The Arlesey Bomb
the Arlesey bomb was developed by
fisherman and writer Dick Walker in
the lakes around Arlesey words by Karl Franklin
A
rlesey lake was an old clay pit situated on
Etonbury farm at the Church end of Arlesey,
originally dug for the lovely clay to make bricks,
it was a superb pace to visit for local walkers
and anglers alike, it was roughly oval in shape
with crystal clear water. At the end of the lake
where the house was, there were old tree
stumps sticking out of the water, this area
was known as “the logs”. It was a deep pit
containing many species of fish, carp, tench,
bream and big eels lived in there. Good
perch were in there along with one or two
large European catfish (Wels). The lake first
came to prominence in the angling world in the
decade after the second world war, a major technical development in angling
occurred, here is the story –
Many years ago, in the early 1950’s to be precise, the legendary angler,
broadcaster and writer, Richard Walker was fishing Arlesey lake,
attempting to catch the huge perch known to live there. Through his expert
knowledge of the water he worked out where these giant fish would be. In
those days the lake was very deep, through my research I’ve found it may
have been up to 55 feet in places, taking up an area of around 15 acres.
Walker surmised that the big perch may be in the deeper water out of
the casting range of most anglers of the day, the tackle available was not
capable of getting the bait out in the depths.
Something had to be done so, Dick Walker came up with the “Arlesey
bomb” which is basically a pear shaped lead weight with a swivel in the thin
end through which the mainline from the reel was threaded, it was stopped
from sliding down to the hook by a small piece of split lead shot which was
the norm in those days, today we still use shot but in a non-toxic form which
thankfully is environmentally friendlier and harmless to wildlife. With the reel
line running through the swivel ,i would imagine detecting a bite became
Image: Copyright `
Pat Marston Walker
Karl with a large Perch caught locally
somewhat easier too, the fish would bite, in turn pulling the line through the
swivel loop easier. Apparently Walker came up with the Idea around 1949,
the “pear” shape was not new but, he adapted it by putting the swivel on
which made