Rayne Lodge Fishery. The Top Lake. April 21st, 2012.

Marsh AC club match.

The Top Lake at Rayne Lodge just outside of Braintree in Essex is yet again the venue for the second Marsh AC club match of the year. However we normally visit the venue in late may once things have started to warm up a bit. The view through the bedroom window today promised a decent start to the day ahead, but the forecast was for heavy showers after midday. I soon had the cats fed, while cereal and coffee fuelled me to load up the car and set off. A good traffic free run saw me arriving in the car park just after 7·30am along with Kevin & Jean.

 Soon the others started to arrive and with just 14 of us fishing today things were soon underway. Dave asked Keith and I to sort out the pegs to use today so we set off round the lake while others ferried their gear down the hill and Dave collected the monies. Virtually every peg looked good for a few fish and Keith and I made the picks trying to give most anglers a bit of room and our 14 choices went into the hat ready for the draw.

Into the hat and it’s peg 14A for me, the 2nd time in the last 3 visits (the other one was peg 14) I never seem to be able to get out of this corner of the lake when we visit, but it’s normally good for a few fish.

Knowing the area so well it didn’t take long to get set up, just 3 top kits with black hydro. It can tow a bit in this corner if the wind gets into it so I set up a couple of rigs to fish at 6mtrs where there’s around 3 feet of water, the first was an 0·4 NG XT Gimp on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X while the second was a, 0·3 NG XT Power Pencil Mk 2 again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X which was a little more delicate and would see use if it wasn’t towing. The third rig was my customary 0.2 NG Edger again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X for the margin lines that had around 2 feet of depth. Bait was simply 6mm coarse pellet for feed and the hook along with some sweetcorn and 6mm GOT Rippers as alternative hookers.

There was still a good 30 minutes to go so I took a stroll to see how others were going to tackle things. Al and Dave were already exchanging banter on the prospects for the day that lay ahead. Kev was settling into peg 1 which I’d fancied for a few fish when Keith and I selected it earlier. Jean kindly provided a freshly cooked sausage and bacon roll and a mug of coffee to wash it down. Chris had set up for a catch anything with fins approach. Most seemed to be going with the pole, though Martin next to me on peg 14 was going for the feeder to the island in front.

10am and the whistle sounded for the All-In. A cup of pellets with a few grains of corn was fed at 6mtrs along with a handful of pellet into the left hand margin before I shipped out with a banded 6mm pellet, Dave over on peg 21 had got off to a flyer with 6 fish in his first 6 put in’s !!! and I had seen Al netting a couple of quick fish as well.
A few more pellets flicked over my rig and a couple of lift and drops soon saw the float slide away and a spirited fight from a small common followed before I netted it to get myself off the mark. The first hour was nice and steady, keeping a little bit of feed going in and working the rig kept the bites coming and a few small carp and skimmers coming to the net.

Word was filtering down that Dave was already in the pound seats as he’d found the fish in the margins and feeding from the off, while Al had reverted to the method to the point of the island in an attempt to keep up with him as he couldn’t buy a bite from his margin. I could hear the two of them talking and tales of 3-4lbs fish, which meant I was going to need some more and larger fish than I’d already got, especially when my next fish was this mint little common ……

I took an early look down my margins but to no avail so it was back to 6mtrs to keep working it, occasionally adding another section to see if anything had backed off the feed, but they didn’t seem to be there in any numbers. I would take 2 or 3 fish and then have to wait 10-15 minutes for a bite. This seems to be the pattern in this part of the lake since 2009 when all the overhanging trees that provided cover were cut down and it now seems that fish just move through the area and you almost have to ambush them as they pass through as they seem reluctant to settle for any length of time.

Mick over on peg 16 was putting a few together but having to work for them, though this was disturbed when a passing duck snaffled his bait as he was laying his rig in. Thankfully Mick managed to get the duck to the bankside where he finally managed to unhook it after some deft work with a disgorger, the duck swimming off with just a few feathers and its dignity ruffled. Martin was having a hard time of it, latching into various snags round the island and then seeing his reel handle fly off and land in the lake. Undaunted he soon changed reels and was back in action……

For me it was just a question of plugging away and keeping a few fish going into the net as apart from Dave and Al nobody else seemed to be getting among the fish from what I could see or hear. I kept having the odd look down the margins but they steadfastly refused to produce as much as a bite, and after a blank spell of nearly 20 minutes at 6mtrs I re-fed it pretty heavily and set of for my customary stroll with the camera. John was struggling next door to Martin and it looked like the two travelling companions would be battling to the end of the match for the bragging rights today.

