Elie Godsi with 47lb+ of Laroussi Joy!

Let’s face it, for most people fishing in general is viewed as a bit weird and quite boring; for the outsider, carp fishing lies somewhere between the quaint and the full blown anorak. To us it might seem self evident why we are obsessed with this species, with fishing in general. Yet it can be so hard to explain to the uninitiated, to get beyond the many stereotypes and common myths about angling. People think we just sit motionless for hours sipping tea and catching nothing (though sometimes, all too often, we do); that we really do heave in old boots (I’m sure this must have happened to someone somewhere). Yes, we do own overgrown green umbrellas and yes, wearing waders looks funny.

When trying to explain why I am so passionate about my fishing, there are certain aspects that are easier for people to relate to and in my experience this is usually the best place to start. I can wax lyrical about the therapeutic and replenishing nature of being near water and my need to immerse myself in natural places. And I do. I can discuss the primeval need for the hunting instinct to gain expression in a modern junk food instant gratification superficial hi-tech world. I can speak genuinely of my need for peace and solitude; ‘getting away from it all’ is something almost everyone can relate to and I am usually on safe ground here. Above all else, it is easiest for people to relate to fishing as an essentially sedate pastime. Perhaps the most unshakeable myth about fishing is that it is largely uneventful and therefore relaxing if not utterly boring. This is however, exactly where the credibility vacuum lies: we all know just how exciting fishing for carp can be but how could anyone normal get excited about a fish?

Sometimes I just have to accept that there are aspects of angling that non fisher-folk will never be able to comprehend. If they haven’t experienced the highs and lows how can they possibly know? The ‘floating on air’ feeling you get after you’ve banked a new PB or a target fish. The rod butt chewing frustration of a hookpull at the net after a twenty minute battle. No matter how hard I try there are reasons for my fishing that remain quite frankly a bit ridiculous and beyond reasonable explanation. But this is exactly what I’m trying to make sense of. What is it about this carp fishing lark that is so compelling?

Important though these elements are, the very essence of why I go fishing is far more than about peace and solitude and getting away. It is much more than about immersing myself in nature, ‘earthing my current’ as Chris Yates put it so beautifully. It is for me, ultimately about those fleeting moments of pure distilled excitement: those moments of contact. Even just the vague possibility of such fleeting encounters motivates me. A few years ago I really did get out of a warm bed at five in the morning after the first night of passion with a gorgeous new woman to meet my mate Tony at the banks of Bluebell lakes on boxing day, only to spend the next two nights blanking in minus five degree temperatures. I have literally travelled hundreds of miles and across continents for it. It is a powerful addictive drug. After all these years, I am still driven by it.

Part 2 is here.

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