Got the March issue of Carpwold delivered today. Sad to see it looks like it's the last one. Publishers no longer wish to print it. Existing subs can be swapped at gifts for anglers or Carpology or Total Carp magazine.
In reply to Post #1
Remember buying number one with Hutchy on the cover, bought if for years but it was overtaken by mags with a more modern approach particularly with regards to online content.
Remember buying number one with Hutchy on the cover, bought if for years but it was overtaken by mags with a more modern approach particularly with regards to online content.
As a long term subscription holder I feel mugged off to be honest, my wife buys my subscription in December every year as a Christmas present. So there is a few words in the front editorial to say it's the last edition or they may be back and to contact the subscription department for either gift vouchers or alternative subscriptions with other magazines. At the back of the magazine in a regular feature Tim Paisley says they knew the closure was in the ‘offing' in December if this is the case why the hell were they still taking subscriptions in December! Surely that's taking money under false pretences? So I already have a subscription for CARPology not interested in total carp or gifts for anglers so looks like the wife's lost her money!!
Michael
Michael
In reply to Post #3
I always thought carpworld had too higher opinion of itself so only bought a few edition.
Better mags already folded, online content is limited at best, it's change but change for the worse imo.
I always thought carpworld had too higher opinion of itself so only bought a few edition.
Better mags already folded, online content is limited at best, it's change but change for the worse imo.
In reply to Post #1
Now that is disappointing for me. Another one bites the dust, sign of the times
Now that is disappointing for me. Another one bites the dust, sign of the times
In reply to Post #3
I wouldn't worry, I'm sure that they will sort out a refund.
I'm sad to hear this, although I have not bought a copy for a few years now.
I was literally obsessed with this magazine when it came out, I think my first issue was issue 4, I would have been about 15 years old and I hung on every word. I did not understand it, it was simply amazing. What was silkworm? What was a Savay seed mix? Nothing else, or little else, mattered at that time.
A few years later, through the help of Carpworld and countless hours on the bank I had worked it out. I did not need Carpworld any more, but that is not to say that I was not grateful.
Long Live Carpworld.
I wouldn't worry, I'm sure that they will sort out a refund.
I'm sad to hear this, although I have not bought a copy for a few years now.
I was literally obsessed with this magazine when it came out, I think my first issue was issue 4, I would have been about 15 years old and I hung on every word. I did not understand it, it was simply amazing. What was silkworm? What was a Savay seed mix? Nothing else, or little else, mattered at that time.
A few years later, through the help of Carpworld and countless hours on the bank I had worked it out. I did not need Carpworld any more, but that is not to say that I was not grateful.
Long Live Carpworld.
In reply to Post #6
I have the same feelings as you. I think it was the only magazine that was able to capture the essence of carp fishing, or it was years ago. Always had the best contributors and they were allowed to write long copy, the mag seemed to be as thick as an Argos catalogue back then. Sad times.
I have the same feelings as you. I think it was the only magazine that was able to capture the essence of carp fishing, or it was years ago. Always had the best contributors and they were allowed to write long copy, the mag seemed to be as thick as an Argos catalogue back then. Sad times.
This when it started was the only mag that came close to Carpfisher at the time .
I had them all up to 267.
Kept 1-100 and binned the rest as the content was less than the adverts .
And punting modern heroes wasn't really doing it for me .
Classic contributions from Jim , Rod , Paisley , and others just dried up .
Julian was contributing more to fill the gaps and you can only invent the wheel so many times .
Korda DVD,s didn't help and then it was all DVD,s punted out by every company .
The whole scene is now over exposed , over hyped and the soul of what it is all about is on life support .
Shame but as they say that's progress .
Not for me anymore I'm afraid .
I had them all up to 267.
Kept 1-100 and binned the rest as the content was less than the adverts .
And punting modern heroes wasn't really doing it for me .
Classic contributions from Jim , Rod , Paisley , and others just dried up .
Julian was contributing more to fill the gaps and you can only invent the wheel so many times .