Clive was settled into peg 11A and having a look down his left hand margin, having struggled to catch from the right hand side of his peg ……

Keith was on peg 10 and working hard to put a few together and beat Mick in another battle of the travelling companions, though I did manage to bring a smile to his face when I related the tale of Mick’s encounter with the duck …

Simon and Graham had similar tales of struggle, though Graham’s did ring a little hollow as he lifted into a fish as I passed by……

Ken seemed quite content with his lot tucked away in a corner on peg 5 and was happily putting a few together today ……

Chris on peg 3 was also putting a mixed bag together with his approach, but felt that he could be doing better ……

Kev on peg 1 was having a mare in all honesty, not only was he struggling for bites from his swim, he also had the perfect view of Dave and Al apparently bagging up just across from him ……

Dave had vanished for a stroll by the time I got round there, but I probably shouldn’t have asked Al what the crack was, as it wasn’t a pretty site ……

Back at my peg it was just a question of head down and get on with it, nick a couple of fish then wait a while before getting another couple. At least they were getting a little larger as time wore on with a few 2-3 pounders mixed in among the smaller ones. After yet another blank spell I took another look down the margins with 45 minutes to go and the float buried by a feisty little mirror that was soon in the net and thankfully this continued right up to the whistle sounded the All-Out at 4pm.

Packing away my kit I couldn’t help wondering what the outcome would have been had they turned up earlier in the margins? I was sure that Dave and Al were way out in front but reckoned that my late run of fish should see me with around 70lbs of fish to put on the scales.

The Weigh-In started with Kev on peg 1 who only managed a meagre 12lbs. Chris recorded 38½lbs while Ken was happy to see his fish weigh 53lbs, Graham’s 42¼lbs was followed by Simon’s 36½lbs and Keith chipped in with 39½lbs. Clive had a smile on his face due to his 56½lbs, while Martin and John both recorded a level 16lbs to share the bragging rights in the car. My fish came to 77lbs leaving me happy with what I’d got from my peg. Mick’s 36½lbs meant that Keith had the bragging rights for their trip home and Terry could only muster 26½lbs for his days efforts. that just left Al who was admitting to 70lbs (meaning he probably had a Ton+) and Dave who was owning up to 80lbs and he’s normally pretty close with his estimates. Al in fact put 106lbs on the scales and Dave 87½lbs.

So back up Heart Attack Hill to the car park where Dave sorted out the days results and the monies. The Winner today was Al, with Dave taking 2nd and third place for me. The sections went to Ken, myself and Al.

Next up for Marsh AC is an Inter-club match at Hartleylands Farm against Morefax AC , but before that I’m off on my first trip of the year to Rolf’s Lake next Friday for a 2 day Special Jinx Match.

Position	Peg	Angler	Weight
1st	Peg 20	Al Loader	106lbs 00ozs
2nd	Peg 21	Dave Collier	87lbs 08ozs
3rd	Peg 14A	Peter Morton	77lbs 00ozs
4th	Peg 11A	Clive Pritchard	56lbs 08ozs
5th	Peg 5	Ken Walker	53lbs 00ozs
6th	Peg 7	Graham Manning	42lbs 04ozs
7th	Peg 10	Keith Ashby	39lbs 08ozs
8th	Peg 3	Chris Withall	38lbs 08ozs
9th=	Peg 16	Mick Wright	36lbs 08ozs
9th=	Peg 9	Simon Watkins	36lbs 08ozs
11th	Peg 18	Terry Goff	26lbs 08ozs
12th=	Peg 14	Martin Hucker	16lbs 00ozs
12th=	Peg 13	John Holdsworth	16lbs 00ozs
14th	Peg 1	Kevin Loveland	12lbs 00ozs

Hawkhurst Fishery. The Match Lake. April 14th, 2012.

Al’s Match.

Marsh AC club mate and fellow Maggotdrowner Al Loader had booked the Match Lake at Hawkhurst for a knock up today and with a good few booked on for it everyone was hopeful of a good days sport. Unfortunately the view from the bedroom window was a bit bleak when I looked out, dull grey and overcast with rain falling, but with the cats fed and a couple of cups of coffee to fortify me I soon had my waterproofs on and the car loaded up and headed for Hawkhurst. Thankfully the rain soon stopped, but with the temperature showing just 6°C and some fog outside Tonbridge it looked like a none to glorious spring day ahead.

