Match Fishing Magazine March issue **20 PAGE FREE PREVIEW** by Mortons Media Group Ltd

edito ri al

MARCH

2025

he w. It ’s be en arol le rc oa st er ri de pu tti ng th em ag azi ne to ge th er th is mo nt h– we ’v eh ad so ma ny fe at ures ch an ge ,b ec an ce lle d, bl ow ou

re pl ac ed or ju st no th ap pe nf or lo ad so fd iffe re nt re as

sa nd it wa

ou ch an dg oa tt im es …m yn er ve sa re st il lrec ov er in g!

Ho we ve r, we ’v es ti ll ma na ge dt og at he rt og et he ra grea ts el ec ti on of fe at ures wi th pl en ty of to pa ng le rs ,i nc lu di ng co ve rs ta rA nd yK in de ra nd En gl an d le ge nd sWill Ra is on an dM at tG od frey,p lu sm an ym ore, an dw ec ov er aw id e va ri et yo fm et ho ds ,t ip sa nd ta ct ic st ok eep yo ui nt eres te da nd in fo rm ed

We al so ha ve aw ho le ho st of ev en ts ag ai nt hi sy ea ra nd ti ck et ss ta rt ed se llin g as so on as we op en ed th es ho pl as tm on th ,s od on ’t ha ng arou nd if yo uw an ta ti ck et fo ro ne of th em .F ul ld et ai ls ca nb ef ou nd in si de

An dn ow an ap ol og y– so rry,b ut we ’v eh ad to pu tt he pr ic eo ft he ma ga zi ne up .P ri ce so fe ve ry th in ge ve ry wh erea re go in gu pd ue to gl ob al ev en ts an d ch an gi ng ec on om ie s, an du nf or tu na te ly th ew or ld of pr in ti sn od ifferen t. We ’v e ma na ge dt oh ol di to ff fo rt hree ye ar sb ut un fo rt una te ly we ca n’ ta ny lo ng er ; ho we ve r, we ha ve ma na ge dt ok eep th ei nc re as ed ow nt o5 1p ,s oi t’ sn ot to o ba d, an d£ 5.50 is st ill le ss th an ma ny ot he rm ag azi ne so nt he ma rk et .

If yo u’ re as ub sc ri be rt he re wo n’ tb ea ny ch an ge un ti ly ou co me to re ne w, an de ve nt he ny ou ’l lb ea bl es av em on ey wi th on eo fo ur su bs cr ib er offe rs ,a nd if yo u’ re no ta su bs cr ib er,w hy no t! On eo ft he be ne fi ts of be in ga su bs cr ib er is th ec ha nc et oe nt er ou rS ub sc ri be rC la ssi ce ve nt ev er yy ea r. Th is ye ar it ’s at Pa ck in gt on So me rs Fi sh er ya to ne of th eb es tf is hi ng ti me so ft he ye ar an d sh ou ld be ac ra ck in gm at ch

Fi na lly,p le as ec an so me bo dy ma ke th ew ea th er be tte r? Ho pe fu lly we ’re th ro ug ht he wo rs to fw in te ra nd sp ri ng fi sh in gc an be gi n!

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TheDrain Game!

Guru’sGinger Ninja, Matt Godfrey,takes you to a prolifc winterhaunttouncoversome secrets about making the mostofthese silverfsh bagging Meccas!

MATT GODFREYAge: 33 Lives: Sponsors:Sheffeld Guru

The Ca mb ri dg es hi re dr ai ns an df en s areh om et os om eo ft he be st wi nt er f is hi ng in th ec ou nt ry,a nd lik ea lo to fp la ce si nt he UK ,m as si ve nu mb er so fs ma ll fi sh pa ck in to th eu rb an area so ft he se wa te rw ay sa ss af ea nd wa rm wi nt er ha ve ns .T hi sp ro vi de ss om e in cred ib le sp or tf or an gl er s, an dh ug eb ag s of sm al ls ilv er fi sh su ch as ro ac h, pe rc h, sk im me rs an ds ilv er brea mc an be ca ug ht by ta rg et in gt he se ve nu es .Tom ak et he mo st of th em ,y ou ne ed to pi ck th er ig ht lo ca ti on s, ap pl yt he pe rf ec tt ac ti cs an d ba it s, an db ea se ff ic ie nt as po ssi bl e.

