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THE PERCH
KING
WIN NUDD'S £700 POLE
How overhanging trees hold the key to great winter action
ROLL WORMSB FOR BIG CHU
2011
NEW-LOOK 180-PAGE BUMPER ISSUE
FREE WITH
ISSUE 1
FEB/MAR 2011
ISSUE ULTIMATE ADVICE EVERY
12-PART SERIES COLLECT, KEEP AND CATCH
THE
WINTER METHOD
Pack your feeder with micro pellets for coldwater carp
EESE BLUE CH Boost your cheesepaste with a garlic & crab combo
WIN! NUDD’S £700 POLE
GLUG E TIM your Give bait a flavour kickstart
FREE! MAGAZINE DRENNAN'S WAGGLER THE FLOAT MASTER:
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SECRETS
4/2/11 16:28:53
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S ' N I A T I R B N I W E E N N I S Z ' A WHAT FISHING MAG EB 23 BEST SALE WEDESAKFPREVIEW SN ON
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e Launch dat
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
W
ELCOME to an exclusive 16-page sneak preview of the new-look Improve Your Coarse Fishing magazine – launched on Wednesday, February 23. For the first time the nation's best selling monthly fishing publication is being produced as two magazines sold in one great value pack. Leading the way is a redesigned 132-page IYCF that celebrates the best of British fishing on public venues. As this magazine will reveal it's bursting with new content drawn from fisheries across the nation, you'll find the features inspiring, entertaining and varied. But in a first for any fishing magazine the new Improve sees the launch of a FREE monthly supplement that will build into a must-have library of angling skills. Called Tips & Tactics this 48-page guide is packed with instruction, advice and expert tips that will help you catch more fish irrespective of your level of expertise. Supplied FREE with IYCF every month, you'll want to collect this bible of fishing knowledge so you can refer back to it time and time again. Improve Your Coarse Fishing has been Britain's top selling magazine for 20 years but the best is getting better!
Kev Green, Editor
“FISHING
DOESN’T GET
BETTER THAN THIS”
144lb of redfins in a day. Chris Watson and Mark Allison explain 2 • IYCF Issue 243
E
VERY angler’s dream is to find an untapped source of fabulous fishing where a backdrop of great scenery is only bettered by the quality of the fish you catch there. Such a place exists in North Lancashire where the roach of Wyreside Lakes live in almost splendid isolation thanks to the venue’s established reputation as a top-flight carp and pike fishery. Two lads who discovered this rich seam of silverfish sport have enjoyed such brilliant fishing that they make a weekly pilgrimage to the North West from their homes on the other side of the country in Chester-leStreet, County Durham.
Chris Watson and Mark Allison are disciples of great roach fishing and each year they head across the North Sea to plunder the huge stocks of Dutch silvers. But each winter they turn their eyes westwards and make the journey to Wyreside where they have discovered huge stocks of immaculate roach. With specimens over 2lb falling to their simple pole or waggler tactics the lads have enjoyed peaceful and productive winter sport when many other anglers are wondering where the next bite is coming from. In the new Improve Your Coarse Fishing we join the Durham duo on one of their long distance journeys as they go in search of dream roach sport. As the headline says “Fishing doesn’t get better than this”…
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
ON SALE February 23 – March 23, 2011 • 3
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
The
WRONG
‘
perch
day for
4 • IYCF Issue 243
’
The weather and conditions were against him but Grant Albutt proves that perch can still be coaxed to feed
I
MAGINE a cold, bright blue-sky winter’s day… the sort of day when you know before you’ve cast a line that bites are going to be very hard to come by. Now imagine that your mission is to catch perch, a fish that has almost Vampire-like form for avoiding bright days like the plague. Surely a blank is a near certainty? Enter stage left Mr Grant Albutt, a man who could catch fish out of a bath tub and who knows exactly how to combat the most testing conditions and emerge with a catch to be proud of. In the new IYCF top matchman Grant visits the Meadowlands day-ticket fishery near Coventry to search out its shoals of stripies. Rather than automatically opting for worms, most anglers’ No.1 perch bait, on a bright frosty day Grant put his faith in pole-fished caster.
