The Secret Carp

The Secret Carp is a fishing book with a difference. As The Independent comments, it is one of the few books that manages to capture the real joy of fishing in such a way that even a non-angler could be seduced. It tells the true story of the events of a single day and night beside an English carp lake in high summer. When he stumbled upon a long-neglected, overgrown lake holding some monster carp, Chris Yates knew that he had discovered the kind of place about which every carp angler dreams. He set about trying to catch the huge, elusive inhabitants with rod and line. It was a quest that was to reveal many insights into the secretive behaviour of this king of freshwater fish and bring him thrillingly into contact with his quarry. Waiting, watching and stalking, quite undeterred by the damp sleeping bag and the cold. Yates' enthralling story whispers adventure and promise. And it is punctuated by moments of great drama as monster fish disturb the tranquil world of the angler. Fishermen of all persuasions will enjoy this masterful angling chronicle.

Chris Yates has been a compulsive carp catcher from a very early age. He finds the fish infinitely fascinating and their pursuit closest to what Walton called 'the contemplative recreation.' Yet, despite the peacefulness and beauty of the carp lake, there is always a thrilling undercurrent of tension, that in a moment the peace will be shattered and the angler will find himself attached to a monster. It is this aspect of carp fishing that the author conveys to brilliantly. In 1980, Chris Yates caught a carp of vast dimensions from Redmire Pool in Herefordshire. It weighed 51½lbs and for many years it was the largest carp caught in British waters on rod and line. Yates is the author of several books, including Casting at the Sun (1986), The Deepening Pool (1990), and he is editor of the angling magazine Waterlog. When he is forced to lay down his rod, he pursues his profession as a freelance photographer whose work has appeared on record sleeves, magazines and books. In 1993 he completed A Passion for Angling, a six-part BBC TV series and accompanying book, which told the story of his fishing adventures with his friends Bob James and Hugh Miles. Chris Yates lives in a Wiltshire village, not far from some great carp lakes and the river Avon.