:28

we're we're not gonna talk about worry,

53:30

but special carp then, mate. You don't you don't you

53:32

know, that's just around. Are they not low to

53:34

them around anymore? Not that classic. No. Very fair. Like you say, we know,

53:36

we caught the very end of of all of these

53:38

little groups of of Brilliant

53:42

mate. Love it. I've got I've got to have a look through all these

53:44

again Monday. Amazing. Well, maybe

53:46

you'll do a book or something. No.

53:48

No. No. I can't

53:50

write. Largo. But but the

53:52

there must be more to I I wanna know

53:54

a little bit more about the kennels because there has to

53:56

be more than you just let on them in terms of how

53:58

you call that fish. What you said you were biting in

54:00

the edge and you yeah. Like Yeah. Why were you

54:02

choosing to do it where you were choosing to do it

54:04

for instance? It was it was the quiet end of the lake.

54:06

It was the opposite end of the hut. people were

54:09

people were lazy on them. Everyone wanted to fish in

54:11

the hut. The standard of angling

54:13

wasn't amazing on them. like

54:15

I said, all the pressure was up that end because you it was by the

54:17

car park as well. And

54:20

I just I decided

54:23

just a bit different. You sweet corn in the edge. I was

54:25

seeing them in the edge. Like, it wasn't it

54:27

was, like, eight foot as early as that

54:29

and early as early as March. Yeah. So

54:31

Absolutely. Would it It was tiny, Rich.

54:34

such a small lake,

54:36

almost like a

54:38

garden pond. Was it five

54:40

acres or are you have you hammed that off a

54:42

bit? No. It was five acres because you

54:44

you got the main lake and then there there was like

54:46

a little a tiny

54:48

little channel and it opened up into this little back lake,

54:50

which you could catch them out of. I didn't really

54:52

do much time in there. But

54:54

I just went in with a corn approach.

54:56

whether I'd seen someone doing it doing well on corn, but

54:58

I I thought it might work there and it did.

55:00

Mhmm. There isn't a lot more to it

55:03

than that. What was the spot? But

55:06

what what sort of substrate? Mhmm. Yeah. Why did you choose to hard? It was it

55:08

was a it was a hard spot. It was like a ledge.

55:10

I remember the ledge well, and and I would just keep

55:12

bait and then let's see it glowing up.

55:16

Yeah. Could Yeah. Yeah. And the lake was quite weedy. Mhmm. In

55:18

fact, I remember that fish getting caught up in the weed for

55:20

a while. Yeah.

55:22

I mean, I I think it was quite

55:24

quite simple tactics match despite in that spot constantly and then it

55:26

did fish. With corn. With corn and a

55:28

few chops or just corn. No, just

55:32

corn. Oh, fixed a little stick with two bits plastic. Weirdly. I

55:34

don't remember you haven't done that

55:36

since either.

55:38

used

55:39

a lot of no. I've used a lot of maze since. I've

55:41

had some some good sessions on maze, but but no

55:44

popcorn. Not not heaven.

55:46

Not not in the building. There was a few I don't

55:48

know. I'm gonna say five years ago.

55:50

It was quite a disregard to fill it

55:52

in with corn and fish, you know, a linear

55:54

for instance. That was that was a thing on

55:56

Oxley's for one -- Yeah. -- from

55:58

memory. Yeah. work really well on the Kenfellow, though. Yeah. Absolutely. We're

56:00

getting the we're getting the freezer backhaul. You're getting

56:02

the the Nine hours by by the

56:04

tenth. Yeah. just like going around around

56:06

you or somewhere like that. I don't know around you

56:08

would have been tray of corn, like -- Yeah. -- trap.

56:10

That was the hellstone thing. Right? You had to go, sir. I

56:12

think it was out of ten people or something to

56:14

get value something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah? And I'm pretty sure that

56:16

Bails put me on to He would have

56:18

done yesterday, Traysaver -- Yeah. -- Aldi

56:20

Court or whatever it

56:22

is. Yeah. Now I get, I think, Yeah.

56:24

Yeah. What Katerintons? Yeah. Yeah. But Katerintons. Yeah.

56:26

They're like two and a half kilos or so.

56:28

I can't

56:29

think of that big Yeah.

56:31

I

56:31

mean, the people it

56:34

seems to be the people who really

56:36

know prefer maze, but I

56:38

don't know why that

56:40

is. Yeah. That that my recent session on Chantorin, I used a

56:42

lot of salty maids, a lot of it. And

56:44

what tell tells like in every British, your

56:46

Terry Hearne is like, you

56:48

know, he uses a lot of mays, and he has got a

56:50

special way preparing his salty mays. Yeah.

56:52

That's right. I mean, III get salty mays

56:54

direct, but

56:56

but Yeah. They they they love it. It's a bit harder, isn't

56:58

it than corn? I I think it's

57:00

a bit more versatile. You can even use

57:02

it on the hair if you want

57:04

you made, because we more to it than that, I think. Yeah. I don't know what the corn here, but Yeah.

57:06

I don't I don't use it at all. No. You think corn

57:08

would be would be better when you're softer. You

57:10

think a bit more tasty, but

57:14

I don't know. Then I wanna, you know, interesting, but that

57:16

that's a short campaign, the Kennels. Dairy, I

57:19

call that stumpy and and I

57:21

I wasn't overly bothered about that mirror. It would have

57:23

been nice. But the courtyard

57:26

joined for

57:28

Stumpy. Yeah. I mean, you had to run

57:30

a comment. So you your attention must have turned at the time to Yeah. Emera.

57:32

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I had I had a big

57:34

comment. It's time to go back

57:37

some big mirrors, yeah, which I don't know where on next. Well,

57:39

I kinda feel like it was it's probably

57:41

Worthington maybe. Yeah. We're not gonna talk we're not gonna talk about

57:43

anything like that. So I

57:45

call big mirrors there. Yes. But otherwise common. Otherwise common.

57:48

Yeah. Around

57:51

that time. But, yeah, they were again, wary was a water

57:53

and the folly was a water water that was gonna be

57:56

it was gonna do fifty pounders in the future, but

57:58

you caught those fish to catch that

57:59

pig. The one that was a

58:01

fifty, the big fat one, possibly, but it would have

58:03

been like mid thirties back then low thirties even, and

58:05

it wouldn't have been called the pig. So by that

58:07

stays, you would definitely you you either you either

58:09

just about started a quarter or you were about

58:11

to because you wrote about that in in the

58:13

telltale. Yeah. Yeah. Which probably just desires about to

58:15

join quarter. Yeah. No. I just joined. I think

58:17

you had just joined top which means

58:20

that the next thing must have been Aggregates. Now

58:22

you did touch on on

58:24

Aggregates when you spoke to Simon previously, but

58:26

haven't listened back to Yeah. Barely

58:28

barely mentioned it. And there is So you know there's no

58:30

parts of story. For me, this is the

58:32

this is the key moment you're in.

