Casting At The Sun

Product Information

In 1996, with Jon Ward-Allen, he co-founded Waterlog magazine - a proudly eccentric angling magazine with the objective of providing a good read for anglers who are not only passionate about their fish, but also about the environment in which they fish. His book The Waterlog Years is a compilation of his best Waterlog writings from Issues 1-50. In 1993, he was brought to the attention of the general public when he appeared in the BBC TV series A Passion for Angling and since then has made several broadcasts on BBC radio. In addition to writing and fishing, Chris is also well known for his photography and tea-drinking. Following the success of the diary element of Carp Season, Tim decided to document in great detail, the highs and lows of a whole season (1993-94) fishing The Mangrove and Birch Grove, as well as the odd foreign adventure. It was a new concept and gave rise to a series that bears the same name by Tim.

Please don’t expect to find detailed technical information in thisbook as Chris Yates prefers the simple angling methods such asfreelining beans or floatfishing with his beloved sweetcorn! Glorious stuff. This is a book to give to your non-fishing friend or spouse particularly ones that are incredulous as to how you spend your leisure hours. Reading it might just help them start to understand WHY?

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Although the story throughout is excellent, I really feel that itis the evocative writing style of the author which really stands thisbook ‘head and shoulders’ above others. Throughout the book he paintssuch a romantic picture of each angling moment that you could almostbe there standing next to him! A collection of short works from the prolific publishing pioneer. They’re charming, disarmingly honest and really, really readable. No, you won’t find too much about how to catch them here, nonetheless, this book takes its place in our top 30 thanks to the craft of its author.

Casting at the Sun tells us the story of how Chris Yatesdiscovered and fell in love with the joys of angling. He recounts hisfirst proper trip as a young boy and then progresses his historicrecord carp capture from Redmire Pool in 1980. The only compilation to make it into the list. Why? Because this one has it all. Big names, secret squirrels, awesome imagery and some truly great stories that had never been in print before. Rob’s first book covers his early big carp fishing in Bedfordshire, as well as his first forays into the Colne Valley. He captures the very essence of the Valley in the 1980s, including the highs and lows of his maiden season on the famous Savay Lake, the water that gave the name to the book. Terry Dempsey’s carp career has taken him to some of the finest waters in the UK, at some of the most significant moments too! As a youngster he fished Darenth and Fox Pool, catching carp too, thanks to his natural talents. The book charts his fishing up to the point he arrived at Wraysbury. Originally intended to be part of a series of books, it now looks like this is to be the only one, adding to its allure!

Following Fox Pool, and arguably in his prime, Rob found himself orbiting the famous Yateley waters, and this book covers his fishing on the North Lake in search of Bazil, as well as trips to other famous waters, such as Harefield and Larkfield in Kent. This 1988 book provided the template for Tim’s later work, From the Bivvy. It’s written in the most part from the bank, in diary form, and covers Tim’s fishing on the Shropshire meres, as well as atmospheric forays down south to renowned big fish water, Darenth Tip Lake.

The premise for The Secret Carp is a simple one. A day spent on a secret, wonderfully secluded, carp water. The book describes a midsummer’s day, alone, in search, in hope of, a mythically, monstrous carp. The book has an `unhurried` feel to it. It is as much about `being there` as it is about angling. And because of the time at his disposal we are allowed to enjoy the full scope of the author`s evocative talents as he eulogises on the unfolding landscape around him and lets us in on some connections and tales of old as they, seemingly, occur to him. He even has time to catch a few (and lose a few) carp. The tone is a times soporific until a ghostly shape hoves into view, when the author`s senses are then heightened and he replaces a pen with a rod and goes a-angling. We are then drawn into the drama as a carp is stalked and wits are pitted. By the end of the day (and of course the book) the result is a score draw (you`ll have to read it to see what I mean!).

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But Chris is not a single-specimen angler. He enjoys fishing for all kinds of fish. His books The Deepening Pool and River Diaries reflect his zest for barbel, and more recently, he has been on the trail of the perfect perch. He has also edited two anthologies of great angling writing: Shadows and Reflections and The River Prince. Jim Gibbinson is one of the most important technical writers we’ve ever had. Yes, some found his style a little dry, but his carefully considered prose, subtle humour and lashings of how-to meant that books like this one were a huge success!