Korda DVD,s didn't help and then it was all DVD,s punted out by every company .
The whole scene is now over exposed , over hyped and the soul of what it is all about is on life support .
Shame but as they say that's progress .
Not for me anymore I'm afraid .
In reply to Post #8
Same here, and same as posts 6 and 7.
I always felt like a bit of an oddball in the early years. I was a ‘spezzie hunter' interested in carp which made me what I thought was an oddity in a traditional match fishing region. Little did I know in those secret squirrel days that just a few miles down the road fledgling carpers were fishing Roman lakes - the same lakes I'd fished as a kid FFS...talk about under your nose and being totally blindsided. Also breakthroughs in bait, tackle and tactics generally passed me by. I left the country in 76 still not quite meshing with the scene, and failing to find my own waters. Over in Germany it was slightly better as I quickly fell in with a group of German lads who through Dutch contacts were more advanced. The one day in a army garrison town called Hohne I chanced on a magazine called Carpworld. I couldn't believe what I was reading. It was packed with what was then quite secretive stuff, plus ideas being bandied around. For the first time I wasn't behind the curve, I was, if not at it's inception, then somewhere on the initial take off. Black and white line drawings showed what I had already tried to do myself but with more clarity and finesse. Silicone, PVA, shrink tube, HNV therories, birdseed, feeding triggers et al. I immediately put in a yearly subscription and each item was read and re-read. Countless times. And at the back Blackadder, a deeply satirical piss take of people who you didn't personally know but got a good slagging in a humorous pre Twitter style.
Fast forward a few years and the black and white line drawings were replaced by slick professional photo's by pro photographers who accompanied ‘names' who fished during the week, every week, week in, week out and featured all the time. This coupled with articleson Raduta Lake or fishing the St Lawrence river which most of us with a job and a couple of kids was well beyond our dreams, made it a bit elitist. By now Continental carper was incorporated into the magazine and although this was of great interest for those of us on our fledgling trips to France, seeing pictures of groups of ‘known' anglers going on an overseas trip with literally 100's of kilos of bait ‘supplied by X company ( for free) was again a slap in the face for the vast majority who actually pay for ours. Of course these company's all had adverts in the magazine and for the first time some started to question the articles and the links to the trade.
Fast forward a few more years and we had the first angling ‘Celebs' and people were now carping as the new ‘cool hobby'. Gone were the years of progression through general course fishing, but a new breed was coming into the sport. Carpworld embraced them and under Martin Ford era the magazine changed direction. East Enders stars featured in major articles and people exploded onto the ‘scene' to become overnight names. Ironically it was embracing these ideals which later signalled the death of the magazine. They welcomed with open arms the very thing that would kill them.
So I prefer to remember the ‘old' Carpworld. The magazine which was a refreshing break from the secret squirrel era but which only gave you enough info on how to do it yourself - you got the info but couldn't pop down to the tackle shop or online to buy it - you still had to make it yourself and in doing that understood it better.
A brilliant magazine of its time which like the Roman Empire sadly embraced the the very thing which brought it down.
A sad day but not too surprising when you think about it
Same here, and same as posts 6 and 7.
I always felt like a bit of an oddball in the early years. I was a ‘spezzie hunter' interested in carp which made me what I thought was an oddity in a traditional match fishing region. Little did I know in those secret squirrel days that just a few miles down the road fledgling carpers were fishing Roman lakes - the same lakes I'd fished as a kid FFS...talk about under your nose and being totally blindsided. Also breakthroughs in bait, tackle and tactics generally passed me by. I left the country in 76 still not quite meshing with the scene, and failing to find my own waters. Over in Germany it was slightly better as I quickly fell in with a group of German lads who through Dutch contacts were more advanced. The one day in a army garrison town called Hohne I chanced on a magazine called Carpworld. I couldn't believe what I was reading. It was packed with what was then quite secretive stuff, plus ideas being bandied around. For the first time I wasn't behind the curve, I was, if not at it's inception, then somewhere on the initial take off. Black and white line drawings showed what I had already tried to do myself but with more clarity and finesse. Silicone, PVA, shrink tube, HNV therories, birdseed, feeding triggers et al. I immediately put in a yearly subscription and each item was read and re-read. Countless times. And at the back Blackadder, a deeply satirical piss take of people who you didn't personally know but got a good slagging in a humorous pre Twitter style.
