Andy Commons aims to give carp
anglers a video that is high on action and low on cost, and with a
video retailing at £9.99 I guess you’d assume that you won’t be
watching Big Studio quality . . . and you’d be right.
This particular presentation
gives an insight into stalking big carp over the course of more than
a day or two - and to do that, the first thing you need is a tent.
Two nights under canvas in an angler’s “bivvie” (bivouac) means that
a lot of the time is taken up with waiting for the bite alarm to
sound, and when a water is unproductive over this period (as is the
one shown here) an angler can become morose.
Despite his best efforts to put on a bright demeanour, I think Andy
communicates some of this lethargy to the camera. Of course this
inactivity is not shown on the video and what you do see is
certainly enough to hold the attention of any angler who has ever
fished for carp (or even those who wish to fish for carp).
The video opens with Andy at Clifton Marina, which, we’re told, is
over 18 acres of water (and it certainly looks it) in an old worked
out clay pit at Swinton, near Manchester.
Having set the scene with an interesting explanation of “Spodding”
that is well illustrated on this vast lake, our host moves the
action quickly south to show how he fared on a trip he made to
Hendre Lakes, which, the video assures us, is near Cardiff.
Though the weather obviously wasn’t the best, our intrepid anglers
were undeterred and were soon rewarded with some classic carp. This
south Wales venue is said to be rich in double figure carp of good
quality and the anglers’ joy at catching some of these big fish is
clearly shown; as is the breath-holding moments of nervousness as
the fish nears the landing net after minutes of struggle.
When I reviewed Andy’s first offering on video (this being the
second in the series) I noted that the sound quality wasn’t great,
and in that area things have improved only a little. Whereas in
Video 1 there seemed to be numerous venues for which the day ticket
rates were excellently recorded, in Video 2 there seems to be only
two venues, and how to get to them and the cost to fish them is
sadly lacking.
Andy does his best to show the viewer how to best prepare terminal
tackle and hook lengths, but the close-up camera work would be
better if it were “closer-up’.
However, there can be no doubting Andy’s (and his fellow featured
anglers) concern for the health and well being of the fish they
catch. This is amply illustrated as the anglers treat the banked
fish with antiseptic fluids and creams and spend time ridding carp
of lice and leeches, before returning the fish safely to the water.
As the action returns to the huge Clifton Marina it seems its
reputation as a “difficult” venue is proving to be the case.
Although the water is known to hold big fish of all species, Andy
and his mates can’t seem to coax them from the deep.
Before the end of the video Andy does manage to catch a good
double-figure common carp, greeted with his trade-mark “Jurassic
Park!”
Although Andy lists the fish he has caught over the two-and-a-half
days at Swinton, all are not shown in this video, and the only other
I can remember is an unremarkable bream.
Compared to Video 1, Carp Fishing With a Difference (2) leaves
something to be desired, indeed one short section shot at night
featuring two anglers talking, is of such poor quality I think it
should have been cut completely.
After the acclaim given to his initial venture in this medium,
perhaps Andy was encouraged to rush Video 2 into production, but if
and when Carp Fishing Video 3 is proposed I hope Andy tries to
“plan” the finished article a little more.
Unpolished though it definitely is, it is certainly not unwatchable
and as angling entertainment this video is still good value at under
a tenner and, in the main, I enjoyed it. So much so, in fact, that I
would ask Andy to think of me when Carp Fishing Video 3 hits the
streets.