58:34

Yeah. Absolutely. But to that point, we've established that,

58:36

you know, you're starting to do well,

58:38

but this was an

58:41

opportunity to fish a a historic -- Yeah. -- sort of

58:43

for for the kind of that, frankly, none of us have got access

58:45

access to anymore. You that and and you

58:47

can't and that's not even there anymore. I I

58:52

and it it also gave you boat fishing and able and the ability

58:54

to see your spot in detail,

58:56

which I think was really key

58:58

was massively. And it also tied in

59:00

with the time he started using this fluorocarbon rig. So

59:02

you must have met Jason Hayward at this

59:04

point. Yeah. I'd met

59:06

Jason Hayward. it it

59:08

was before, I guess, I've met Jason Haywood on

59:10

Monks pit because I've done a few features for

59:12

ACF, I believe. And,

59:14

yeah, Jake, over that period, j j had influence -- No.

59:17

-- influence on me. And and he was exerting

59:19

that influence on the whole carp scene at that point. Yeah.

59:21

He was writing and stuff. Was he started doing

59:23

stuff inology, and then we've done bits with him in DHP. But

59:26

it meant but he'd opened everyone's

59:28

eyes to

59:30

punct. Yeah. Yeah. To most stuff. I mean

59:32

I mean, how how close is your rig to his

59:34

rig, let's say? Let's just let's

59:37

I'm like yeah. Similar. Similar. Not

59:39

not the same, but I

59:41

was on Dren and Conkeys at the time

59:43

because I would best hooked to sharpen up because he told the car on

59:45

hell. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. But I I've seen it with my own

59:47

eyes. Jack j was good to me. He like, he opened up

59:49

to me a bit. I know he'd always have his

59:52

own secrets, I almost felt

59:54

like he he he felt I was such

59:56

a like a a naive young man

59:58

at the time that it I was no threat

1:00:00

to him on any of these lakes, you know.

1:00:02

Yeah. But III almost

1:00:04

followed him a little bit for a few years on

1:00:06

to egots. Jay got me on to

1:00:08

egots, which was lovely of him

1:00:10

because Jay didn't actually catch Lynn for

1:00:12

Meggitt's in the end because he caught all the others like three or

1:00:14

four times. I think he he fought life

1:00:16

too short. I mean, what I put I

1:00:18

think that's Look at it. Just look at

1:00:20

it, mate. It's it was just the most stunning lake I've

1:00:22

ever fished. So this is a

1:00:24

lake Jim

1:00:26

Aggregates, but goes

1:00:28

back to the Yeah. I think this I

1:00:30

think maybe even like the

1:00:32

sixties. Yeah. If not if not the

1:00:34

seventies. I actually I actually dug

1:00:36

out once when I'd

1:00:38

fishlegets. I I then started digging

1:00:40

even some more more of the history,

1:00:42

and and Chris Ball sent me some old clippings

1:00:44

and stuff where he written in Kart World

1:00:46

about it and yeah.

1:00:48

Just a moment. I'm pretty sure there's a chapter in a

1:00:50

book that I had when I was younger

1:00:52

like Kevin Madox called Madox. click

1:00:54

-- Right. -- about about -- Yeah. -- a trip to to

1:00:56

to Aggie. Yeah. He he did a bit

1:00:58

there. Kevin Nash did a bit there. And he

1:01:00

talks about Paul Nash. Yeah. He

1:01:03

was the was running the fish in. It's like a

1:01:05

big character. Right? Yeah. Crazy

1:01:08

man. Yeah. No longer here. No longer here. Is it

1:01:10

not? No.

1:01:12

But the magic of eggheads. Just try and describe

1:01:14

to us what what it was the atmosphere.

1:01:16

And they they're feeling every time

1:01:20

you fish it was just electric but

1:01:22

also a bit eerie.

1:01:24

Almost done like

1:01:25

a ghost could appear at any moment. I mean,

1:01:28

you had you had swims like

1:01:30

Hilton's corner, for instance, those aren't two

1:01:32

areas. Yeah. But I I don't know what the feeling was.

1:01:34

I I it's it's it's it's

1:01:36

such a high fading to

1:01:38

describe, but it just

1:01:39

felt almost ghostly. I imagine on

1:01:41

like a full moon night if it

1:01:43

was clear looking across to that garden with

1:01:45

the statue. Yeah. Yeah. I just feel like they

1:01:47

come to life. Yeah. Like they were were some right weird statues in that

1:01:50

garden as well. Big big, sort of

1:01:52

almost like goblins and like They

1:01:54

like you'd have a goblin there, and then an

1:01:56

eagle would be the next one. Yeah. You just And

1:01:58

nighttime would, like, subtly

1:01:59

transform these things into the entire

1:02:02

life. Yeah. Well, it's

1:02:04

Jane. But it come alive whilst,

1:02:06

like, no

1:02:06

disrespect to Paul, but he was an

1:02:08

art architect, he'd become walking up the board to him,

1:02:10

creaking. He'd be drunk as a skunk. Mhmm. He'd get

1:02:12

there halfway and be like, alright, you know, I don't

1:02:14

feel well on the e tail around and go home.

1:02:17

No. It's so strange. But but but

1:02:19

awesome. At the same time, Yeah. And

1:02:21

and it's fair to say you had it to it probably too much hope. Like, that

1:02:23

one was the previous one, the seventh the 39731

1:02:28

was it oh, that one. Yeah. I just wanna just get get a bit of a better

1:02:30

one. I wanted. A lot? No. The

1:02:32

one where you could see more of that one.

1:02:34

Yeah. Those ones too. You can see the FarBank and

1:02:38

stuff. But I mean, it's fair to say that we wouldn't be talking about this if it

1:02:40

was still the fishery because it was still pretty c

1:02:42

difficult. Yeah. No. It's it's finished now,

1:02:44

mate. I mean, you can see just

1:02:47

Who's big is that on that? That's Paul. That's Paul. So

1:02:49

Paul Nash had had his own swim -- Yeah. --

1:02:51

in the garden. Right? It wasn't

1:02:53

his garden. Okay. but he had

1:02:55

his own swim there and where that bibby

1:02:58

is, up the left hand side

1:03:00

is all out of bounds. You can't get into

1:03:02

it. So So he had that whole bank to himself, all the fish live in

1:03:04

one would presume that he'd been fishing there since

1:03:06

the eighties then when Kevin would manage. Yeah.

