Carp Books

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Big Carp magazine, this series of books entitled ‘Big Carp Legends’ will encompass the greatest names in carp fishing history over the past two decades. The content of the books in this series will be a mixture of articles from the archives of Big Carp, life histories of famous anglers and original articles specially commissioned for the series and never before published. One by one these books will build into the greatest collection of modern day carp fishing history ever printed; a collection that every serious carp angler will want to own.

Steve Briggs is more than just a Big Carp legend, he is a carp fishing phenomenon. A master of techniques, this modest angler has become the most successful angler ‘worldwide’ that we have ever known.

Captor of fifty-pluses from five different countries, multiple winner of the prestigious International Carp Angler of the Year and two-time World Champion, Steve’s reputation stretches across the globe.

But it is here in the UK that Steve has quietly gone from water to water catching the best of the best – Darenth, Johnsons, The Railway, Harefield, Summerleaze, Wraysbury and The Mere – the list goes on.

Here in his own words is his incredible life history; a life dedicated to pursuing the world’s largest carp

There is no doubt that Ritchie McDonald is a carp fishing legend. He dominated the headlines in the eighties when he caught the Yateley North Lake Forty (later to be christened Bazil) at a weight two pounds above the official British record held by Richard Walker. By refusing to claim the record, as he believed Chris Yates was in fact the true record holder, he stamped his mark on the record fish committee and proved to everyone that he had great character and consequently earned the respect of the carp fishing world.

Already in the headlines, his next assault was in France at the recently pioneered Lake Cassien. We all read about his exploits weekly in the Angling Times; Ritchie was on a roll, but in actual fact this roll had began ten years before the big Yateley fish.

In the seventies, Ritchie was the first angler to catch a twenty pounder from Redmire in winter and the first angler ever to catch thirty twenties in a season. By the early eighties his tally of 35lb-plus carp was light years ahead of his contemporaries, and he took his good friend Rod Hutchinson under his wing in an attempt to land Rod’s first big carp.

Ritchie earned the reputation as the big carp hunter of the day, and not without reason. Longfield fell to his approach, and a season on Ashlea Pool saw him soon become the lake record holder with Peter Mohan pushing this publicity-shy phenomenon to tell the world of his captures.

Once in the Colne Valley, Ritchie once again ruled the roost, smashing the exclusive Conservative Club venue, catching Sally from Savay and conquering Harefield. But it was Yateley again where Ritchie was back in the headlines, catching the impossible by landing the Pad Lake Forty (Jumbo) and Heather from the Car Park in the same week.

This was not the end of Ritchie’s story, as he was also to capture ‘The Royal’ from his local Pen Pond before he hung up his rods and was lost to carp fishing forever.

I consider myself lucky to be one of Ritchie’s close friends and to have fished alongside him on several well-known waters in the UK. Ritchie is without a doubt a ‘one off’, a great angler of his time, who was way ahead of his time in understanding the carp and how their minds worked.

Although he no longer fishes for carp, Ritchie enjoyed carp fishing during the great years of the seventies and eighties, and he would be the first to agree with me that he had the best of it, and that the good old days could never be repeated. Readers of this volume should please bear in mind that the content of each chapter is a taped interview with some chapters containing extracts from Ritchie’s own diary, also recorded on a Dictaphone.

Starting in the 70’s, Lee fished locally on the famous Kent waters of the day – Dartford, Horton Kirby and Sutton, and he soon earned a reputation for being a very successful and consistent catcher of big carp. Brooklands and Darenth were next on his list, meeting some great and lifelong friends such as Colin Swaden, Curly Hatchman, Martin Locke and Kevin Maddocks, each one bouncing ideas around and putting together those ‘early day’ jigsaws. His affair with that famous Kent carp, She, is legendary, but it was his capture of the unknown 40 from the Colne Valley that sprung Lee into the headlines. Savay was next on his list with considerable day ticket success, and whereas his campaign on Springwood would last over a decade, most of his captures have never been published, until now.