I pulled into the car park just before 8am to find most already assembled and the last couple followed me in. A cool North easterly wind was noticeable as Keith collected the match fees for Al, before we headed to the fishery Restaurant for breakfast before the draw. The breakfast served at Hawkhurst is one of the best (2 sausage, 2 bacon, 2 eggs, mushrooms, beans/tomatoes, fried slice + toast and tea or coffee) which sets you up nicely for the day ahead, and as we chatted over this, Mick the Chippy was adamant that the Golden Nugget would be returning to him today.

With breakfast taken care of it was back to the car park for the draw. With 16 anglers present all 20 pegs were in and when my turn came peg 3 was mine for the day. Collecting my kit I chatted to Mick McMillan who was happy to have drawn peg 5, though he wasn’t quite so happy when he found out that I’d drawn peg 6 for Al.
A short walk to my peg revealed Tony on peg 1 while Brodie was on peg 2 and Dave Hough to my right on peg 4. Happiest angler on the day should have been Derek Lockwood on the other bank as he had one empty peg to his right and three to his left. You can see where everyone else drew on the peg plan below ……..

My set up for Hawkhurst was pretty simple. 3 top kits loaded with black hydro and the first 2 rigs were identical, made up of a 0·3 NG XT Power Pencil Mk 2 on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X for a 5mtr line (top 2 + 2 sections) on the deck where I had around 4ft of water, while the third was a 0.2 NG Edger again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X for a margin line against the boards. Bait for the day was going to be hard 6mm fishery pellet along with some 6mm GOT Rippers .

With the match being fished from 10·15am till 4·15pm I had a bit of time before the start to have a stroll round and have a chat prior to the All-In so I strolled along the top of the banking behind the pegs to get a better view. Mick McMillan and Al were settled into pegs 5 and 6, a couple of the favoured pegs and would be hard to beat today as they’re both more than capable of doing a big weight……

On peg 7 Mick was hoping that the power of Beechams powders would hold his cold at bay in his quest to gain back his Golden Nugget and Clive obviously had a cunning plan that was focused on the contents of a tin……

I had a quick chat with Keith who wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on Mick today, while Terry was having a chat with Paul on peg 10, picking his brains as Paul has a very good record fishing here ……

John seemed happy enough on peg 12, as he had Dave for company today on peg 11 and the 3 empty pegs to his right……

Derek was in splendid isolation on peg 16, Rod was going with the waggler from peg 19 and Mick Wright was tucked into the corner on peg 20 and hoping to get the bragging rights for the trip home to Milton Keynes with travelling companion Keith today, while over in the opposite corner Tony seemed lost in contemplation of the day ahead ……

10·15am and the whistle was blown signalling the start of the match. Before I could even pot in a cup of pellet Mick was netting his first fish of the day!!!!!! and was netting a second before I shipped out a rig with a 6mm banded pellet on the hook. The hoped for instant bite didn’t materialise for me and others were already into fish before a bit of lift and dropping of the rig was rewarded with the float jagging under. A quick lift resulted in a pleasing resistance and a small common of around 1lb was soon in the net to get me off the mark. That set the tone for me, a pinch of pellet every put in and keep working the rig produced the bites and kept the small carp coming and I ended the first hour with 14 fish in the nets. That north east wind was really chilling despite the sunshine, but kept a decent ripple on the swim.

In the second hour the wind dropped a couple of times but it was noticeable that without the ripple the bites dried up, only returning with the wind. This was especially noticeable as Terry opposite me had the wind off his back leaving his peg a lot calmer, which resulted in him really struggling for a bite ……

Despite the lulls in sport when the wind dropped I managed to maintain my catch rate and at the end of the second hour I’d added another 17 fish to the nets, and felt that I was holding my own with Tony and Brodie, though Dave to my right seemed to be catching at a slightly faster rate ……

Steady away was the story of the third hour for me though Brodie felt that he needed to try a different approach to maintain his catch rate and switched to fishing shallow in an effort to keep them coming ……

Derek over on peg 16 was getting his head down, catching regularly and was obviously profiting from having those empty pegs around him ……

…… as well as being able to keep an eye on Mick and Al who, according to the grapevine were neck and neck and both catching well, though Al did have to take a break to go and get some more pellet as he had run out.

