'Exceptional' anglers are often anglers who - to their credit - search out a fresh stretch of river or an undiscovered pit and have a field day with the specimens therein.
I fished with Martin, on and off, for 38 years and I can confidently state that his angling ability would leave most of us 'standing'.
'Luck' didn't come into it; to watch him fish was an education...and just when you thought you knew it all!
I'm still trying to come to terms with a bloke - Martin - who could fish for tench without a touch through a long, cold winter-night but on getting a run at 10.00 the next morning retain the 'cool' to wait for his bottle-top to hit the rod and 'shiver' on a taut line for a full four seconds while he waited for the rod-top to curve round. Then - and only then - would he strike. (Like me, he wouldn't bolt-rig)
The nerve of the man!
And by the way - THOSE carp were ALL English and the big common might well have broken Yatesy's record; it was weighed on a brand-new 50lb scale which banged-round to the limit. Martin told me there were a good 2lbs still to go. He reported the fish at '48' rather than an all-too-convenient '50' for fear of being disbelieved.
So, it was almost certainly a 52lber - a common - from a water not, apparently, too far from home!