Brolly camps, sun loungers and Carp!

[Al21]

Sorry folks, but I couldn't resist this from the underblanket thread, seemed like too good an opportunity for a bit of nostalgia to miss, but didn't want to derail the underblanket thread completely.

Hi Jonny,
Gosh your carp fishing year!!!!.. makes it seem like a long time ago...

I've been doing it for over 30 years... and must admit most has been under an umbrella, in all its permutations...(remember the Send Marketing Brolly Camp???) or more recently a bivvy, (since Hutchy started marketing them).... (Started off by pinching my mum's sun lounger with orange flower on it as a bed chair.)

I'd have been very grateful to have known about a hammock & tarp before, on lakes that needed a good hike to get to the pegs.

It was Shaun Harrison, a good friend of mine, whom you may have heard of, that gave me the idea. Since, everywhere I can find trees I hang a hammock. Then my bivvy and bed chair stay in the motor.

cheers
Gareth

Sorry for digressing here folk..

Your Mums sun lounger lol.. Was it one of those that folded up from the top and the bottom, and went click click click into place..?
I started on the carpies in the Eighties when it became popular. I started out on the floor on a roll mat before spending way too much money on all the identical kit and posh bits of stainless steel and padded beds from all the right brands. Consumerism got me hook line n sinker.
That lake of yours looks nice. You got some monsters in that water eh..

So you started with a roll mat eh Jonny. sounds like luxury to me! A mate and I started night fishing with just some polythene sheets to cover ourselves with before getting brollies. Various homemade tarp type set-ups followed before Slug bought a Richard Walker brolly camp. Weighed a ton, but such good kit. His brolly was one of those that you could remove the central pole once erected and we used to support the ends of the ribs with bamboo canes, a rubber end from a walking stick went over the remaining central pole to stop you cutting yourself and the tent pegs were replaced with six inch nail through tap washers. Spent weeks like that during the summer hols in the late seventies.

I think brown and orange flowers on your sun loungers was compulsory wasn't it!

Hmm, Carp and Tench in summer, Pike in winter. Wonderful!

Al

[garethw]

Sorry folks, but I couldn't resist this from the underblanket thread, seemed like too good an opportunity for a bit of nostalgia to miss, but didn't want to derail the underblanket thread completely.
So you started with a roll mat eh Jonny. sounds like luxury to me! A mate and I started night fishing with just some polythene sheets to cover ourselves with before getting brollies. Various homemade tarp type set-ups followed before Slug bought a Richard Walker brolly camp. Weighed a ton, but such good kit. His brolly was one of those that you could remove the central pole once erected and we used to support the ends of the ribs with bamboo canes, a rubber end from a walking stick went over the remaining central pole to stop you cutting yourself and the tent pegs were replaced with six inch nail through tap washers. Spent weeks like that during the summer hols in the late seventies.

I think brown and orange flowers on your sun loungers was compulsory wasn't it!

Hmm, Carp and Tench in summer, Pike in winter. Wonderful!

Al

Yes it all brings back memories, herons, optonics, and monkey climbers..... People used to think we were nuts.. but 30 more years on and I'm still at it...
Here's a shot circa 1980 from Llandrindod Wells....


Note the brolly camp, North Western rod and Mitchell 300...

cheers
Gareth

[JonnyP]

So you started with a roll mat eh Jonny. sounds like luxury to me!

When I say roll mat, it were a mat of rolled out newspaper that used to get damn in 't' night and soak us through..
Polythene sheet... Luxury..!

Haha, nice one Al.. You beat Martin into moving the talk to a new thread..

Sounds like there are a few of us from similar era's into fishing..
I grew up fishing the upper stretches of the river Medway in the 70's mostly catching minnows and dace using way too heavy a line and a massive great arsley bomb, but I did catch a 3 1/4 lb perch one winter as a total surprise. I never night fished in those days. It wasn't until I started carp fishing in Sussex that I got into nights and long sessions. I still remember those first nights out, wondering what all the strange woodland noises were and half expecting some nutter attacking me in the night.. Been watching too many horror films I guess..
I remember the umbrellas were you could remove the pole and put it down the back of the brolly. Great idea, but the wind used to try and turn them round sometimes if you didn't have them rigged up well enough.

I had the good fortune to bump into Chris Yates last year at a festival. I had a good chat with him. His book Casting at the Sun was a great read and inspiration for me and it was a pleasure to meet him..

Nice fish Gareth..

[garethw]

One of the things that inspired me to use a hammock was the ridiculous amount of gear we take these days.... And mine is some what less than some I see turn up to my lakes.
I remember my overnighters in the late 70's early 80's where I could get all I needed on my bicycle. There have been times since where I couldn't get it in my car.

In the last year I've honed my gear down to my backpack with hammock & tarp, cookset, food & water. A tackle bag, rod bag, unhooking mat and bait bucket. I've been working on the basis that if an article is not used for three fishing trips, it gets left at home. I used this same principle to lessen the load in my pack.

I've never met Chris Yates, but one of my friends grew up and went to school with him. I used to write to Hutchy when I was a kid too.. and he'd write back. Since I've been involved in the fishing industry I've met many of the well known anglers.