As you’ll exclusively see in the relaunched issue of Britain’s best selling fishing magazine, the West Midlands matchman didn’t let the conditions trouble him. By targeting a swim with a vital element of tree cover he was soon bagging up and building a great catch of hard-fighting perch. To learn how he did it read Grant’s great feature in the new issue of IYCF launched on February 23.
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
IYCF December • 7
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
TACKLE SHOP 23 pages of brilliant new gear and expert advice on what to buy
D
ECIDING what to spend your hard earned cash on is about to get a whole lot easier with the birth of the new Tackle Shop section in IYCF. The biggest gear guide in any UK fishing publication it covers 23 pages that are packed with reviews and news on the latest kit. Every issue we’ll lavish praise on our ‘Product of the Month’ award,
6 • IYCF Issue 243
one piece of exceptional kit that stands out from the crowd. This month, Shimano’s new Beast Master Commercial Feeder rod gets our accolade. To find out why our tester rates it so highly read his report in the new issue of Improve Your Coarse Fishing. If you’re in the market for a match reel to go float or feeder fishing don’t spend a penny until you’ve read our buyers’ guide. It tells you what to look for, what’s out there and suggests a few good choices to look at first.
genius T Angling
Tom Pickering is the first star of this new series and he reveals why he just gets better the older he gets
HE history of angling is adorned with a few individuals for whom the tag ‘genius’ is apt. One such man cut his fishing teeth on a small Yorkshire colliery pond to become one of Britain’s best match anglers, who is still at the top of the tree aged 55. To kick off a brand new series charting the lives of those who are true angling greats we feature the
fishing career of Tom Pickering. World Champion, World Match Record holder and leading light in the all-conquering Barnsley Blacks match team, he’s now recognised as one of the best commercial fishery anglers in the land. Tom’s life has been a rollercoaster of great events and adapting to change and he reveals that the older he gets the better he’s becoming at catching fish. Don’t miss this revealing insight into one of fishing’s greatest characters.
ON SALE February 23 – March 23, 2011 • 7
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
GIANT
PERCH COME HOME Julian Chidgey visits a commercial day-ticket lake and hooks into the 'lost' giants that'll be waiting to be found in a lake near you...
8 • IYCF Issue 243
ESSENTIAL PERCH KIT
Size 14 hooks, 4lb line and a pole float used on a long rod worked
Maggots, casters, prawns, worms & flavour are irresistible to perch
D
AY-ticket fisheries often hold a secret. While the vast majority of anglers who visit tthem hem target carp, carp and yet more carp with maybe a bit of a look at some roach and skimmer bream, lurking in the shadows will be more impressive creatures. Usually tucked into marginal cover, such as an overhanging tree, bush or a dead reedbed you’ll find a posse of giant perch. Grown fat on the fry that proliferate from the huge stocks of fish that live in these man-made venues, the perch have taken a footing at the top of the food chain. Thanks to the fact that there will almost certainly be no pike living in the lake the king predator will be the massive perch lying in wait in their
snaggy lairs. To start a great monthly series, reigning Drennan Cup Champion Julian Chidgey heads to one such fishery looking for hidden giants, Somerset’s superb Viaduct complex. Taking a leaf out of the match anglers’ book specimen expert Jules tries to cherry pick the big fish, first with a pole then with a 17ft long float rod. Using prawns as bait and surviving some invasions by big carp along the way, Julian works out how to tempt the big predators and enjoys a session to remember as a string of 3lb-plus perch come his way. To discover how he does it and how you could use tactics like his to catch giant perch on your waters don’t miss the next issue of Improve.
