Specialist books

Hello

Looking for "hardcore" "how to" books - if you get my point. I have most of Chris Yates' books (and enjoy them very much), but this time its not what I'm looking for.

What would be your no.1 choice of book on the subject of catching:

1. Carp
2. Tench
3. Pike

I'm thinking of ordering some from UK, and would like your input. At the moment Im thinking of Carp Fever by Maddocks or maybe one of Hutchinsons books? Mega Pike by Eddie Turner or maybe the newer one by Mick Brown? I have no idea about tench books.
As you can see age is not important because I have read none. The books mentioned are old and famous (that is why I know them), but maybe newer and better books are out?
What books should no specimen angler be without?

Hi ramus

I find chris turnbulls tench books to be the most informative on tench and by far the most modern. Alternatively if you are looking for something with more 'traditional' feel you might want to source Barry Rickards & Ray Webbs book on the same species.


With regards to carp (and to a lesser extent pike) it depends upon your current 'level of expertise'. The fox 'guide to' series may or may not be what you are looking for.

Hope this helps

Hi Rasmus

There are a lot of good books out there it it probably boils down to personal taste - my opinion
Tench
In Pursuit Of Big Tench. Len Arbery.
Fishing For Tench. Fred J. Taylor.
Fishing for Big Tench - Barrie Rickards, Ray Webb & Martin Gay.
Carp
You mentioned Maddocks and Hutchinson, you probably won't go far wrong with anything by them - if you haven't got it the History of Carp Fishing by Kevin Clifford is well worth the money, he has now released part 2 which I haven't read yet.
Pike
Anything by Mick Brown is worth reading.
Jerry

have a look at the gifts 4 carp web site, its full of really good books on every species and every fishing book you can think of is on there!

mark

Rasmus,

Carp, best how to book I have read is Paisley's 'To Catch a Carp'. A few years old now but the basic principles are well discussed.

Pike, again now a little old but 'The Predator becomes the Prey' put together by Martyn Page and John Bailey is still brilliant.

Anything by Mick Brown is worth reading.

Stu

Arberry and Turnbull on tench. See the Tenchfishers site for reviews

For Pike I like Mega Pike By Eddie Turner and How to Catch Bigger Pike by Paul Gustafson. Both of these have a bias towards UK style bait fishing. For Lure fishing try Charlie Bettell's book The Art of Lure Fishing. This is pre jerk bait era though. I don't know of a good book on jerk bait fishing as I was ahead of the curve on this having learnt about it in the US in the mid 90s. A comprehensive list of books is here on the PAC site.

I don't read much on modern carp fishing as we seem to have gone rig development crazy. A later edition of Carp Fever by Kevin Maddocks will give plenty on bait theory and basic rig development. I've got the 10th edition from 1988. Fox do a book which might be worth a look.

For tench, Chris Turnbull's "A Time for Tench" is almost certainly the best on modern methods. It is unfortunately now out of print so you'll have to keep an eye out for second hand copies. Another good read on modern methods is "Tench: A Handbook of Techniques". There are plenty of older books worth looking at too - Rickards and Webb, Len Head, Len Arbery and a couple of others.

For pike there are certainly a few must-haves. "Ultimate Pike" by Dave Horton is superb. "Mega-Pike" by Eddie Turner, despite being fairly old now, contains much useful information on tactics. The Fox guides are a little basic (very good for beginners) but contain more info on modern tackle and techniques.

For carp, god knows. There are millions. Take a look here and take your pick.

Coch Y Bonddu Books should have pretty much everything you want.

Give me a shout if you need any more specific information. I love a good read :w

In 2005 and 2006, Bob Church edited and published two books,"Big Pike" and "Big Tench".

They are anthologies, each with five sections written by various modern anglers, such as Jim gibbinson, Nigel Fickling etc.

Here's a link to the pike book, available for about £8 - my original version cost £20.

Amazon is a good source of high quality out of print books.


BIG PIKE. | All Fishing Books | Coch-y-Bonddu Books | COCH-Y-BONDDU BOOKS LTD

Thank you very much. This has been very informative.

I have already added a couple of titles to the xmas gift list.