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Angling: Book is a wonderful reminder of a truly great angler
Christmas is a wonderful time especially for the children but when you get to my age the occasion does lose a lot of its magic, especially in the gifts department.
Over the years I have lost count of the socks, scarves and handkerchiefs that I have received although in recent years a few DVDs have been very welcome as has the occasional book.
Last year however a few none to subtle hints finally paid off when I unwrapped the story of “Ivan Marks – the People’s Champion”.
Ivan will be remembered as possibly the greatest match angler of all time such is his record of success in the sixties, seventies and eighties but this book is different in the fact that it is not a biography, a story of his life, but is a compilation of articles that he wrote for the Angling Times throughout the seventies.
But even though these articles were written 40 years ago some of them could have been written last week such was the man’s foresight with many of the things that he predicted coming to pass. But first a little of his history.
He was born in Leicester in 1936 and as a young boy he excelled in most sports, particularly cricket and football but he also caught the fishing bug after watching local anglers and by the age of 12 he was already regularly on the prize lists at both junior and club contests when he was competing against adults.
After leaving school he trained as an engineer where his apprenticeship was interrupted by a couple of years of national service. But his angling career was developing at a rapid pace and he co-founded a team of budding Leicester anglers who became known as the ‘likely lads’ and they dominated the big match scene throughout the 60s and 70s.
During this period he went into partnership with his close pal Roy Marlow and together they went into the fishing tackle trade and opened a very successful shop.
Angling honours came thick and fast for Ivan and his record was phenomenal starting with the Nene championships in 1967 followed by the Great Ouse championships in 1970-72-73 and also the Welland championships in 1970 and 1972 and do not forget that these were huge contests with entries of up to 1,300 anglers taking part.
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On the team side his Leicester squad won the old NFA championships in 1971 and 1974.
In 1972 he wrote his first column for the Angling Times and continued to do so for the next eight years.
In that golden period he was voted Angler of the Year three years on the trot, he became the best known angler in the country and whenever he fished he attracted huge crowds to watch him in action for he was noted for his chat and banter with the spectators and he was the complete showman.
Of course he was selected to fish for his country and he did so on 11 occasions; but his best result was a second place and a silver medal in the 1976 World Championships.
Unfortunately in 1993 he suffered a heart attack, possibly after years of heavy smoking, and he eventually had to undergo a heart transplant.
Although he was still very popular his career did go into decline, as did his health, and he passed away in December 2004 at the age of 68.
During my big match fishing days I bumped into Ivan on many occasions and he had no secrets and was always forthcoming with information on the venues that we were fishing.
The last time we met was in 2003 when he was a guest at a show at the Leeds Anglers Club and we had quite a natter about old times.
This is a wonderful book for any angler and in my opinion, is an absolute steal at £20 (plus P&P) for it is a classic.
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