DICK WALKER, a true legend of angling, is given a special tribute in Angler’s Mail print magazine this week to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Back in 1952, at 5am on September 13, Dick Walker proved that huge carp existed in the UK and could be caught on rod and line.
He did it by landing a common of 44 lb from Redmire Pool called ‘Clarissa’.
Freelining honey flavoured bread paste tipped with crust on a size 2 hook to 12 lb line, he landed the huge common – which he himself nicknamed ‘Ravioli’ – from the Willow Pitch with the help of Pete Thomas.
He summoned London Zoo to collect the fish and put it in its aquarium, where it lived for over ten years.
That capture started the carp fishing revolution that now dominates most fisheries and tackle shops.
Dick Walker – on the cover of Angler’s Mail magazine (with Clarissa) to mark 100 years since his birth.
Dick’s fish beat the previous British record of 31 lb 4 oz, also from Redmire, caught by Bob Richards the previous October, after the 26 lb 4 oz record caught by Albert Buckley had stood for 21 years.
Dick’s widow Pat is still amazed how much interest there is in her husband and about the capture of Clarissa.
Pat told Angler’s Mail: “There’s always interest in the catch and despite Dick passing away in 1985 there’s still so much written about him which is fantastic after all these years.”
As May 29, 2018 marked 100 years since the birth of Dick Walker, his most famous catch, Clarissa, stars on the latest Environment Agency three-rod ‘carp’ rod licence.
But to find out lots more about Dick Walker, do not miss this week’s Angler’s Mail magazine. It’s out now, in print, priced £1.99 in good newsagents and supermarkets.
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