John Bailey – The Kingfisher Diaries
August 6th 2009
Alas Poor Benson
One or two of you might just have caught a rather frenzied interview I gave for one of the ITV News channels on the recent death of Benson, ‘the nation's favourite carp!' I think I made a desperately bad job of things. It wasn't that easy. I was sitting in Bristol on my own in a studio with an earpiece that kept falling out. When I heard questions from a London studio I was meant to look at a spot on the wall and answer as naturally as I could. The questions out of absolutely nowhere. (It was rather like facing a firing squad if you like...not really I know.)
What's the appeal of carp fishing? Easy.
Why if carp are so cunning was Benson so easy to catch? Well, being big, I suppose he just needed more food.
Isn't it cruel to catch a fish like this?
I knew it was coming. It was bound to happen. There was a clock running down towards the 8.30 p.m. mark and I knew I'd barely got seconds to answer. All I could stammer was that carp anglers care for their fish, have a serious code of conduct, don't take their responsibilities lightly etc. etc. but, in mid-flow, some presenter I'd never even clapped eyes on, cut me off, said goodnight to the nation and I was back out onto the Bath Road!
It's not an easy job, is it, explaining carp fishing - any fishing come to that - to the general public. They just don't get it. They don't get that carp angling is a lifestyle choice as much as a sport. Oh yes, and how I hate it when angling is called a hobby not a sport. A hobby! I ask you. It's like stamp collecting or pressing wildflowers
I suspect we'll never get across to Joe Public what it's all about. The absorption into nature. The immersion into the lifestyles of wild creatures. The constant quest to unravel the challenges that they throw down. Friendships. Laughs. The thrill of a take. The heart-stopping, adrenaline surging thrill and nobility of the battle. That sense of wonderment when you net an exquisite fish.
No, we'll never get it across. To Joe P we're sad, mad or even worse, cruel.
There are so many spurious debates in this country. Listen to Radio 5. So many a...holes so willing to vent a vacuous opinion about anything. All we can do, lads, is keep our heads down, do our best, be kind to the fish we love and perhaps in this overcrowded world and human infested island, it's a pity not more people realise the truth about the sport we love.