Strangely though I hadn’t seen Dave having his customary stroll during the match and looking up toward his peg I could see him hunched over and concentrating on his right hand margin, so he was obviously catching well ……

into the 4th hour I had 50 fish on my clicker when a bit of a disaster struck. As I netted another carp which thrashed around and broke the line on the rig, and despite going straight back out with a second identical rig I couldn’t buy a bite, no apparent reason for it, but I decided to take a couple of minutes to retie the original rig and once I’d done that had a bite first put in with it.

Mick was still plundering his right hand margin over on peg 20, but the fish that he was getting seemed to be quite small ……

However it was soon apparent that all was not well as sport seemed to slow down for most around the lake, The margins beside the boards were devoid of fish for me and I couldn’t get a bite when I tried there, indeed in that 5th hour I only managed to put 8 fish in the net.

The final hour was no better for me either, and in all honesty I was quite relieved when the whistle sounded the All-Out leaving me with 65 fish to weigh-in.

I soon had my kit packed away and back to the car and chatting to others they had all seemed to suffer a poor last couple of hours.

First to weigh-in was Paul on peg 10 putting 97¾lbs on the scales. Keith and Clive had 66½lbs and 71½ respectively while Mick the chippy’s cold had finally caught up with him as he weighed 31½lbs. Al placed a fine 139lbs on the scales but it would only be good enough for second today as Mick McMillan topped that with 148½lbs to take the win on the day. next up Dave Hough’s 123½lbs would give him 3rd. I weighed 105lbs, Brodie 87½lbs and Tony 81lbs. Round to the opposite bank and Mick secured the bragging rights over Keith with a level 98lbs. Rod recorded 23lbs and Terry 34½lbs. Derek recorded a fine 114½lbs to finish just out of the frame. John put 91½lbs on the scales and Dave was last to weigh with a decent 104½lbs.

So Thanks to Al for organising the day, just over 1400lbs of fish put on the scales averaging over 80lbs per man can’t be a bad days fishing on a cold spring day, and Thanks to Mick the Chippy for another Golden Nugget.

Position	Peg	Angler	Weight
1st	Peg 5	Mick McMillan	148lbs 08ozs
2nd	Peg 6	Al Loader	139lbs 00ozs
3rd	Peg 4	Dave Hough	123lbs 08ozs
4th	Peg 16	Derek Lockwood	114lbs 08ozs
5th	Peg 3	Peter Morton	105lbs 00ozs
6th	Peg 11	Dave Collier	104lbs 08ozs
7th	Peg 20	Mick Wright	98lbs 00ozs
8th	Peg 10	Paul East	97lbs 12ozs
9th	Peg 12	John Holdsworth	91lbs 08ozs
10th	Peg 2	Brodie Vowles	87lbs 08ozs
11th	Peg 1	Tony Roberts	81lbs 00ozs
12th	Peg 8	Clive Pritchard	71lbs 08ozs
13th	Peg 9	Keith Ashby	66lbs 08ozs
14th	Peg 18	Terry Goff	34lbs 08ozs
15th	Peg 7	Mick Pearson	31lbs 08ozs
16th	Peg 19	Rod Turner	23lbs 00ozs

Monk Lakes. Match Lake 4. March 31st, 2012.

 Marsh AC club match.

Well today would see me fishing the first Marsh AC match of the season down at Monk Lakes on Match Lake 4. Having not fished since the last club match in the middle of October I was really looking forward to this, getting back on the bank and blowing a few cobwebs away. I was soon back into the old routine, up early, get the cats fed and a couple of cups of coffee for myself before loading up the car and setting off for the venue.
It was a dull grey overcast morning as I drove down toward Staplehurst with the temperature showing just 8°C. I’d like to say that it was an uneventful trip, but a bit of debris falling from a truck I was following shot under the car, with a bang signalling that it had hit something !!!!! The centre box of the exhaust as it happens, which will now need fixing. Anyway I made it to the fishery with Rod and Clive arriving behind me. Getting out of the cars Clive looked around and uttered the immortal words “Well at least it isn’t windy”….he really should have known better.

Over to the food bar for a breakfast roll and a cuppa where a healthy turn out of club members was assembling along with Mick the Chippy who was my guest for the day.
The draw took a little longer than usual as Dave had club fees to collect, but the draw was soon underway and I found peg 154 was mine while Mick drew 155 meaning we would have a good old chat today if nothing else.

Into the cars and up to the lake, I soon had my gear at my peg as I was able to park within 20 yards of it. I can’t say I was delighted with it as pegs 154-160 are generally regarded as “The Corner of Death” and not the most favoured to say the least, but hopefully we would still get a few.

