CARPOLOGY: Bob had the Fat Lady and Chris caught that amazing looking twenty-pound common near the sluice. I also remember that sequence where Bob got smashed up… There were a couple of deeper parts, including the one where Harry (the monster) was hiding. There was a bit of a hollow, where years ago, I believe they dug, or dredged it out to make the island. There was also a deeper bit down the bottom end. Although it was shallow and clear, it was extremely difficult to see the fish.”

CARPOLOGY: Monster Myths was the episode that captured viewers’ imagination more than any other; could you tell us who suggested the lake to you, or who found it? Yates was one of two central characters in BBC2's 1993 TV series A Passion for Angling, made by Hugh Miles and also featuring Bob James, in which the pair go fishing for carp, salmon and other species across Britain. The series was shown in many countries including Mexico, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Italy, Norway and Japan. [4] Radio [ edit ] Mr James, 47, said yesterday he was saddened by the episode, after eight years working with the ACA, and that he had fallen foul of a wider jealousy in the world of angling. Fishing yesterday with his close friend Mr Tarrant, he said: "Both my wife and I are very sad that it came to this. We absolutely deny that we did anything wrong. But there are lots of people out there who have become green-eyed monsters. Lifelines-An Anthology of Angling Anecdotes, and More…‘’ NAROD Publishing, 2021. A collection of 27 short stories centred around angling by 27 different authors including 16.6 by Chris Yates. I use my blog to promote admirable activities like this, along with the work of the Angling Trust, the

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Some also claim‘Impossible’ to be better even than ‘Passion’, others disagree ; you’ll have to decide yourselves. Incidentally, we planned to catch a 3lb rudd for the series but that did prove impossible! Martin Bowler, who co-starred with Bernard in the ‘Catching the Impossible’ series, said: “Bernard’s voice was the essence of angling and my time with him filming Catching the Impossible was both an honour and an education. A wonderful English gentleman.” CARPOLOGY: I know you can’t say where the lake is, but could you paint a picture of what it looked like… the size and shape etc?

Taking friends fishing is always more rewarding than going it alone, so sharing "mullet madness" with Brian from Norfolk was especially enjoyable. Summer days spent crucian fishing with close friend Chris Yates are always a treat and I helped Annabelle and young Joe catch their very first fish and all washed down with tea and Sue's delicious Victoria Sponge. The DVD is still available – and always will be – and is still considered by many to be the best fishing series ever made. Sales remain strong year after year, with new generations of anglers discovering that there is a whole world of fishing out there that doesn’t have to revolve entirely around carp, bolt-rigs and boilies. wildlife films. I miss my colleagues and all the great locals I used to work with in far-flung places We felt that the ‘Passion’ films had to include the famous record carp water, Redmire. In fact, my initial plan was to only make one film but our time at that magical pool was so idyllic and so successful that I convinced Bob and Chris that we ought to make a series of six films. After a further four years of hard graft, they were both wishing that they hadn’t agreed! Like all creative endeavours, making films is an inexact art, there is no right or wrong … which is probably why I was able to earn a living making wildlife films! I have made over sixty now, for all the worlds major TV companies, so I guess I got some of it right. Whatever the truth, it was a privilege to go to so many wild places to share my life with charismatic animals and meet so many great guys and gals.Just two weeks ago I was fishing with Chris on the River Wye and he caught his first ever Wye barbel … only 7+lbs but a beautiful fish in a glorious corner of our countryside. The series comprises nine one hour films in sets of three on three DVD’s so you don’t have to buy them all at once! They are full of great fishing and some folk even prefer the series to ‘Passion’ but we’ll leave you to be the judge of that. There’s a splendid book describing our adventures too, full of pictures [400+] along with film clips and beautiful illustrations by the celebrated artist Rodger McPhail so you don’t even have to read it. A Passion for Angling’ and ‘Catching the Impossible’ are still capturing big audiences, for they describe the magic of being by the waterside with a rod and line like no others. fulfil my need to be creative. It also partially replaces the loss of my travels round the world making Catching the Impossible’ is a different kettle of fish, intentionally of course as I felt it ridiculous to try to

More remarkable was the fact that it came from a swim just thirty yards downstream of where Chris Yates and young Peter caught a barbel in the first programme of ‘A Passion for Angling’. It’s called ’Childhood Dreams’ and catching a barbel will always remain a dream, a happy one. Chris had harboured this crazy idea for years but had been ‘dissuaded’ by the various syndicates to try it. I was much more liberal and jumped at the idea. The plan was to place a manikin in the shallows in the area where he had caught his record fish. It would be dressed in Chris’s coat and hat and be holding a rod. Once installed, we baited the spot for several days and the carp became habituated to this silent, stationary ‘angler’ and ended up feeding within a couple of feet … a lesson there for our modern day impatient and noisy angling. Harry took one look at it and said, without any hesitation, “Oh no, it’s bigger than that,” so yes, it would easily have been a record at the time.”Thank you to all our loyal customers. The appeal of ‘Passion’ never seems to wain and like fishing, is passed on from generation to generation. Folk still claim that it is the best fishing series ever made and though it’s not up to us to comment, it is gratifying that it still appeals to so many for so long. We all say it, but what happened to last year? It just flew by! It's been so busy that I don't know how I ever had time to spend my life making wildlife films. But thankfully, the year has been a lot of fun, not only because I got to make a few films - I love it - but also went fishing...not a lot...but being out there is always a treat, especially with close friends Trevor Harrop and Chris Yates. Chris Yates is an angler, photographer, broadcaster, tea connoisseur and author born on 19 April 1948. He is a former holder of the record for the heaviest-recorded British carp, a 51.5lb specimen captured from Redmire pool in 1980. [1] Yates is a former co-editor (with Jon Ward-Allen) of Waterlog magazine, [2] and is a regular contributor to The Idler. Martin caught so many big fish that it’s difficult to believe but I was there with the camera to record the truth and we all know the camera never lies don’t we! Among our targets was a forty pound carp on the float, a fifteen pound barbel, a seven pound chub, a one pound dace, a ten pound tench, a thirty pound pike and a perch of over four pounds. There are also inland breeding cormorants, 2,096 at the last count in 2005, so the pressure on our freshwater fish is relentless and surely unsustainable. This is damaging our bio-diversity, and some rivers have already been denuded of their fish life. Members of the Avon Roach Project created a petition to attempt to change the law and make it easier for us to protect our wildlife from excessive cormorant predation. We plan to deliver the 16,000+ signature petition to the Fisheries Minister in February.