All this seems light years away from those Llandod days.. When uncaught monsters still existed and the record meant something!!!

cheers
Gareth

[Al21]

Very nice fish Gareth, I'm a bit out of practise, but is it about 17/18lb?

I think the non-anglers will wonder what on earth we're talking about with Optonics and monkey climbers. I never got into boilies and hair rigs, had moved onto fast bikes, fast women and more beer than was good for me by then. Favoured baits were classic sweetcorn and sausage meat mixed with toasted breadcrumbs.

Sadly, I've very few pics of fish I caught as I firmly believed a camera brought bad luck and resulted in a blank. I'll see what I can dig out though, it'll be a while as they'll need scanning.

When I say roll mat, it were a mat of rolled out newspaper that used to get damn in 't' night and soak us through..
Polythene sheet... Luxury..!

soggy rolled up newspaper. Thar were lucky! We dreamed of sleeping under...

...kids today don't know they're born.

Haha, nice one Al.. You beat Martin into moving the talk to a new thread..

Sounds like there are a few of us from similar era's into fishing..
I grew up fishing the upper stretches of the river Medway in the 70's mostly catching minnows and dace using way too heavy a line and a massive great arsley bomb, but I did catch a 3 1/4 lb perch one winter as a total surprise. I never night fished in those days. It wasn't until I started carp fishing in Sussex that I got into nights and long sessions. I still remember those first nights out, wondering what all the strange woodland noises were and half expecting some nutter attacking me in the night.. Been watching too many horror films I guess..
I remember the umbrellas were you could remove the pole and put it down the back of the brolly. Great idea, but the wind used to try and turn them round sometimes if you didn't have them rigged up well enough.

I had the good fortune to bump into Chris Yates last year at a festival. I had a good chat with him. His book Casting at the Sun was a great read and inspiration for me and it was a pleasure to meet him..

Nice fish Gareth..

Where abouts in Sussex did you fish? Most of my carp and tench fishing was at the Southern Leisure Centre at Chichester.

A 3 1/4lb Perch is a very nice fish, I bet you were chuffed to bits with that!

This is the year I'm going to get my oldest lad out fishing, I said it last year, but life conspired against me. I need to find a local water with a reasonable number of small stuff, perch, rudd and roach etc to get him hooked. I remember my Dad trying to get me fishing, but he took me to Chi harbour to fish for flaties and bass. We never really caught much as fishing wasn't really his thing. I've strong memories of doing battle with ragworm, a creature that looks like something from the imagination of Ridley Scott, they're certainly not keen on you putting a hook in them! I'd have been seven or eight at the time. I really got the bug when I was about eleven or twelve I guess. I used to go fishing after school and avoided homework, but always caught a load of small stuff, just right for a youngster.

Nice one, memories flooding back.

Al

[garethw]

Very nice fish Gareth, I'm a bit out of practise, but is it about 17/18lb?

I think the non-anglers will wonder what on earth we're talking about with Optonics and monkey climbers. I never got into boilies and hair rigs, had moved onto fast bikes, fast women and more beer than was good for me by then. Favoured baits were classic sweetcorn and sausage meat mixed with toasted breadcrumbs.

Hi Al,
No it was a bit smaller than that. About 12lb probably. We were the first anglers to use the hair on many of these waters and caught a hatfull. I still remember the old boy on this lake getting only one or two fish in a weekend on luncheon meat or crust, while we were hauling on hair rigged peanuts... 10 or 15 fish in the weekend.
The fish are somewhat bigger these days.



cheers
Gareth

[Al21]

Hi Al,
The fish are somewhat bigger these days.



cheers
Gareth

'kin 'ell!

Are you fishing near an outfall of a nuclear power station!

Lovely fish.

Al

[garethw]

'kin 'ell!

Are you fishing near an outfall of a nuclear power station!

Lovely fish.

Al

Caught from a difficult lake of over 100 acres on the outskirts of Paris. Been lucky since december had three fish between 41lb 8oz & 46lb... this one went 44lb.
cheers
Gareth

[Aaron Rushton]

nice fish, i see you've done the old fishermans trick of holding it close to the camera we all do it! i don't carp fish, i'm a fluff-chucker (fly fisherman) i did once catch a 5lb carp on a tinchy 4wt, 8 foot fly rod. now that was a run around! got me down to the backing in 20 seconds and i spent a lot of time chasing it around the pool so it wouldnt snap my 3lb line!

[garethw]

nice fish, i see you've done the old fishermans trick of holding it close to the camera we all do it! i don't carp fish, i'm a fluff-chucker (fly fisherman) i did once catch a 5lb carp on a tinchy 4wt, 8 foot fly rod. now that was a run around! got me down to the backing in 20 seconds and i spent a lot of time chasing it around the pool so it wouldnt snap my 3lb line!

Actually not at all...It was really that big.. I never see the point in trying to my a 20lb'er look like 40. This one was 44lb, it was way too heavy to hold out at arms length, it is actually leaning against my pertex top... I had a real job just lifting it to keep steady, especially as it was around 0°C at the time.

The lens was a 35mm so not a huge wide angle either...

cheers
Gareth