1:03:08

Absolutely, man. He'd

1:03:10

geared accordingly. call them fish time to time again. But Paul would just

1:03:12

Paul would throw his rods out into the

1:03:14

snags and then go down the shops --

1:03:16

Mhmm. --

1:03:16

to the curryhouse and all that stuff. He'd come back

1:03:19

in about a bite. I was always

1:03:21

so worried that he would kill some

1:03:23

of the big fish that were in there because

1:03:25

he didn't he didn't bother him. Like, he'd just turn him

1:03:27

out there, leave him. He'd

1:03:29

get a bite. come back, they'd be snapped up its snap off. Right. I mean,

1:03:31

if we're if we're being sort of generous to him, that sort of feels

1:03:33

a bit, you know, his old school, it's different area. Yeah. Yeah.

1:03:36

Of course. It is and he was used to that. He did it

1:03:38

all his life. Yeah.

1:03:40

And, yeah, I was always

1:03:42

worried about that, but that's him that's him

1:03:44

bivid up in the garden. He used to leave his bivid.

1:03:46

Yeah. Who lived in the house on his his

1:03:48

exit. And I old lady again

1:03:50

who's who's who's died now. Yeah. I don't know if it's

1:03:52

been passed down to kids and stuff, but the

1:03:54

lake I know the lake is the fish

1:03:56

have gone and might be the odd one

1:03:58

in there, but -- Yeah. -- but a

1:04:00

magical place that must have had

1:04:02

that atmosphere has always heightened when you

1:04:04

got it to yourself. Right?

1:04:06

Absolutely. It it was just it was just a

1:04:08

weirdly amazing lake. You you would drive

1:04:10

down her driveway

1:04:12

through a gate, and it would take you round the

1:04:14

back into like these and rusty

1:04:16

old sheds. It was they were

1:04:18

horrible. It was our horrible site. And there

1:04:22

was scrap metal everywhere. I'll burn out cars in there, and

1:04:24

people would rent these old these old

1:04:26

children. You'd call them what you asked about. Yeah. And

1:04:28

and and and and

1:04:30

at night, that time, you'd people would be playing the drums and stuff to,

1:04:32

like, midnight. Mhmm. And I'd be listening to all this

1:04:34

music to, like midnight. It's really weird, mate. And then

1:04:36

you and then it would you'd park around

1:04:38

the back and it'd open

1:04:40

up into paradise. Crazy

1:04:42

lake. And this lake is

1:04:44

ancient, engine ancient,

1:04:46

shallow. Yeah. dot islands everywhere. We know mushrooms grown

1:04:48

everywhere. Dead trees. Dead yeah, I'll

1:04:50

mate. Incredible. The and the the platforms

1:04:52

were already in a fairly bad variety of

1:04:54

that until

1:04:56

that was before you set fire to them as well.

1:04:58

Yeah. But the best the best

1:05:00

swim on the lake was was was either

1:05:03

the climbing tree or or off these

1:05:05

platforms because not that you

1:05:08

he would allow you to,

1:05:10

but I did. on fish

1:05:12

around the corner into into the

1:05:14

outbounds where where pullfished.

1:05:16

Yeah. They lived there mate. If you didn't

1:05:18

fish around there, you were not catching anywhere near

1:05:20

as many. So I would

1:05:22

always fish off that platform and I pretty much

1:05:24

add the lake to myself for the best part of

1:05:26

year and a half really. Mhmm. Now now we've

1:05:28

got good down there. but Jay got me on

1:05:30

there. I think there there was only

1:05:32

twelve members maybe at the

1:05:34

time. And yeah, I was fishing

1:05:36

on on those platforms

1:05:38

one night. decided to have a barbecue on them. Didn't

1:05:40

put any stones underneath. Didn't

1:05:42

think about it. Ten four straight on there. Ten

1:05:44

four straight out on the

1:05:46

boat. Anyway, I've gone back to the car. Forgot on

1:05:48

the me me boys or something. Next thing

1:05:50

I bought back off. The

1:05:51

barbecue had gone. through the platform

1:05:53

into the into the next level of the

1:05:56

platform. Yeah. And it was

1:05:58

on fire.

1:05:59

for

1:05:59

So I've jumped

1:06:01

into the lake, got buckets, and

1:06:02

I'm just throws you loose it back there. Yeah. And

1:06:04

there's a big hole in the middle of

1:06:07

the platform and I don't know whether people know that was me to

1:06:09

this day, but they do now. Six months later,

1:06:12

they'd they'd built a new platform. Really?

1:06:14

Yeah. What on earth?

1:06:16

How do how was it not an inquest as to why I'm sort of holding the middle of

1:06:18

the pit. Because because it just wasn't many people on

1:06:20

them. They didn't visit lake and they didn't visit the lake and They

1:06:22

talked to me about the fish because

1:06:26

I wouldn't say that you had it at its peak because actually

1:06:28

that all of this did get quite a lot bigger

1:06:30

in the internet. But you probably had it

1:06:32

at its peak in terms of the experience

1:06:35

Absolutely, mate. I was on there

1:06:37

relatively early. Friend of mine, Bailey

1:06:40

Warren, he he he caught that

1:06:42

fish -- Mhmm. -- before

1:06:44

I did. And

1:06:44

I guess

1:06:45

that and Jay's influence,

1:06:48

like seeing the fish at head court, was was

1:06:50

was why I wanted to go

1:06:52

there. Mhmm.

1:06:52

beautiful old

1:06:53

leanies or of of the leanie generation,

1:06:56

whether that was so tough to say, but you don't

1:06:58

know for me. But it was definitely a fish like that

1:07:00

split tail

1:07:02

were. Yeah. I mean, I'd love to show I'd love to show a picture of split toe

1:07:04

tops if you can find it, but I just It might be

1:07:06

one of them. top, like, thirty six pound. It might

1:07:08

be my The best carpets.

1:07:10

thick. Oh, yeah. Split pack. Was it? Split pack? Yeah.

1:07:12

Yeah. Just for me, right up

1:07:14

there -- Yeah. -- with any fish you

1:07:16

caught out of that lake. I I

1:07:18

had quite a lot of those fish spawned out. Like split peck

1:07:21

was normally like not that not it and it what really was.

1:07:23

I know people say weight irrelevant. It really

1:07:25

was weight irrelevant for those

1:07:28

up. But I I had them. It's that

1:07:30

fish has actually gone like upper forties

1:07:32

now, but at this time,

1:07:34

I had it like thirty six spawned out.

1:07:36

I think I had to hold in the door so small. Has this been this be out

1:07:39

of eggheads? Sorry. Yeah. In the eggheads folder?

1:07:41

Yes. In the eggheads folder. Yeah. Tell

1:07:44

me about the fish in there because it's a lot hinges, isn't it? hinges? Yeah.

