I am sorry John but like Rob above I am in agreement with Paul.

Not that you can tell, but the Carp Society is meant to be a national Carp organisation that is run in a democratic manner putting the interest of its members, carp and carp anglers first. The Carp Society is not Horseshoe Lake. Horseshoe Lake was meant to help secure the future of the Carp Society not become the future.

Under the current committee as a national carp organisation the Carp Society has ceased to exist. It is a pointless exercise members voting with their pockets because by their actions the committee have made it clear that they are not interested in the members or the Carp Society as an ideal. In fact I think it would suit them down to the ground if every member left and they could burry the Carp Society for good. What they wanted and what they got was Horseshoe Lake.

Of course Horseshoe Lake is a wonderful place of course David Mannal is falling over himself to help.

If I did a little bit of ducking diving that effectively lead to me acquiring Horseshoe Lake for free I would also be walking round looking like the cat that got the cream.

Horseshoe Lake is not a barometer as to the health of the Carp Society John, in fact currently it is quite the opposite. All the recent efforts and finance that have gone into Horseshoe have been to the detriment of the society as a whole.

If you don't believe that re-read your first post it spells it out for all to see. You have labeled judged and now defend the Carp Society by Horseshoe alone.

As for the web site, yes it may do the job and be functional however, I think you are missing the point. Carp Fisher was one of the very few benefits of being a Carp Society member. This was a tangible return members saw for their membership fee. Upon scrapping Carp Fisher they did not say we are going to continue taking your money and give you nothing in return, a quality web site was implied as replacement.

Just remember when you are enjoying Horseshoe and all it offers that the current regime have added very little to the experience, they simply waltzed in and took control of what was almost the finished article. Ask yourself why many if not most of the people who truly made Horseshoe what it is today are strongly opposed to the current regime. People like Paul who was involved with securing Horseshoe for the society in the first place.

Also try and find out what happened when a group of unhappy members were planning to exercise their democratic right to be voted onto the committee and membership renewals mysteriously disappeared.

No wonder David Mannal is happy to help out with a smile.

Hi Rob & Andy,

Thanks for your replies, I do not wish to get into an argument with either of you as you both have your views and opinions.

I have many personal recollections at the inception of the Carp Society and the reasons for it's formation (Peter Mohan and the CAA & BCSG spring to mind as one of the things).

Unfortunately I also have many other recollections at the time of which I would rather not discuss.

Indeed I do agree that the Carp Society has changed and thus my comment: -



I have stated my opinions and my thoughts on David Mannall which remain unchanged, however out of respect I will not comment further on this thread.

I think it's just a shame the way the carp society has turned out , there was a time when it was the forerunner and leader in all that is good about carping with the emphasis being on the angling and carp welfare but since the whole carp scene has evolved into a big money spinner with morals and principles being replaced with greed and selfishness . Carp society meetings were the highlight of the calender be it local or the big annual ones , to write for carp fisher was considered to be a privalage and an honour to which i was fortunate enough to write for a few without even a thought given to getting paid for it .
I guess we all have our opinions as to who when and where it all changed i just miss the comerardery and fun we all used to have .

Never guess who that's gonna be then?

Has anyone in the Carp Society 'Directors' (sic) team got the balls and concern for current and potential CS members to comment on this very poor website......?

My criticism of the website revolves more around the content; and I’ll admit to knowing very little about the carp society.

I copied and pasted these objectives from a section entitled ‘brief history’

1. To entertain members through publications and meetings.
2. To take some of the competitiveness out of carp fishing and influence carp anglers to adopt a moderate attitude and fish for pleasure rather than prestige.
3. To make an effort to protect carp fishing, and angling generally, through a collective involvement in angling politics.


Reading through the site I was unable to ascertain if these are the current aims of the society and, more importantly how they intend to achieve these aims.


Come on Carp Society, I would be more than happy to donate money to a good cause! Why not use the website to celebrate any past achievements you have had and tell me how you intend to spend my money on making thing better for us all.

The content of the site left me under the impression ‘The Carp Society’ is a fisheries business with a bit of history.

"Carp Society people paying expensive subs who don't fish Horseshoe "

Is there such a person Paul?... the carp society is an angling club, no more, no less.... anyone joining apart from members of the lakes in question is just plain stupid...

point is,

other clubs are falling to the same fate...................

what worse is the media does not do its job and make these people suffer....

Guys you have several options

It is undoubtedly one of the best waters with some of the best looking carp in the country.

It is available to all - this doesnt suit everyone.

If you dont like it - dont fish there.

If you dont like the web site - come on here and hijack threads.

YAWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Oh dear....they aint sent you a membership card this year....oh my...so you go back to being a wally and slagging them off again....Your sooooooooooooooo boring Paul.

Beige and cream forum....very nice....very 50's