CATCHING MEMORIES. By Jerry Hammond.

2011 1st edition. 8vo (168 x 247mm). Pp384. Colour photographs, b/w illustrations by Steve Fantauzzi, end-paper illustrations. Textured black boards, upper board and spine titled in gilt.

"In this long-awaited book, the irrepressible Jerry Hammond shares his memories of some outstanding sessions on both prestigious and lesser known waters. He tells of his successes and failures, the good mates he's met along the way, and even includes a chapter about his years as a film actor. Catching Memories is not an autobiography, though, and was never intended to be one. It is a remarkable collection of carp stories written in true Hammond style, with energy, enthusiasm, humour and just a hint of obsession. If you want a good, entertaining bankside - or fireside - read, then this is the one for you." Chapters include: Hainault, my childhood playground; A Hainault hat-trick, by Neil Lunn; Nazeing Meads, the Lagoons; Gertie the Thirty, by Mick Germain; The Pretty One, by Jay Willis; The Struggle at Hone, Sutton; A day to remember, by Jay Willis; Keeping the Hone fires burning; Tolpits revisited, by Stuart Court; Horton, rocks and boulders; Cleverley Mere and the Amaizing Rig; Yateley Car Park Lake, lessons learned; A common sense; The Long Common; A brace of forties, Wellington; The Black Common, Croxley; Cotton Farm and a missed opportunity; Greenacres and the Compulsive Angler; Church, the super Bug.