Welcome to the outcast the podcast from outlaw Pro the ultimate angling experience
Well ladies and gentlemen a big warm welcome to another podcast the outcast the podcast from outlaw Pro
I've got a very special guest in today. He's looking a bit posh actually when you look at him
You wouldn't necessarily think he's a carp angler. He's been around the industry for a very long time
He's a really really good mate of mine. It is none other than Steve Spurgeon from Fox. Hello, mate
Welcome. Well, hello Rob. Thanks for introduction. You are looking very posh. Yeah. Well, I don't normally this isn't my non casual wear
But I'm actually working. He's a bin man normally
Yeah, you know, we'll just see t-shirt and jeans and yeah some scruffy older
You know, like I say, I'm fortunate I'm working today, but I've come in to do this with you and yeah
I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, fantastic. Um, look the first thing that we always speak about is fishing
Where are you fishing now? What are you doing? Right? So at the moment I'm fishing club waters these days
just
Because they've got some really the bonds of fishing have got some real special fishing them. So no syndicates
So I've got two different club tickets
One's in the heart of Essex and the other ones in Lee Valley
Essex heart for sheer Boulder where there's two lakes on that one and one really on the other one that I'm fishing
So yeah. Yeah, so that that is my fishing. It's very limited
Yeah works busy. We work in the business. Surely you'll be fishing all the way. That's what everyone thinks in there
That's that's what's so funny. Everyone thinks you're out of time
I mean I do try and get out once a week
But I mean I just had a gap of six seven weeks for various reasons. I've allowed holiday
Van problems all sorts of reasons, but I didn't get out but not to bother June in July. You caught one though
I saw social media you caught one last week
Yeah, caught one last week. I had another one Monday night as well. So I'm back. I'm back now. I'm back out
He's back. Yeah, I'm fitting in these these quick and they are generally quick overnight as it's like so what's a quick overnight to them?
Well, how is it quick as opposed to slow?
Yeah, it's a rubbish name in a quick overnight
Let's have a short overnight. So let's turn it to short overnight. So yeah, it's literally turn up straight from work
So well, I'd normally be heading home. I'll try and fit my fishing in with obviously the job
I do is I'm spread over East Anglia
Yeah
So if I'm going up the M11 then it'll be more the Lee Valley if I'm going up and down the a12 then it'll be
More the Chelmsford area. Yeah. Yeah, so I kind of and obviously it has to work with where you are the next day because
You know if I was up in Kingslin from Essex
Yeah, it's a fair old trail. I'm gonna be getting up at four o'clock in the morning packing up and going so it's not really
Worth it. So yeah, generally I'm normally
Left away from the lake before eight o'clock in the morning that squad he was in the car park
Getting too old for it. I mean people look at me and must think what is that idiot doing?
Why is he stripped to his boxer shorts?
Pouring water over his head, you know, yeah and the next thing I'm standing on in his shirt
I was a wet wipe so yeah
Yeah, but yes, I'm still still doing it gets hard now when you're standing in the car park doing that and it's like zero degrees
And yeah, the kind of the winter fishing has taken a little bit of a backseat
I'd rather go out fishing for another species whether it be perch pike
Chub but anything really, you know, it's funny isn't it?
You you know, you you go through an angling cycle that that you want to catch carp then you want to catch lots of carp
Then you want to catch big carp then you want to compete then you want to catch even bigger carp
Then actually I think once you've been through that you become very comfortable with it. So as a result
It's more about either the place you go in all the people you with. Yes. That's what I feel. Yeah, totally agree
For me, I'm not really the carp on when I do get obviously when I am carp fishing. I'm not really worried about
Big carp. I want nice looking. I want old ones
I'll count my do you do you do tiger nuts and spit them out? No
No, I haven't got a bucket hat where a woolly jumper in August no
Mate you learn the side. Yeah. Yeah that part of it. I've not embraced but yeah the whole
Don't like sites for me. It's just like nice old looking carp and yeah
Yeah, ones that got a lot of history to her if they're still about
Obviously, they're all on borrowed time anyway, so
Yeah, I'd rather do that. Don't get me wrong. You know the lakes are fishable got 40 pounds. Yeah
I'll just drop that one in then so you're not just
No, no, but they've all got big fishing don't I mean they're not climbing up your lines and what have you
But they're all catchable. Yeah, you don't have climbing up your lines overnight as with quick over
Maybe one first thing in the morning. I'm gonna say yeah, I mean it's a bite the other night
That's more than enough like you know afterwards or do you leave them in? No, no, they go back out
Oh, yeah, I'll buy a photo even if you've had to if you've had like an 11 of 12
I could never get that out my system. I have to fish do you yeah, it would take a lot of fish for me to suddenly go
That's it. You know
Normally, it'll be better pack up this, you know, I've not a lot of sleep, but I've got to go to work
Yeah, it gets harder. Yeah
No
I'm in that hard place at the moment because I think if if I've had a good day and I've caught a few particularly if
I've caught a few through the evening. I think well, I'm obviously on them
They want to be there and if I've got the luxury of time in the morning
Then I'll chuck a bit of bait and reel them in and then catch them in the morning
Yeah, yeah, I sleep and club them at six o'clock. Yeah, I think for me it's because I haven't got that luxury
It's like that's my you know, that's my session bit whatever it be 15 hours or whatever, you know
That's it. That's all I've got. So I've got to make the most of it while I'm there
What's the ideal session for you then? Do you do you like a week? Do you like a 48?
48's like yeah, it feels like I've done a marathon these days to be fair, but I think because of the way I fish you fish harder
Yeah, you just you know, I do fish with another guy time to time. He's got more time on his hands and
But if it if it's packing up and everything I'm done and it's still what gear everywhere. I'm done. I'm going and
Yeah, everything just do a lot quicker and yeah
Because you're part of it now one of the things that I want to talk to you about is your history
You've been around a long time. Yeah, we'll come back to you very early years in a bit
but one of the I think the time that you really jumped out at me was when you it was the early years of the British Carp Angling Championships and
You I think it was would it be linear st. John's you were fishing with Chris Rose was the first first one
I've done. Yeah, cause that for a memory. Yeah, I mean people are there even our struggle to remember that
I think I think I vaguely remember you at Medina's well, we were the first one the Dean the first Medina
Yeah
So I saw you but didn't know you then because I was competing as well
And I think you joined the BCAC the following year and straight away you hit the ground running you and your partner at the
Time Chris Rose. Yeah, you were we well, I called you the dangerous
You for me, you're probably the best anglers or some of the best anglers never to win the BCAC
You know, I always thought that you got it in you but you just didn't have that last bit of luck at the end
No, you've had a third and a second. Yeah third and a second. Yeah. Yeah, I think the first one was
The first one we did fish. Yeah, the the eliminate was on st. John's. Yeah, and
Yeah, we kind of felt we don't really I think we'd only ever been there once as well
So we didn't really know a great deal about it
We got a reasonable we didn't come out really early
But we ended up and what we felt was a reasonable swim and we were amongst it that going in that first day and we made
them stake of panicking about
Baiting again. Yeah and tried to
We were too concerned about pushing fish off and we shouldn't have been and the opposite effects happened
There wasn't any bite going in and yeah, they moved off and we went from I think we were in sitting in second at one point
And then we're in third and come the morning. I think we ended up fifth and dropped out of it again
That was a lesson learned and then going it going in it the following year and it was on walking stone one and now
I'm in my comfort zone now. Yeah, and
Yeah, well, we both thought we both knew on there you could come out late and still
Still, you know welling with a chance
Yeah, and you always get those you always go really weird random choices someone comes out early and you think
Why have they gone in there? Because the thing with the stove especially going back then
The island looks lovely all around but there's some bits on that island. You do not want to be in final. It's just shallow
You know, but ridiculously shallow out for some way. Yeah
And you just the fish just don't patrol that part of the you know part of the island
So we knew we could come out quite late. I'll say get good draws and yeah the first year
Well, we set the eliminator record our first year. Yeah, and yeah, even we were a little bit shocked and come completely off the gas
I think on the last day it was quite funny actually because the the reason we went to war from stole was that it was rumored
At the time that there were no fish in the number one because they'd all been stolen and they dropped the price ticket
The people might not remember this but they dropped the price ticket to a pound a day to try and encourage
I was on the phone a little bit later. Was it all right?