1:07:46

Hinges on hard stuff. Yeah. Yeah. That's

1:07:48

what I remember. But but but but

1:07:52

I would I would be burying everything with the ore of

1:07:54

the boat, including the hook

1:07:56

length, so you'd almost be fishing to

1:07:58

sort of

1:08:00

two inch hooklinks most of the time. Yeah. Because you could

1:08:02

see everything. I mean, that that was

1:08:04

that was an look, just look amazing. So

1:08:06

that's basically like a miniature version of the

1:08:08

big linear as well.

1:08:10

Yeah. Well, us. Yeah. Great picture. Oh, love. I just

1:08:12

love people. Keep going to have let's have a little scroll

1:08:14

because we wanna see some of these. Yeah. They're they're a very

1:08:16

special fish the

1:08:18

like of wish I had that. Don't exist anymore. No. I just wish I wish there was another one like that. Well, this is the thing we can't,

1:08:20

you know, you just can't compare these

1:08:22

keep going, mate. No. No. So so that

1:08:27

probably all of the same. Oh, no. No. It's split back. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So to

1:08:29

me, that looks like an old Savayfish.

1:08:31

Yes. Big time, Rich. You see the

1:08:33

the the scales by the tail risk.

1:08:35

Yeah. It's not the best photo of it that

1:08:37

you've got. There are more. There are more. Yeah. That that is in the folder with a with

1:08:39

a few. I don't think

1:08:42

that's the side with this a

1:08:44

bit peck on a ancient old car. Yeah. Are

1:08:46

they are they really they really bear out the character of

1:08:49

the lake for me?

1:08:51

They took off again time? It's a Fiat.

1:08:53

I don't know which time is the best size for you.

1:08:55

No. I have a look at

1:08:57

one of them. So pop that up Yeah. That one. That

1:08:59

shot. That shot. Yes. Yeah. There's actually a

1:09:02

hatch. Just look at the

1:09:03

head mate. The slope

1:09:05

on that head. Complete

1:09:07

with Nike Glee. I

1:09:09

mean,

1:09:09

I think that adds to the picture. If you're -- Wow. -- listening to this guys, then we'll

1:09:12

probably put a picture of this

1:09:14

upon the Instagram or something. If you

1:09:16

do than

1:09:18

that because For me, it doesn't

1:09:21

get a lot better than that. No. Why your

1:09:23

fingers yellow, by the way, on

1:09:25

your left hand? I don't it would I don't

1:09:27

know what? Well, when

1:09:27

I was using something, I don't know.

1:09:30

No. because I no. No.

1:09:31

circulation cut off, but

1:09:33

I don't know. No. But

1:09:36

so these fish were caught in the end. You can caught quite

1:09:38

a lot of them in the same fashion, didn't you? Mhmm. Talk me through how

1:09:40

you got to that

1:09:43

point. So through learning through

1:09:45

through the boat mate. It was all boat work on

1:09:47

there. Again, weedy, but I mean weed, I mean football pitches

1:09:50

of weed. That's what put people off as

1:09:52

well. none

1:09:55

of the members bothered because you couldn't really get them in from

1:09:57

the bank. It was all boat work.

1:09:59

I was I

1:10:02

saw so much that you

1:10:05

were you were pretty much fishing your

1:10:07

lines across these football pitches of weed into the holes. Were you

1:10:09

on braid at

1:10:12

this stage? I

1:10:13

yeah. Yeah. Probably. Probably bullet brad at the time because

1:10:15

we wouldn't have had a

1:10:17

brad out there. So it would have

1:10:19

been bullet brad yet. but

1:10:22

I was just fishing. I was bowstringing almost like

1:10:24

to the Weede bed. The Weede bed

1:10:26

was almost like a backlet. Mhmm. Like

1:10:28

I was boostring into that Weede bed. It was all

1:10:31

caught around that. The line was then caught

1:10:33

around another bit. And then I was just sort of dropping the rigs in the holes.

1:10:35

There was no such thing as line they made other

1:10:37

than the last

1:10:40

ten yards. of which was pinned down on

1:10:42

the ore. Right. Okay. And this was actually an extremely silky lake.

1:10:44

Wasn't it for gravel pit? Yeah. Yeah.

1:10:46

Wasn't it? It almost like a fur

1:10:49

probably what it can't have been, but centuries

1:10:51

of silver It was it was it. But but there were there were there were sort of blown spots,

1:10:53

which was the big. They

1:10:56

were like big

1:10:58

pebbles on the blown spots. They were

1:11:01

just polished to to to wagery

1:11:03

for years of feeding. And then there

1:11:05

were these other spots that were silky

1:11:07

areas, but they were salty areas with tiny little flex a

1:11:09

bit of of shingle, and they were the spots that did the bites, but they were

1:11:11

they were quite dusty still through. It's still

1:11:13

a dust of silk there. Is

1:11:16

that why you went with the hinge.

1:11:18

Yeah. Exactly that. Yeah. But but there was enough dust there to be able to use

1:11:20

the ore to just

1:11:23

pin everything in there. I

1:11:25

was using big five ounce lids anyway, but pushing them into the silk and the

1:11:27

hook link and the bit of putty with it. So you would almost just

1:11:29

fish in this

1:11:32

tiny little sort of wafting, two inch

1:11:34

chuckling, one inch chuckling even, so it's short inches. And that last all they

1:11:36

saw was pretty much the hook

1:11:38

plate and the offerings around it.

1:11:41

Yeah. Memory. But I did I did catch a few on nuts as well. That

1:11:43

that was another thing, Brazil's. No. But for

1:11:45

that yeah. No. That wasn't

1:11:47

the Brazil stage. that

1:11:50

came later. This was these were on black tigers.

1:11:52

I'd found that they were leaving the

1:11:55

Golden tigers, which is so

1:11:58

odd. moved over to the blackhead. This is the this is

1:12:00

the crucial thing here. I can see it.

1:12:02

Yeah. You wouldn't know that. You'd have no idea.

1:12:04

You just think that target. That's where no go.

1:12:06

That's Love the one. me straight out in the

1:12:09

morning. Absolutely. And looking at what where's

1:12:11

what Rick? Where's what Rick? is

1:12:15

it sitting? How does it look? Where's the bait? Yeah. Yeah. And what would you

1:12:17

most what would you see most of

1:12:19

the time? A a lot

1:12:21

a lot of time, like, they would just be there'd be bait left

1:12:24

there. Like, they hadn't even been on the

1:12:26

spot. I think that's even so demoralizing that.

