Welcome to the August issue of Carp-Trade magazine, carp angling’s only dedicated business-to-business magazine. As I write this in mid-July, the World Cup and Wimbledon have ended and the Tour de France is in full flow. We’ve been hearing a mixed bag of reports from retailers around the country, with some reporting reduced footfall during the past month, some reporting increased Internet sales activity, and others retailers finding the complete opposite, with many anglers choosing to fish on the days of peak fixtures to avoid the crowds. Either way, these factors are out of our control and I’m sure you have all become used to these seasonal trends, albeit trends that can sometimes turn up some surprises for no particular reason. At the time of writing this editorial the weather has finally broken; the rain clouds have rolled in and the pressure has plummeted for the first time in what seems ages. The conditions seem ideal for angling, so let’s hope that consumers respond and get out there and fish. Fish fatalities seem to have been a recent talking point, with several well known specimens having been lost during the past weeks. There appears to have been several conspiracy theories regarding some of the deaths, but common sense would say that old age, the prolonged winter and then the recent hot summer conditions have collectively taken their toll. It seems too much of a coincidence that many fisheries around the country have also reported that not all the big females have successfully spawned as yet, so we’re convinced that this factor could have also upped the odds of some of these fish sadly perishing. Moving on to this issue of Carp-Trade, which is packed with recent activity in the trade, including Kryston’s new hooklink release, Korda’s new range of terminal accessories, and several new hot items from Atomic Tackle. We’re joined by Ian Welch of Fox International to find out more about his new