I've been around about that. Yeah, I think it was a couple years off that because the following year
We yeah, we've done it again and that beat our own remember you clumped it. Yeah. Yeah
Yeah, and then I think it might have been you expect what you clump it after the closure as well. I
Can't we would qualified loads of times on it was like I
Think there's only once we didn't qualify and to be fair that was only for lost fish and we'd come out that was when
If I remember right, it was on like 20 pairs on there wasn't the old 12 pairs. That's your lot
It was like 20 days. Yeah, I remember we had Tim Frohman. I think Kempe off to yeah after our right
Yeah, and it was just like we've got the bites
But unfortunately, not Chris whatever was happening. He just dropping fish. It was like right the net good ends and yeah
Yeah, yeah, it was it was like just really unfortunate. You know, even I couldn't go my so it was like how's that come on?
Yeah, you know and uh, yeah, we just lost too many fish and unfortunately again
I think we still ended up about full for fit, but we just just outside, you know
We only would have needed to land a couple more. We were qualified. So
Yeah, which I just went in there with just so much confidence when we went on there. It was just
You know, we weren't doing anything special
It was really it was all about
Singles to the island a lot of time. Yeah, we were spotting we were spotting and that first time I was using little bags as well
Which would little mesh bags and again, it's amazing
Even if you're just putting that if it's like you'll get a bite so much quicker
But most people aren't bothered because you know, it's gonna could take you six casts
Maybe more to get it into where you need it and you know, a lot of people are prepared to do that
I think that's that's a perfect example and broadlands is exactly the same that when you're fishing to that island
You've got to be tight and precise and if you're not in there far lows again another similar place
If you're on the islands, you've got to be in exactly the right spot. You can't fall a foot short
Yeah, you fall a foot short. You can wait hours for a bite. You get it that foot further in. Yeah, and it's a bite
100% I mean it it was one of those that you could cast down and then you can get a bite
It was one of those that you could cast out
Kind of you might not be you can't think I think I'm about right that it does look tight enough not get a bite
You sit there an hour late and you think do you know what? I'm gonna re-chuck that bring it in bang
Couple of inches tighter seconds gone. Yeah
Yeah, I'll be I mean
There was a few used to take take them in because I'd end up hanging a few spots up
few rigs, but
If you wanted to bite you had to be prepared to lose a bit of tackle, you know
It was a case of the end of day the bugs come out clear the island anyway
So it's not like you think you still love it when you were on there because obviously
Yeah, yeah, on the sunday afternoon you get a few goods worth of stuff out there
Yeah
And if they didn't do it everybody wanted to go because they knew where you'd be in the day before because it was like a christmas tree
Yeah
All spongebob spots back then
Um, but yeah, it was one of those it was literally just about being that yeah, you know
It was one of those you cast out
And if you didn't want quite sure if you saw your lead spasher was in the right spot
You were that tight there was hardly any splash, you know, uh, and you were fishing in real, you know
Some of them spots like foot water. Yeah, but they were just patrolling so tight to that island
Just goes to show that pushing it that little bit further does make all the differences like darts isn't it?
When you're playing that you're gonna be so precise. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely bang on it
But um, look let's let's talk about your history in carp fishing because some of the younger viewers might not know or the younger listeners
As well might not know
Where you are and where you've been you currently work for fox. Yeah
You've been in the trade for an awful long time. Yeah since 98. Yeah
Yeah, 25 years. Yeah, yeah, yeah sort of in me 25th year of being in the trade and you have a really
Quite a big claim to fame that you don't claim as well. Yeah, I'll never really shout about it so much
There's a few people know most people would go really most people wouldn't even realize. Yeah, um
Well, I'll talk about in a second in fact, so I'll give it to that
Yes, actually at this point we normally ask for a present from one of our people. He has jumped the gun a little bit
Um, but uh, yeah
We normally ask for a present and we've spoken about this and he told me what he was going to bring in which doesn't normally happen
But here we are
Tell us hold it up for the camera and tell us exactly what it is
There's a camera over there show it to that camera there and tell us exactly what this is and why it's important to you
It's a pva mesh system
Uh, which most anglers would have in their bag. I'm sure you know, not just carp hangers specialist anglers gets used for all sorts
um, right so
It must have been you'd probably have a better idea than me on this
It'll be sometime in the 90s probably mid to early 90s. Would it be in the
It was well, basically rod hutchinson
Was I think the the the guy that really started using pva?
Yeah, he used to use tape then he looked at different options for it and he eventually came up with something called phantasm mesh
That's right. That would have been around about
97 98 was it no it must have been a little bit earlier than that
Well, it would have actually it would have been before that. Yeah
Maybe 94 95 and I think you could you had rod rod done it and richworth done it
Yeah, and not a lot of places even really stopped it, but I thought oh that looks a good idea
So i've got out got out and bought some and then reality of using it because unlike the current stuff
And if you haven't been in fishing for the last i've caught fishing for 20 years
You wouldn't realize that it was all none of it was anti-ladder. It was a nightmare to absolute nightmare to work with
So I bought this for all this is going to be a right good edge blah blah
Taking it away the first bag. It's just like just couldn't open it
No, and it was the it was the basically it was the the stocking mesh on a spool without a tube
Yeah, just like what was it just literally on a refill and it was like
So you had to kind of pull a bit off tie knot in and you don't know why
Wet around around all the tip of it and everything and then hope you could open it and it didn't go just ladder everywhere
so
Anyway, I bought this stuff and i've been trying to use it and every now and again
You might get a bit of take away. It was like what this is just a night
So I just just basically come up the idea if I put it onto a tube
So wet just the end once put it onto a tube not in the other end
I can now drop bait down it tight off brilliant
So I was using that for quite a few years and just yeah, you know and doing yeah doing well
Yeah, yeah, because it's a super yeah massive. Yeah, I mean probably not so much now, but it's still ease and edge without doubt
Yeah, there's definitely you definitely get quicker bite, especially when it is prolific fishing
Yeah, so I was fishing it over particle
So even if you didn't have pellet in your mix, you know
You know most of the time we more throwing pellet in obviously, but even if you didn't just cast it over hemp
You'd still get if you put two rods one with a boilium
For example one the boil in the little bag of pellet that goes six to one, you know
It was just crazy and it was a massive edge as well cast at showing fish just a single single pop up in a little bag
Caught me so many fish, you know, just seem top out for it. I just rang one out there. It's quick though, isn't it?