1:12:28

Yeah. That most of the time, if the bait when

1:12:30

I would have a buy other than the Golden

1:12:32

Tiger situation. Soon as I switched over to Black, so you never went out and

1:12:34

found your engine all its own. Then my opinion, the odd occasion, Rich,

1:12:39

So actually, you you found the hinge to

1:12:41

be super effective. But if they came in a

1:12:43

big time by Big

1:12:46

time. Where where it's like since you I probably wouldn't dream fishing

1:12:48

a hinge in that situation now, but

1:12:50

I I knew that old linea. It

1:12:52

had like a very sloping sort of

1:12:54

mouth and I and I know It's

1:12:57

actually Bailey that said you'll have it on a hinge rate. That's the

1:12:59

way

1:12:59

to catch that cop. Mhmm. And

1:13:00

I think

1:13:03

it was actually using a lot of tigers,

1:13:05

catching a lot of carp. I think I moved

1:13:07

on to the hinge to

1:13:10

try and catch that linear. And I remember I had a really good

1:13:12

April, really good May catching loads of

1:13:14

carp on tires. And I left

1:13:17

it alone for like four or five months

1:13:19

because I've caught I felt like

1:13:19

I'd caught pretty much everything other than that linear.

1:13:22

And it was that first night back in

1:13:24

October. I've

1:13:26

used a

1:13:27

hinge and bought that linear. First night

1:13:29

back, I believe, or maybe the second

1:13:31

night, though. We've lost over a big

1:13:33

period here. I don't wanna leave this

1:13:35

alone because because this is the the best fish you've caught. I

1:13:37

know you feel very strongly about

1:13:39

that carp. Even though for me,

1:13:41

it wasn't the

1:13:42

best fish in the lake. I never saw

1:13:44

it either Rich in the lake. So take you

1:13:46

know, I know we are glossing over it a lot of air because it because it was just

1:13:48

such in the middle of the class. over

1:13:50

it. And we're we're and and we're not

1:13:53

gonna bump over it. In fact, I want you to tell

1:13:55

me about how often you

1:13:58

revisit in the lake

1:14:00

you know, were you able to bait and

1:14:02

control areas, you know -- Yeah. -- were you going out and looking at your spot when you

1:14:06

weren't fishing for instance?

1:14:08

to see what was happening. Yeah. The the

1:14:10

yeah. This was going into a time where I was really into my fishing, obviously, still

1:14:15

am. I I recognize visiting I was probably

1:14:17

doing two nights a week -- Yeah. --

1:14:19

but visiting it whenever I could. I was

1:14:21

at quarter at the time, so I was

1:14:23

off doing features filming that sort of

1:14:25

stuff. Every time I'd go past Cambridge, I'd stop it on the way -- Yeah. -- or on the way back or whatever

1:14:27

to bait up or check

1:14:31

the spots. lot boat and that allowed me to

1:14:33

learn obviously a lot about the lake and

1:14:35

and fishing in

1:14:39

general. I would see the same old guard in that boat

1:14:41

all the time, Rich.

1:14:42

I learned that actually

1:14:43

on some lakes, they're not

1:14:45

actually scared about Mhmm. The hole

1:14:48

in the door saw was a right friendly

1:14:50

old character. Even though it

1:14:51

was like the the most beautiful

1:14:53

old carp. He was

1:14:54

so friendly that I would see them all

1:14:57

the time. Split peck, you'd see quite a lot. Yeah. You'd see some of

1:14:59

the linears a lot. But the big linear, which is what

1:15:01

we call

1:15:01

it, the big the biggest one in

1:15:04

the lake that

1:15:06

I wanted. Never saw

1:15:07

it until he was in a minute. Not once. I saw all these fish. Did you know it

1:15:11

was there still? Do you know what?

1:15:13

No. I didn't. Yeah. I didn't know, it's Eric. The the last person that

1:15:15

I knew had caught it was Bailey --

1:15:17

Yep. -- in in

1:15:19

the in the very early spring -- Yeah. -- very

1:15:21

early -- Yeah. -- February March. And I think I I think I called it, like, two years

1:15:23

after Bailey -- Yeah. -- maybe three

1:15:26

years after Bailey. And were you the

1:15:28

next then, yeah, you were I don't

1:15:30

know. But you don't know what happened the morning, because people social media and stuff

1:15:32

there, mate. So you didn't see things

1:15:34

posted on. And and and they were

1:15:38

a bit funny about publishing at the time anyway. They did

1:15:40

allow me to do that chapter, but it wasn't

1:15:42

some it wasn't like a wellie where

1:15:44

you throw them in carp talk every week, but it

1:15:46

wasn't like that. So yeah, I I think

1:15:49

I caught it after Bailey, not a hundred

1:15:51

percent, but I wouldn't see

1:15:54

that fish. and I and I never did. But all the other

1:15:56

ones would either be around the boat or

1:15:58

they'd be in this little cart bunker

1:15:59

that I found. Yes. Like, I

1:16:02

called it the cart bunker. It was where I showed you

1:16:04

where Paul Nash's

1:16:04

Bivvy was. Down in the out of

1:16:07

bounds, there was just

1:16:09

snags all at one margin.

1:16:11

But it would go deep behind those snags. There was

1:16:13

another twenty foot past those snags, and it

1:16:15

was deep water. It's still

1:16:17

like ten foot under there. But there were a

1:16:19

couple of gaps where I could I could almost lift

1:16:21

all the branches and chin myself in with the

1:16:23

boat. These were like old, like, big

1:16:26

boats, you know. Yeah. Yeah. So they

1:16:28

were and light, and I I would pull

1:16:30

myself under these snags. And behind one of them was almost like this little swimming pool,

1:16:34

like dug out Amazing site will show you

1:16:35

to I've got a picture of your phone. It's probably

1:16:37

on it's probably in that egg it's vulnerable. Yeah.

1:16:40

So there

1:16:41

was almost like this this big bunker where

1:16:44

the carp just sat. And I

1:16:46

mean, they just sat there and

1:16:48

I I would quite often going

1:16:50

there. I'll see how in the door saw, split peck, the moon common.

1:16:53

Yeah.

1:16:56

like some of the other eight. The eight the eight

1:16:58

team. And they'd be sitting there. They'd just be sitting there towels and just be wafting, they'd be tight to the bottom, sifting

1:17:01

through the the

1:17:04

bottom and I could feed him there as

1:17:06

well, you know, I'd I'd flick boilies on their heads, Rich. They just felt lovely. Mhmm. They just

1:17:08

felt safe there, you know, they

1:17:09

were never they were caught. It didn't feel

1:17:11

like you just suffered

1:17:14

that fish like the moon comet. I've for instance, that that that that they were there and as big as they were by sea in them in these

1:17:17

air in these

1:17:20

areas. I there weren't fish that you'd necessarily

1:17:22

see. I feel like at some stage It's actually joining us. Join for that in here, wasn't you surprised by what was that? Yeah. I was.

1:17:24

Yeah. There were more backup fish than I

1:17:26

thought. Yeah. And the mooncoma was a megaphy.

