PIKE HERE and THERE. By Phil Wakeford. De luxe leather-bound edition.

2012 1st edition. 4to (190 x 245mm). Pp243. Colour photographs throughout, illustrations. Fully bound in rich red leather, top edge dyed green, silk marker ribbon, blind-ruled border and black pike motif to upper board, upper board and spine titled in black and white. Dark green cloth-bound, velvet-lined slipcase. Edition limited to 50 copies only.

Phil tackles his piking in a way similar to that in which he approaches life in general; he is full-on, enthusiastic and leaves no stone unturned in his desire to achieve his goals. Not only does he take his actual pursuit of pike in a serious, and sometimes single-minded manner however, but he has also never lost sight of the fact that fulfilment in pike fishing encompasses not only the catching of fish, but also the general well being of the sport as a whole. Phil is known not only as a great pike catcher, but as a catcher of great pike, and most remarkably, unlike most of his peers, he has not only caught huge pike frm a wide variety of water types, but also by a multitude of methods. Rome, however, wasn't built in a day, and this book charts a journey, tinged at one point with great sadness, which starts on a tiny backwater of a southern river, winds through gravel pits and lowland rivers, to the wide expanses of Irish loughs and the vastness of the Baltic Sea. It follows the learning curve of someone who could never be described as an 'ordinary' pike angler, but a supremely driven one who takes the reader to wherever his passion leads him, as he evolves into an angler who soaks up knowledge and information in his quest for his own version of Nirvana. This book is not only a fascinating insight into what is required to become one of the most successful pike anglers of all time, but also an inspiring one, that will fully merit its place alongside those firm favourites that give such joy to the angler. Designed and produced by Stephen Harper. This is the handsomely produced de luxe leather-bound edition that was limited to 50 copies only and sold out pre-publication.