Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Who are Big Carp Ltd

John Llewellyn with Bruno from Dinton Pastures at 52lb8oz. January 2007.

Who are Big Carp?
Big Carp has been trading for over 15 years but you probably haven't heard of us because we have been concentrating our efforts on selling our products in France, Italy and Belgium and Big Carp products haven't been available in the UK, until now. And no, we are nothing to do with the magazine with the same name! We are a small team of very experienced, well known carp anglers from England including John Llewellyn, John Baker, Dennis McFetrich and Terry Edmonds, supported by a dedicated team of some of europe's most experienced carp anglers in Italy, France and Belgium. Have a look at our website http://www.bigcarp.com/ and also the blogs listed to the left of this page. The site is currently in french or italian but we are working on an english version which will be available very soon. Learn more about Big Carp and the Team below. For more info' contact John Llwellyn at info@bigcarp.com.

I started my company Big Carp 15 years ago. I lived in France for a few years in the late 80's and at that time the modern way of carp fishing was totally alien to most of the french. I was constantly being asked about the bait and tackle I was using and where to buy it, so I decided to set up Big Carp to cater for the demand. I decided to concentrate on selling Big Carp products initially only in France and Belgium. I speak french fluently and I also write regularly for two french carp magazines, Media Carpe and Top Carpe. Big Carp products are also now well known in Italy and I write regularly for Tutto Carpa magazine in that country. My aim has always been to include and develop only the bait and tackle that I want to use for my own fishing. If I'm confident using it myself, then I am happy to include it in my Big Carp range and I am totally confident to recommend it to other anglers.

Bait specialist John Baker
Bait specialist John Baker is a good friend and lives only 5 minutes from me, so it made sense to talk about baits for Big Carp with John. We decided to combine our ideas and develop a small range of base mixes and top quality flavours based on Johns own flavours. We don't skimp on any aspect of bait and Big Carp baits rightly have a fantastic reputation as carp catchers from waters right across europe: from big european rivers like the Seine and Moselle, to huge continental lakes like St.Cassien and Orient, to hard, pressured lakes in the UK like Dinton Pastures.

I knew Steve Harrison was the man for rods. His reputation as a blank designer and rod builder is second to none, so I went to see Steve. I told him exactly the type of rod I was looking for and we based the first Big Carp rod on one of his best selling blanks. That rod is the 13' x 3.5lb Big Carp Orginale. It is a lovely rod and we still have plenty of demand for it, even now after 15 years.
Since then, we have developed the Mirage range of Big Carp rods. They are based on a superb Harrison blank that is extremely slim, light and responsive and the blanks are built exclusively for Big Carp by Harrisons. The Mirage rods are 12' or 12'6" and they are available in 3 test curves: 3lb, 3½lb and the ULR which is the most powerful version. The feel and playing action of these rods is fantastic. I love these rods and I have 2 sets that I use for all my carp fishing : the 12' 3lb and the 12'6" x 3½lb.

Terry Edmonds with french Team Big Carp member Patrice Lecot during filming of our video 'Carp Long Range' in France.

I met Terry Edmonds through Steve Harrison. Terry had been helping Steve with the development of a range of beach casters and I was keen to improve my casting. Terry's an experienced angler and an awesome caster. His input in the design and concept stage of the new XLR TE200 has been invaluable.


Terry returning a 42lb common caught whilst filming.


For tackle items such as spods, marker floats, Rattlers, Inchers and so on, the MCF range made and designed by Dennis McFetrich is still the most reliable and best on the market. I spoke to Dennis and we selected various items to include in the Big Carp range.

Dennis McFetrich with another whacker!


I sponsor a handful of some of Europes most experienced carp anglers in France, Italy, Spain and Belgium. They write regularly in the magazines and their input in develpoment of new items has been invaluable. They have all got their own blogs, so have a look at what they are up to and the monsters they are catching.



I am fortunate to have all these very experienced anglers as my friends and together they make up a truly awesome Team.

Click on the link to Team Big Carp to learn more about these anglers. You can also learn more about Big Carp on our website via the link. The website is all in french or italian but if you want to know more about Big Carp just send me an email at info@bigcarp.com and I'll send you the information in english.

1 comment:

Mike Broggio said...

John,

Hope you remember me from Torridon Road.
We used to fish at Keston,Horton Kirby & later at Taplow.
See that you are still catching bigger fish than me !