To da y, I’ ve brou gh ty ou to th eW hi ttl es ey

Dy ke .B el ie ve it or no ti t’ st he fi rs tt im e

I’ ve ev er se en th ev en ue ,a nd it gi ve sm e th ep er fe ct ch an ce to tr ya nd fi gu re ou tt he ta ct ic sw hi le yo ug uy st ag al on gw it hm e.

Loca tion

Ch oos in gt he ri gh ta re at of is hi se sse nt ia l. Fi sh ge ne ra lly mi gr at et ot he mo st bu iltup area so ft ow ns wh eret he re area fe w pe op le arou nd .T he st ru ct ure, fe at ures , br id ge sa nd bu ilt -u pn at ureo ft he se ve nu es me an st ha tt he re is co ve rt o sh el te rt he mf ro mt he el em en ts an da ls o pred at or s. Ib el ie ve th at th ei nf lu en ce of pe op le ke ep st hi ng sl ik ec or mo ra nt sa nd pred at or yb irds to am in im um to o, an d it ’s lik el yt ha tw al ke rs an dp eo pl eo nt he ba nk in crea se fo od so urce sw it ha ct iv it ie s lik ef ee di ng du ck s. Pe rh ap si ns om ec as es to ot he te mp er at urei ss lig ht ly wa rm er from bu il di ng sa nd sh el te rt oo. So ma ny pl ac es ca nf it in to th is cr it er ia , an da cros st he UK yo u’ ll fi nd se ct io ns of ri ve rs ,d ra in sa nd ca na ls in ur ba na re as

“Huge bags of small silver fsh such as roach,perch,skimmers andsilver bream can be caught by targeting these venues.”

Try andfnd areas near bridges or structure on canals anddrains.

The ultimate natural venue groundbait mix.

Breadoften getsyou off to agreatstart.

Atangerine sizedballofbread kicks off the shortswim.

Drain rigs–simple, durable, and positive.

Fine gravel helps thebread gettothe bottom quickly

th at se et he fi sh pa ck in to th es ep la ce s. Br id ge sa re th eu lt im at eh ot sp ot s, an d of te nt he cl os er yo uc an ge tt ot he m, th eb et te r. Th es am ea ppl ie st ot hi ng s lik el oc kg at es ,j et ti es , pl at fo rm s, bu ild in gs or trees in th es ea re as –ba si ca lly th ec lo se ry ou are to th em os tu rb an fe at ures , th eb et te r!

Speed Wire foats areMatt’s main choice for drains.

To da y’ ss wi mi sa pe rf ec te xa mp le .I ’m tu ck ed up on as te ep ba nk , wi th so me lo ck ga te s2 0 me tres to my ri gh tw he re th erei sa wa te ri nl et from th ec an al ab ov e. Op po si te me is ap la tf or mf or bo at s to mo or up ,a nd to my le ft is al arge co nc re te wa ll wi th an ol dw at er pi pe co mi ng in an da br id ge ju st ab ov et ha t. If al lt ha t is n’ te no ug h, we ’rer ig ht on th ee dg eo ft he bu sy lit tl et ow no fW hi ttl es ey ; it ’s th ep er fe ct wi nt er sw im on th is ki nd of ve nu e.

Th eTwo -Pronged Attack

I’ mt ac kl in gt hi sv en ue wi th am et ho do ft wo pa rt s, ea ch in vo lv in ga di ff eren tb ai ta nd fe ed in g ap proa ch .M ys ta rt in g ga mb it is bread pu nc h fi sh ed ov er liq ui di se d brea d, an dI ’m fe ed in gt hi s ve ry cl os et om ej us tf ou r

me tres ou ta tt he bo tt om of th ef ir st sh el f, go in g in to th em ai nd ep th of th e dy ke th at is ab ou tf ou rf eet de ep .T he re as on fo rt hi si s to le tm ea ss es sh ow ma ny fi sh arep re se nt ,a nd on th es es ma ll ve nu es I’ mn ot ve nt ur in gt ot he fu ll ex te nt of th ep eg st ra ig ht aw ay, wh ic hc ou ld le ad to fi sh pu sh in go ut of th es wi m. Brea di sa ve ry in st an t ba it ,a nd it al lo ws me to re ad th es wi mw el l. Fi sh of te nc om es tr ai gh tt oi t, an di ft he ac ti on is go od it gi ve sy ou ag ui de th at th erem ay be al ot of fi sh ab ou t. Th is me an sy ou ca n fe ed yo ur ne xt sw im mo re ag gres si ve ly to re al ly ma ke th em os to ft hi s. Ho we ve r, if th ea ct io no nb re ad is sl ow,i ts ho ws yo um ay ne ed to be al it tl em ore ca ut io ns wi th th ef eed on yo ur se co nd lin e, an d nu rt urei tc aref ul ly.