It's so much quicker than a solid bag. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's fast. Um
Um, yeah, and that was obviously i'd started using that
And then i'd gone from that for no other reason that it was a it was a cheaper bet a cheaper option
Which was this be a company called cooper's that is the most going pva sheeting
So i've seen some other lads using this these little parcels of pellets. So I thought
So i've i've kind of asked someone about that
They went oh, yeah, just get sheet from cooper's and soldering iron stuff. I'm all over that
So there I am with me big whatever it was two meters of pva sheet by whatever a meter
And uh with me soldering iron and a metal ruler and i'm cutting these just these strip bags and bottle top in the top of that
We'll chuck some down soldering iron chuck some down and making all these little parcels
So at the time when I was fishing layer, which is like was crazy prolific anyway
And uh, you'd be taking a hundred of these all just made up in a bucket
And then i've gone back to using it. Um, and i've kind of gone away from using like the mesh one purely because like I say
This was just another option that you can have them all made up. It was really quick as well
You can make 100 up in no time
So and then i've gone back to using it and i'd spoke to obviously i worked with the cold at that time and i'd spoke
spoke to danny about it and
It was actually this is the mesh. Yeah, this is the mesh. Yeah, not the cooper's. This is i've said look
Brilliantly for me. I've still i've still got it. I still use it now
um
I just think it's a it's a product really waiting to happen. It's nothing
You know, it's because people go oh, what can you paint in it?
You can't just two tubes of caps. Yeah, you know the the product the main product's already there
You can't paint in anything like that. So
They are said to done about it. So look, it's it's a massive edge. It's brilliant. Like so I hadn't really been there that long
and uh
Chris rose had backed me up and said yeah, and dan was a bit like I don't get it
I don't know why you'd want to cast why'd you cast it over a load of bait?
You've already got out anyway, and I was going because you just get quicker bites
and in the end you sort of went right, okay, so we had the contacts because we had the uh, like the
J-shaped stick the plastic sticks with the contacts for the tubes and the caps
And we also had the contact for the for the pva
As I say back then it was all the laddery one, you know, there was no anti ladder back then
So he went okay. So all the enough to do a couple of hundred will take them to dunstable
Yeah, so dan's gone off sort of out of label for it
Chris has organized getting all the actual products and then I think it was me and Chris stayed behind measuring out
Five meters one night after just cutting these five meters making these tubes up
We took a little tank and whatever to dunstable and it was like the first day they were just gone. They're just gone
Everyone was like and I remember like terri eard came over and he was like, oh, that's brilliant
You know, can I have one and it was like, yeah, obviously that was like a contel. Yeah take one. Yeah, and uh, yeah you think wow, you know
He sees it a really good thing, you know, and yeah now look at it
Well, it's it must fill you with a sense of enormous pride that virtually every carp angler
Either has one in their armory or alternatively has had one and if they haven't had one they will buy one at some stage
Yeah, it's like it's an every angle thing, isn't it? It's almost like a kind of
So long ago the almost it's just part of fishing now and it's just everyone's got one
But I know back at the time people were going that's the best best thing for years, you know to sort of come out
But yeah, I kind of look at it. Just think well, it wasn't anything
It was a great development. Yeah
Yeah, yeah, I didn't see his innovation, but I just saw it as a problem. It was a problem solved
Yeah, it made something now that you couldn't work with easy workable
Can you imagine if you'd have had a penny off every single one that we sold because every company does them now, don't they?
Yeah, I mean, you know, you've you've got the fox guys there obviously cordon. Yeah. Yeah
NASP do it. Yeah, SP do it. Yeah, everybody does it. Yeah, and I mean it was a couple of years as well
It's kind of left alone just uh, you know, and it obviously made up a massive amount of their turnover at the time
It's a bit like us with the um when we adventure with me and shoes putting the uh, the the
Unhook him out the floatation. That's right. Yeah. Yeah
That's it. We were left alone for about 12 months. Yeah
Because even though I remember thinking I can't believe no one else's perhaps
I think there's some kind of design register on it or something, you know
And it can't be touched isn't it? Isn't it interesting though how some people see something straight away and some people don't see it
You know because you you said that dan didn't quite get the concept of it to begin with, you know
Yeah, yeah
Yeah
It's it was more because I he knew at the time I was fishing over a lot of bait
He knew that I was doing the whole particle fishing thing and
Yeah, it's kind of well there's a lot of bait there and your rigs amongst it and it's like yeah
But it's giving off so much more having that it's a nice and if if it is it might you know
We all know that you especially you are doing the underwater stuff when you're spodding. It's not like going spreading everywhere. It's like
The dollops and the dollops. Yeah, you know, it's especially probably talking
Eight foot water efficient in eight nine foot so it's not deep. So you've got just like it's pretty tight
It's not long range anyway, but just to have that somewhere amongst that mix gets you that bite
So much I think anything that makes you a little bit more attractive whether it's color or whether it's flavor
Yeah, it's an extra bit of food by the side of it as well. And you know, i've i've just come back from poland
I said just come back. It was it was a while ago. I had the absolute session of a lifetime
At this lake in poland place called goselwicz. Yeah, really really big fish in it
It's a long way to drive there got there quite late because it's a long way
Uh change over time is lunchtime
As a result, we didn't start getting the rods out until getting dark now. You're allowed boats. You're allowed bait boats
It was like the spanish armada
You can imagine everybody leaving on the saturday and then everyone turning up the amount of boat traffic on there
My peg middle of the lake not a good peg not a bad peg just a peg
No boat traffic on it. So as a result the fish ended up the fish ended up there first thing in the morning
I've had a bite landed one 60 pound by the way, thank you. Nice happy days. Yeah, but uh
Uh, i've seen a couple of fish move in casting range. Yeah, and I thought i'm going to chuck a bag on them
And chucked it literally just a mesh bag of pva pellets or pellets over the top quick liquor salmon oil
Boshed it over the top. No bait caught one caught another one caught another one
It is such a good way if the fish are there you're getting bait in front of them. You're not disturbing them. Yep
Amazing it actually also makes a bit of a different splash
To the lead going here as well. Isn't it? Yeah, because it's following directly behind your lead
Yeah
So, you know, it doesn't it doesn't sound like just a bare lead being cast in either
The splash is quite different because you've got the lead splash and then you've got the bag splash as well
I think it helps lay your rig out for me
I put that down as one of the best inventions since the hair rig, you know, there's all sorts of claims out
Yeah, about the best gadgets since the hair rig. What is it? And for me it's pva and and and that nuggets make it
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So yeah, well done. I was I was actually working with hutchinson at the time
Yeah, I know that's that's why I said you you yeah, and and I remember ordering some thinking
Yeah, this is going to be great and thinking that's a bad deal
Exactly
Bidding it thinking the thing is I hate to waste anything. Yeah, I hate to throw it away and I can't I hate to be
Sort of beaten if they yeah, I love solving problems, you know
Yeah, so I am quite good at working by whether it be a bodge or whatever. I'm quite good at going
Well, I know if you put that in there that and away you go and it was really one of them
It was like i'm not gonna throw away there is a way around this and yes
It was quite a simple solution. It was like right. So if you don't work with a loose end
You're not gonna have a problem. So let's not work with a loose end and that was a bit wasn't it brilliant stuff
Well, thank you for that steve as well as the pva he's bought two gifts and he said he's got another one
Yeah, so i'm looking forward to seeing it. This one's a little bit more
More personal rob. Oh, oh is it it is yeah, it's
I was up in me loft
And I found this
I found this
There's a i mean you and chloe there. I mean that is we look about 12
We were about 12. Yeah, you probably are. I mean that's a long time ago
Yeah, I don't even know when that was done. I think my mum picked up from a boot sale for me. Yeah
Yeah, I think she didn't pay full price. Yeah. Yeah, it's probably a pound or so. I was probably when you were robbed
Um, but yeah, so i'll bring that in for you and i've showed some incredible restraint that I didn't get busy with it with sharpie
Yeah, I mean I did there a couple of times. No, I can't do it to rob
I'll leave it show the camera. I'll leave it in the pristine condition. It currently is that is you've got to show the title as well
That's the story about covering it up. That is the original short session carpet hit runs
Film I think myself a rosy followed that with big hit carpet
But yeah, it was like purely by chance as well the other day I was up there
I was actually looking for some uh ps2 games for me for my youngest boy that wants to get back
I thought come across a box of old videos. I thought look there you go. When was that?
