The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Sorry for not commenting earlier, but I only just saw the thread! Always been a bit on the slow side! Thanks for the kind words Guys, I appreciate your comments. When I look back at the book now I wish I had included a whole lot more, both stories and opinions, but there you go we can all be wiser after the event. Hi Ian, I did start another book, I was going to call it: "All the usual suspects" and include some of the hilarious stories from the time I spent working part time in Robertson's fishing shop. Wrote the first couple of chapters and went fishing! Nothing new there then! I was completely gob smacked by Kevin's comments about me being "one of his hero's" just goes to prove how few carp anglers were about back then! Not to say I was very proud when it was pointed out to me. As far as Ian's comment about the rod pod at Eagle pond's, well don't I just wish!

Nice to see you posting on this site Derek.

Take care

Mike

Thankyou for posting on this thread Derek. I have to confess I still haven't bought your book as my meagre finances are a little stretched at present. I hope to get a copy in the next few months though, and very much look forward to reading.

I believe that the Lands End had copies behind the bar.

Well that's another book for my wish list, being from the county of White Stilleto's and having fished the Eagle years ago.

I went to the Brentwood Carp Show at the weekend and met Derek on the Carp Society stand, it was he I bought the Mordex Merlin from... a very nice man. I'd heard of him through the 70's and 80's on the local carp circuit, his exploits were standard stuff whist learning your carping craft...

it was great to meet him...

Dammit! still not bought this one. Should've put it on my Xmas list..

its quite a good book i think you can get a standard copy for about the original price it sold for

Derek was kind enough to get the illustrator Pete Curtis of his new book , East End Days to do a quick sketch about fishing from the pavement of the Eagle Pond Snaresbrook.

I asked my mate and fellow forumer Tony if the drawing was of one of us or Derek. Tony brought me down to earth by pointing out that the figure was playing a carp- something we very rarely did in the 70s!

I too was fishing the Eagle and the Hollows in the 70's with Max Cottis and a couple of others... (mainly for the Tench) I stopped fishing there when the manager of the Rising Sun was shot dead... We beat a hasty retreat and never went back, preferring to fish closer to home at Fairlop and Hainault lakes... had a lot of fun there...