My Moby Dick

by William Humphrey

As Humphrey himself writes:-

"...The literature of angling falls into two genres, the instructional and the devotional. The former is written by fishermen who write, the latter by writers who fish..."

Humphrey is clearly the latter. My Moby Dick is a quietly enthralling piece of work from one of angling's relatively unknown but truly great storytellers. I read the entire piece from cover to cover, quite by accident, in a single sitting. It is one of those books that urges you to turn just one more page...again and again.

The story tells of one man's obsession to catch a giant one-eyed trout he chanced upon as he drove past a roadside pool one day. The angler in question is not a fanatical specimen hunter but this fish is, in his own words "...too big not to be fished for".

I'll keep this review short as really this is a book that should speak for itself. For the price, it is simply a must have. It would undoubtedly make a good stocking-filler type present for Christmas and birthdays too.

At the time of writing this title is still available from Coch Y Bonddu Books at the 1979 cover price of £3!

First published in 1978 by Doubleday. This review has been written after reading the 1979 first UK edition by Chatto & Windus.

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Dream Pike

edited by Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper, a name already synonymous with quality pike books. As well as writing his own books, including the classic and very highly sought after 'Broadland Pike', Harper has also designed many other books for a variety of self-published pike anglers. These include titles such as Mega Pike: The Return, A Piker's Progression, Ultimate Pike, PAC 30, Fenland Pike and many more. You can always tell a book designed by Stephen Harper, the quality stands out.

So back to Dream Pike, the premise is simple, a selection of pike anglers tell in their own words the story of the capture of their own personal dream pike. Each story relates to the capture of a pike weighing over 30lbs, that magical weight that is still the lifetime ambition of any specimen minded pike angler.

The tales vary a great deal in location and style. Everything from the culmination of years of dedication and hard work through to the angler that idly threw a spinner out the back of the boat on a summer's day and caught a leviathan. From the enormous windswept waters of Ireland and Scotland to the sedate canals and rivers of southern England. There's a little bit of everything in this book and the format makes it ideal to dip in and out of for a little inspiration whenever you might need it.

Obviously with every story being written by a different angler, each chapter is very different. Some contributors really know how to write whilst others are clearly better with a fishing rod in their hand than a keyboard. Some are well known names on the piking circuit, having contributed to many books or magazines previously, whereas for others it is the first time they have had their words in print. However the common thread of 30lb+ pike links them all and makes every chapter worth a second read...or more. I've yet to hear about the capture of a pike of this size that doesn't get mind racing during a run of blank winter sessions.

It would be unfair of me to single out a favourite chapter. Everyone that reads this book will no doubt relate to something in particular. There are so many tales from so many anglers from all across the UK and Ireland that there really is something for everyone. Fireside reading at it's best.

Available from Stephen's own website - www.harperanglingbooks.co.uk

First published in 2010 by Harper Fine Angling Books. Limited to 800 cloth-bound copies and 40 deluxe leather-bound copies.

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Search For Big Chub

By Tony Miles

To the dedicated chub specialist or indeed to the all-rounder looking to put a few more chub on the bank there aren't all that many books devoted to the species. Luckily Tony Miles has put pen to paper and given us all we need. His first chub book, My Way With Chub, has become a serious collector's item. Shortly after publication in 1988 the publishers, Ironbridge Publications, went bust and consequently very few copies were printed. Couple that with the fact that the content itself would have made it a classic and you can imagine the value of the book to angling literature collectors. Don't expect much change out of £200 for a decent copy of that one.

Search For Big Chub is a follow on from this earlier work and is thankfully still readily available. It covers all the usual kind of stuff very well - baits, baiting, tackle, various techniques etc etc. Where this book excels though is in the slightly more advanced sections, the author's experience coming across in an easy to understand manner without being patronising to the reader. Miles' tactics for catching the biggest chub from an unseen shoal of fish for example make particularly interesting reading and will certainly get you thinking about your own approach, at least it did for me.

One or two of the techniques and rigs have been described already in his earlier book "Quest For Barbel" co-authored with Trefor West. Understandably there is a little crossover of the two books, chub and barbel often inhabiting similar swims on similar rivers and caught using similar techniques. The majority of the book however is definitely geared specifically towards chub.

There is also one chapter on stillwater chubbing. Which makes interesting reading, but if you are specifically after instructions on stillwaters then try to get hold of a copy of "Fishing For Big Chub" by Peter Stone. Quite hard to find now but well worth tracking down.

In summary, I would thoroughly reccommend this book to anyone with an interest in the species. As with all of Tony Miles' books it is written in a clear and easy style yet manages to throw in some quite advanced techniques without appearing too complicated. Well worth a place on your bookshelf.

Available from Coch Y Bonddu Books for the cover price of £19.95. They also occasionally get second hand copies in.

First published by Crowood in 1996.

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A Brush With the Avon

By John Searl

Angling artist John Searl's first book (as far as I'm aware) is as much a pleasure to hold as it is to read. Containing many fine paintings and illustrations by the man himself, this book should take pride of place on any angler's book shelves.

