Carp Fishing With An Original Richard Walker MKIV Carp Rod -pt1 

I do much prefer the float or free-line approach 👍🎣🎣

Thank you 👍

To be honest, my SU is a bit of an animal. I only really use it for hit and hold situations or deadbaiting for pike.

@@InTheEdgeWithAlex I've never used one so can't comment. It seems that an intermediate one would be useful.

Thank you, much appreciated👍🎣

It is a very special place 🎣

🤣 needs must, and all that..🎣🎣👍

Thank you👍 come and say hi if you see me on the bank👍

@@InTheEdgeWithAlex I definitely will do 👍

Thanks 👍 not sure about the heron bit though - I'm more of a dodo body type 😅😅

Hi Dave, You can't beat fishing with a cane & pin 👍 Your stretch of river sounds divine - right up my street. Luckily there's still a few quieter waters in my areas 👍🎣🎣

Thanks Joel, I'll definitely check you guys out👍carping on a pin is certainly seat of the pants stuff🎣

That sounds a lovely combination. I've managed to aquire a number of cane rods/centrepins over the years, mostly home built, no name or missing the makers mark but they all perform with character and are a pleasure to fish with. The mkiv only comes out for the heaviest of work as it's a bit of an animal! Although my absolute 'go-to' rod is the farlows holdfast that's in most of my videos. Whilst it's not cane it's at least half a century old and from the very first time I used it, for chub on the Dorset Stour, it was just a perfect fit for my fishing. I'm based in East Sussex and the estate lake is a bit of an exception as most of the lakes around here are old clay pits and tend to be quite coloured .

@@InTheEdgeWithAlex I'm based in Devon, I'm a bit of an all rounder when it comes to fishing. I am in Kent quite a lot, and spare time is either spent on the Royal Military canal at Hythe, or beach fishing at Hythe also, mostly with vintage tackle. Picked up a Dawson's of Bromley Pike rod this week, looks as though it has never been used, not sure what it is made of, not split cane, possibly early glass fiber made to look like wood or it is wood, Lance wood maybe, not complaining though, £5.

@@Sir.Fisher I keep meaning to give the royal military a go but inevitably get distracted by other waters. Maybe this year I will finally get around to it. Good luck with the new rod🎣

@@InTheEdgeWithAlex What a thoroughly enjoyable video, almost like taking a step back in time. l don't use cane rods but l do still use a pair of Gibbinson Clooper Carp rods.

I don't disagree with you, but it was a very specific set of circumstances. A lead clip because of the weed and a hair rig because of the hard bait rather than the rig mechanics. If you watch my other videos you will see that the vast majority of the time I fish with a float or free-line👍🎣

Thanks Jason. I'm actually using 20lb/bs line with this setup for a couple of reasons 1) I don't think that you can fish too heavy when ledgering around weed and 2) I feel that carp are less likely to spook off (slack) line that they can see as it moves with them if they touch it and acts more naturally that say tight braid for example (although judging by their reaction in the 2nd swim I might have to rethink that one....)

Thank you very much, much appreciated. Sadly the water that you mention suffered a major fish kill a couple of years ago, by which time it contained some very large carp indeed. Like you, I cut my teeth catching Wildies. Long, lean and huge fins with an attitude to match! Sadly, most are now gone, the ponds either dried up or redeveloped into day ticket waters and stocked with fast growing strains. On the plus side I still have access to one long forgotten farm pond that, whilst it doesn't contain wildies, has an unadulterated stock of leney fish. Whilst they don't grow anywhere close to redmire proportions they are very special fish indeed and I only cast a line in there on the most special of occasions.

@@InTheEdgeWithAlex I'm assuming if you know of Ditchling Pond, then you'd know of a lot of my teenage haunts with Haywards Heath & District AC? The R. Ouse at Lindfield and East Mascalls. I'd cycle with all my tackle to those places. Road and net secured on the top bar of the frame. Balcombe Lake. Valebridge Mill Pond. Et al. I first became a member in, probably 1972. My grandpa bought my brother (one up from me of three.) and myself a licence to fish HH&DAS waters. But due to unforeseen circumstances, I never managed to go with him. I then re-joined in the mid ‘70s and as I didn’t have a proposer, I had to meet the then President, Stan Whetstone. He sadly passed away in 1992. I was a nervous as hell but I went to his house, we chatted. He said, “You seem to be a nice lad, so I’ll propose you to the committee.” And that’s how I joined. The Bream record then used to be 4lb 12oz(?). I managed to catch one just 2oz shy of that but didn’t consider it for the prize of the specimen fish that year as the club had just bought Slaugham Millpond where the Sussex Police used to have its HQ and the record Tench had already been caught. I was talking to Stan about my bream and he said I should have taken details about the bream as it would have been the specimen for that season. He said that the club knew that the Tench record would go from Slaugham that year. Valebridge was also a favourite place too. I caught an absolutely HUGE eel from there. Easily over 4 1/2lb. I couldn’t put my hand around it’s body just below it’s head it was that big. I was just about to weigh it, and it wriggled from the net and found a hole in the bank and vanished from sight. But I loved the bream fishing at Balcombe Lake. I’d always catch fish over 3lb at night. Some into the low 4’s too. As for friends who’d fish too. They never caught a 3lb’er. There as another angler we met quite often. He was 4 or 5 years older and he’d always catch a lot more bream than I could hope to. But even he couldn’t catch the 3lb+ fish I could. On some days, I’d take a personally made 9ft rod (Made from a fly rod blank with a handle that was no longer than my forearm and walk down the river from Lindfield to East Mascalls fishing, “fishy” bits. 3lb line. Stick float. Pint of mixed maggots. Chub to 3lb. Roach to over a pound. Dace to 11oz. Grayling. And it’s true that they smell like cucumber too. They're stunning fish. Especially the males with that huge dorsal fin. It's almost as though someone sprayed a light sheen of oil over them when you catch them just right in the light. I think the term for fishing then was _"salad days."_ C’est la vie…

Great Post and thanks for sharing some great memories. I'm familiar with a few of those waters/stretches but they are at the outer edge of what's local to me nowadays. I love the Ouse and have held various tickets that allowed me to fish it over the years and although I've caught some reasonable fish from its depths its the 'almosts and what ifs' that I remember most fondly. Watching a barbel ghost through the cabbages, almost going insane trying to tempt the mullet when they run up to Barcombe Mills or watching the huge shovel sized tail of a carp as it fed in the margins of the tidal section. I really must get back over there!

@@thezanzibarbarian5729 Never caught a grayling before but I have caught smelt & they reek of cucumber - wonder what causes that?

@@SteeeveO 🤔😶🤷‍♂

HI John, I start with 100m on my stalking setups which allows me to remove any frayed or damaged line from fishing in the edge and will replace the whole lot when I get down to 50-60 metres👍

Hi Adam, thanks for the kind comments. A Richard Walker mkiv Avon would fit the bill. There are plenty of other options but most rod builders made/make a version as the design was widely available, including home built examples. The 2nd hand market is a bit of a minefield - there are some really tatty rods that will go on for ever and 'showroom' fresh ones that will splinter into a thousand pieces the first time you hook a fish! But generally you get what you pay for. I treated myself to a brand new Norman Agguters Avon rod about a decade ago and its taken all I've thrown at it and still going strong. (It's in some of my videos) Not cheap but not silly money either.

@@InTheEdgeWithAlex thanks for your time and reply 👍 going to be on the hunt now .

No problem, it's a most enjoyable way of fishing. Good luck 👍