I knew Martin Gay for a great many years. We sat together as members of the Moor Hall & Belhus A.C committee and frequently socialized at our homes with our wives and at other events. He was – and I stress – an extraordinarily straight and honest fella.
Having read all the responses to Cliff’s article ‘Martin Gay’s 50lb English Common Carp: Closure’ and received no answers to the questions I raised, I thought I should dig a bit deeper…I managed to source the minutes from the Moor Hall and Belhus Angling Society meeting for Tuesday 11th July, 1989, shortly after the capture of Martin’s big ‘un. There were nine of us recorded as ‘present’ at that meeting:
Mac McCarthy
Eddie Benham
Mick Tilbrook
John Amos,
Gwynne Davies
Martin Gay
Alan Blackford
Frank P
John Reed
(John Amos has since passed away and I was unable to speak to Frank P. as I have lost touch with him)
This is what they had to say when I asked them about the untouched photo of the ’48lber’. They agreed that I could now make public their names.
John Reed: I can recall a chain link fence and some grass. There was no view – just Martin and the common. It looked like an English lake to me. I believed then and I still believe that the fish was English.
Gwynne Davies: It definitely wasn’t Canada and there was nothing in the photo to even suggest it was. I am absolutely sure it was an English fish.
Micky Tilbrook: It looked English to me. There was grass and trees but I don’t recall any horizon. I believe it to be an English common, not from Canada.
Alan Blackford: I don’t recall anything in the photo to suggest that it was anywhere but in England. Grass and trees but certainly no mountains or anything that looked foreign. I believe the fish to be English.
Mac McCarthy: Ed and I were shown the photo before the meeting. As Ed will confirm it showed a grassy bank behind which was a chain link fence with a notice on it. There were some items behind the fence which we not able to identify. No horizon, just trees in the background.
Eddie Benham: As per Mac. We were shown the photo in the car park and I said to Martin “You told me you would never fish in France” to which he replied “I didn’t, I caught it over here”. Mac also heard him say this as well as stating that it was caught in the UK.
That is six of us saying there was nothing at all in the photo to even remotely suggest a “foreign” lake, certainly not ‘mountains’ as has been suggested elsewhere.
We then have the testimony of Cliff Hatton who saw several photos, as did Mac and I, none of which showed anything that looked “foreign” or even remotely like Canada.
We also have the testimony of Chris Yates who, three years later, in the July 18th issue of Anglers Mail told News Editor, Tom Legge, “Martin will not tell me where, but he has shown me other unpublished photographs and it is an English water. The fish he caught are true, there’s no doubt in my mind”
That was at a time when the Canada Decree was firmly established in so many peoples’ minds as fact. Hats off to Chris Yates for sticking to his guns. And does it not seem extremely odd that the only person – apparently – to be personally told the location by Martin – was Robin? Only he described the photos as having a ‘foreign’ look about them.
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As recently as June this year, ‘Carpworld’ published an article by Bill Cottam titled “Carping allegedly – Where did it all go wrong ?” (Good title that) He wrote:
“Old gits like me might well remember a gentleman by the name of Martin Gay”
He continues: “Martin, who is sadly no longer with us, was not exactly known as a wind-up merchant. In fact, just the opposite is true; he was a hugely experienced pike and specialist angler with a particularly good reputation for honesty and integrity”.
Bill, I couldn’t agree more, thank you for remembering him that way.
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In ‘Coarse Fisherman’ July 1990, in an article titled “A Busy Month” Neville Fickling writes:
“A couple of days later I was on my way to Frankfurt with Martin Gay. There are those that say Martin definitely caught his 48lb common in Canada. Others that he would not lie. Initially I adopted the latter view but was rapidly becoming worried about having picked the wrong side. All I can say is that after two days I have no reason to doubt that Martin’s carp was caught in the UK. A few things that Martin said convince me that I have opted to side with the angels”
He then goes on to describe a fishing session with Martin:
‘On the day, Martin actually caught a zander of 6 or 7lb on a sardine. We, of course, accused Martin of telling fibs, zander don’t take sardines do they? Same as 48lb commons don’t get caught in the UK….? He’s a jammy *****!’
