This story was written in 1999; so far, carp fishing has grown a bit more popular but most folks on this side of the Atlantic still don’t know a boily from a Boilermaker.

This week we continue our visit to the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) show held recently in Chicago.  The ICAST is where manufacturers and retailers collide in an effort to ultimately pry away your discretionary income.

One of the most remarkable meetings during the show was with Clifford Fox, Chairman and CEO of Fox International Group.  Fox industries are the Bass Pro Shops of Europe, only specializing in the sport of carp fishing.  Understandably, the display was not crowded.

Fortunately, Fox is seems fairly amused at the cool reception he has received from American fisherman.  Even though this writer let slip with an occasional smirk, Fox took the whole thing in stride and eventually let his enthusiasm show for catching what most people consider ‘trash’ fish.

A slack jaw replaced my smirk as Fox begin explaining the incredibly complex selection of gear devoted to solely to outwitting carp.  As product after product was pulled off racks and demonstrated on the floor, I suddenly realized that the British have totally pulled ahead in the fishing arms race and have developed the most sophisticated bait-angling equipment on the planet.

Bait most commonly appears in the form of “Boilys”, marble-sized globes of various flavors that come prepackaged much like catfish bait in this country.  The boilys are then further modified by drilling holes to use various combinations of lead shot and specially shaped foam inserts to give the characteristics desired.

The boilys or other bait are mated to specialized hooks.  While US anglers have many different sizes and a few shapes, Fox offers over a hundred different hooks and pre-rigs, such as the Anti-Eject Combi Rig and the Amensia ‘D’ Rig.  Each rig is designed for individual situations and location.  Matching the hatch for chalkstream brown trout seems easy by comparison.

The hooks need weight to sink and there is a bewildering array of weights for different situations.  The most unusual weighting product is the Tungsten Putty, which is molded onto the line in place of sinkers.

Chumming is an important part of the overall system and Fox makes all sorts of unusual products to meet this need.   There are several different bags made from a material known as PVA.  Bait is placed into these small bags, attached to the line and cast out to a likely spot.  As the rig settles, the plastic material actually melts, leaving the hooked-rigged bait sitting on a big pile of free food, hopefully attracting fish.

If you want to send chum out farther than just an overhand throw allows, there are several models of slingshot used to shoot bait into specific locations.  There are also carbon-fiber hand launchers to broadcast chum over a wide area.   The launcher is essentially a hollow tube that weighs less than thistle down and is probably surplus equipment from the space shuttle program.  These are loaded with bait and swung toward the water, spreading the bait in a wide arc.

Probably the ultimate expression of High Tech fishing on any continent is the line of electronic bite indicators.  These are small devices, about the size of a garage door opener, that fit onto specially made aluminum rod racks and announces the current status of the line.   There are differing tones for runs, strikes and backward movement in addition to small lights for night fishing

Just in case you are overcome with a sudden urge for a spot of tea and haggis, the rod holders also have a radio receiver that allows you to monitor your entire stack of poles from several hundred feet away.  Made from aircraft alloy and specialized electronics, these last items are not cheap.

The listing of innovative and unusual products could continue several more pages, but the ultimate question I was finally forced to ask Fox was “Will this all fly in America?”  Fox simply gives an amused chuckle and speaks about slowly changing attitudes and someday tapping the unrecognized market for carp fishing here in the states.  Almost as an afterthought, he also mentions “This all might be very well for your American catfisherman, too”.

It is hard to know if carp fishing, especially the catch-and-release variety popular in England will ever catch on with Yankee fisherman.   More likely, Fox products will probably find a home with the growing number of hard-core catfishing specialists but who knows?

All this is contingent on Cliff  surviving his fishing trip.  He confided that after the show, he and his associates were spending a few days fishing a long-awaited dream spot for carp fisherman: the Chicago River.

Hopefully, he brought his bulletproof fishing vest and prototype combination hook disgorger/assault rifle.  Cheerio!

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