94 was it? Something like that. Yeah, it's got to be the thick end of 30 years ago that interesting story about that
Actually that that we uh, we got asked to make this film
Uh by a guy called liam dale used to do stuff. Yeah. Yeah, that's right
Yeah, it got bob nud doing some so he done some few fishing videos
Yeah, yeah, yeah, he got nutty doing some stuff for for match fishing
He got I think jewels did one or two with him as well
He said look do you too fancy coming out because we were doing the day ticket waters things at the time and we said that yeah
Yeah, that was the first ever for it into into filming and that was generally purely
The like I say the weekend up there looking for other stuff and come across a box of videos
I'm going to claim to be like jr. Hartley because I think i've got the box but I don't think i've got the tape
All right. Okay. Right. So there you go, mate. We've got to do this
Haven't even got a dvd player anymore. Yeah, it's a real thing of the past that
Well, that's going to take pride in the museum as well. We like that
We like that. We're gonna have to get you to sign your pva mash as well. Okay, mate. Yeah, no problem at all
Yeah, i'll do that. Thank you for that. That's right. You're welcome. That is absolutely amazing
So you've been in the trade for quite a long time. So you with corda for how long?
Uh about eight and a half years eight and a half years and that was in the very early years as well. Yeah
Yeah, that was an interesting time. Yeah, I bet working in a cattle shed smelting lids and yeah. Yeah
Yeah, I mean that's that's quite a funny thing on its own that you know
Sort of going there and seeing how it was done how the you know, obviously they're all smelting china now, but um
Yeah watching it actually
Thinking there would be these big industrial molds and it's like a two impression mold. Yeah, so
You go in and you think is that it what they're making them from a two impression mold and then obviously once you understand how
It all works. You can't work with great big molds because the lead goes off so quick
Yeah
So you have to heat the molds and you basically work a two impression mold three or four molds at a time rotating really fast
Yeah, and uh, yeah and that and that's basically how you do it. Um,
Um, but yeah, I mean I had to learn all the jobs to run because I went in to run the manufacturing side of it
Yeah, um and then sort of went on from there obviously
Into obviously a more senior role and also then doing this sort of counts and looking after looking after accounts and stuff like that as well
So yeah, yeah, so the whole
It's the lead thing that that just blew my mind
Yeah
Exciting time to be around carp fishing. I think the era that that that we've lived through that sort of coming into it in the late 80s
Through to now we've seen such an amazing development, you know people I think people complain now about what carp fishing's like
Uh, you can only live when you live but if you were to ask me when was the best time? I think we had it
Yeah, I know I'd I'd yeah definitely agree with you for me. I mean what you said earlier about obviously when
I started in 86 was my first i'd played a little bit in 85 looking at once this carp fishing this looks all right
You know 86 was the first year I went right i'm setting my stall out
I'm going to try because there was no information there was there it was like either you had a mate that done a bit
He knew someone had done this and he'll tell you this and this is how you make bait
so
Fortunately, I'd met a guy and he was like right come in my house
I'll show you how to make boilies and all that sort of stuff rather than buy because you could buy ritual of two
It is. Yes. There was I think there was much other than ritual of frozen two. Do you remember the purple pakka? Yeah, that's right. Yeah. Yeah
Um, yeah, so it was like I have a bag of frozen ritual for make your own and I'd met this guy and obviously
He'd show me how you know, this is how you make boilies and it was like this bit of that
And he gave me a recipe and I ended up I was just ordering all the ingredients for that recipe
I thought to you then in the end he started producing a protein mix anyway
And i'm thinking why am I buying all these bits to do?
It's you know, it's the same sort of thing. So yeah, and that's really on the boilie front, but
Yeah, I was gonna the I think the main point there is
That you start hearing about these anglers and obviously the same guy gave me two books to read one was
Calf fever and the other was carp strikes back. Yeah, and
I mean both great books, you know, but the carp strikes back hutchie was was that that he was my
Calf fishing either really from when I read the book and I mean the entertainment value alone. His stories are fantastic
um
But yeah, just so knowledgeable and then going back to medine, which is
Well, yeah 12 years later. Yeah
And hutchie is there. Yeah, you know and to be fair, you know, obviously yourself crowey
These are all people we know from like, you know
From from the world of the magazines and uh, you know, I
I mean there's no like loads of people like jacko
Locky you've got all these people you think wow, you know, I'm finishing a match again. What am I doing here?
You know and uh, and then obviously to then start doing in the bca season fishing against these same people and now
You're chatting with them. They know you and you know them and it's like and you've ended up on the outcast podcast
Yeah, and you can't get it. It's like yeah, no obviously tim. I fish next to tim. Um
Laque four by four now. There's a legend mate. I'll tell you what. Yeah
Unbelievable guy the work rate is just relentless. He's still like it 86 day before yesterday
Yeah, yeah birthday day before yesterday 86 years old and he's still
Going out. It's just incredible comes back to what you said earlier about
Do not put the rods back out is enough not enough. Yeah
Tim was walking around he was fishing the other side the back bay of the old lake on laque
So it's like a little point this bay
I don't even know how big it is an acre or so and go around the other side
I mean he'd have a bike he'd be around at three o'clock in the morning
But you know a lot of people would think they might just put it back out or you know
But he was around there non-stop non-stop actually loved fishing with like next to tim
It was a real experience like you know
So yeah, even that I mean i'd been in the trade obviously for a few years then and i've started to know these guys
And then you're thinking but yeah, I think back to think we got tim there and laque in the back bay like you know
I'm fishing with these guys and it's like
Yeah, yeah, so it's uh, yeah, it was a real nice time. I think um
When you when you get to know people actually they're just nice blokes
Well, yeah time, you know, there wasn't there wasn't there was bitchiness, but not not quite. No, no
Social media is a big thing there that everybody's got a mouthpiece. Yeah. Yeah, 100. Yeah. Yeah. It is. Yeah. It's a lot different
People might pitch behind your back and yeah, but you wouldn't really know about it perhaps or too much
um
But yeah, I think I think
That the main thing was you realize these guys just carp hangers. They're just like you they're no different to you, you know
very few of them to me
You never felt like are these people think they're superstar status if that makes sense
Yeah, they were they're always there is one or two
But if I ask me a door if i'm just you know fine and to get compliments sometimes with people like that
I remember doing the nec and tim tim was uh
I've got my moves caught up. I remember comparing it but tim was there. It might have been been tim
And I sat at the panel with dan and frank and he came up to me at the end and said you spoke a lot
Of sense about you saying about I was talking about leaving a marker floating and winding it down
Yeah, and you know someone said well surely you're scaring the fish and I went
Why?
