State and local level. That is really what
drove me to develop the North East Carp
Conference. I wanted to see what would
happen if we put on a one day show…..who
would turn up, who would get involved and
what bonds would be grown in the fishing
world. It was a success, and now in CAG’s
twenty-fifth year we have the second NECC:
anglers, suppliers, bait makers and Mark
Pitchers voted 2017 as the Carp Anglers
Top UK Angler and of The Challenge voted
top Carp Video Series this year. Bigger and
better…. Many more anglers and growing.
I have to say that even only after a few
months as Events Director with CAG I am
beginning to see more joining CAG right
across the country…. do you see the same?
Yes. I’ve just fished the ATC in Austin…..80
anglers came from all over the whole coun-
try to fish the two days. Throughout the
days we were together there was a real ca-
maraderie amongst anglers which is what
CAG stands for….competitions are fun, but
it is about each of us helping each other to
get better. As we get better, we promote the
sport, and that is when outside parties start
to listen as in Connecticut. Over the last
four months we have expanded the number
of State Chairs, and slowly we are seeing
new memberships being taken up. Next, it
will be fish-ins and more competitions to
bring everyone together.
So the picture I am seeing is a bit like the
British Carp Study Group back in the UK….I
remember going to meetings in the dead of
winter. Do you remember those meets? Yes
again…. that’s where I think CAG can score.
We already have the Indy Group having a
‘Carp n Chili’ meet at the start of the year….
That’s all about a few drinks and food….
some fun and discussion….I think we can
do that in every State. Get together over a
beer & pizza with rig clinics, videos, chats,
and presentations from locals….a bit like lo-
cal versions of the NECC. How good would
it be to buddy up with people and take them
through an apprenticeship of Carp fishing?
One thing I really do want to bring to peo-
ple is about the simplicity of Carp Fishing.
Here we are fortunate to have so much wa-
ter and such huge stocks. This means that
we are not likely to see the results of fish-
ing pressure for many years. That means
that tactics can be kept simple which in
turn makes the sport more inclusive for all
people. Europe is advanced because of wa-
ter pressure. Here we just do not have that
pressure. The difficulty in the USA is find-
ing the fish in such vast expanses such as
Dale Hollow or the Connecticut River. Rod
Hutchinson in The Carp Strikes Back said
how we were so fired up about the hair rig
he forgot what it was that he was focused
on. He said then how when he got to new
water he really had to think about stripping
everything back to basics. In fact, when he
went to new water, he literally got rid of the
hair and went back to the bait directly on the
hook. We need to think about perfecting the
basics, promoting the sport and sharing in-
formation. That will make Carp fishing firm
in the USA. I really want to assist anglers
in getting better. That will show the sport
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