november-2026-big-carp-part-1 - Flipbook - Page 8
BIG CARP / SHOCKLEADER
REMEMBERING FRED / BY DEREK STRITTON
Fred
SHOCK LEADER
WILTON
The sad news of Fred s passing
reached me this morning when
his friend Mark Smith sent me
a message. After shock, I was
initially very angry with myself as
I hadn t been in touch with Fred
for a while, this was followed by
an overwhelming sadness when
many of the memories of time in
his company came flooding back.
I was one of the very lucky people to have had Fred influence not only my
angling life to a huge degree, but also have him influence my personal life
too. Even now 50 years on I occasionally remember something Fred said
that either makes me smile or sometimes laugh because it was so funny.
He had a wicked sense of humour! Or I recall the more serious conversations
we had about the right and wrong things in life.
I still recall our conversation when he convinced me to give up smoking,
something I m eternally grateful for, as I m sure I d no longer be around had
the conversation not taken place.
In my view no one has influenced the direction of angling as much as Fred
over so many years. He began a bait revolution the like of which none of us
had seen before or seen since.
SHOCKLEADER / NOVEMBER 2026
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