Ta lk in ga bo ut th es ec on d sw im ,t hi si sf is he di n th ec en tr al ch an ne lo ft he ca na l, ri ve ro rd ra in in th e de ep es tw at er,w he re Ic an tr ya nd ga th er as ma ny fi sh as po ss ib le .Tod ay it ’s ab ou te ig ht me tres ou t, wh erei t’ sj us to ve r fo ur fe et de ep .H ere, I ch oos et of eed grou nd ba it wi th sq ua tts ,p in ki es an d he mp in th ere. To ke ep fi sh co mi ng ,I ’l le it he r lo os ef eed ov er th et op ,o r to pu pw it hg ro un db ai t co nt ai ni ng pa rt ic le ba it s. Th em ix Il ik ef or th is ki nd of fi sh in gi ss im pl e, am ix of Ma in lin eM at ch

Su pe rn at ur al Da rk an d Na tu ra l. It ’s sw ee t, fu ll of he mp ,m ai ze ,q ua lit yb re ad an db is cu it th at si lv er fi sh lo ve an df ee do ve rf or ex te nd ed pe ri od s. If eel th at it ’s im po rt an tt om ix th is grou nd ba it ni ce an d da mp ,w hi ch me an sy ou ca np ut pl en ty of fe ed in th em ix an dg et it to th e bo tto mw it ho ut it brea ki ng up

Startin gT he Session

To ki ck off, Is im pl yp ot a sm al lt an ge ri ne si ze db al l

of brea do nt he 4m lin e. Th is is ju st Al di ow n- br an d brea dt ha ti sl iq ui di se dt o af in et ex tu re ,a nd Ia dd so me fi ne gr av el to th is to he lp ta ke it st ra ig ht to th eb ot to mt ha nk st ot he we ig ht of th eg ra ve l. I th en fe ed th re el arge ba lls of th eg ro un db ai to nt he 8m sw im ,t ha tc on ta in s sq ua tts ,p in ki es an dh em p. Th ep la ni st os ta rt on brea da nd ge to ff to ag oo d st ar tw hi le th is lo ng er lin e ga th er sf is ha nd se ttl es fo r la te r.

Go in gi no nt he brea d, I’ mu si ng a0 .6 gS pe ed Wi re fl oa t, sh ot te dw it ha bu lk of No 9s ho ta nd fo ur No 10 drop pe rs sp ac ed be lo w, al li nt he bo tt om 40 ce nt im et re so ft he ri g. Ih av ea 6i nh ook lin ko f 0.08m mP ureF lu oroc ar bo n to as iz e1 8S up er Fi ne Po le Sp ec ia lh ook ,0 .1 2m m Su pe rn at ur al Ma in lin e, a nd aN o3 Sl ip El as ti c. A 4m mp un ch is th eo pe ni ng pl oy,a nd pl ac in gt he ri g ri gh to nt op of wh eret he ba ll of brea dw en ti n, it ’s lik et he fl oa ti so ve rs ho tte d an dI ’m so on sw in gi ng in aroa ch ab ou t2 oz !T hi si s th ep ow er of brea d, fi sh co me st ra ig ht to it ,a nd in th ef ir st 10 drop si nI ca tc h as ma ny fi sh .T hi st el ls me th erea re al ot of fi sh in th ea re a, urgi ng me to ma ke su re If ee dt he lo ng er lin ep os it iv el y. Ev er yf ew mi nu te sI fi re in ha lf a po uc ho fh em pa nd th e sa me of sq ua tts ,h op in gt o pu ll as ma ny fi sh in to th e area as po ss ib le

Af te r2 0f is h, th eb re ad lin ef ad es an dt he st am po f fi sh drop ss ma lle r, wh ic h te lls me th eb ai ti sr un ni ng ou t. Ho we ve r, af te rrefe ed in gt he re sp on se is no th in gl ik et he st ar t, an d al th ou gh Ic an st ill ca tc h od ds ma ll fi sh it ’s no wh ere ne ar as fa st .T hi st el ls me th ef is ha re ba ck in g off, an da ft er arou nd 30 mi nu te so ff is hi ng an da grea ts ta rt on th eb re ad , I’ mrea dy to mo ve ou to n to th el on ge rl in e, wh ere

A4mm punch is agreatsize for roach, and always use aPunch Box to keep bread fresh.

