Phwooor that’s a big un Mr!

Angling has always attracted those who specialise in catching record fish. However, the Carp fishermen (because they mainly and usually are men) have probably done the most to make this branch of specimin angling so popular in the UK. That and the advent and increasing number of commercial fishing lakes.

For many it is now more than fishing and more than just a sport or pastime, to many Carp Fishing is now almost a religion (see news items below) and, catching the big un has become something of an art form.

One of the drivers is (as usual) money, that and the desire for things that are bigger and better than someone elses. We even have pools stuffed full of gargantuan goldfish these days (see below), what’s that all about?

Being the actual captor of that elusive monster is also looked on by many as a macho status symbol. An exhibitionist trophy, typical of Billy Chavboy’s Staffordshire Bull Terrier on its bling chain… Probably why there are more carp fishermen than fisherwomen?

A special service has been held in Kent after the death of a giant fish. “Two Tone”, a mirror carp thought to be one of the UK’s biggest freshwater fish, died earlier this month. (BBC News)

I think most anglers enjoy catching a big fish or two now and then, or at least bigger than the last one. That said and in my opinion, Carp fishing in the UK has become almost an obsesion. One that would require some form of rehab or cold turkey treatment process to ween addicts of it. Fishing to most is a form of relaxation and enjoyment, not a prolonged and mechanically enhanced process of toil.

No doubt some would disagree with these traits, so typical in many within today’s society… Each to their own I suppose?