Tracing his years of fishing the rivers of southern England, in this book Searl shares his angling journey. Mostly centred around the Avon, there is also a small chapter on the time he spent living and working in Australia. Whilst these days John is best known for his work as an artist, he is also a very accomplished specimen angler with many Drennan Cup weekly awards to his credit for a variety of species. Within the pages of this book you'll find barbel well into double figures, 30lb+ pike, 20lb+ carp, chub to nearly 7lbs, brown trout to over 10lbs, roach and grayling to more than 3lbs plus many more magnificent captures.

Although this is definitely not a "how-to" type of book I imagine most readers will learn something from it. John's favourite method is clear water stalking and whilst recounting tales of days spent at the water's edge he can't help but give away a few hints and tips. Obviously, through many years of watching fish in clear water, he has learnt a great deal about their behaviour and reaction to various baits and methods. His observations on roach and barbel (these two species seem to get most of his attention) are particularly interesting and will certainly be in my mind next time I'm fishing for them.

As mentioned earlier, roach get a great deal of attention throughout the book. As most modern coarse angling books tend to concentrate on the popular species such as carp, barbel and pike, tales of roach fishing, with some fish approaching 4lbs or more, are very welcome indeed.

John Searl on hooking a roach that looked closed to 4lbs than 3...

"...to my horror I noticed the big resident pike appear from beneath the weed bed on the other side of the river, and set off purposefully across the current towards the struggling roach.....as I watched the pike get ever closer I realised it was a case of do or die and with my prize just ten feet from the net, the line straining to it's limit, the rod sprang up straight as the little hook shot over my shoulder..."

Over the years whilst fishing the rivers and streams of southern England John has met and fished with many other well known anglers. In the book you'll find a few tales of days on the river with some familiar names such as Chris Ball, Dave Steuart, Chris Sandford, Ron Smith, Bob James, Chris Yates and more.

Unfortunately this book, limited to only 1000 numbered copies, the first 100 of which were bound in leather, is now out-of-print and second-hand copies are already becoming quite scarce and are increasing in value. Coch Y Bonddu Books is usually the place to start searching.

First published by The Art of Angling in 2007.

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The Deepening Pool

The Chronicle of a Compulsive Angler
by Chris Yates

What better way to start off this blog than with a modern classic. Chris Yates is probably my favourite author alive today and with good reason. No one else I've read quite manages to capture the essence of why we go fishing as Yates does in all he writes.

Unfortunately I'm far from alone in thinking this and consequently his books have become much sought after and the prices reflect this. On the plus side, again due to his popularity, reprints are common and can be picked up at far more reasonable prices. But let's forget all that and get down to the book itself, for what price can be put on a piece of true escapism such as this?

"A river has been running through my head since I was a boy. I saw the Hampshire Avon, just once, when I was ten and immediately thought it was the most beautiful river in the world."

The above quote sets the scene for the book. We start off in early spring, sitting with Chris in one of the many salmon huts dotted along the avon, the swollen river rushing past outside. Only the hardened salmon anglers, with judgment muddied by anticipation, would be out on the river today. Out of the cold wind but still with the sound of water running by outside, Chris sits and starts penning a few personal notes in his diary. It is these few words that begin our journey as he takes us into his own world.

Whilst the avon is the recurrent theme throughout, his pen does occasionally drift off to a mist shrouded carp pool or a willow lined tributary. Just about every species that swims in or around the avon valley is covered in this book. From gudgeon to salmon, minnows to barbel and everything in between. Though as with all of Chris' books, it's the coarse fish that predominate.

As the pages turn and the seasons change so too does the feeling of the writing. Whilst Chris' earlier angling writings were dominated by carp, barbel can be seen slowly swimming into his work and thoughts. By the end of the book he's become a man obsessed and despite holding the record for the biggest carp ever caught in Britain, it's the barbel that takes pride of place in his angling dreams.

Many of you will know Chris through the tv series "A Passion for Angling" with Bob James and filmed and directed by Hugh Miles. A true classic and quite possibly still the greatest angling series ever filmed (Hugh's talent for capturing a moment is unsurpassed). Filming took place whilst this book was being written and a chapter has been devoted to the events that went on. An interesting diversion but much of it overlaps with the BBC book of the series (a very good read in itself).

In summary, for the obsessed barbel angler this is a must. For anyone with the slightest interest in the River Avon this is also a must. For every other angler this is, like all of Yates' books, a modern day classic that could and should be read many times over.

Several years ago the Medlar Press issued a small format reprint in their Medlar Classics series, available in both hardback and paperback. Whilst it's nice to have an affordable readily available version of this book I would really recommend trying to get your hands on one of the larger format editions. Either the 1990 first edition or the 1991 reprint. The full colour photographs in these books comliment the text beautifully and are sadly lacking in the small format reprints.

Coch Y Bonddu Books has many copies of this title available. Everything from fine first editions through to the cheap paperback Medlar Press reprint.

First published by Unwin Hyman in 1990.

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