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Passion For Pike
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Colin Brett on 12 April, 2007 02:00:00
 
Passion For Pike
The challenge and mystery of fly-fishing for pike
Ad Swier
I have waited a long time for Ad Swier to complete his book and I consider the
wait to have been well worthwhile.
I have known of Ad Swier since his appearance at the Pike Anglers Conference,
as it was then known, in 1995.  As an avid trout fly-fisher myself the thought
of catching pike on the fly was a really exciting prospect.
Ads book gives an insight into just how exciting it can be!
The first thing that struck me when first skimming through the pages was the
amazing number of colour photographs.  The next was the realisation that many
of these photographs were in fact paintings from Ad himself.  Theres a lot
of big pike caught on fly and on camera in this 240-page book!
The book is different from others as even the page numbers are not in the usual
places and are highlighted for easy reference.  The use of watermarked pages
scattered throughout the book is again something I have not seen before, but
they certainly make this book stand out from the normal run of the mill angling
publications.
Following a foreword by non-other than Larry Dahlberg, the reader will soon be
aware of the Passion that Ad Swier has for that wonderful predator, the Pike!
The main theme running throughout is one of conservation and highlights some of
the darkest problems that confront anglers today.  The major pike culling in the
Great lakes of western Ireland gets a through mention.
Tackle and flies are an obvious part of the book but this section is not done
to death, as there are many angling stories from around Europe and North
America to fit in.  However there is plenty of information for even the
beginner to set up and go pike fly-fishing.
Ad has persuaded other Pike fly-fishermen to contribute to this book with
Dutch, English and Swedish all involved.
The section on belly boating is interesting and amusing [pppssssss], although
Im still a bit sceptical and will continue to use a boat or terra firma.  Its
obviously a great way to get close up to your quarry and also great to get to
those difficult to get to places.
All in all a really interesting selection of methods and stories with great and
plentiful colour images.  Not just for the fly-fisherman but for anyone with a
Passion for pike.
The book costs £19.95 and is available from Coch-y-Bonddu books and other
booksellers.
Colin Brett 08/04/2007