As we started to set up the wind got up, a nasty chill north easterly from my right blowing down into the corner, making it feel cooler still. Having not fished for a while it took a bit longer than usual to get set up, even though I was going to keep it pretty simple today. Just 2 top kits loaded with black hydro and a couple of rigs the first was an 0·4 NG XT Gimp on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X to fish on the deck at around 10mtrs, while the second was a, 0·3 NG XT Power Pencil Mk 2 again on 0·14 Ultima power match straight through to a size 16 Kamasan B911X for a 4mtr line on the deck. Both lines had a similar 4ft of depth. Bait for the day was going to be a mix of maggot and hard 6mm pellet along with some 6mm GOT Rippers.

Mick meanwhile had the site of a couple of randy swans on his pole line that decided it was the perfect time and spot to make cygnets !!!! Thankfully they soon departed though. Kev also appeared with a welcome cup of coffee from Jean.

Dave signalled the All-In at 10am and I fed a mixed pot of maggot and pellet at 10mtrs, before starting with double red maggot over it, while Mick started on the method just short of the island. Mick was soon off the mark with a Gudgeon which led to a discussion of the merits of the humble gobio and soon followed it with a small carp and another Gudgeon before my float dipped and I bumped a bottle top off. However it was soon followed by another, all of 2 inches long, but at least I landed it saving myself the dreaded DNW.

I could already hear splashing from up on peg 151 though where Al was able to fish across to the side of the island in relative comfort and seemed to be catching carp already.
Mick was ticking along till he got broken by an unseen denizen of the deep, but I was starting to worry about the destination of the Golden Nugget that was riding on our head to head. Maggot appeared to just attract tiny skimmers and roach so a pot of 6mm’s was followed by the rig with a 6mm ripper on the hook. a bit of lifting and dropping resulted in a positive bite and finally a carp was on it’s way to the net, a nice plump little mirror of around 1½lbs.

It was still hard graft for me, though Mick kept slipping one or two into the net. By 12o’clock I just had 6 carp and that solitary tiny skimmer to show for my efforts so I fed 3 handfuls of pellet onto the 4mtr line and decided to take a stroll with the camera.

Rod and Ken on the other bank of the Corner of Death were having an ever worse time of it than Mick and I as they had the North Easterly blowing full into their faces ……

Graham at least was sheltered by the island, but was still having a struggle to find some fish and had an early look down his margin with some paste to try and snare a carp or two ……

Vic’s peg looked lovely but he was having to work hard for fish that really didn’t want to play ball ……

Kev was also struggling despite encouragement from Jean (at least I think that was what it was) I found Tony fishing his right hand margin as his main swim appeared to have died on him, and was lucky enough to get him to pose for a photo with his next fish ……

Simon was struggling as well despite using his new Maver Elite Carp for the first time and I managed to talk him into letting me have a go with it. A nice pole, but not for me as the balance didn’t feel quite right I’m afraid even after I got Simon to fit the 13mtr extension the right way round.

Round to Keith who complained he was being battered by Mick on the next peg, but he was soon into a fish, but as I raised the camera for an action shot the hook gave way. The curse of the camera? who knows but I felt it best to depart before copping a top two round the ear-hole.

Chris was whittling a few out on his first session since recovering from his broken arm, while Dave had gone for a stroll. Looking back though I could see that Keith and Mick were having a good old ding-dong with the two of them both playing fish ……

Clive seemed utterly miserable as he found fishing at 16mtrs to reach the island to much in the wind that was buffeting him and had resorted to the feeder but with little joy. It didn’t help that he had to watch Al on the next peg catching well from the side of the island as it sheltered him from the wind, and it was pretty obvious already that he would be the one to beat today ……

As I returned to my peg Jean arrived with a welcome cuppa and a cheeseburger from the food bar, so that was consumed before I got back to the business in hand.
Time to attack the 4mtr line and see if I could make something happen. Feed a small handful of 6mm’s and swing a banded 6mm out to the same spot. A couple of lift and drops and the job’s a good un as the float buried resulting in a nice little Mirror. It was never hectic but by sticking at it I soon had small carp and F1′s coming regularly to the net, forcing Mick into trying a similar approach in an effort to avoid the loss of a Golden Nugget.

Fortunately for me, I managed to keep them coming at a greater rate than Mick and when Dave called the All-Out at 4pm we both knew the destination of the Nugget.