They don't know what marker float is. How do you know it's not attracted them with it rofting around, you know
They love poles and sticks put a marker pole eating and rubbing in it. It's banging all over some how do you know?
It's not affecting my fishing. I've tried it and it works
You know, even if you're fishing within a couple of foot of that marker
Yeah, it was because that the reason I was doing it at that time because most people think well
Why would you leave a mark floating it was because
Again fishing was fishing later and they'd banned spodding. Yeah, so we went right everyone now goes to singles
Bags all that sort of stuff. Not really any bait going in obviously. There's loads of fish. It's hungry
What so we thought what so how else do we get particle in and someone had mentioned vitaling about just balls of vitaling
Yeah, so we thought well about using the same particle mix but just mixing it with vitaling and making it
So just so it held together so we could manage to put it out 40 yards 30 yards
So right that's the plan. So back then we were obviously putting a marker flow out to be accurate
um
And then you know, you'd fish two rods one side two down one each side whatever you wanted to do ball out your balls
Why just wind your marker down because they're only ever going one way which is straight up?
Yeah, so you get taken straight out to pick up. Yes play and you might
They might pick up your marker ones possibly most of the time you you know
You'd get away with it and all you'd have to do is re-chuck it, you know, so it was uh, yeah
Yeah, and that it's it's surprising actually how important accuracy is
You know when you're getting if if you want a big hitter fish being accurate, you know
Knowing exactly where that spot is is vitally important
Is it you know, what one of the things we do with team england is when you've got a 72 hour match on
Even though you know exactly where your spot is and you might be clipped up to it actually every now and again
It's worth popping the marker float out. Yeah, just to see because as your arm gets tired
You might not be sticking quite as far. So it's always worthwhile dropping it back up again. Yeah, so you can see
You know, yeah, yeah, very true. I mean it's um, you know how much wind affects it
It was just wind bows in your line, you know again, that's something you'd suffer fishing a one because of the big cross crosswinds
Um, you know, I suppose the average cast on there's probably 100 yardish anything from about 80 to about 115 on there
So it's about 100 yards of sheet quite open as you know
So you get those big winds tanking through especially with braids get a big bow in your line and you can be quite a way off
So a lot of time you would have to literally go
Do you know what?
Because you've got an island as your marker you go right off a rod and I'm going for it
So I have you know
Got away with it. So it's surprising how far you can be away
And going back to the days of the spots. This is where spawn was so much better over over a spot
Was that when you'd get that?
Especially when we use the garden along rockets quite a while, which because they cast so well
They did cast well, but they're so slow to empty the drift. Yeah, exactly that
So if you if you it was quite an eye opener to go, do you know what?
Fling one out a couple of rod links where you could see it and go
Wow, that's like
Eight to ten foot off the spot
I remember doing a test with the old gardener the the yellow one
Yeah
And I think I did a quarter one as well actually because you'd got one at the time that had got
It had got a sleeve that you could put in it
Yeah
And the problem with those was that when they land an up end they create a vacuum
So it actually holds all the bait in it
Yeah, so everybody used to at the time you'd cast out let it settle thinking that it was going to drop out
And then you'd flick it a couple of times. Yeah, and and actually by the time it's drifted you cast bang over your spot
You think yeah, that's on it. You let it drift 10 foot off it
And then flick it and the bait's coming out there. Yeah
Yeah, so, you know
Again, like you say the spawn empties at least where it's where it's landing right?
I think whatever you're doing fishing it's always worth trying to replicate that where you can see it
Yes, that makes it so even if it is just in the edge just to see like say more
Spombs it makes no bang. They're open. You know your bait's in the right spot, but
Yeah, exactly that I mean in the end it came to like drilling little holes in to try and
Stop that whole vacuum effect
But yeah, you'd see that drift for ages and maybe a couple of bits of hemp or something come out and all of a sudden
It's going to do an empty. Yeah, and you'll go
Wow, that's a real real eye-opener. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think well
I think the underwater stuff's obviously done a lot to help that. Yeah, of course
Yeah, yeah, yeah, because you can't replicate everything in the edge can you?
No, no, that's right
I think one of the one of the things that I always think about is people replicate in the edge
They'll they'll get the rig and they just drop it in the edge
Critically balance the bait down a little bit more and then drop it down and they'll just look at it going
Oh, that looks ace and then they'll they'll think oh no, it just needs a little tweak
So they'll just micro adjust it
And they go yeah, that's perfect
And then they'll really in the leather it out 120 yards out into the pond without it in the clip. Yeah
Yeah, so everything that you did in the end you laid it down by hand
It's like the difference between a feeder landing in a pole float. Yeah, you'll be really accurate. Yeah
Look, let's talk about day-to-day life for steve spurgeon. What work work wise you work for fox now
Yeah, you're a rep on the road. You're not involved in product development
Although you do have a bit of a touch on that when things come out. Yeah, I still get
Obviously I still get to see stuff prior to come out
Uh, I still get things to play with yes
Uh, not as much as the other boys because they're fishing way more than I am. So i'm still on the consultancy team
Um, but yeah, I'll get chucked a bit of brain
A few little components
Yeah, so yeah, it's nice i'm still involved in that side of things but on the bigger development products
I mean don't get me wrong if I went and saw scott, you know
You'd show me something like sean or whatever if I was in the office
I might you know, I might share an opinion on it or whatever. But
Yeah, generally not as involved as I perhaps was once upon a time. Um, so
Yeah, I mean the other thing is i'm busy with what I do in the shops. Yeah
Yeah, people I think a lot of people think it's quite an easy gig, but it's not well traffic must be your biggest enemy
Surely, I mean time's hard anyway that you know some shops we see a a struggling blessed everybody
But um, I would think you know, I spend a lot of time on the road and traffic's murder
Yeah, i've seen your post coming up. I know it's for a long time
Stuck on wherever i've given up doing it now because I think I used to encourage it
Right, so I used to put for those who don't follow me on social media. I used to post queue pictures all the time
Just like a different queue. I always seem to be in the queue. Yeah now i've stopped posting them
I don't queue as much. No, I mean not
I'm quite fortunate. I mean I travel up and down the a12 which is
Always renowned that used to be one of the worst a roads in the country for accidents
But I always seem to be going the other way. Yeah, so I seem to either be going away from it or
When i'm coming back, it's the other way. So but yeah time to time. Yeah m11 as well
So what's day to day like on the road then talk talk me through sort of your your normal week because it
We don't hear from reps very often
No, no people there's people on the outside looking in going. I would love a job in the trade
Yeah, and there's various different things most of the time when they say they want a job in the trade
What they actually want to do is they want to be in front of a camera go fishing full time
That's what they want to do
But actually there's so many jobs in the trade from packing boxes to yeah to be out on the road if you think about it
I mean
There's loads of guys the guys i mean the shop a lot of them would like to do what I do and they'd like to
Be working for for manufacturers
But it's so limited opportunities, you know, i've had people like that have lost jobs within shops and god as fox got any jobs
We're in belgium. You know end of day most of it's in belgium. We've only got
Accounts development team all the cad guys
uh, yeah, so
