Two decades ago carp fishing was solely the domain of the specimen hunter. Many would fish their local waters, learning over a period of years the habits of the carp that lived in them; they would then try to catch the largest specimens possible, often catching the same fish year after year. There were a handful of well known carp waters; these were the lakes and rivers where the national record breaking fish were caught from. Many of these venues became syndicated and anglers would join a list, sometimes waiting years for a chance to fish them.
In the mid 1980's a trend emerged, entrepreneurs realised there was a great deal of money to be made by building custom made fishing venues, usually offering refreshment, bait and tackle on site, and some with accommodation. The main problem with this type of business venture was care and maintenance of the fish stocks. Carp are a naturally hardy breed, fun to catch and easy to breed, making the the species a logical choice as a stock fish for these new fisheries. Today we have many day ticket (pay a fee to fish for one day) venues in operation. Almost all of them supply fast and fun carp fishing. These fisheries have little in the way of large fish but have an abundance of smaller, easier to catch fish (1lb to 5lb in weight). It was out of these fisheries that the carp match fishing sport evolved.
In the mid 1980's a trend emerged, entrepreneurs realised there was a great deal of money to be made by building custom made fishing venues, usually offering refreshment, bait and tackle on site, and some with accommodation. The main problem with this type of business venture was care and maintenance of the fish stocks. Carp are a naturally hardy breed, fun to catch and easy to breed, making the the species a logical choice as a stock fish for these new fisheries. Today we have many day ticket (pay a fee to fish for one day) venues in operation. Almost all of them supply fast and fun carp fishing. These fisheries have little in the way of large fish but have an abundance of smaller, easier to catch fish (1lb to 5lb in weight). It was out of these fisheries that the carp match fishing sport evolved.