Panel of Experts
- Frank Warwick
- Lee Jackson
- Dave Lane
- Martin Ford
- Jake Langley Hobbs
- Simon Crow
- Tony Davies Patrick
- Martin Louw
- Terry Eustace
- Ron Woodward
- Hans Sissingh
- Steve Howard
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Simon Crow
Hometown: East Yorkshire, England, U.K.
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PB Carp: 60.02 lbs / 27.3 kgs
Family Situation:
Divorced with two daughters aged 7 and 5.
Years Carping: I've been fishing since a very early age, but didn't catch my first carp until
1980. I landed this from Leighton's Pool, Wolverhampton, but back then I
wouldn't consider myself to have been a serious carp fisherman.
Personal Best Mirror: 55lb 8oz caught from Klaserie Dam, South Africa in January 2000.
Personal Best Common: 60lb 2oz caught from The Forest Lake in Austria 2007
Most memorable capture: I'd have to say it was landing a 52lb common from Raduta during what was then
the first trip to the lake by UK anglers. It showed us all on that trip that the
lake most definitely did contain some huge fish!
Most memorable angling moment: I’ve a few memorable sessions, but the one which stands out the most happened in
South Africa at Klaserie Dam during January/February 2000 when it was freezing
cold in England. I mention it not just because it involved my biggest fish to
date, but because of the whole package and memories I have of the trip. During
an eight day session I landed a mid-50, three 40s and several good back up fish
whilst my fishing partner Rob Hughes also had a healthy catch next to me. We
experienced some amazing wildlife on the bank since back then the venue was very
wild and hadn't been fished as much as it has today. We had a leopard visit our
swim during the week which was just amazing, and all in all we had a great laugh
with some great mates (Steve Briggs, Xavier Paolozzi, Glyn Leach, Sandy Hough,
Martin Davidson). Best of all was seeing our old mate Martin Davidson from South
Africa (who's as competitive as they come) wink at his fishing partner Gilbert
Foxcroft when he heard me and Rob announce that we were going to try the
Bushcamp swim where an angler had just blanked for two weeks! To this day I
still joke with him that he wanted to see us blank! I've also fond memories of
winning the first ever World Carp Cup in France in 1996 - the first ever
high-profile global carp fishing enduro.
Favourite Venue: I've fished perhaps 300 different waters around the world, catching from over
200 of them. I've therefore got lots of fond memories. However, I'd have to say
that my favourite venues are Lac de St Cassien in France, the legendary Redmire
Pool, Orchid Lake, and Motorway Pond and Tilery Lake in East Yorkshire.
Venues you'd like to fish: The Orient in France is one venue that I will retire on when I feel the time is
right for me to try it. A water like that needs full commitment and not a
half-hearted approach. I'd also like to fish the famous 'Mere' in the south of
England where the Black Mirror resides, but it's too far for me to fish week in,
week out.
Favourite TV programmes: Only Fools and Horses, River Cottage, Moto GP, World Superbikes, music concerts
and some of the biographies on the Bio channel.
Favourite Venture product: The Razorback bivy…it’s just awesome…!
Who are your angling icons: Lots of anglers have inspired me, especially Rod Hutchinson, Tim Paisley, Steve
Briggs, Kevin Nash, Leon Hoogendijk and Alijn Danau. I will read any articles
written by these anglers, so long as they are in a language I can understand!
What is your normal length for a session: This is a difficult one to answer because I go whenever I get any available
time. If I've one night free I might go then, or if I've a few hours free I'll
perhaps go for a wonder around one of my local lakes. I do fish longer sessions,
but these are mainly when I'm travelling some distance to get somewhere. My
longest session in England is only seven nights (at Motorway Pond), whereas
overseas I will go for 5-10 days. The longest session I have ever had on the
bank is two weeks, something which I've done only three times in my career. A
week-long session is never enough on the big waters because you can spend that
time just trying to find the fish and getting in tune with the water and
conditions at the time. Trips of two weeks or more though are difficult because
of my work and family commitments.
Angling CV: I’m a self-employed angling journalist and consultant. My main work is as the
news editor for the weekly magazine Carp-Talk. I was also the editor of
Carpworld magazine for two years. I have written three books (all of which have
been published in several languages), these being Strategic Carp Fishing,
Discover Carp Fishing and Carp Fishing - Advanced Tactics (due out in 2006).
I've also made several DVD's, including Short Session Carping 1 & 2, Dream
at Madine, St Lawrence Carping to name a few, and was a presenter on the Sky
Sports television programme Carp in Focus which ran for ten parts.
Favourite TV programmes: Wildlife documentaries, sports channels and Sky News. My favourite films are
Black Hawk Down, The Wooden Horse and The Great Escape.
Favourite Music: I like anything really, ranging from hard-core dance to pop and even classical.
My recent CD collection includes Oasis, Nirvana, Guns n Roses, Robbie Williams
and U2.
What magazines and papers do you read: The Sun newspaper although I'll pick up any paper if it's close by, and Boxing
Monthly.
Do you like sport: Yes, I love all sports, especially boxing, cricket and big events like the
Olympics, World Cup or Commonwealth Games.
All time dream girl: Tough one, but I suppose it would have to be Sarah Harding from Girls Aloud or
super model Cindy Crawford. I quite like Kate Beckinsale also.
People you admire: Any man who fought for his country, and sportsmen like Muhammed Ali, Marvin
Hagler, Tiger Woods and Ian Botham.
Likes outside of angling: Keeping fit (I run and do weights regularly), golf, but most of all I love
spending time with my two kids.
Dislikes: Angling politics.....
Do you have any unfullfilled ambitions in life or carp fishing: In carp fishing I’d like to catch loads of big fish from the north of England
(Yorkshire) and I’d like to bag a 50 from Cassien too. Other than those, I’d
like to carry on and enjoy my fishing until way into the future. In life, I’d
like to go and see an undisputed heavyweight title fight in Las Vegas, bag
myself a super-model girlfriend (or several of them!) and see my kids grow up
with a big smile on their face
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