Fast forward a few years and the black and white line drawings were replaced by slick professional photo's by pro photographers who accompanied ‘names' who fished during the week, every week, week in, week out and featured all the time. This coupled with articleson Raduta Lake or fishing the St Lawrence river which most of us with a job and a couple of kids was well beyond our dreams, made it a bit elitist. By now Continental carper was incorporated into the magazine and although this was of great interest for those of us on our fledgling trips to France, seeing pictures of groups of ‘known' anglers going on an overseas trip with literally 100's of kilos of bait ‘supplied by X company ( for free) was again a slap in the face for the vast majority who actually pay for ours. Of course these company's all had adverts in the magazine and for the first time some started to question the articles and the links to the trade.
Fast forward a few more years and we had the first angling ‘Celebs' and people were now carping as the new ‘cool hobby'. Gone were the years of progression through general course fishing, but a new breed was coming into the sport. Carpworld embraced them and under Martin Ford era the magazine changed direction. East Enders stars featured in major articles and people exploded onto the ‘scene' to become overnight names. Ironically it was embracing these ideals which later signalled the death of the magazine. They welcomed with open arms the very thing that would kill them.
So I prefer to remember the ‘old' Carpworld. The magazine which was a refreshing break from the secret squirrel era but which only gave you enough info on how to do it yourself - you got the info but couldn't pop down to the tackle shop or online to buy it - you still had to make it yourself and in doing that understood it better.
A brilliant magazine of its time which like the Roman Empire sadly embraced the the very thing which brought it down.
A sad day but not too surprising when you think about it
I have a few old Carpworlds still from the 90's and looking through them the most shocking thing is seeing the amount of tackle shops that have now disappeared, nearly all of them 
In reply to Post #10
Sad that its gone, but i stopped buying it when as said before, you can only write and read about PVA bag fishing in the weed so many times or Martin Ford ****ed on about his celeb mates fishing.
Sad that its gone, but i stopped buying it when as said before, you can only write and read about PVA bag fishing in the weed so many times or Martin Ford ****ed on about his celeb mates fishing.
Very sad news, but the mag's end was inevitable. It became far too elitist, as Neil has mentioned. IMO the Ford era totally ****ed the magazine and it never really recovered. If only Tim had stayed at the helm then the good ship Carpworld would have sailed on into a continuing bright and glossy future, However, I know Tim has many other concerns to deal with and editing the magazine is just too much for a guy well into his 80s.
EDIT: Tim, Carp Fisher and then Carpworld were my springboard into a working life in the industry, for which I am profoundly grateful.
So long, Carpworld, and thanks for all the fish.
EDIT: Tim, Carp Fisher and then Carpworld were my springboard into a working life in the industry, for which I am profoundly grateful.
So long, Carpworld, and thanks for all the fish.
In reply to Post #12
Echo all the below comments. Great magazine in the 90's. For some reason I bought one for the first time in years about 6 months ago.... It was atrocious, I recall Peckys article being the only one of any quality.
Always liked your 'tapes to Tat', Mr T. The one on the mega storms on the mid French reservoir was, in my view, the best thing you wrote.
Echo all the below comments. Great magazine in the 90's. For some reason I bought one for the first time in years about 6 months ago.... It was atrocious, I recall Peckys article being the only one of any quality.
Always liked your 'tapes to Tat', Mr T. The one on the mega storms on the mid French reservoir was, in my view, the best thing you wrote.
End of an era.
Carpworld was my bible in the 90's spent many an hour reading the articles from cover to cover but then it was full of anglers supplying good content (adverts aside).