Not all carp fishermen started life as carp specialists, but a great number seem to end up totally addicted to the sport and fishing for nothing else. Most serious carp fishermen are men over the age of 20, mostly married with families. Guess who won. I think the answer is to be found, not at the river or lake bank, but when we are away from there, whilst we are doing the things that keep us from our sport, at work or at home.
Carp fill our minds and govern our emotions.
The thoughts of fishing- for them that are always whizzing round our heads. New ideas, new tactics and concotions of bait, most of them failing our expectations miserably after the first try. Each time we plan a trip it's like a buying lottery ticket. We have to wait for the draw, the excitement, the anticipation, the disappointments and the rewards. Mix these, the most powerful of emotions, with the memories of tranquil summer sunsets, frosty winter mornings, the odd spiral of kettle steam rising above a line of dew-covered bivvys at dawn.