1:17:30

awesome. Big silvery deep thing. Yeah. We've got

1:17:32

a pop up picture of that one, mate. It's

1:17:34

such an impressive car. Yeah. Yeah. Another

1:17:37

ancient v. Yeah. Let's call you a couple

1:17:39

of names. Yeah. Even if they ancient some of they probably were.

1:17:44

Yeah. It structure the sort of water that

1:17:46

would put roundly in the start. They were all crust crusty things, mate. They they seemed it anyway.

1:17:48

So bring us to this part of the campaign

1:17:50

when, you know, you're in the swing of it.

1:17:54

Yeah. And and you're about to catch the the

1:17:56

the linear, about to draw a lot. But you stayed on,

1:17:58

didn't you, I think, anyway, but we'll come

1:18:01

to that. I know. I caught the lynn. That was

1:18:03

that was that was my last dick. I walked out and and waved

1:18:05

the left for life. went back. That's that that's I might have

1:18:07

gone back to do to to

1:18:10

get some pictures from my chapter. Right. But but I definitely didn't go back and and fish for it. So how did you catch it then? The big Because --

1:18:12

Yeah. -- was it just

1:18:14

by sticking to what you was

1:18:18

doing so well for you. No. No. It wasn't.

1:18:20

No. III

1:18:22

struggled to begin with.

1:18:24

The moment I

1:18:27

started being say naughty. it wasn't really

1:18:29

naughty because Paul didn't have a clue. So, yeah, it was naughty. I

1:18:31

was fishing sort of around the corner a

1:18:34

little bit. Mhmm. So towards the air like, the bright end of

1:18:36

the old jetty towards the

1:18:39

out of bounds. They

1:18:41

lift their mate like you you I had to I had to

1:18:43

fish there to to to to

1:18:46

do as well as I

1:18:48

did. But I was getting into the swing

1:18:50

of things, getting a lot of bites, so

1:18:52

I would they

1:18:53

were coming at, like, eight in

1:18:54

the morning just before I was about to leave, like, those rods had to stay in. Mhmm. I couldn't get

1:18:57

up out of my bed chair

1:18:59

off my bed chair almost

1:19:03

until I'd had a bike. So felt like the noise and everything was gonna

1:19:05

disturb him. And it was almost on cue

1:19:07

like every morning, like,

1:19:09

eight o'clock. This is a combination of bikes.

1:19:11

oh, mate. Yeah. No. Just don't bro. right hand bro. Just carve around. But

1:19:14

he'll go, oh, and stop.

1:19:16

There's a

1:19:17

closing weed. Oh, mate. There were it was a football pitch pitch.

1:19:19

And is that why you felt able to take the risk about

1:19:22

fishing up towards the outbounds because immediately they just

1:19:25

wave themselves straight up and you and you would get

1:19:27

yourself out in the boat. Sometimes they just pop up. Other times they'd

1:19:29

have gone sort of under and then to the next

1:19:31

week then you'd be

1:19:33

pulling weed up and you'd and line them. You never get them

1:19:35

in from the bank. It was all by work. And

1:19:37

I think that's what put people off. But yeah, I

1:19:40

got into a swing of it. I was

1:19:42

catching quite a lot carp. I don't know how many I had

1:19:44

at the end in the end. Maybe bear in mind, we're

1:19:46

talking about less than forty fish in the lake in

1:19:49

time. Yeah. I think I'd probably had twenty fish, maybe

1:19:51

twenty five but but a lot of the big ones other than the linear, which

1:19:53

I joined for. So in the end, I

1:19:55

was catching and I

1:19:58

started getting repeats If you remember there was the

1:20:00

run over Simo, we call it. I had it

1:20:02

like three times, but you have these big

1:20:05

warts on his tail, like, real weird looking

1:20:07

fee. And now I'm thinking the names now. Alan Taylor's Fish. Do you remember

1:20:09

him? Yeah. The Alan Taylor's Fish. Yeah. They added not

1:20:11

two or three times. Hold

1:20:13

on the door why twice. Mhmm. So start getting

1:20:16

repeats. I thought you know what? I don't

1:20:18

know how long we're gonna hang this out

1:20:20

for this lead. I

1:20:22

really want it, but but life too short, like I've got other fish to fire.

1:20:24

I'm not gonna do the same as

1:20:26

Jason, think it's time to go now.

1:20:30

And I I can't kind of did, like, in in in

1:20:32

May time, I thought, I'm gonna have

1:20:34

a break. I'm gonna go elsewhere. Might have

1:20:36

been flitting with Brendan at the time. I had a

1:20:38

little bit of a break. And then in

1:20:41

October, Samik told me I just said, I've got to go and catch that linear.

1:20:43

I've been talking to Bailey about how he caught it a little

1:20:45

bit, and he said to me, you need to start

1:20:47

using hinges mate. I

1:20:51

was getting

1:20:51

these on black tigers. Getting loved to bikes. They loved

1:20:53

it. Yeah. I wasn't getting the one

1:20:55

I wanted. Got

1:20:58

on the hinge. I think I caught that

1:21:00

carp. My first night back, I'm sure

1:21:02

I didn't mention it. fishing

1:21:04

boily. Yes, it was. Yes, it

1:21:06

was. Yeah. completely complete change of tactics. Just just boilies,

1:21:09

hinge over the top. One up in the

1:21:11

same sort of spots. Take

1:21:14

the exact actually the same spot, Rich. Mhmm. Yeah. And by

1:21:16

that stage, it's the silk cleared. We used

1:21:18

now fishing fishing. It was clearer. Yeah.

1:21:21

Yeah. Will you will you be mindful not

1:21:23

to exhaust the spot because I'm lazy allies. Yeah. Yeah. because I didn't want it

1:21:25

turning out like those those those big spots with the

1:21:27

big pebbles on, which are

1:21:29

probably underneath all the silk.

1:21:32

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

1:21:34

I I remember catching it. I remember phoned in Elliott. Well, no. I phoned you first. He's probably did a

1:21:36

pretty big ole. He was asleep.

1:21:38

Yeah. because he likes his sleep.

1:21:42

as Rich. You didn't answer. This I

1:21:44

was ringing you at one in the morning, not --

1:21:46

Okay. Yeah. -- so I must have

1:21:49

rang you four or five times now. Who's my

1:21:51

next next best sort of porta call? Elle. Elle, you have

1:21:53

much younger.

1:21:53

It's just really nice and rainy. No

1:21:55

chance you'd answer now, Daniel,

1:21:57

not to one PM in the afternoon. But one

1:21:59

AM,

1:21:59

Maranelle? No. It's a ten minutes late.

1:22:01

I was calling you back.