Later, in November 1991, Neville wrote in CarpWorld:
‘I have spoken to Martin a number of times and asked the direct question – “…was [the] fish caught in this country?” The answer has been “Yes”. I have also spoken to another person who has been to the water in question. He confirms that it is in the UK. How can I then fail to believe in the authenticity of this fish?’
Hallelujah!!
That’s now nine anglers saying they believe that Martin caught his carp in the UK, four of whom know the identity of the well-known angler who was taken to the very swim.
In a personal letter to me, dated 23.12.89 (and this will be the first time this has been made public) Martin wrote “The support that I have had! Even Fred J Taylor has been on the phone”
On Sunday 9th July 1989 Robin Monday informs us that Martin phoned him with news of his catches.
On Tuesday 11th July 1989, and unbeknown to Robin Monday, Martin showed the photo to the Moor Hall and Belhus Committee members. At the time, in the car park, (before the meeting) I noticed that Martins knuckles were red and sore and he told Mac and I that this had been caused by a back-spinning reel. These were fresh wounds that had not healed and were only a few days old. There is no doubt in my mind that this means the big common was caught on the morning of the 7th or 8th of July, Martin having returned from Canada but still on holiday before returning to work on Monday the 10th.
In a letter published in Cyprinews No.15 March, 1990 Martin wrote:
“However he might like to put it, Robin does not know where my carp were caught. I know that because I didn’t tell him – a fact that he acknowledged when we last spoke. He can assume, but that is all”.
I don’t know Robin at all. I have never met him and have never spoken to him, but I feel he may have made an honest mistake in assuming the fish were caught in Canada because Martin told him they were caught while he was ‘on holiday’ i.e. not at work. Robin did not start the rumours about Canada: that came from elsewhere. But he did put doubt in the minds of others. He could not possibly have seen where it would lead anymore than Martin could have!
In a long letter to Tim Paisley dated 26th February (I have a copy) for publication in Carp World magazine, Martin tried to clarify some of the misinformation doing the rounds at that time. Tim Paisley chose not to publish that letter. I wonder why?
In his articles ‘Nine and a half weeks’ published in three issues: January, February and March, 1991 Martin quotes dates and times. The previous year he had been criticized for leaving out the dates so this time he put them in. The dates he fished are stated as the 19th, 20th and 21st of June; the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 20th and 29th of July and, in August: the 1st, 12th, 13th and 14th.
That’s quite a bit of flying between the UK and the so called ‘Canadian’ carp water. Think about it!
Writing of his fishing session on 14th August 1990 (in Canada, according to the Carp Society) he writes that he began at 10.00am. He then goes on to describe the capture of four carp followed at 12.20pm by a specimen of 34lb 4oz – another whacker that might well have been the Big ‘un’s brother!
CLICK ON ‘ATTACHMENT’, ABOVE, FOR MARTIN’S FINAL DIARY PAGE + PHOTO OF THE 34LB 4OZ COMMON or http://www.fishingmagic.com/pdfs/nineandhalf.pdf
How is it then that the original minutes from the Moor Hall & Belhus Angling Society record that Martin was not only in the UK that day but also at the club meeting at 7.30pm that evening: the 14th August 1990!!
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I’ll leave you with one final thought.
Martin did not disclose the location and has been widely criticized and vilified for not doing so. But what if he had? In stark contrast to today’s dozen or so members The Carp society membership was around 10,000 at that time – that’s a lot of keen carp anglers. There would have been wall to wall bivvies and traffic jams with anglers vying for the best spots. Imagine what it would have been like 25 years ago…would YOU have revealed such a water to this multitude? I know I wouldn’t have.