The Blue Lake, Longfield and Cotton Farm became his next obsessions. That was until he found Conningbrook, where he was one of its most successful anglers ever, catching over 20 fish topped by a new British record! Lee is without doubt a true legend, but he is more than that. Lee has never let his fame go to his head. He is, and always has been one of the sport’s real gentlemen, a great ambassador for the art of carp fishing, and genuinely an all-round nice guy. Now here is your chance to read his life story.

We’re delighted to announce the launch of Korda’s first yearbook, Telling Tales. This high-quality publication is quite different from your average carp book. It’s a true feast for the eyes and features exciting contributions from Korda’s staff, including Danny Fairbrass, Adam Penning, Damian Clarke, Ali Hamidi and Darrell Peck.
You might expect that Korda staff have loads of time to fish, but the truth is far from that. Most of us slot our fishing in between the demands of family life, just like you. That’s why this book should appeal to all carpers, irrespective of experience.
Telling Tales features 13 UK forties and a host of other amazing fish, including some truly jaw-dropping foreign chunks. It’s not just a procession of big carp though, because each chapter is subtly interwoven with the tactics that helped bank the fish contained within.
We could have filled its pages with blatant plugs, but chose instead to let the tales do the talking. The result is a classy and understated publication that will be as valid in 2021 as it is in 2011.
Telling Tales sets the benchmark for publications of its type and will become highly collectable. This is the first in what will be a long-running series of yearbooks that will build into an entertaining and informative series.

The Forgotten Chapters' has been meticulously compiled by angler and writer Gareth Fareham over the last eighteen months. With significant efforts from friends and developed in conjunction with Ali Hamidi, the book contains 28 entirely unique stories covering the journeys of dedicated carp anglers in search of that ultimate common goal, the capture of that elusive monster.
The Forgotten Chapters is privileged to include chapters from some of the finest anglers in the land; from well known characters of the scene such as Ritchie MacDonald, Martin Locke and Jason Hayward through to the 'underground' contributors such as Ev, Simon Hartop and Alan Welch. There is always one shared and deeply rooted obsession; the quest for huge, thoroughbred English carp and detailed within are campaigns on the great venues of Wraysbury, Yateley, Longfield, Savay, St Ives, Summerleaze, Richmond Park…the list continues on.
Richly illustrated by Gareth and containing an astonishing wealth of photography of some of the most incredible carp the country has ever produced, it is a book of inspiration that charts the hardships and endeavours, the highs and lows, the emotion and the dedication, the effort and the sacrifice and the friendships and adventures that make up the crooked, winding path towards the pursuit of a dream.
The Forgotten Chapters is a truly unique book, bringing together a monumental selection of inspirational chapters that no carp angler can fail to enjoy, regardless of their experience.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of big carp magazine we are proud to announce our new series of 10 books entitled big carp legends.

The 1st, by Peter Springate is now available with the others following shortly. The authors include Terry Hearn, Rob Maylin, Rod Hutchinson, Jim Gibbinson, Lee Jackson, Steve Briggs, Nigel Sharp, Jim Shelley, Dave Lane and Richie Mcdonald and will build into the ultimate collection of modern carp angling literature.

If you've read Dave's first, highly acclaimed book, 'An Obsession with Carp', then you'll have a bit of an idea what to expect from this new release. If you haven't read it, then this will really open your eyes to the world of 'specimen' carp angling.

The obsession still burns, although Dave has a modicum of control over it now, but the rewards are now amongst the most sought after in the carp world.

This is a book that will amuse, amaze and sastound you - and hopefully inspire you, with chapters on Conningbrook, St.Ives, the Secret Mere and many more...

Take care as you go, and beware the brambles!

