This
iconic angling book has been launched today and this provides the perfect
opportunity to post my book-related blog. In a nutshell, the book content is
contained succinctly within the title and has been written by carp Historian and
author ‘Chris Ball’. This piece of writing has been discussed in closed circles
for sometime now, and anybody closely involved within the carp fishing scene
over the last 40+ years will know full well how hard this gentleman has worked
to quietly compile some of the most important moments of our privileged pastime
in pictorial form. Chris has diligently harvested an enormous historical
portfolio, ranging from tackle items, pictures, artwork and important documents
and letters from all the known carp fishing greats from past and
present.
I
have attached a small excerpt below from the man himself; this will provide you
with a small glimmer of his incredible passion and an understanding of how this
seed germinated as a young secondary schoolboy - magical reading
indeed.
On
the eve of the ‘Historical Carp Waters’ book being published, here is a little
background on how and why I fell in love with all things carp. As a wide-eyed
youngster just into my teens marked the start of collecting pictures and stories
about carp. In 1959 I was thrilled to catch, by design, some carp on floating
crust - long lean wildie-type commons of 2lb-3lb. Carp and fishing for them soon
occupied my every thought and when a couple of years later I banked a 10lb 4oz
mirror from The Tarn Pond at Cutt Mill, Surrey, everything went into overdrive -
it’s never abated since. As a measure of how smitten I was with carp, during
1960 (my last full year at school) I embarked along with the rest of my class on
a task to make a handy scrapbook which included, hessian covered front and back
covers, marbled end papers and sporting around 20 blank pages ready for items of
interest to be stuck in. Nearly every kid in my class had football players or
racing cars, steam engines, etc. filling the pages. But me...? my scrapbook was
full of carp reports from Angling Times during 1960. This scrapbook survives to
this day and is one of my most cherished angling
possessions.
From
around 1970 onward I was lucky to meet and talk with the likes of great anglers
such as Richard Walker, Peter Thomas, Maurice Ingham, ‘BB’, Bernard Venables,
Fred J. Taylor, Dave Steuart, Jack Hilton, Bill Quinlan, Tom Mintram, Bruce
Ashby, Mike Harris and many others which only served to heighten the grip carp
fishing already had on me. To sit down face to face with these men and talk
about their carp fishing experiences later fuelled the desire to write about
these successes and of course obtain as many pictures as possible of their
catches. I remember at the time people like Maurice Ingham telling me, “Why are
you asking me these questions when you already know the answer?” I replied I
simply wanted to hear from him personally the stories I’d only ever read of in
books.
As
can be imagined the amount of carp pictures and stories amassed in over 50-years
of collecting is vast, the pictures alone run into many thousands with much of
it these days scanned and safely stored away. I’ve joked now and then to people
that if you were a prominent name in carp fishing during last half century then
somewhere I’ll have a record of it.
‘Historical
Carp Waters’ is due to be published shortly. For more information and how to
order a copy, go to www.littleegretpress.com
The
book contains over 100,000 words, 400 pages and hundreds of photos of which most
are from Chris’ own albums and have not been published before. Twenty two
different waters are covered within the pages ranging from Redmire to Yeoveney
Pits, Ashley Pool to Withy Pool along with all the legends who have fished these
waters - in a nutshell its a wealth of historical facts and captivating stories
that are a real treat to be shared with the wider public.
This
book will appeal to carp anglers new and old who possess a strong infinity to
our past angling hero’s, combined with waters you may or may not know...but all
containing the magic ingredient ‘History’, which offers insight into the
foundations of our pastime. It is a lifetime of data collection that will never
be repeated again, and for that alone it is essential reading that will take
pride of place in your carp fishing library.
My
role in all this was to hopefully add another dimension to the book with my
Artwork. I have been blessed to be involved in this project and big thanks first
of all to Wayne Cryer and the faith he had in me. Wayne is publishing the book
through ‘The Little Egret Press’. Equally, I am indebted to Chris Ball,
without which this project would never have been possible. From both a personal
and working perspective, this year has been one of the most hectic I can recall,
so my aim was to focus on a select number of drawings to make sure I could
realistically reach the deadline. The main drawings are portraits of anglers who
played a significant role within the book; some the angling world know and
others not so mainstream, but arguably just as important in their own
right.
The
book has been dedicated to Donald Leney, a mighty figure who stocked most of the
famous UK waters. This key point becomes evident as you read the book. His fish
became known as the ‘Leney strain’, which initially came from Holland and were
sold through his fish farm in Surrey around the 1920’s. The actual fish he
stocked into Redmire Pool went on to break three British Records, the first being a local angler named Bob Richards in 1951 landing a 31lb 4oz mirror. The following year
Richard Walkers’ Common of 44lb in September 1952, then to fall once again with
another ‘Leney’ to Chris Yates who smashed the existing record in June 1980 with
a mirror of 51lb 8oz. Most carp anglers still talk about waters that contain the
Leney strain as one may discuss a rare pedigree, and rightly so, because that is
what this strain of carp was and still is, if you're lucky enough to fish a
water that still contains these rare jewels. Documented evidence proves some of
these fish lived for an incredible 60+ years, which reminds me of the ancient
Japanese Koi strains that can live for generations. To cast my eyes over
Donald’s face before embarking on this drawing was both exciting and nerve
racking. I knew the name so well but to see it for the first time offered me
further insight into this mans life and passion. He has a working mans face,
forged from harsh weather, grime and manual labour. This was clearly evident in
his large, muscular hands that highlight sinew and strength - certainly not
forged from flower arranging! His large broad nose possibly displayed signs of
being exposed to the ‘Queensbury Rules’ in his younger years, but equally, I
could also see a caring and quieter side to his character through various other
photos. This is all very exciting stuff when you have a blank piece of paper in
front of you. In my humble opinion, this particular drawing, alongside some of
the other portrait work I have done for the book, is possibly some of my best
work to date. I really wanted to capture the energy of each individual and
project to the reader an ethereal ghost like figure that was returning to life,
not just some photographic soulless replica.
