THE IVAN MARKS BOOK

[joffmiester]

Newly published 'Ivan Marks: The People's Champion' a must for match angling fans.


This week sees the launch of a brilliant new book about one of angling’s greatest-ever heroes – Ivan Marks.

Ivan Marks: The People’s Champion, is a collection of the best columns the irrepressible Leicester-based match legend wrote during the 1970s and 80s for Angling Times.

In a book that runs for more than 300 pages, and includes a further 16 pages of period photographs, you’ll find columns on all his big match wins, what it was like to fish for England, the emergence of the Leicester Likely Lads and how he was among the first to ‘discover’ the delights of fish-filled Ireland. There are also chapters on tackle, tactics and bait.

Ivan Marks rose to prominence in the 1960s and established himself as one of the match fishing greats with some huge wins – including success three years out of four in the Great Ouse Championships, a contest with over 1,300 participating anglers.

England recognition soon followed and he peaked with an individual silver medal in 1976.

In an interview just prior to his death he was asked to look back on his glittering career – a career that saw him become the most famous angler in the country – and he said of himself: “At the end of the day I was just an ordinary bloke who could fish a bit.”

When Ivan died, aged 68, in December 2004 the angling world not only said goodbye to one of the finest anglers to ever hold a rod, it also said farewell to its greatest character, too.

Here Chairman of DHP, David Hall, gives a review of the new book:

If you are over 50-years-old and enjoy a little nostalgia you will love this book. If you are under 50-years-old you’ll enjoy it equally. For it will take you back to the golden age of fishing; a time when the likes of Ivan, Dick Walker, Kevin Ashurst and Fred J Taylor strode the earth, a time when the Angling Times was the bible and Wednesdays must read -especially the banter between Dick and Ivan.

For this is what this book is all about. Publisher Cliff Moulder has painfully ploughed through hundreds of Ivan’s articles published in AT during the 1970s and 80s and brought us 312 pages of little gems.

The book begins with tributes from such luminaries as Peter Drennan, Tommy Pickering and Keith Arthur. Cliff asked me to write 50 or so words of tribute. I replied, “If I wrote you 5000 words about the little man I still couldn’t do him justice.” So he let me do 500, which never really scratched the surface.

The book is a walk down memory lane. I fished with Ivan throughout the 70s, and as I read the book I found myself thinking, ‘I remember that’. The articles also brought home to me what a truly gifted angler he was, and what a decent human being he was. I honestly never heard anybody say a bad word about him.

To my astonishment, bearing in mind these articles were written three decades ago, they are as fresh today as they were when they were first written. Ivan talks about the importance of balanced tackle; fishing for England when the rules were stacked against us, the need to think like a fish, the art of groundbaiting. One particularly interesting article was entitled ‘Match men and specimen hunters can learn from one and other.’ This was years before the world turned carp crazy. He writes about the new phenomena that the match fishing world was just beginning to embrace, pole fishing. And claims the pole will come to dominate match fishing - remember this was 30 years ago.

The lovely thing about this book is that you can pick it up and put it down. Rather like a fine wine it is to be sipped slowly, not to be gulped in a single session. It is quite simply a wonderful read. It is as thought provoking as it is funny.

I still haven’t read it all and I’m in no hurry to finish it. As I said at the outset it is about a golden age of fishing and a very special person. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you what you would like for Christmas this year, treat yourself to an early Christmas present. I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.


*Ivan Marks: The People’s Champion is more than 330 pages long and includes never seen before photographs. It is published by MPress and costs £20 (plus postage and packing). Ring Calm Productions on 0845 4082606 or click here to buy your copy.

There are also 50 leather-bound copies priced at £180.

[trypewriter]

In an era when most bream fishing tactics were crude to say the least, I learned to do it by reading Ivan's articles - and I learned even more when I met him. And his tactics still work.

[Arch]

I left a page open on the laptop with Ivans book on it. it had gone when i returned to the laptop later........heres hoping.

[Arch]

The last time i saw Ivan was when i was on the Scrapyard lenght of the canal whilst i was fishing a winter league. He stopped and had a few words, he didn't know me at all. But that didn't matter. I'd sat behind him at Sutton years ago and carried his tackle to the car for him, id be 15/16. Fond memories.

I play golf, but can't imagine Nick Faldo ever speaking to a fan.

[Mugger]

Cracking Book 
Review here.... http://petermorton1.xanga.com/756316794 ... ok-review/