Carp Fishing DVDs and Videos. Carp fishing with
a difference 1:
Glen Katley. (Bolton Evening News)
A chance remark
over a pint in Andy Commons' local pub set him off on a 12 month project
that was to test not only his angling skills but also his ability to
produce a video. It has also seen him set up a web site dedicated to his
particular passion for carp fishing. Andy who lives in Booth Road,
Little Lever was inspired after discussing recording a year in pursuit
of large carp with fellow anglers. Armed only with a hand held domestic
video camera and a friend to operate it he then toured near and far in
search of monsters. The result is a video that is informative,
interesting and at times funny. It is not intended to be compared to the
professional angling films produced by the likes of Matt Hayes and John
Wilson and it would certainly not make it to the Cannes Film Festival as
the editing and sound quality are not as they should be. But all that
adds to the laid back style that makes the 1 hour 40 minute production
unique. Big fish are shown being caught from the popular fisheries, but
for me it was the catches from the local waters such as Bolton canal
that proved to be of real interest. Also a look at the restoration work
on the canal is eye catching. Andy's expressions on catching and
sometimes losing the 20+ pounders are funny as are the out takes at the
end of the film. The videos are £9.99 each and can be bought off Andy
07851219937. Also his website is worth a visit on www.uncutfishing.co.uk
Carp Fishing with a Difference
A Video from UncutFishing.co.uk
When I was asked to review this offering from UncutFishing.co.uk I must
say I was a little taken aback. Although I am an angler (of sorts), I'm
not the sort that occupies a bivvie for days on end in the search for
that one-and-only enormous carp.
I thought I might not do justice to the producers of this video if they
were talking in a carp-catching language that I didn't understand, but I
decided that if this video could entertain and educate me then it would
probably do the same for all those thousands of middle-ground anglers.
This little gem, put together by Andy Commons (who, from his accent,
hails from the Manchester area?) is a video in that shady area that is
better than a home movie but not so pretentious as to require a
professional production crew.
From the start, at an unproductive (and bleak looking) Shimano Lakes in
Oxfordshire it's obvious that a carp angler's lot is not always sunshine
and, well . . . carp. For, at this venue, our intrepid angler couldn't
tempt a single fish, and a lot of time was apparently spent in
discerning this fact.
However, with a change of venue, the situation improves and the required
quarry are soon splashing their way into Andy's net.
This sort of action is repeated at a number of venues up and down the
country and is presented in such a way that I didn't find it boring at
all. I did find myself trying to look around Andy's back to get an early
sight of the net-bound fish, but this is an amateur video and
photography is not necessarily an angler's art.
You might say that 100 minutes of filmed carp-catching would test the
boredom threshold of the most ardent angler but this video is
judiciously edited, with Andy's obvious enthusiasm for his subject
lifting it well out of the mundane.
There is good voice-over, highlighting the sites of the various venues,
and the costs involved to fish them, and an entertaining cameo piece
where Andy interviews a local bureaucrat on the banks of a northern
canal that is being restored to leisure use. And all paid for by
European Union money.
Your video host supplies lots of tips on looking after fish and, indeed,
shows how to tie the different end tackle required to catch them; even
on one occasion going after a specimen eel.
Although the early sound quality is poor, this video is lots of fun for
under a tenner. Witnessed by Andy's often uttered and gleeful "Jurassic
Park!" it shows the delight that angling can bring, and if this is Andy
Commons' first video venture I, for one, can't wait to see the next.