Following
Leney was the gifted naturalist, illustrator and author, and one of my favourite
country writers ‘Denys James Watkins-Pitchford’, also known under the pseudonym
of ‘BB’. The list of acclaims for this man is far too long to list.
BB was awarded an MBE and the dozens of books he wrote for both adults
and children is really just the tip of the iceberg. ‘Confessions Of A Carp
Fisher’ is arguably one of the greats; alongside christening Redmire with
its name he was also a wonderful artist. Most famous for his scraperboard book
illustrations, he also produced some wonderful paintings. As a passionate
naturalist, angler and artist, the powerful words that preface all his books
really resonate with me.
“The
wonder of the world
The
beauty and the power.
The
shapes of things,
Their
colours, lights & shades
These
I saw.
Look
ye also while life lasts”
I
could write a whole blog about this man alone, but to draw him was more than a
privilege and I wonder if I had had the opportunity to meet him in person,
whether he would have approved of my portrait?
Amongst
the collection is a younger Richard Walker who we all know and love as one of
the very first pioneers of carp fishing; actually, BB argued he was the
first. Like BB, Walker was also a writer but he went on to becoming a
household name when in Sept 1952 he broke the British carp record with a 44lb
Redmire Pool Common that shook the angling world. Furthermore, he was also
designing and producing groundbreaking fishing tackle items. These included the
rod that he caught his record carp on, and then went on to breaking Chris Yates’
record using the very same rod at the very same Redmire pool.... uncanny indeed.
I think the actual landing net also manufactured by Walker for landing this
record carp now resides with Chris Ball...who you will see as you progress
through the book is intrinsically tied to all those individuals named
herein.
I
was reluctant to draw Chris Yates, and not from a lack of interest, but I felt
everything that could have been written about this man and his record had been
done to the point of exhaustion. I really didn't want to go over old ground. He
is the godfather; nothing I could write would match what has already been said
of the man so I will let his name do the talking. When I had the opportunity to
look at all the images for the book, this one of Yates taken in June 1980
holding his record mirror carp of 51lb 8oz stood out, but it was not so apparent
at first. We have all seen the famous image a thousand times, but of all the
shots in publication, the ones I could recall are of Chris looking square on at
the camera with the punt directly behind him in the background. In the image
Chris Ball provided, the slight difference was the fact ‘Yates’ was looking down the flank
of the fish while fanning the caudal fin with his hand. I felt
this added drama, which prompted me to go ahead and draw the image. I am so glad
I did because it could arguably be the most iconic carp-fishing photo of our
time?
A
more unknown figure was Tom Mintram who at the time was the syndicate leader of
Redmire; a man who had fondly taken Chris Yates under his wing. His face really
captivated me with his down-turned puppy dog eyes and cheeks, I could smell the
sweet tobacco smoke from his pipe drawing me back to my own grandfather and the
recollection of happy bygone times.
I
also managed a small sketch piece of Ritchie McDonald - one of the bad boys of
angling in his hey day I hear. I have read a few articles of his adventures over
the years, which I found very amusing indeed. The drawing in question is
McDonald holding what was at the time the Ashley Pool record carp, it’s a very
special water indeed and one that makes for exciting reading in the
book.
The
man himself had to be included, so a drawing of Mr. Ball holding what was a very
personal and special carp indeed at the time for many reasons. Not only is the
image the last in the collection, it was one I enjoyed very much and it required
some time pressure otherwise it could have been a disaster if I hadn't completed
it!
There
are countless other angling greats that I would have loved to draw for the book,
but I knew full well time was not on my side this year and maybe some of these
other characters will have to wait for another day. All I know is the wealth of
images that you will be about to view once the book is available will make your
hair curl, real moments in time, frozen in black, white and colour, that trace
the winding path of time from past to present. It is all in here and you will no
doubt see a few faces looking much younger and fresher than you
remember...enjoy.
Some
of these drawings are now for sale, please remember you are purchasing the
original works from the book and no other copies will be available. Most of the
main subjects are professional mounted and framed on A3 paper. The drawings are
oversized compared to standard book illustration because I wanted them to be
stand-alone art pieces in their own right. They are serious works with the most
prestigious provenance and set to be collection pieces in the near
future.
Donald Leney Portrait:
Largest drawing in the collection, Double mounted & Framed £499
Chris Yates Portrait:
SOLD
Richard Walker Portrait:
Double mounted & framed: SOLD
"BB" Portrait: Private
Collection
Chris Ball Portrait:
Private Collection
Tom Mintram Portrait:
£299
Richie Mcdonald Portrait:
£195
Chris Ball
Hat:SOLD
If you require further
images of the artwork mounted & framed please feel free to
contact.
