Chris Yates (fisherman)


Christopher Yates is an English angler, photographer, broadcaster, tea connoisseur and author. He is a former holder of the record for the heaviest-recorded British carp, a 51lb 6oz specimen captured from Redmire pool in 1980. Yates is a former co-editor of Waterlog magazine, and is a regular contributor to The Idler.
Yates prefers vintage tackle, particularly split-cane rods and centrepin reels, and regards cane as superior to any other rod-making material. His books and films emphasise being close to nature as one of the principal pleasures of fishing.

Television series

Yates was one of two central characters in BBC2's 1993 TV series A Passion for Angling, made by Hugh Miles and also featuring Bob James, in which the pair go fishing for carp, salmon and other species across Britain. The series was shown in many countries including Mexico, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Italy, Norway and Japan.

Radio

Between 1996 and 2006 Yates presented numerous BBC radio documentaries, all produced by Dan Shepherd of . They included 'Fishing for Doubters', 'The Case of the Missing Burbot', and . In 2020 Yates presented and in 2022, both for BBC Radio 4.

Published works

The Secret Carp, Merlin Unwin Books 1992 A Passion for Angling, BBC Books/Merlin Unwin Books 1993 Casting at the Sun, Medlar Press limited edition 1986, Classics edition 2006 The Deepening Pool, Unwin Hyman 1990 Falling In Again, Merlin Unwin Books 1998 Four Seasons, Medlar Press 1996, 2nd Edition 2008 River Diaries, Medlar Press 1997, 2nd Edition 2010 The River Prince, Medlar Press 1998, 2nd Edition 2009 Shadows & Reflections, Medlar Press 1999, 2nd Edition 2010 How to Fish, Hamish Hamilton 2006 Out of the Blue, Hamish Hamilton 2008 Night Walk, Collins 2012 The Lost Diary, Unbound 2013
  • ’Lifelines-An Anthology of Angling Anecdotes, and More…‘’ NAROD Publishing, 2021. A collection of 27 short stories centred around angling by 27 different authors including 16.6 by Chris Yates.