Yeah, there isn't you know, there isn't unless you're skilled at something like that or working for the media team
There isn't you can't just walk into a job at fox mine's probably the least what i'd say is the least skilled job
um
As in you don't really need any qualifications. The biggest one is just get on with people
Yeah, which I like to think i'd do, you know, you know with most people anyway
so
Yeah, I mean it's a lovely job to do. I mean i'm getting i'm getting old now and it does become hard
You have to be really self-motivated
If you're not you couldn't do this job if you if you said to me
You know at the end of the day i'm selling fishing tackle to to retailers
That's what i'm doing my job is to go in some fish tackle obviously and generally look after and make sure that whatever we're doing as a company
They're happy with him and you know that they want to trade with us because we are the ones they want to do their business with
Yeah, so that's my go when i'm going and going on these visits. Um
But yeah, it's lovely because you end up with so many friends, you know
There's people now that you know, I was meant to be taupe fishing sunday that that's with one of my customers
I was gonna say I bet you get loads of invites to go play. Yeah, you do
Yeah, you get get invites obviously go and fish various lakes and stuff like that. Um
but to be honest, I don't I rarely take anyone up on it purely because
I do my own fishing. I'll get quite a few people hint about me taking them fishing
And I think I don't even get I don't yeah when you're taking me to focus
I don't even know when i'm going myself, you know, let alone I literally I don't it could be
I say if i'm planning on doing a night from directly from work if I get stuck in traffic
I ain't going yeah, i'm not going. Yeah, I have to try and do it another night. I'll have to miss it that week
Um, you know, i'm not going to turn up stupidly late or whatever and yeah, it could be loads of ways
I could turn up. It's just really busy. I don't fancy it. So i've done that loads of times, you know and just gone
Do you know what? I ain't feeling it either and i'll just go
Um, so you can't arrange to go fishing when that's your kind of fishing mentality or whatever you want to call it. It's um
Yeah, you can't you just can't do it. I don't fish weekends. Yeah, so
Because I try I mean obviously when you're growing up with the family my boys are old now, you know, obviously a lot older
Uh don't live with me. Um, so it's me and the wife but I do actually
I like most people I actually get on with my wife
Um, yeah, we like to spend time together. Um
What we do is like all manner of things really like
Yeah, just stuff just stuff
Yeah
Well one of the things that I wanted to talk to you about is you you have done a little bit in front of camera
Uh, and and for me one of the funniest films I think I ever saw was mozza versus
Yeah, when you took on mozza on that challenge now
Like I know you i've known you a long time and and you are what you see there if there is any opportunity to wind someone up
Yeah, I love a practical joke. Yeah, I mean obviously again the older you get and the more
I don't know. What's the word?
I don't know. Yeah, I suppose it is you just you just calm down a little bit and but when I think back to some of the
Things over the years that sort of done and you think god it's back to that because I'm a little bit more
I sort of said I know you know, it's fine and everything. How did no one ever get hurt or you know with the initiation ceremony of putting people in bins?
Yeah, it was all that used to happen a lot. We used to do yeah like cling wrap one of the lads up. This was obviously
They called cling wrap to put him on a barra
Wield him down to the main road tips over there was a lot
There was another company used to like gilding that always like paper shavings
We like just pulled all them over him chucked a bucket water over him. God knows
What he just left him with a sign on him honk. It's my birthday or something like that. Yeah, just left him there to eventually turn
It was gone for about half an hour and then someone actually came out of a house moaned at him for the
Mess and released him from the cling film
Yeah, so yeah, that would be bullying these days. Oh, yeah, yeah
We would call it horseplay at work and bullying. But yeah, yeah these days you just
Can't you couldn't do anything like that. I mean, I don't think we ever really upset anyone
Never hurt anybody. Yeah, never. Yeah, never and it was all done
It was done as a laugh and it was like it wasn't we never like that same person at a time
It was like everyone's at everyone's having it. No, no one's no one's getting out of this. Yeah, everyone's a target
Yeah, and it used to be quite interesting if someone then tried to get out of the way
Because I you know me and chris back then obviously as a team if one tried to you now both of us like try to get
You know, and you'd think most of them then do it once and keep actually. Yeah, it's just not worth it
Yeah, i'll just i'll have to just let it go over me
So yeah, we did. Yeah, I used to love a little practical joke obviously with mozza
There was an opportunity or two there to have a bit of a giggle with him
So for those of you that have a little bit of a giggle with him, I think it's a good thing
I think it's a good thing that we've got a little bit of a giggle with him. Yeah, it's a good thing
I think it's a good thing that we've got a little bit of a giggle with him
So for those of you that haven't seen it, I'll urge you to look it up. It's on youtube
It's mozza versus and and lee mozza morris. You will know everybody knows him
He's got a great little series on there where he challenges various different people from the fox camp to a competition if he loses there's a forfeit
Your forfeit for him. Yeah, obviously it's gonna give away if you haven't watched it, but yeah, he loses
Yeah, I mean he came up with that and you can imagine
When he said that I just he had a couple of little hints about how we're in s6
I mean you ain't got a for jazzle kit or something like that
No, it's better than that. It's better than that and all that and he went right
Whoever loses gonna get the fake tan. I went mate. I can't I can't I've got go, you know
I've got to go work. I can't walk around shops with like a load of fake tan
And he was like well, that's the forfeit. You got to do it if it happens. You got to do it
So I was really concerned about he was more
I went well, don't you bother if I beat you and he was like no and he was going to the I think it was the
Manchester show
And he was he was off to do that and he was like no it'd be quite funny
Yeah, so obviously he loses I thought right you're getting it
You're getting it mate. So yeah, I mean I was laughing it on like a motion. I was slapping it all on him
Making sure I didn't miss any creases. So yeah, he really got it
But what was so funny when he actually saw how bad he was his first reaction. He was trying to wash it off
You know, it was like I went from i'm not bothered. It'll be a laughter. Oh my god
Like he looked like the genie of Aladdin, you know, it's like yes
Yeah
But it was it was the way that you won as well. And and again without giving the way the game away too much folks
Just just have a look because it is absolutely
There was a bit in that you didn't see
Mazda actually did put up on a piece. I did see that he actually put it up
I can't remember what it was on one of his diary bits. I was going back obviously a few years now and uh
Yeah, he while we were there
so
We obviously do the swim the draw for the swims
It's basically we've decided we're going to fish one swim and split it off
So we haven't got a lot of water between us
Obviously, we're trying to make it as fair as possible
And so we've had this boundary line. So right. Okay, so you get left you can't get even
So anyway, I won it was the hard cast. Okay, give it away
Castor which was that was entertaining as well. Just having a because just bantering him up trying to put him off or whatever
And it clearly worked
Um, yeah, so obviously i'll get his choice. I'm thinking I know i'm gonna be left with a lot less water
But i'm i'm sure there's a hole in front of this. It's this side in the right side
So i'm like, yeah, yeah that thinking that because it was in the winter anyway
So we knew it was going to be quite tough fishing
But I was convinced there was this like hot spot hole
so I thought like deep is coming out from this i'm wearing it way past where it is and
Like find it so a few casts
Nothing, he's he's wetting himself mother. It's like i can't be like 10 foot 10 foot 10 foot 10 foot and i'm like
Ain't no, are you cusking 10 foot 10?
