Wild Carp - Book Cover
The greatly extended version of my book Wild Carp is at the printers, ready for publication on 16 June (you'll be able to get advance copies from me in May).
Wild Carp is the forth title in the Fennel's Journal series. At 34 chapters and 348 pages, it is 50% bigger than the other books and - for the first time in the series - contains photographs. Originally written in 2009, it's now extended with 22 new chapters.
Here's a glimpse of the new cover.
Front cover
The front cover of Wild Carp features a wild (feral) carp from super-famous wild carp lake Llyngwyn in mid-Wales. It was caught on freelined floating breadcrust at close range and epitomises everything that appeals to me about fishing for wildies: a streamlined but 'torpedo powerhouse' of a fish, lying alongside a MKIV split cane rod and Speedia centrepin reel. It captures the simplicity and timeless beauty of fishing for these ancient fish.
I wanted to ensure that wild carp are the undisputed heroes throughout the book, hence why the fish is so prominent on the cover. Although the book records my twenty-year quest for the oldest strains of wild carp, and my desire to find and fish the ultimate wild carp water, I wanted only to be the narrator, so wild carp are the stars throughout. It is a book about them, so the wild carp is 'centre forward' on the cover.
Inside front cover
The inside front cover of Wild Carp deliberately focuses on the wild carp's ability to transport us to a different sense of time and place, where our emotions are lifted by the rich atmosphere and mystery of historic pools and the adrenaline of seeking and potentially finding a long-forgotten strain of carp.
Rear cover
The rear cover of Wild Carp features my favourite quote from the book and my favourite photo of a wildie from a lake called Pant-y-llyn, which I refer to in the book as 'The Sanctuary'.
Inside rear cover
The inside rear cover of Wild Carp features a photo of me from 2014, taken while fishing at Llyngwyn. It captures the gleeful excitement we experience when fishing for wildies. The bio that accompanies it summarises the journey captured within the book and importantly gives credit to the two people (Chris Yates and Mike Winter) who most influenced, inspired, directed and energised the quest.
Mike in particular was my guiding light from 1998 onwards, indeed it was him falling ill with meningitis in 2008 that spurred me to complete the quest and then share this book in letters to him during 2009. Mike's last correspondence to me, prior to his death in 2013, was to continue the quest and do what I can to protect the strain of carp that he and I were so passionate about. Thus, this new extended version of Wild Carp updates the story by sharing how the earlier edition of the book (published as a magazine in 2012) inspired further research and adventures, specifically inspiring others to fish for wild carp.
This blog refers to the book Wild Carp by Fennel Hudson.
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