|
 f
all you knew about Tony Davies-Patrick was that he travelled all over the
globe to catch monster fish in order to publish his Globetrotter book, and
then went to America to fish for huge 'virgin' carp, you could probably be
forgiven for taking an instant dislike to the guy! There can't be many
anglers who wouldn't be just slightly jealous. However, as soon as you put
the first of his Carp Adventures USA DVD's into the player, you realise that
he comes across as one of those blokes you instantly like.
Carp fishing in the USA is still a relatively small market. That said, the
carp out there are bigger and wilder than any you'd see over here. Well,
they would be, wouldn't they?! Catching a fish that has never been caught
before usually results in a terrific fight and you witness this from the
very start, when Tony fishes, quite literally, in the reeds for them. By
'literally', I mean that not only are the carp hiding in big reed beds, but
Tony is wading in there amongst them, too! Seeing a carp grab his bait from
just in front of him and tear off is quite exhilarating stuff and it's good
to see that Tony loses his fair share of fish, just like anyone else, with
these savage runs. It looks like a job in itself just to hold onto the rod!
The fishing in this double DVD set centres on the rivers and lakes between
Massena and Niagra Falls in Upstate New York. I have to admit that I copied
that bit from the cover, as my geography is atrocious! All I know is that
there was quite a variety of venues, each seeming to hold a good head of
large carp that put a serious bend in the rod. Fishing from a canoe for them
looks fun and I'm sure it won't be long before the UK kayak anglers latch
onto this method!
The focus of these DVD's doesn't seem to be on rigs and bait, although each
are mentioned, and I assume that this may well be because the carp that are
being caught have never been caught before and complex rigs are just
unnecessary. In fact, free-lining a crayfish features quite a lot! Seeing
how effective the method is, it's such a shame we can't use them as bait
over here. The carp seem to love them and you can see why many fish in
crayfish-infested waters seem to pile on the pounds!
Tony comes across as quite artistic in these DVD's, giving us an insight
into the surrounding wildlife, as well as a good selection of underwater
footage. Any angler who doesn't absorb the environment in which they fish
is, in my opinion, missing a big part of angling. It's nice to see that Tony
has captured some of this, without boring the viewer with too much of it. To
understand American carp fishing, it's important that we get an idea of what
the venues are like, as they do seem to be somewhat different to European
carp fishing waters.
Tony is also particularly proud of the sound production of these DVD's (I
assume he's been dismayed by some of the others on the market) and pointed
out to me that, to get the most from these DVD's, they should be played on a
good quality TV or PC, with sound set to stereo. If the sound is left on
mono, you will not hear the correct level of full stereo background
narrative.
I enjoyed watching these DVD's and will watch them again, something I don't
often do with DVD's. With a running time of approximately 150 minutes, this
double DVD set does offer good value for money.
|
Ordering Information |
| Code |
Description |
Our Price |
Purchase |
| CARPUSADVD |
Carp Adventures USA DVD |
£12.99 |
 |
|
|
