A small pond and a new dawn…. a summer morning was enough inspiration to get out the float rod and try for some pretty mirror carp that had eluded me all those years ago.

Sitting beside the same body of water 40 years on I would not make the same mistake again of using tackle that was not up to the job….back then I was fishing specifically for Rudd, a beautiful fish with golden scales and blood red fins…and at the specimen level of 2 lbs were extremely hard to find. The younger fish were not that elusive but the older ones whose pictures I would see published in the ‘Mr Crabtree’ books or ‘Angling Times’ were never caught by youngsters …you see they were smart fish. Too smart for the likes of me with no experience…