1:22:03

You've added Avenue. Yes,

1:22:06

I have. I'll be down. Mhmm. Good oldell. She

1:22:08

said that it didn't come out at one in the morning

1:22:10

light. I popped it in the sling. He was down

1:22:12

at first light. I don't know what time that would

1:22:14

have been in October, but what six six AM, maybe he was down. He's probably

1:22:16

down before that because he had a cup of

1:22:18

tea. And, yeah, like, El wanted to

1:22:21

have a go at that fish as well. Like,

1:22:23

I know he wanted a ticket, and I think was down one to see what it

1:22:25

was like, two to be like, oh, mate,

1:22:27

sort me out here, but free to be the

1:22:29

the friend that he was and just get the most

1:22:32

incredible pick isn't --

1:22:34

Yeah. -- share a business matter to say, rocking the hands up this day, you'd gone long with I went Beckham, though.

1:22:36

Yeah. That's when that's when Beckham

1:22:38

had his long hair and highlights. Yeah.

1:22:43

water carpets. Look at it. Just amazing. It's deeper

1:22:45

than I remember actually. Yeah.

1:22:48

Yeah. You know, it's it's

1:22:50

obviously super long, but it's and and your fingers yellow again look weirdly.

1:22:52

So I think it's probably that the cameras we used to

1:22:54

use. Yeah. But that was I don't know

1:22:57

whether that's full on gray. cardigan mode. I think it is. It

1:22:59

is. It's terrible. pulled it out for

1:23:01

the for these shots. Absolutely. I mean, have

1:23:04

you got waiters on the area you have fans?

1:23:06

Yeah. So you waited with socks on. I used

1:23:08

to slip over all the time and

1:23:10

over the edge. Yeah. You know, like the way to sign. Did you did you return this fishing Hilton SCORL?

1:23:16

felt like you did the pictures over. I

1:23:18

think we did. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think we did. So do you have a and I've got the Booking makeup.

1:23:24

Yeah. I feel like your

1:23:26

whole campaign might have revolved around that one swim. Is that That did with

1:23:28

us? I did

1:23:31

fly with other swims. Okay.

1:23:33

I mean, look at it and pick

1:23:35

any of these for you. Amazing carp. Right? Great photos from now. Great photos

1:23:37

from now. I know

1:23:39

that. When you no

1:23:41

one takes pictures like that. They don't. They don't. No. They don't. No. You don't. I don't. No. No. No. I'm too busy

1:23:43

trying to film guys usually, but but

1:23:46

in terms of Well,

1:23:50

composition that is totally different. Arguably,

1:23:52

people people people want the filming more than

1:23:54

the pictures these days, but I'm still I

1:23:56

still want that picture more than the

1:23:58

film. That picture is

1:23:59

really cool. Yeah. I like that. I want

1:24:01

the perfect picture still. I don't know about you maybe. Yeah. I want like a real sense

1:24:03

of the character of that fish there as

1:24:06

well, actually. Just remarkable

1:24:08

thing. Is

1:24:09

he still alive? And he was, wasn't it? If it isn't? Yeah.

1:24:10

He is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's a little book at Amapal's pop out. That's a mega shot.

1:24:13

Yeah. He's still alive,

1:24:15

Rich. I mean, that

1:24:16

that's that's like the shot you

1:24:18

have with that carp. Bailey's got the same shot somewhere like that. It's

1:24:22

that just kind of You

1:24:24

gotta have it, aren't you? I mean, what a what a

1:24:26

shock. Right? So talk to me about the fight because at some

1:24:29

point you realize that that you've

1:24:31

got you've got it. And Yeah.

1:24:33

He knows in there. I thought it was the little linear guy. Right. There was another linear. The

1:24:35

one that we've seen that tapes, the one that we've seen already. No. No. No.

1:24:37

No. There was a bigger

1:24:39

one than that. I'm

1:24:42

forgetting loads of fish mate in this lake.

1:24:44

Well, because because we're just with a

1:24:46

really round tail. Yeah. You're with a with a

1:24:48

super super This is all the lineage. No.

1:24:50

yet none of them. Go up

1:24:53

to the fifteenth and sixteenth of

1:24:55

April types, like on the

1:24:57

left, left more just above that

1:24:59

no up one. That one. No. No. That that there you go. Yeah. Super round

1:25:01

tail. Yeah. I thought it was

1:25:03

that. I can see

1:25:06

why? Yeah. Similar shape head and -- Yeah. -- you know, but

1:25:08

the -- Yeah. -- he's a lovely carp. I

1:25:10

I thought he was that rich and and

1:25:13

and until I saw the length of

1:25:16

it. And I love the fact that you've

1:25:17

not even clapped eyes on it. It's such a

1:25:20

mystery still there, but you hadn't even

1:25:22

seen it. No. No. Just

1:25:24

just yeah. Just the most special fish,

1:25:26

you know, I've ever had and probably will

1:25:28

ever have. that I'm allowed to talk

1:25:30

about, but you but you, you know, you left that lake. Yeah. Type

1:25:33

so let's find some more shots

1:25:35

because, you know, we're just

1:25:38

really immerse ourselves in what was, you know, quite unique to the ages. You know, you left that lake.

1:25:41

Mhmm. Probably not

1:25:44

realizing that that

1:25:46

you'd never find fishy like that. No. No. Not with

1:25:48

fish as old as that they don't exist in. They don't.

1:25:50

They don't pop up for that

1:25:51

line of the skill. Oh, hang on. Go to

1:25:54

soy types. Go go to that a minute, we've got a picture of this

1:25:56

up up one that begins feeding.

1:25:58

Look, if that's that cart bunker.

1:26:00

bunker That's

1:26:02

like the the the sort of swimming ball bit. Yeah. They're they're they're the biggest You got any idea what they are. Keep familiar. It's not

1:26:04

it's not easy. I I know one of them was holding the

1:26:06

door. So that might be the one on the left. They're

1:26:11

fish, you can say. Kinda. Yeah. as good then with us. Oh, look out. No.

1:26:14

Look out at me. Look out at me.

1:26:17

That's probably aren't yeah. like, maybe a quite gold in the bottom. I wasn't even

1:26:20

anticipating it, but they obviously really have

1:26:22

walked away. They just constantly fed their

1:26:24

itch. But they

1:26:25

weren't stones on the bottom, almost like a sand, you know. It's

1:26:28

weird. Mhmm. But, yeah,

1:26:30

amazing. I mean, it

1:26:32

I've I think I've cropped that, but there

1:26:34

were like four or five more carp in there.

1:26:36

Where's

1:26:36

the run over

1:26:38

Simo? Twenty two repeat.

1:26:41

Go up one

1:26:42

mate. Two up two.

1:26:45

Yeah. I put yeah. That's it. Yeah. There he is.

1:26:47

Yeah. I mean, obviously, it wasn't a semi. No no had he

1:26:50

been run over. Just got it.