So in the end i've give up
Yeah, so i've decided i've had to mark out and done my own thing and anyway decided on the spot
So i've left this deeper because i've been cracking out quite a while. I've left it clipped up
So I thought oh i'll get I don't leave it in the clip, but I don't want to cast it back in my swim now
So i've kind of cast up really it's like a corner anyway
I sort of cast out done this big looping cast because I want to get quite a bit of the braid off
Not thinking there's a big wind pushing in the corner
And i've suddenly realized my braids about to loop into this big willow in the corner tree
So all of a sudden quickly try to wind down i've just seen it catch the lock right at the top
It was and i'm like what it's not coming off so i flicked it round it up
Got it all the way to the top. I thought easy come off. I'll get it to the top give it the old
I'm on braid anyway give it
It's i know it's now wrapped and i'm like no and i'm like we're trying to get it down eventually it's gone
snaps and it's deep as up the tree
So i've told like the fishery owner. Yeah, no problem. I'll come down with saw we get that out and I went no
He's out
We are talking 30 foot up the tree right and it's like it's come over and he went how'd you get out of there and I went
Big bummer
It's out there so I can't get that so I think it was the the next day
I'm like I can't leave it out there. So we've got a grappling marker. I'll put some like heavy braid on my spod rod
I'm like about 50 meters or whatever. I'm standing there
There's like a little tiny like if you can imagine there's like a gap between two branches
It's hanging down there and think if you get it in there
Might be a torque up and get it
And it was like I don't know how many costs we had about a dozen costs come close and you had to be careful as well
That you want
Obviously how you're gonna hang that up. So if it looked like I was gonna go too deep. That's a bit of a bolt here
Eventually mozza actually got it. I mean it was like say that's a good cast then
Yeah, yeah, I mean the gap was you're talking probably like that by about that
And eventually I mean, yeah, you can see it was going. Yeah, it's going we got it down. But yeah, he took great
Great plays were ripping that out of me for that one. But yeah, it was the whole thing was I say fishing was hard
But yeah, what a laugh. Yeah, what a laugh fantastic
So do you do you miss the competitive side of things because obviously you've been out of it for a while you fish England
Yep
So you were hugely competitive in the in the bcac you were competitive with England
You've dropped out of it. You you've got your head back up for a bit of a knockup with mozza. Do you miss it?
Or do you?
Yeah, it's a bit different with mozza because it's just one-on-one and
Yes and no
um
I've I had quite a few sort of
Invites to come back and do it again from our part and to be fair
I it's really good anglers that if anything, they'll be carrying me these days and I think that's it. I just think
You see the likes of obviously fishing against billy and jamey again another great power, you know brilliant power
and we were fishing obviously considerably older than they are and you just feel like you come into the end of
If you keenness for it, i'm still competitive. I you know, I think much competitive never goes out of nature
Does it never know it's like christmas if the board games come out of christmas
No one wants to pair up with it
If it's no one wants me because they know if in any way they let me down as a as a team
Yeah, I don't stop going on about it
You know, so no one really wants to pair up with me on that when it comes to stuff like that
But yes, i'm still hugely competitive
Um, but it's that look I had my time. I had a go at it loved it when i've done it
um
saw so many in the early days it was like
It was serious, but not a serious if that makes sense. It was very serious people wanted to qualify
But I don't know. I just felt it perhaps it was a different vibe. Yeah. Yeah, it was very much a different
It wasn't yeah, it was a lot
You know a lot of friends. I say a lot of big names obviously fishing it back then
And in a lot of ways it wasn't really their kind of fishing
Whereas obviously for me i'd come from these like fishing runs waters for like bikes. I loved it
I loved it. You know, I love the sound of a take, you know, so
So and it was like how many more can I catch? You know, I want to catch more than they caught over there
And yeah, competitive nature in it. So in some ways that's yeah that he's still there
Lainey, chile, terry, nick helier
um
You know, they're just names that official british carp. Yeah, you wouldn't associate. No, would you? No, not really. No
Terry herne and the british carp. Yeah. Yeah, well terry what it was with mark redding in the first year. Yeah, that's it
Yeah, yeah, another good memory. Yeah. Yeah
Yeah, I mean absolutely smashed it with zigs and surface fishing down a far end. Yeah
um
Yeah, you would never
And I don't think i don't know if terry went back in it after that. I don't know. I don't think it just not
I don't I don't think he did. I think he did it for that first year
Because like everybody wanted to be a part of it the first year
And I think a lot of people just thought you know what? It's not for me
I just like my own fishing. I loved it. I thought it was great. Like you say it was a really good vibe
You know, there's so many things you think about even going back
Not the piece hasty, but I think it was medine the second year when rob tough appeared on the balcony
You know just things like that you you wouldn't see that
You know, there's uh, there was some sort of madman about back then and uh sort of fishing in it
But yeah, it it was just yeah, I just really enjoyed it. I enjoyed that competitive, you know, we've done well at it
It suited my style of fishing if you got the right venue
um
Yeah, yeah, do you fish abroad much now? No, not at all really. Um, it's an odd one. It's um
All right, and I was trying to work out the last time I actually had a week abroad
Was the quay four by four was it? I've done long weekends. I've done long weekends to holland belgium
france
Uh, even spain when we when we done the ebro canaries. Yeah, you know all those little sort of trips long weekends
um
To be fair, I think it comes back to a little bit. I love fishing for the just carp over here
And because i'm limited for time
I kind of just try and focus it on that
um
Yeah, i'm with that social last year fox. I couldn't go for personal reasons, but
I would have gone on that that was to france. That was that farm lake, you know
But I would have got because it's social because it's all the lads and it would have been a good laugh
Um, and they did have a good laugh and caught some good fish, but i'd still rather fish over here, you know
Yeah, it's just just yeah
But don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean I wouldn't fish abroad at all anymore because yeah, i've always enjoyed my trips
But I love belgium. I love I mean there's loads of people going out there now. We've done a road trip
I don't know how many years ago. It must be about seven eight years ago now
louis porter dave moncaster
Yeah, christy kirk in belgium and jb from france and sort of met up done her again. It was only a short it was like
Yeah, yeah fun though. I loved it. Yeah, it's it's lovely
I like I like looking at social media now seeing what people are doing. It's really interesting how people are
Inventing and pioneering things that we invented and pioneering. That's what's so funny all of a sudden
Like it's like the bell would cool thing to do. Yeah. Yeah, like but but when you see the fish out there
They're not the biggest in the world, but that's that it's what they look like, you know
There's so many nice carp out. I think the scenery as well. There was there was one guy
I think he was a i'm pretty sure he was either a german or a belgium fox guy that used to catch some amazing carp
They were quite big as well from a railway siding. Do you remember who that was? There was loads of
I don't I think it was one of christy kirk's
Pals right it was he was within that circle somewhere, but just amazing these these fish
But you've got a rusty railway engine behind you right? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, that would have been round
That would have been very near to ostend. I think that is yeah, it's not the it's not the normal
Ostend bit but there's other there's loads of little bits around there. You know, the photographs are just completely different
Yeah, you know I was um fishing a lake in Essex not so long ago
And obviously you got a lot of spuds around here at the moment
And the spud crates are out in the field and i've had a photograph with the 20 pounder with the spud crater behind me
And i'm really shuffling. Yeah. Yeah
Well funny enough when we done that road trip
We've done a canal in bruge. Yeah
uh, we've done
two nights on a park lake
Fishing where we shouldn't really been fishing. But anyways, no, sorry, but anyway done two nights on a park lake
and a night on the ost on the actual ostend canal where again you've seen sort of loads of stuff over the over the years
and
I remember we'd had
Depended on what the others had caught
Um, depending on where you were going to get along this little bit of canal. So that's about a bit. So if you'd struggled already like then going down
I ended up I mean I ended up really well. I ended up with an end swim. I ended up at the end of everyone. So
I've kind of you know, I don't even fish the canal well apart from doing the one in bruge. I don't even fish the canal and um
Obviously, it's quite industrial there, isn't it? And um, yeah, i've got the rods out and i've walked down to lewis and
And then i've done the same with bruge as well funny enough like it was a lucky trip for me. I've got to be honest
And i'm talking to lewis and he went make your alarms going i'm not gonna be safe on because it's like
He went that's your alarm going and it isn't so i've gone down
Plagued this fish and it was um, from memory. It's 23 24. It's a mirror
Chris the clerk was like it's a mirror, you know that would have stopped by the vpk
And you know, he was like blowing away. He was going don't realize how special that is and what have you
So and the first thing to do was like behind or looking across the canal to the other side
You got all the there was like a big industrial crane thing and it was like right. Yeah
That's gonna be the yeah, well that is your backdrop and all that, you know, so, you know, it is it's funny
It was like I was well pleased with that. Like I said, it's 23 24 pound
But it was like it's a mirror from the ostend canal and i've got the industrial machinery in the background a funky back
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's cool, isn't it?
