John has been fishing since the age of 7. His introduction occurred the day before his eighth birthday, sat by a New Forest Mill stream in pursuit of trout. He moved to the Lea Valley in Essex the very next day, and soon discovered an abundance of gravel pits close to his home. John would spend countless hours fishing for perch and cycling along the River Lea, often stopping to fish for bleak. Here he discovered pike, and his lifelong quest and fascination for this amazing creature was formed.

On leaving school at 16, John’s first real job was in a bank. He spent his first ever wage packet on a Barbour jacket, in an effort to ‘look the part’ as a specimen hunter fisherman. John’s love of the outdoors would see him change career to work in the building trade. He spent the next forty-four years working as a bricklayer, but found himself working in the tackle trade for a year in 2017. He is now a maintenance specialist at Cambridge University, and lives with his wife of 42 years, Kerry.

About the Author

A key element to John’s interest in pike angling is his unmistakable passion for conservation. John has been a Lea Valley Fisheries Warden and Fisheries committee member for the exclusive Bassingbourn Barracks Fishing Club. Here he implemented additional rules to ensure pike welfare was prioritised and safe handling techniques were adopted by club members. He has been a member of the Pike Anglers Club (PAC) for four decades, and believes that any true pike angler should become a member too.

Over the past 50 years as a pike fisherman, John has not only been active on the bank, but has enjoyed writing about his fishing too. As a regular contributor to Pikelines and Pike and Predator Magazine, and contributor to Willow Pitch 111, The Pike Edition, John takes any opportunity he can to share his love for pike with the community. John is now a field tester for Voodoo Traces and writes articles for Catch Cult magazine.

John may have been pike fishing for over 50 years, but anyone who talks to him will quickly notice that his passion for pike is as intense and joy-filled as it was when he was 13 years old. While pike have always been John’s primary focus, he has enjoyed various forms of freshwater fishing over the course of his angling journey.