I have ( like many I suppose) been reading more about carp fishing this winter than catching or even carping its self. One thing has struck me very plainly about the magazines ( and I am not going to name names) is that if you believed everything that you read in them, some anglers never blank… Not even during the winter, not even ( it seems) when the lakes are frozen over. They are carp catching machines who never seem to suffer the pitfalls mother nature and fate throws before us mere mortals. They are the gods of carp fishing, and 99% of them were unknown 15 years ago.
This then led me to another thought, we have all seen roped off swims so that someone or other can do a magazine shoot ( or even closed lakes so that someone can do a DVD) and this has been done to death so no point in discussing further. However, look at the longer term issue, new comers get the impression that to be successful they have to be catching as sponsored angler X catches all the time. And who wouldn’t want to be like him ?
If you are a youngster, or new to the sport remember that paper never refused ink ( and forums never refused electrons 😛 ) and please don’t get swept up in this feeling that if you are not constantly catching you are doing something wrong. Everyone blanks at some time.
The Masterblanker 