For many people carp fishing becomes an obsession, a way of life almost, and that was how it was for Steve from an early age. But it was when he travelled down to Lake Cassien for the first time that he knew his life would never be the same again! This book concentrates on one of the world’s most famous lakes and Steve’s attempts to catch some of the prized inhabitants from its great depths since the days just after its discovery through to the time of finishing this book. But success at Cassien opened up a whole new world of possibilities and Steve was quick to grasp the opportunity to travel around the world and to other great waters in search of big carp.
With carp fishing you never know what is just around the corner. Periods of despair can be followed by moments of intense excitement and that is all reflected in these pages that follow. It is a true-to-life account of the fishing, the friendships, the discoveries and of course some of the carp that Steve has encountered since that first trip to Cassien in 1986.

The new 148 page Fox Guide to Modern Carp Fishing is the second book in the ‘Fox Guide To’ series and is packed with guidance and information designed to help you keep catching. Fox Consultants, including Max Cottis, Andy Little, Ken Townley, Adam Penning and Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott explain some of the rigs and tactics that have proved successful for them. Information on spodding and use of PVA is also featured. All the rigs and ideas are presented in a concise step-by-step format and all the sequences are illustrated with full colour photography.

Ian ‘Chilly’ Chillcott is a legend in the world of carp fishing and in this book he passes onto the reader his knowledge and passion for the sport.

Whilst this is a technical book on carp fishing and some of the material is quite advanced, it is the author’s intention to make sure that the basics are fully covered. He explains why certain types of tackle and equipment should be used and outlines the development of tackle and tactics.

The author begins with a brief history of carp angling and includes many of the dramatic changes and events that have shaped the sport into what it has become today. The section on tackle covers everything from rods to sleeping bags.

On the practical side, the author writes about playing, landing, and safe handling of carp from the moment the fish is hooked to its safe return to the water.

Well known for his angling exploits, Chilly has now written the book that many of us have been waiting for – a book about his life; and what a life. The carp fishing part of his life has been well documented but, here, we also find out how much it is just that – a part of his life.

From over two decades in the Army, to his love and devotion for his beleaguered wife, Lynn, we see carp fishing for what it is to most of us – an obsession that has to be tamed in order for normal life to resume as much as possible.

But Chilly’s life is far from normal, and here we get down to the bare bones of it. The traumatic hospital visits with Lynn which had him questioning his motivations about carp fishing. The years in the Airborne Forces that had him at constant readiness to be flown to any one of the many flashpoints around the globe in the nineties. His season in the wilderness, where the bottom of a bottle seemed more preferable than a carp in the bottom of the net.

But, through it all, carp fishing and the friendships made whilst on the bank, were his salvation, and as dramatic as that sounds, most of you who read this will totally empathise with that.

This is a book of rock-bottom lows and nose-bleeding highs, but the highs far outweigh the lows and will leave you gagging to get the rods out.



Read and enjoy!

Want to catch more and bigger carp? From understanding carp behaviour and location through to tying the latest rigs, the new 248-page Fox Complete Guide to Carp Fishing is packed with step-by-step sequences and computer illustrations to help you catch more carp than ever before.

Drawing on decades of experience from Fox’s team of carp consultants, this book is an invaluable guide to every aspect of modern big carp fishing – offering clear, detailed advice on everything from knot tying and rig principles to terminal tackle, PVA bags, spodding, surface fishing, bait choice and carp care.

The Fox Complete Guide to Carp Fishing is a wealth of information for beginners and experienced carpers alike!

First published in 1989 Fox Pool was described as `The most impressive collection of massive carp ever brought together`,with guest chapters from the Who`s Who of carp angling including Steve Allcott,Martin Locke,
Phil Harper , Kevin Nash , Roger and Kerry , Zenon and Rael Bojko , Jon Allen , Rod Hutchinson , Chris Ball and Benie Loftus to name only a few.

Tiger Bay is Robs first book,originally published in 1988 . It focuses on his fishing at Savey Lake andthe North Harrow Waltonians , both situated in the Colne Valley .

Terry has earned along the way the respect of many of the countries leading carp anglers, and now he has written his first book that promises to be a revelation to anglers of any experience and one that we are sure will propel in to the annals of modern carp fishing history.