I see that Two-tone, the biggest known carp in Britain, has been caught again from the Kentish lake in which she lives. The fish, named because of her distinctively marked skin, hit the headlines in 2001, when she was banked at a record 59lb 7oz. She has been caught a few times since, on each occasion a bit heavier. Last month, she visited the bank at 67lb exactly.

Angling Times reported how. John Bird, of Ashford, caught the fish on “a snowman rig made from a 15-millimetre Winter Seed Mix bottom bait and an Essential Baits cranberry pop-up, rolled by previous carp record-holder Simon Bater.

"Bird's winning set-up comprised a Size 6 ESP Stiff Rigger hook tied to a 15lb JRC Connection Cocoon coated braided hooklink and fished on a helicopter presentation.” So now we know. And, one is tempted to say, wouldn't that have been the exact tackle choice any of us would have made, given a crack at this monster?

The complexity of all that gear, and the embedded commercialism used to describe it, are typical of the way that carp fishing has developed. The time has long gone when carp were pursued with worms dangled under floats and with breadcrust anchored to the bottom with lead.

To be so infrequently outwitted, Two-tone has to be a wily old girl. But, then, carp are renowned for being wily. The challenge that Cyprinus carpio presents has drawn some of angling's most inventive minds and all manner of methods and tackles have been developed.

The tackle trade has not been slow to take them up. Highly specialised gear, originally developed by brilliant individuals for their own use, is now mass-produced and available to everyone. Of course, to have access to great kit is one thing; to be able to use it effectively is quite another.

To be consistently successful, whatever is offered to a carp has to be offered in the right place, in the right way and at the right time. It is the same for all fish and all fishing. It is the same for trout.

Fly-fishing, an activity much favoured by readers of The Times and now in full swing, is awash with costly and fancy tackle, but nothing will beat watercraft, observation and good presentation - the business of getting an appropriate fly to a fish in a natural and unalarming way - for putting fish on the bank.

Fly-fishing on lakes can be especially challenging because simply finding the fish can be difficult. On a grey, seemingly featureless inland sea, fish can be pretty well anywhere. Precious hours can be spent moving around a lake, without the fly going near a trout. On waters such as Grafham and Rutland, Windermere and Corrib, most fishing is done over empty water. It is watercraft that cuts down that wasted time. It is observation and presentation that count when fish are found.

Even on rivers, where fish are confined between banks and facing upstream, the same three factors are key. In the absence of surface rises to indicate where fish are, location has to be deduced on the basis of bank contours, present speeds, the availability of cover and the like. Once located, a trout in a river has to be cast to accurately - yet the importance of being able to put a fly precisely in front of a fish is one of the least-recognised skills. Technical accuracy is useless if the fly lands where intended, but no fish is present. It is astonishing how many river anglers cast as soon as a rise is seen, instead of waiting to see if other rises betray whether the fish is stationary or on the move.

Few realise fish do not lie precisely under the rise-forms they make, but a little upstream of them - and, hence, a seemingly marvellous cast into the rings will often land on or behind a fish's tail. Even more extraordinary is how many are content to cast in a sloppy way - to let their leader land in a muddle instead of learning to make it unfurl cleanly, delivering the fly where observation says it should be.

A willingness to wait and watch will correct a lot of presentation problems. Casting practice will fix the last problem. I can recommend casting at a handkerchief in the local park if nowhere else is available.

If improved skills are not spur enough, maybe the thought that no fish can take a fly or bait it has not seen will do the trick. This is as true for a small carp as for a monster such as Two-tone. Fancy gear, seen in that context, comes nowhere.

- Brian Clarke's fishing column appears on the first Monday of each month.

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