1:26:52

I there's

1:26:54

a gray one in the cardigan somewhere. That that same

1:26:57

fish, I

1:26:57

think. Yeah. He's he's he's so wicked. eight

1:27:00

fish, mate. They're wicked. It was only ever

1:27:02

in jazz, wasn't it? But water look,

1:27:04

he's still stamp of a door that's got

1:27:06

the end. And I think I used get really when called it as Oh, a fire hydrant.

1:27:08

It's like

1:27:11

that was in the cool Gourtex camo sort of army -- Yeah. --

1:27:13

hit phase. -- with cardigan underneath. That is

1:27:16

pretty much your gun for BC

1:27:18

as you can then. So sorry

1:27:20

for and how you know the name, the run

1:27:22

over seed. Well, that's not a actual name. We don't know if it probably didn't have a name, did it? Or or if it did, it was long

1:27:27

since forgotten. On the other side, I can't remember that on

1:27:29

all the Allan Taylorfish, like, had these massive warts on its tail. Mhmm. I've got

1:27:32

pictures of

1:27:34

that. I'd be in that folder somewhere. So the other male male fish We'll throw a

1:27:36

few inches on YouTube if those. Yeah. A

1:27:38

really black eye, the elephant. Yeah. Yeah.

1:27:41

A black eye. Yeah. It's complete I mean, bless you, Mel and Taylor's

1:27:43

no longer with us. No. No. No. No.

1:27:46

They're famous. Yeah. I was I

1:27:48

was one of

1:27:50

my sort of next targets was to go and fish the glib

1:27:52

for for a common of at one of

1:27:54

Alan's fish and and he passed away and I

1:27:56

never ended up doing it. But Yeah. Yeah. Legende was.

1:27:58

I know I know he's sounding a bit, Luke. Good old boy. Great character. Mhmm. You know, I've I only met him a couple of

1:28:00

times maybe at Brown -- Yeah. --

1:28:02

actually San Anglo and he was I

1:28:06

opened backgrounds, but, you know, successful businessman in

1:28:08

his own right, and he's still whack a catch

1:28:10

of products in there as well. Still go. On

1:28:13

the side, is it? Well, And you know what? He

1:28:15

might have just stopped it. Right. Just just

1:28:17

gone. But -- Yeah. -- you know.

1:28:19

But, anyway, another, you

1:28:21

know, mates with close frame with

1:28:23

Maddox, presumably that's how they end up fishing that lake. Yeah. You got

1:28:27

the chance

1:28:29

by being

1:28:29

on that site to go through the fence, the new one stay -- Yeah. -- to the new one

1:28:32

store. Of

1:28:35

course. So I chatting through through

1:28:37

the fence to Stacy. Dan Stacy at the time. Dan wanted to fish egg it. Yep. So he wanted to

1:28:40

get friendly

1:28:43

roommate to try getting on eggheads. And Do you know who

1:28:45

you were? So because you had a bit of a Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He did.

1:28:47

Yeah. He did. And

1:28:50

I got chatting to

1:28:52

Dan and Dan had access to

1:28:54

waterways, which was another, probably even more exclusive than exits. But it's clearly historical

1:28:58

to be fair. started again, Nashi. Yeah. Bill Quinland.

1:29:01

Yeah. My proper

1:29:01

old school characters used to

1:29:04

fish both of these lakes. And

1:29:06

they've been so I can't Ken Ken used to fish them, he? Yeah.

1:29:08

Famously. And these could be

1:29:10

mentioned about four times already

1:29:12

in

1:29:14

this podcast. Bale thought they wasn't they were fully fully cricket backed

1:29:17

in there. Jimmy Mike, they're just

1:29:19

cricket backed, Mike. Yes. Regarding

1:29:22

he was referring to to

1:29:24

walkways. I laughed it off, said, yep.

1:29:26

Yeah. Cricket batspace. That's right. Well, that didn't know. We didn't know. Well, I I did because of

1:29:28

Stacy. By that stage,

1:29:31

you did. By that And we've

1:29:33

got yeah. Yeah. It's by that stage. But but Bailey was you a

1:29:35

game would say that. Well, it's it's it's fair to, Ian. Yeah. That's what

1:29:37

he'd heard. Yeah. You

1:29:40

and you secretly come out. Not come out.

1:29:42

To describe waterways because it is it's a Waterways was a was

1:29:44

another egg. It's really nice. Yeah. It was

1:29:46

in a it was in the garden.

1:29:50

of a of a not a mansion, but

1:29:52

a seven they've detached

1:29:54

home, big stately home almost.

1:29:57

Again, old as

1:29:57

the hills, rickety old trees everywhere, overhanging

1:30:00

willows,

1:30:00

lilies,

1:30:04

snack and old swims have been powerful platforms. Yeah.

1:30:06

Yeah. Crumble in there. Yeah. Even more crumble in the nuggets because this wasn't

1:30:08

a fishing lake, really. It

1:30:10

was really stacey and and and

1:30:13

a couple of other lads that that had access to

1:30:15

they used to mow the lawns to get access on the lake, you know, and and can and and then

1:30:17

I got talking to Stacey who wanted

1:30:19

to get a nigga So

1:30:22

stay safe, mate. Oh, mate. Just like

1:30:25

I might look at that lake, you know.

1:30:27

Doesn't my setup look wrong for that lake.

1:30:29

Very new for like By the way, can we just before we

1:30:31

move on from this? I didn't

1:30:33

know this at the

1:30:36

time. Alright. You have folded

1:30:38

handles on rails with screwing real handles. Yeah. I don't know what that was. That is a savage mate. Terrible,

1:30:40

isn't it? I'd have

1:30:42

to I'd have to like

1:30:45

reassume you move to two. You got tallies on blimming bags. So

1:30:47

why have you gone on to those? No. No. What even real I don't know what reels they

1:30:50

are? Are they badsy?

1:30:52

Oh, they're isolated. I think oh, no. They're not. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old.

1:30:54

They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. They're old. But somehow, you've managed to unscrew

1:30:59

the hand handles. I think old. I think they're QDXs. You that's

1:31:01

that's Are they? No. Then yeah.

1:31:03

The QDXs, aren't

1:31:06

they? I mean, it doesn't matter, mate. Yeah. Whatever. It's still you're

1:31:08

still terrible. terrible. Penning. Penning actually

1:31:10

ripped me to shed some dead. I

1:31:13

mean Reels and Folded

1:31:15

handles is one thing. faced those. They're

1:31:17

classic. And they and they like when you They haven't been you not long now at that

1:31:19

point. I'll tell you what the above got is Decorder stays.

1:31:21

Some interesting looking buzz buzz buzz buzz

1:31:23

there as well. that he most bizarre