They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore - Special Carp
Not long after the millennium dawned, a group of carp living in a tiny Hertfordshire club lake would capture the imagination of many of the South’s big-fish men, including Terry Hearn, Jim Shelley and Jerry Hammond.
Nestled close to the Grand Union canal, just south-west of Watford’s urban sprawl, Tolpits Lake might not be as big, or as famous, as some of the pits further along the Colne Valley, yet its place is cemented alongside those lakes in carp-fishing history. For ten years or so this little club water, run by the Watford Piscators, was right up there in terms of big-carp pedigree thanks to a judicious bit of stocking by the club at some unknown (to us anyway!) point. It’s not known exactly where the carp came from but it’s likely that they were a mix of the Anglo Aquatics Belgian strain fish (which flourished in other Colne Valley pits like the North Harrow Waltonians lake at Springwell), and the Italian strain that Tol became most famous for.
Initial stocking
Plodder was one of these incredible, deep-bodied Italians, although it didn’t get its name until some time later on. Initially, it was simply called the Little Italian (there was a Big Italian in the lake too, which also went on to become quite famous, but not quite so big!). The lake had been famous for its carp even as far back as the late 1980s and an early Carpworld magazine (we think No.4) carried the image of famous carp man, Paul Klinkenborg with what was then the biggest carp in Tol, Smiley, at over 30lb.
By 1995 experienced all-rounder and journalist Gary Newman had made a start on Tolpits, after fishing the nearby LSA Pit 2 (now called Thurlows). He remembers that the biggest carp in Tol at the time was the unfortunately named Fatty, which too had topped 30lb, making it a worthy target! The stock numbered somewhere between 65 and 70 carp at the time, including those two Italians.
At the time the Little Italian was a creditable 26lb to 28lb but Mother Nature evidently had bigger plans for it. The fates conspired to spare Plodder when Spring Carp Mortality Syndrome (SCMS) swept through the Colne Valley, devastating the old carp that had made it such a famous piece of carp angling real estate. The Tolpits stock sustained heavy damage and SCMS halved the number of carp present to around 35. As so often happens, those that were left thrived and Plodder was soon being caught at weights of over 40lb. Gary himself caught Plodder twice on its way up through the ranks, first at 34lb in 1996 and then later that year at a spawned-out 28lb 4oz.
The ‘big names’ roll in
By the time the new millennium dawned, Gary’s time on the lake was nearly at an end, and the progress made by Plodder, The Big Common, Leicester’s and the Big Italian had started to interest anglers from further afield. Terry Hearn was the first of the ‘big names’ to appear, followed shortly afterwards by Jim Shelley and his friend, Mark Shave. They all found Tol challenging and had to work hard to fool the old residents in the often-tap-clear water that Gary Newman remembers as being so clear in the margins that it was, “Like having your own underwater camera.”
Top big-carp man Jerry Hammond remembers how he came to fish Tol, around the same time.
“It was Terry Hearn that first put me on to Tolpits, when we were both fishing Sutton, in Kent. The stock was of a unique strain, mainly Italians and fairly old even back then. Moving onto Toll was a whole new buzz after days-only on Sutton, but to be honest I never really knew much about Plodder. There was talk of a deep-bodied Italian fish named Plodder but Leicester’s was the main prize for me. It was an exciting time on there with an elite group of anglers, all keen as mustard and the lake was well tricky and very moody mainly due to its size and the intense angling pressure. It was June when I caught Plodder and was completely blown away by the fish. It was a new lake record at the time—43lb—and from then onwards Plodder was on everyone’s target list.”
The next generation
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy aspects of the Plodder story was that it was around for such a long time. By the time that Tel, Jerry and Jim had long since moved on, a new generation of CV [Colne Valley] carp men had set their sights on the Tol carp. James Turner was one such youngster and he has vivid memories of fishing the intimate club water.
“When you [CARPology} messaged me about Plodder, it sent me into a rabbit-hole of youthful dreams, digging out images that have been looked at a thousand times,” reveals James. “Tolpit’s was the first ‘proper’ lake I fished and holds such a special place in my life. Tol was one of four or five lakes on the ticket and I fished the others for a few years before cautiously venturing onto there. As a teenager I’d heard hushed talk of 40lb carp from other members and targeting named fish was a whole new experience for me. Most of the talk was, in hindsight, hilariously wrong!
“The fish were credited with almost mythical powers, uncatchable and revered to the max. Looking back, with a few more miles under my belt, I can’t help but marvel at what a special place it was, with such a good head of big carp of a fantastic strain in such an intimate pool. The old wives’ tales had us believe that Plodder was previously being known as the Little Italian until it outgrew the Big Italian, only to be renamed based on her power to stay deep and evade all but the best hook holds and tackle. As I became fully immersed in the lake and gleaned every ounce of information (punisher!) from others, I heard all types of rumours of stocking sources and origins, but I never knew for sure. One thing I did know, though, was Plodder always captured the imagination with her large slate grey flanks and incredible frame.”
When the planets align
Plodder would have been a hugely desirable carp had it never grown beyond mid-forties, but it did—in fact it finally made 50lb plus when bailiff Gerry Giles caught it. Gerry takes up the spooky tale…
“We’d had some very high pressure for weeks and not much was coming out at all, when suddenly the weather broke and a big low-pressure system swept in. I think it was a Thursday so at around 3 p.m. I decided I had to go to the lake. In those days it was never ever empty; it was hard-fished in fact, so I was completely shocked to find only one bivvy and the owner was packing up. By the time I was set-up next to a big bankside snag the lake was empty and I just had this feeling that I was going to have one of the big ones. For the one and only time in my life I phoned Ian, the head bailiff, and said, “You won’t believe this but I’m the only one on Tolpits and think I may get one of the big ones—could I phone you in the event to come and take pictures?”
“He said Russ would be a better bet as he lived much closer so I phoned Russ (another bailiff) around 6:30 p.m. and just an hour later I was on the phone as I had Plodder in my net! How blooming spooky is that!”
Still going strong
Tolpits is still run by Watford Piscators and a quick glance at their website shows that one of the original fish, Gerry’s, was still alive and well as late as 2017 (this is a fish that Gary Newman caught off the top during the 1990s!). Unfortunately, those other giants, Plodder, Leicesters, the Big Italian and the Big Common have passed away but, luckily for us, their time at the top was captured in print forever, by some of the greatest big-carp men of the era.
