Captain L.A. Parker.

Have just come across a book from my late fathers collection of fishing memorabilia called ROACH: How To Catch Them. By Captain L A Parker, Printed 1954, It is mind boggling stuff, Did you know that Rod Rests "Should be three feet in length, so that they pack up so much better with your rods. Take them to an Umbrella Maker and have spikes put on the ends. Above all, paint them white, otherwise you may leave them behind when you pack up fishing for the day".
Brilliant! This Gentleman also goes on to say that he was a member of The "Sundial" Angling Society, and they used to fish the River Colne at West Drayton, Middlesex, and the River Arun at Pulborough, at a spot near Greatham Bridge where he had some of his "Finest Roach".
Does the "Sundial"club still exist? and have any of you lads fished the rivers in question. One of his favourite baits for catching Roach was Elderberries!Has any one tried these , i certainly have'nt.On a final note,is there any chance that this remarkable gentleman is still with us?

Shaun,

Capt. L.A. Parker had some very good cathes of Roach from the Hampshire Avon in the 50's and 60's.

He was also the owner of the Bull at Downton in the days when the stretch of the Avon close to the pub had a fabulous reputation. Sadly, today even though the river there is still good the owners of the Bull are not anglers, and the stretch has passed onto new owners.

All of the then well-known anglers, like Walker, would stay at the Bull when fishing the Avon and it became a sort of mecca for big fish anglers.

Today, it is still a decent pubhotel with rooms costing around ?40.00 per night, and the restaurant is average to reasonable.

It is fun though to call in after a day on the river for a pint and to stand in front of the fireplace and wonder if, and when, the great man himself might have stood there.

Capt. Parker died in the late 60's I believe although Mark will tell us if I am right or not.
In keeping with a lot of angling books, many of Parker's thoughts are just as valid today as they were when he penned them.

Elderberries are still a good Roach bait. I use them them for the first time in years last season in conjunction with hemp and tares.
Fishing the Avon my best Roach on elderberry was 1lb. 12oz taken from - well, lets just say below Salisbury ;-)

Keep an eye on ebay for his book "This Fishing" - Parker was one of the best "thinking" anglers before **** Walker, and the depth and detail of his thinking comes across much better in this book.

the How To Catch Them series, I have the full set, excellent little books.

This will annoy certain people, this great angler said, and i quote "I have no hesitation whatever in saying that a good roach fisherman is equally as good as, if not better than, a good salmon or trout fisherman".
Another bit of advice given was, "When using Maggots on a Winters Day , a small tin should also be carried: into this put a few dozen maggots and slip the tin into your trousers pocket. You will then have some nice lively fellows for hook bait, all dancing for joy!"Any one done that, i fear nay will be the response.

shaun im a member of a club which has access to the river arun at pulborough, ive never fished it because its an hour and a halfs drive or so from me. but looking in my member book it says roach go to 1lb 8oz, i dont if that was brilliant roach fishing in the 1950s or if the roach in the river have diminished (although i wouldnt be complaining if i caught a 1lb 8 roach!

Christian, That was a good size Roach in the 50's, although the Capt caught a 2lb 12oz and that he said was his best ever . Thats good Roach even by todays standards. What is interesting is that he comments on the deterioration of the "Fishing Waters"in the fifties compared to "50"years ago. He reckons the waters were at there best in the 1900's.
Be interesting to see any research on the subject.

The How To Catch Them (HTCT) series often pop up on e Bay , Parkers Roach one is on there now, don't pay silly money.
To my certain knowledge the Sundial club does not exist.I have fished the Colne many times , at West Drayton and surrounding.Some good Roach were to be had in recent times at Harmondsworth Moor and nearer it's confluence with the Thames.

?3 to ?10 on a book site I keep an eye on.

A few copies were in short print runs, like the Colins New Naturalists, and are valued higher, I know I paid 20 for one of mine, cant remeber which one though, it may have been one of the fly fishing ones and obviously ones with good dust covers or 1st and signed editions will generally cost more?

AS a grotty shortpanted school boy, my local angling shop always had them on display, but I never had enough pocket money to buy them, until an uncle bought me the Bream edition, it took me quite a few years to collect the lot