Quick Questions

Solar Tackle’s Jake Anderson answers our quickfire questions!

Three words to describe yourself?
Adventurous, motivated, loyal.

Who have been your biggest influences in carp fishing?
My late grandad will always be my biggest influence, I wouldn’t be where I am today without his life lessons and love of fishing.

Scariest moment on the bank?
Having extreme sunstroke and barely retaining consciousness.

How long have you been carp fishing?
I have been fishing since around the age of five, I started to spend more time carp fishing at the age of around 10, so in total just over 16 years.

How did you start carp fishing?
I started general coarse fishing with Grandad from a young age. I guess carp fishing was the natural progression for a young lad wanting to catch bigger fish.

Other sporting interests?
I enjoy cycling and I also go to the gym (but the latter is mainly because I eat too much, ha ha).

One day left to go fishing, where would you go?
Back to where I caught my first twenty and Grandad caught his last carp.

Worst fishing-related injury?
A super-sharp size 4 embedded into my forehead, up to the bend.

Best three anglers you’ve ever fished with?
Dave Wood, Martin Locke and Matt Brzezinski.

Your favourite moment in your carp angling career?
Catching a beautiful linear off the top, at a local park lake while in the company of my missus and son, it was our first fishing moment as a family.

What’s the strangest place you’ve ever caught a carp?
Burgess Park has to be up there, the people in the park are certainly some of the strangest people. One guy once bowed to his knees in front of me, while holding a curtain pole, mumbling all sorts of nonsense; all I could make of it was “I’m off my rocker”. Whatever he had taken, it certainly worked a treat!

Three things you’d never go fishing without?
Polaroids, sharp hooks, kettle.

Any fishing regrets?
Not making the most of angling while I had fewer responsibilities.

What are your favourite bits about carping?
The adventure, the journey and the time spent with good friends.

Your least favourite bits?
Envy – people should be happy for others.

Tell us a secret?
I was once relieving myself in a bucket, in the back of the van, when the wind picked up my door slammed shut! The inner door was still loose, but the outer door was locked solid. I soon panicked and was down to just my boxers as I sweated intensely. I initially used a bankstick to create a gap between the inner and outer door, followed by a scaffold board. I used the board to bend the inner door around the outer and managed to free myself. I jumped out in my boxers, a sweating mess and just thankful I managed to get out!

Tea or Coffee?
Coffee in the morning, tea for the rest of the day.

Favourite biscuit?
Caramel chocolate digestives.

Favourite take-away?
On the bank favourite must be a big Chinese.

Funniest moment on the bank?
There are far too many to mention, me and my friends are relentless when fishing together and it’s a laugh a minute. Always stitching each other up.

One fish you would have loved to have caught – past or present?
Apple Slice from Tonford, it unfortunately died before I got a ticket.