13/10/2015 - The 'Incompleat' Piker from www.L-E-P.com
The 'Incompleat' Piker from www.L-E-P.com
Back in the 1940’s I was told by my granddad “Now its October we can go pike fishing when we get a frost”, when I look back to those far off days I think “What utter nonsense” Thankfully by 1950 I realised how ridiculous this information was, though I wanted to go pike fishing in the summer, on most waters the club rule was no pike fishing until October 1st. Thankfully that silly rule has gone from most club rule books. What got me thinking about pike fishing was a book I just purchased The 'Incompleat' Piker, please note the word Incompleat isn’t a spelling mistake on my part. The following is a short review on the book which will no doubt help you increase you pike fishing knowledge and catches.
The 'Incompleat' Piker is a large format book of 271 pages that in my opinion deserves a place on the bookshelf of all those who hunt Esox. This book is the first collaboration between Steve Rogowski and The Little Egret Press, through the pages it shows Steve's on-going quest to achieve the ultimate pike fishing experience....the capture of a 30 lb Pike. It doesn’t end there, Steve has enlisted some of the top pike anglers in the UK, notable giants as Neville Fickling, Steve Ormrod, Rob Christen, Chris Betts, Craig Renwick and Jon-Paul Neafcy some who I’ve have had the pleasure to interview on many occasions over the years for my BBC Radio shows.
I first interviewed author Steve Rogowski on the BBC Radio where he come across as a very keen angler, being born and living in Oldham Lancashire in an area not noted for its fine pike, this has meant Steve had to broaden his horizons often travelling long distances in his quest for that magic thirty pound pike. One of his venues was Yorkshire’s River Ure, a place I’ve had many happy years of fishing on a syndicate water that bordered a private estate where river keeper Brian Moorland had made a swim for my wheelchair. When I needed to use it, my friend Tony Farquarson would lower me down the steep bank, on one occasion Tony having attached the rope from wheelchair to car to bring me back up the bank, was a bit heavy on the accelerator I went skywards. Though I did catch some nice pike and perch that day. Roger started as a youngster like most of us did but in his case his third pike caught weighed over 29lbs, now that must have been a record. His experience has been gathered from fishing a variety of waters, the lochs of Scotland and Ireland, rivers big and small, canals, lakes, reservoirs and mill ponds.
One chapter not to be missed is by Jon Neafcy page 219 where Jon writes about catching a 35lb 1ounce Lake Windermere pike without a name, reading Jon’s story I felt if I was there being battered by the wind and waves. I will not spoil the story. Jon is not only a great predator angler, he does a tremendous amount of work for pike conservation and pike angling, apart from holding down a position with a top UK company, he has a happy family life. Jon is also secretary of Region 31 Pike Anglers Club where is knowledge is keenly sought by members and freely given.
Published as a limited edition of only 500 copies this book features a wealth of full colour photographs and has contributions from such well known anglers as Neville Fickling, Steve Ormrod, Rob Christen, Chris Betts, Craig Renwick and Jon-Paul Neafcy. Signed copies are available now from www.L-E-P.com Price
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