The Challenge of Big Carp by BB published by Little Egret Press

For my 71st birthday Will Carter from Berkshire one of life's nice guys gave me as a birthday present The Challenge of Big Carp by BB Denys Watkins-Pitchford one of the great writers on natural history, fishing and wildfowling in the past hundred years. I will say now its a great read that really does take you back in time when carp fishers were a rare breed, When only a few attempted to try and catch a carp.

I was one of those new breed who back in the late 1940's early 1950's following in the footsteps of our Guru the late Richard Walker who without doubt was the best angler of his and many other generations. My baits were soft potatoes, not par boiled as some writers stated in those days. Brown bread and honey paste was my special bait of the day, if I could get hold of some honey.

In this book The Challenge of Big Carp BB takes us to such wonderfull places such as Mapperly reservoir where Buckley caught his big carp. The Old Copper Mine at Beechmere in Devon, Woldale Lake in Lincolnshire and Redmire Pool in Herefordshire.

This Was My Finest Hour

What ever you do don't miss this chapter in the book when BB as a young boy goes off on his cycle to fish a private lake owned by the local squire, the chapter captures the whole adventure. You are immediatly transported with BB to the waters edge where you smell the water mint and other delightful smells of the waterside. I too fished a similar water in 1949 catching what to me was a giant carp about 5lbs. In those days a 10lb fish was a rare catch and a giant among giants in the aquatic world

Tom O'Reilly of Little Egret Press www.l-e-p.com has done all true anglers a great favour in publishing this delightful book The Challenge of Big Carp by BB for further details write The Little Egret Press 1 The Stables, Port Eliot Estate, St Germans, Cornwall, PL12 6ND Why not put this book on your Christmas wish list, though I doubt if those who fish carp puddles would enjoy for what is truly magnificent writing from the past. I give this book ten out of ten.