Matt loves the Super Fine Pole Special hook.

Bulks help bomb the baittothe bottom.

Chunky roach are the main target on alot of the fenland drains.

Squatts hold fsh in the swim for long periods.

Pinkies makea greathookbait.

ho pe fu lly th el oos ef eed ha sg at he re dm oreq ua lit y fi sh

Bagging Ti me

Sh ip pi ng ou tw it ht he sa me ri ga sb re ad bu t as lig ht ly lig ht er 0.4g ve rs io n, I’ mi nt of is h im me di at el y. Le tti ng th is sw im se ttl ea nd bu ild in g it wi th fe ed ha sc er ta in ly wo rk ed ,a nd it ’s lit er al ly on ea drop .A si ng le pi nk ie se em st ob et he pe rf ec t ho ok ba it on as iz e1 8

Su pe rF in eP ol eS pe ci al Ic an ho ok th eb ai ts o

Fl uo ro ca rb on ho ok le ng th an ds am es iz e1 8S up er Fi ne ho ok .T he id ea of th is ri gi st ha ti tb om bs th e ba it st ra ig ht to th ed ec kt o pi ck ou tt he bi gg es tf is h po ssi bl et ha ta re sa tr ig ht ov er th eg ro un db ai t. It ge ts do wn fa st an ds ho ws up a bi te fa st ,s av in ga sm uc h ti me as po ssi bl e. Ov er th es pa ce of af iv e- ho ur ma tc h, us in gt hi sk in do f ri go ve ra st an da rd bu lk an dd ro pp er ss et up ca n re su lt in an ex tr ac ou pl eo f po un ds of fi sh

Impro ving The Stamp

Th eo nl yo th er wa yI fe el lik eI ca ni mp ro ve on wh at I’ md oi ng no wi st o ca tc ha sl ig ht ly bi gge rf is h ev er yt im e, or mo re ‘o dd bi gge ro ne s’ in be tw ee n. On ew ay to do th is is to ti gh tl yf oc us th ef is ho n th eb ot to m, me an in gt he re is ev en mo re co mp et it io n, in tu rn me an in gt he bi gge r fi sh pi ck ou tt he ho ok ba it fa st er.T he wa yI ’m go in g to tr yt hi si sb yc ut ti ng ou t th el oos ef ee dc om pl et el y an ds ta rt in gt of ee db al ls of th eg ro un db ai tf ul lo f fo od –s qu at ts ,p in ki es , an dh em p. I’ mp ac ki ng th e ba lls wi th al ot of fe ed an d sq ue ez in gt he ma st ig ht as po ssi bl et os lo wt he re le as eo ft he fo od do wn to ke ep th ef is hc om pe ti ng an dw or ki ng fo ri t, so ho pe fu lly th ey pi ck ou tt he ho ok ba it qu ic kl yw he ni t drop so nt op of th em

an ap pe ar an ce ,o rt he fa ct th at I’ mh av in gt ow ai t al it tl el on ge rf or ab it e. As so on as If eel th is is ha ppe ni ng ,I ’m re -fe ed in g wi th ab ig ,d am p, ha rd ba ll pa ck ed wi th fe ed to re fo cu sa nd re bo ot th e sw im ,a nd it ’s wo rk in ga trea t.

Effi cienc yT ip s

Be in ga se ff ic ie nt as po ssi bl ei sv it al wh en yo u’ re fi sh in g co mp et it iv el yi nt hi s ma nne r. My si ng le be st bi t of ad vi ce fo rt hi s( an di t ma ys ou nd cr azy )i sN OT

TO RU SH !A ss oo na sy ou tr ya nd sp eed up ,t hi ng s ju st go wron g. Ta ng le s, tr as he dr ig s, bu mp ed or lo st fi sh an dm is ca lc ul at ed de ci si on ss ta rt to sh ow

My be st ad vi ce is to go as sl ow as po ss ib le ,t he na s yo ub eg in to ca tc hy ou wi ll na tu ra lly ge tf as te ra nd fa st er

