Published: 1980
Author: George Sharman
Reviewed by: Peter McCue
I’ll make no bones about it I love this book, however I must also confess that this was the first book dedicated to Carp that I’d acquired (given as a present) so it was always going to be reviewed fondly. Thats only part of the story though, 23 years later this book still has much to offer the Carp angler who sees his quarry as more than a pounds and ounces trophy photograph. In the foreword, the great man himself Richard Walker prophesied the book would be unlikely to be superseded for 25 years year later Kevin Maddocks brought out his mammoth Carp Fever and the rest is history as they say!
Carp Fever ushered in a new era and Carp and the Carp Angler was to a certain extent overlooked, though it didn’t stop it being reprinted in 1984 and 85. I’ve read the book a number of times now and there is a feel of purity about it, the numbers game was still in its infancy, compared to the soulless level of accountancy that our heroes are measured by today and you do not doubt for one minute Sharmans assertion, that the book had to be written because he was bursting with knowledge that he needed to share.
The efforts to catch his Yorkshire torpedoes as he named the Carp he discovered on a Barbel holiday are tremendously involving for the reader, just remember were talking late 60’s not 2003 and you can sympathize with his frustration at these little dynamos, no Gertie gutbuckets here!
Whilst the technical side of catching Carp can be safely left to Carp Fever – which isn’t to say that George Sharman doesn’t have anything to contribute its his observations of the Carp itself and its natural element where he shines brightest. His assessment of Carps longevity is superb and his pages of deductions from Carp scale readings are compelling. Do you think the natural food supplies are very low in winter? Follow Georges logic and you may change your mind!
There are other gems as well, such as Fred Wilton and Rod Hutchinson’s original views on bait. I know their theories were espoused in earlier magazines but Carp and the Carp Angler might be the first outing in book form. The master craftsman of angling books Chris Yates is there with A Pot of Gold. For the older Carper or maybe a historically minded younger one, there is the opportunity to build your own antennae bite alarm if you’re so inclined; all the diagrams are there!
So 23 years later the book may not have enjoyed the level of importance that Walker though it would, or enjoyed the impact and number of reprints Carp Fever had, but if the Carp itself is more than a statistic to you then this is still a cracking good read. There are a few second-hand copies of this book about, so take my advice and find one.
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