Worms and prawns are chopped up, mixed with maggots and casters then doused in SBS Liquid Lobworm flavour
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
ON SALE February 23 – March 23, 2011 • 9
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
Are you
TOUGH
enough? The raging Welsh Dee is as hard as fishing gets, but it offers great rewards, says Ellis Brazier
10 • IYCF Issue 243
R
ACING down from the Welsh mountains is the mighty River Dee. Crashing over rocks and with steeply sloping banks that would be the ideal home for a mountain goat, it is a wild and uncompromising venue that has long been the preserve of salmon anglers wishing to do battle with the silver tourist. But hidden amid its turbulent waters is a beautiful fish, a wiry warrior that can hold its own in the most challenging conditions and give any angler a fight to remember. The stunning grayling is a fish that British rivers should be proud of. Resplendent in a cloak of metallic
scales that shimmer with shades of silver, purple and gold it is also the proud owner of a huge sail-like dorsal fin, the sort of adornment that makes ocean sailfish stand out from the crowd. To discover how to fish for these racing cars of the river we join lifelong grayling fanatic Ellis Brazier on his quest for Welsh Dee specimens. Fishing amid stunning scenery near the town of Llangollen he runs huge Chubber floats down this surging river as he tries to track down this elusive and stunning fish. As you can imagine the fishing is not easy, it’s the sort of test that sifts the men from the boys, but if you learn to read the river and master the flows you too could soon be discovering why the grayling is one of Britain’s most treasured jewels.
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing ON SALE February 23 – March 23, 2011 • 11
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
What's inside
FREE WITH 2011
ROLL WORMS FOR BIG CHUB
ISSUE 1
FEB/MAR 2011
Y ISSUE ULTIMATE ADVICE EVER
12-PART SERIES COLLECT, KEEP AND CATCH
THE
WINTER METHOD
Pack your feeder with micro pellets for coldwater carp
FLOATS WITH A GENTLE TOUCH ESE BLUE CHE Boost your cheesepaste with a garlic & crab combo
WIN! NUDD’S £700 POLE
THE FLOAT MASTER:
TT MAG COVER.indd
GLUG TIME Give your bait a flavour kickstart
SECRETS DRENNAN'S WAGGLER
4/2/11 16:28:53
1
How a properly rigged insert peacock waggler float can give you great bite registration with winter silverfish
12 • IYCF Issue 243
I
F ONE man can be said to have influenced modern float fishing more than anyone else then the name Peter Drennan must surely top the list. As head of the company bearing his name he’s responsible for the design and manufacture of millions of floats. But having over 40 years experience at the forefront of float making has helped Peter develop an acute understanding of how his creations should be used. Not for him are ‘off-the-shelf’ floats made by someone who’s never seen a roach, his floats are designed to perform a certain job and catch fish in a particular situation. There’s nobody better to explain how to get the best out of the leading float patterns. In the new 48-page ‘Tips & Tactics’ supplement that’s FREE with the redesigned IYCF, Peter starts an in-depth series and
delivers his advice on how to catch more fish on the float. Angled at the current month’s fishing prospects, he starts his series by explaining the three variations of insert waggler rig he’d use right now. If you want to catch fish this winter you can’t afford to miss this first feature as you start to collect what’s sure to be an encyclopaedic series.
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
RIG IT LIKE A CHAMP
Four times World Champ Bob Nudd gives you the definitive guide to pole elastication
F
OUR times World Champion Bob Nudd, a fisherman who’s probably forgotten more than most of us will ever know and the owner of the most famous flat cap in fishing, is back in ‘Improve’. Starting the definitive series on how to pole fish like a champion, Bob reveals how to elasticate a pole like a professional. Explaining all the little edges that he’s developed, his new ‘Pole School’ series will build into a must-have guide for anyone picking up a pole. Whether you’re a newcomer or an expert he’ll explain his ideas, reveal his secrets and divulge the little tricks of the trade that have made him one of history’s best anglers. Found every month in the new ‘Tips & Tactics’ supplement Bob’s feature will give you the building blocks needed to become a great
pole angler. To kick-off this exclusive series in style you can also win one of Bob’s own poles, autographed and already elasticated by the man himself. It’s a unique prize for a unique feature and it’s only found in the new issue of Improve Your Coarse Fishing, out on February 23.