And for me, I think now i've been i've been been around the track and done the full circle
It's where you are and who you with yeah
Yeah, and they're the key drivers for me and you know, whether whether it's a double or whether it's a 60
Yeah, you know, obviously you like the big ones, but actually the company and the place is so important
Yeah, yeah, because when I think to somebody because i'll say i'm a relatively unsociable angler. Yeah again, i'd say you're really unsophisticated
Yeah, i'll try to prove you right
But again, it comes back to quick overnighters or short and it's called a short overnighters as they're now named
Yeah
Yeah, it comes back to that that you don't really have a great deal of time
I do fish with another mate not so much this year, but i've done in previous years
But generally i'm i'm more than happy just to fish on my own. Yeah, you know
Uh, it's time like I say time is your end in some ways
You're not competing with anyone, you know
If you go with your mate you've got somebody next door guaranteed. Well all the good anglers or all I would say all the good anglers
I would say all the good anglers really are selfish loners if you look at the ones that
That's because if we sit in the same swim and we've got the swim choice, right? I'm halving my chances
Yeah, yeah good angler next door to me. I feel terrible now because the thing I do go with here and always show me swimming
I feel quite bad
And uh, yeah, and you're nicky's fish i've done well off the back of it if you're doing that
No, he has helped me out a lot. So fair play to him. But yeah, like I say
You know if you went back the last I know probably 10 years is all right
But prior to that pretty if we went back to say 10 years pre pre covid i'd probably
Count on a one hand apart from trips what i'd call trips. I'll just fish on my own and i'm like I say
I'm happy on my own practice if I was doing
Five days i'll be a little bit different. I'll be a little bit. Oh, I need someone to talk to but
I'll do talking all day and you're just talking since you've been in here
Exactly, I'm a bit of a fishing quiet to be fair. He's one of the only people that i've met that talks more than me
Welcome to the steve's virgin podcast
Yes
Yeah, yeah
That's really all right
But when I think back to some of the best the best fishing experiences they have been with other people
Yeah, you know and when you do have a really good, you know, you have a special capture. It is nice
It's nice to actually share it with someone rather than because most of my fighters just do my own
I don't go and get anyone. I just do self-takes and then i'll never go even if there's some next door
I just do self-takes. Yeah, I don't disturb anyone or anything like that
um
Yeah, so
But like I say those trips that belgium roadship that'll stick in my memory
If you could if you could go anywhere, let me we're gonna have to cut fairly soon now. We've nearly done our own
I don't apologize. It's been lovely hearing you
I have a magic wand. Yeah, and you have one wish it can be to change something to do something or to go somewhere
Your choice in carp fishing with the magic wand. What would you do or where would you go or what would you change?
Wow, couldn't you've asked me that before?
Yeah
Well, if I ask you before you'll prime it up. So, you know, you can do anything go anywhere or uh,
You know, it might be catch 150 pound carp
It might be you know, there are no limits. It could be any anything at all. What would you do?
Yes, I suppose if you
If I think it was always going to be fishing related not so much i'll change anything
It'd probably be what would I do because i'm like say comes back selfish bit. So what would I do? Where would I go?
I don't know. I've never done
I've not done the thailand thing and I do fancy
That is something that's there on the kind of bucket list to do same time as well. I'd like to do I'd like to do
the keys or something like that. Yeah, but
I'd also like to not so much do the boats. I'd like to go catch a shark off the beach
Yeah, Namibia. No, not even if you look, you know
It wasn't like pentacola in florida, right? Yeah. Yeah, like that area there. I mean the sharks they catch off the beach
I mean, yeah, and you know, they're not far out and it's like
That that looks like a good spot, you know, and uh, yeah
It's just different to going out in a boat doing it off the shore like proper tug of war and yeah
Yeah, yeah, I fancy about that. Yeah, so it'd be it'd be something along those lines
So there's a few fishing things but there's no oh, I'd like to go rainbow or anything like I can't believe in a bit of rainbow
and I go
Well, when I feel you need two weeks, yeah, well one you've got obviously be part of it
Anyway, so it's not like i'm talking and oh, yeah, I can go rainbow because I can't yeah, you know if I if I wanted to but
It's like I couldn't do two weeks. Yeah, I genuinely couldn't do two. I couldn't go to my wife
Oh, by the way, i'm going on a holiday for two weeks. You're not getting a holiday this year
I just couldn't do it. It's just and it's just a long time for me
And that's not knocking anyone that does in any way shape or form, you know, it's good. Four days is a lovely long session
Yeah, yeah, like I said break four days. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I was gonna say three or four
Is nice 20 20 like I say 48 for me is now these days is like what about a right old session?
I've done 48 hours like you know, so
Yeah, there isn't anywhere where I'd go. I'd love to fish there in the uk or i'd love to have a ticket for there
I mean don't get me wrong. There is loads of places I would but they're not
You know, it's two and a half grand a ticket. You can't justify quick overnighters. Yeah, exactly
Exactly. Yeah, you have to put everything in perspective and yeah, so you're going shark fishing to pentacola. Yeah, that's basically it
I'm coming with you. Yeah, yeah
Yeah, something along those lines. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, fantastic. Well, look steve. We've run out of time
Thank you ever so much for coming in. It has been an absolute pleasure listening to you for the last hour
Thanks for inviting me
Sorry, yeah, once you get me going there's no stopping me
No, absolutely brilliant stuff and a little bit of an eye into the world of a product that everybody has in their tackle box as well
Thank you ever so much for listening and watching you know what to do like follow do all those bits and bobs and from me here
In the bench here at the outcast. I'll see you next time
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