With the kit back in the cars the Weigh-In started at Mick’s peg with a hard earned 39½lbs while my net came to a level 63lbs. John chipped in with 23½lbs. Al had made the most of his island peg with a fine 113½lbs. Clive had suffered with just 29lbs and Martin had fared even worse with 17¾lbs. Dave and Chris had had 84lbs and 53lbs and Jim 27½lbs. Mick’s 83lbs left him short of Keith’s 97½lbs. Zack added 23lbs to the total and Simon could only muster 20lbs while Terry was rewarded with 46lbs. Tony put 61½lbs on the scales, while Jean’s coaching had resulted in 37lbs for Kev. Vic’s hard work produced 70¼lbs for him while Graham could only muster 20½lbs. Rod and Ken finished things off with 9½lbs and 18¾lbs respectively.

Back to the car park for the results, with Al taking the win. Keith second and Dave 3rd.   Al, Dave, Keith and Vic taking the sections on the day and Mick’s Golden Nugget found a new home in my pocket.

Next up for me is Al’s Knock Up at Hawkhurst on the 14th so keep your eyes out for that report.

 

Position	Peg	Angler		Weight
1st	Peg 151	Al Loader		113lbs 08ozs
2nd	Peg 141	Keith Ashby		97lbs 08ozs
3rd	Peg 146	Dave Collier		84lbs 00ozs
4th	Peg 142	Mick Wright		83lbs 00ozs
5th	Peg 162	Vic Nugent		70lbs 04ozs
6th	Peg 154	Peter Morton		63lbs 00ozs
7th	Peg 136	Tony Roberts		61lbs 08ozs
8th	Peg 145	Chris Withall		52lbs 00ozs
9th	Peg 137	Terry Goff		46lbs 00ozs
10th	Peg 155	Mick Pearson	Guest	39lbs 08ozs
11th	Peg 163	Kevin Loveland		37lbs 00ozs
12th	Peg 150	Clive Pritchard		29lbs 00ozs
13th	Peg 143	Jim Boase		27lbs 08ozs
14th	Peg 152	John Holdsworth		23lbs 08ozs
15th	Peg 139	Zack Johnson		23lbs 00ozs
16th	Peg 161	Graham Manning		20lbs 08ozs
17th	Peg 138	Simon Watkins		20lbs 00ozs
18th	Peg 158	Ken Walker		18lbs 12ozs
19th	Peg 148	Martin Hucker		17lbs 12ozs
20th	Peg 159	Rod Turner		9lbs 08ozs

Ivan Marks, The People’s Champion. Book Review.

Where to start? I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this eagerly awaited book for my Birthday.

Being of a certain age I have many memories of anglers that I used to look up to in my early years of fishing, and one of those anglers was Ivan Marks.
The 70′s was Ivan’s era when he and his Leicester AS team (The Likely Lads) ruled the roost. From 1972 Ivan had a weekly column in the Angling Times that I used to avidly read every Wednesday as soon as the paper was published, and it’s from those columns that the contents of the book are taken. The book kicks off with a brief run down of Ivan’s life and career followed by tributes from David Hall, Peter Drennan, Tommy Pickering and Keith Arthur by way of an introduction.

 Over 330 pages are divided up into chapters with the following headings ………

• Match Fishing.
• Fishing for England
• Tackle.
• Tactics.
• Bait.
• Ireland.
• Everything Else.

These are accompanied with 16 pages of photos, some of which are previously unpublished.

The chapters contain some of those columns published in the Angling Times over an eight year period, and offer a fascinating insight into Match Fishing during that era, but more importantly it offers an insight into the mind of the man who many (myself included) regard as the greatest match angler of his time and one of the all time greats.

For those of us who fished in that era it provides a nostalgic trip back to earlier times, while younger readers should still find plenty to enjoy and probably be amazed at the differences between then and now, when carp were a rarity, poles were almost unheard of, commercials didn’t exist and ‘Ton’ bags of fish were only dreamt of. Throughout the book there are nuggets of information tucked away in the text that are as relevant to angling today as they were 4 decades ago, it’s just up to the reader to take them in if they choose to.

I must admit that I couldn’t put it down, but it’s also one of those books that I know I’ll be returning to time and again, just to dip in and out of, which all adds to the appeal of this book.

A superb addition to any anglers library, I can do nothing other than heartily recommend this book. It can be purchased direct from Calm Productions along with some other excellent angling books.