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
WIN NUDD'S £700 POLE
ON SALE February 23 – March 23, 2011 • 11
CELEBRATING GREAT BRITISH FISHING
SNIFFING OUT BIG CHUB Chub are suckers for both natural and smelly baits presented on the simplest tackle
MICRO PELLET METHOD
Flat Method feeders work brilliantly in cold water if you know the subtle bait tweaks that'll get you bites, says Alex Bones
C
HEESEPASTE is well known as one of winter’s very best chub baits but what do you do if it’s losing its effectiveness? According to top specialist Darran Goulder you liven it up with a jar of crab paste and garlic granules. Kicking off a brand new monthly series where he reveals his favourite tactics for catching big fish of all species, Darran spills the beans on his radical paste recipe. He shows you how to make his paste, how to use a coil to keep it on the hook and how to make a wonderfully versatile link leger rig that is a doddle to tie. Found in the brilliant new ‘Tips & Tactics’ supplement this is a series you will want to keep on file as you collect the best FREE partwork ever published on fishing.
I
F YOU think the flat Method feeder is a ‘summer only’ tactic Alex Bones believes you need to think again. In the first of a twopart feature on this brilliant tactic the top matchman reveals how to prepare the perfect coldwater packing for a flat feeder – softened micro pellets. He also details a step-by-step guide to tying the perfect short hooklink to use with the Method. Every step is covered in minute detail to ensure that you have every bit of information you need. Found inside the 48-page Tips & Tactics supplement Alex reveals a host of suggestions that will have you catching when others around are blanking.
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
GO FOR LINERS Deliberately fishing for 'line' bites is a great tactic for locating the fish you want to catch
A
SIMPLE yet brilliant new pop-up rig is one of the highlights of the Thinking Carp feature compiled for Tips & Tactics by the experts at Korda. In this issue they show you how to tie this great new rig and the lads supply a host of bright ideas that could help you beat the winter blues and land a specimen carp or two. This time of year is acknowledged
BREAD SECRETS REVEALED
Bread is one of the most successful baits of all time especially for coldwater fishing. Here's how it works
to be one of the toughest times in the calendar to catch carp but to give you some help we also detail how to fish for line bites. Using lightweight indicators and semi-slack lines the Korda team explain how you can pinpoint carp location by watching for subtle movements of the line.
Read the entire feature in Improve Your Coarse Fishing
T
HE NEW Improve Your Coarse Fishing pushes the boundaries of fishing magazines to such an extent that we’ve hired a scuba diver to reveal what happens to baits and tackle beneath the surface. In a hugely revealing feature the like of which you won’t find in any other fishing publication, top angler Stuart Morgan dons his breathing apparatus and heads below the waterline. Aided by fish scientist and top angler Dr Paul Garner, the lads investigate what really happens below the surface in their great ‘Underwater Angling’ series. Found in every issue of the Tips & Tactics supplement, in this issue Paul and Stuart look at what happens when you feed a chub swim with mashed bread.
ON SALE February 23 – March 23, 2011 • 15
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ROLL WORMS FOR BIG CHUB
ISSUE 1
FEB/MAR 2011
ULTIMATE ADVICE EVERY ISSUE
12-PART SERIES COLLECT, KEEP AND CATCH
THE
WINTER METHOD Pack your feeder with micro pellets for coldwater carp
BLUE CHEESE Boost your cheesepaste with a garlic & crab combo
GLUG
TIME WIN! Give your bait a NUDD’S flavour £700 POLE kickstart
THE FLOAT MASTER: DRENNAN'S WAGGLER SECRETS
A Shakespeare Mach 1 reel worth £42.99 is yours if you take advantage of this exclusive Improve Your Coarse Fishing subscription offer. To celebrate the relaunch of the magazine we’ve struck a special deal to guarantee you this great free reel and ensure you build the perfect collection of the new Tips & Tactics magazine. Your free Mach 1 reel is a versatile tool designed by the Shakespeare team to be used for either float or feeder fishing.
Launch date
...AND A GREAT SHAKESPEARE MACH 1 REEL
WORTH £42.99!
Loaded with a five-bearing system, instant anti-reverse, smooth rear drag, a deep aluminium deep spool and a shallow graphite spool it’s worthy of a place on any anglers rod. If you place your order by calling the subscription hotline (right) your reel will be despatched and over the next year you’ll get 13 issues of the new Improve Your Coarse Fishing mailed direct to your door.
Call 0845 601 1356 QUOTE DWAA
ON SALE WEDS FEB 23