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The Special Old Ones

This month our theme is “The Special Old Ones”, a favourite subject for Big Carp readers new and old. With so much of our heritage disappearing each year as the great history fish pass on, and some venues disappear from the circuit, it’s nice to reflect sometimes on some of these waters that you simply do not hear about these days. So this month I have put together a magazine with some amazing history and some very special carp.

First up, James Eames writes on Harefield Gold, a water which was once written about in every magazine and book. I even made a couple of videos up there with my old mate Stuart Gillham in the early nineties. Christ, that was over 25 years ago! First written about in Rod Hutchinson's Carp Strikes Back, Harefield was THE place to be, and many of the older famous anglers lined its banks.

Around the same time Elstow and the Bedford Brick Pits were receiving their first stocking of carp, and a nearby barren 300-acre pit was being pioneered by local anglers, as it already had some big carp for the day. I'm talking of course about Brogborough, a water steeped in history, but even today only talked about in hushed tones. Chris Thripp was one of the early pioneers, and here we have his amazing account and pictures. Anyone with an interest in the history of Kent carping could not fail to be interested in Johnsons Railway and nearby Larkfield, but how many of you know how its most famous resident, Spotty, got its name? Kent historian Wayne Taylor's article on this historic venue sets the record straight.