Ot he rs ma ll wi ns th at wi ll in crea se effi ci en cy are th in gs th at wi ll sa ve yo u ti me on ev er ys hi p- ou to r in wi th af is h. On et hi ng th at It ry an dd oo nt he se dr ai ns is to break do wn on at op th re er at he rt ha nt he to pt wo .T hi se na bl es yo u to sw in gt he fi sh in from fu rt he ro ut an di ta ls o sa ve sy ou sh ip pi ng th at ex tr as ec ti on ev er yt im e. Wh en yo u’ re unho ok in g fi sh an dre- ba it in ga ll yo ur ri gi st ig ht an ds ta ys ta ng le free to o.

qu ic kl ya nd un ho ok th e fi sh ea si ly th an ks to th e lo ng sh an ko ft hi sh oo k pa tte rn .F eed in g- wi se , th ef is ha re ce rt ai nl y co mi ng to th el oo se fe ed

Af te ra ri di cu lo us sp el lo f ca tc hi ng ,t he re is ju st on e mo re mo ve If ee lt ha tI ca n ma ke to st ep up th ec at ch

ra te ev en fu rt he r.

I’ ve as se mb le da su pe rpo si ti ve bu lk ed -d ow nr ig , wh ic hc on si st so fa 0.75g

Sl im Pen ci lf lo at ,s ho tte d wi th ab ilk of No 8s ho t

ne xt to th eh ook le ng th kn ot ,t he na 0. 10m mP ure

Af te rf ee di ng th ef ir st ba ll an dd ro pp in gt he ri gi n, Ib um pa fi sh an d mi ss af ew bi te s. Th is is no rm al af te ra su dde n im pa ct of ba it ,a st he fi sh ared ri ve ni nt oa sc at ty fren zy.H ow ev er,a ft er af ew mi nu te st he sw im se ttl es an dI ’m in to an in cred ib le ru n. Th ere arec er ta in ly mo re ‘o dd ’ ch un ky fi sh co mi ng in an dI th in kt he ge ne ra l st am ph as in creas ed to o. It ’s wo rk ed fo rs ure, an d si gn so fa to p- up no wa re ar un of sm al le rf is h, od d sc av en gi ng pe rc hm ak in g

My el as ti cs et up he lp s ma ssi ve ly wi th effi ci en cy to o. Ih av ei ts et th ro ug ha fu ll 3. 5m mb orem at ch to p ki t, bu tt he bo tto mh al fo f th ee la st ic is do ub le d- up Th is me an sy ou ge tt he so ft be ne fi to ft he in it ia l nu mb er th re es oy ou ne ve r bu mp fi sh an dy ou ca n sh ip ba ck fa st ,b ut th en th e do ub le d- up ki ck si na nd yo uc an sw in gc hunk yf is h ve ry ea si ly as it po we rs up . Th ef in al tr ic kI em pl oy to tr yw he nd oi ng th is so rt of fi sh in gi st ol if ta tb it es an dn ot st rik e. Th is wa y, if yo uh ook th ef is hy ou

Swinging fsh saves time, so the right elastictodothis is vital.

“In the end,sport was ridiculouswith quality fsh everydrop-in.”

ke ep di st ur ba nc et oa mi ni mu ma nd th ey do n’ t sp la sh on th es ur fa ce Mo re im po rt an tl yi nm y op in io n, ho we ve r, is th at if yo um is sa bi te yo u do n’ tl if tt he wh ol er ig ou to ft he wa te ra nd yo u ca nj us tl ow er th er ig ba ck in re ad yf or an ot he r bi te .T hi sw or ks at re at wi th th eb ul ke d- do wn ri g an dS lim Pe nc il fl oa tt ha t offe rs lit tl eres is ta nc et o at ak in gf is ha nd st ri ke s cl ea nl yf ro mt he wa te r. Mi ss ab it ea nd drop it st ra ig ht ba ck in fo r an ot he r, si mp ly re se tti ng th er ig wi th ou tw as ti ng al lt he ti me lif ti ng it al l th ew ay ou t!

I’ ve en de dt he da y wi th an aw es om en et of fi sh an de nj oy ed a

bu sy da yo fb it es from ma in ly ro ac h. In tw oa nd ah al fh ou rs in be tw een fi lm in ga nd ph ot os I’ ve en de dw it ho ve r2 0l b, st ar ti ng on brea da nd th en prog re ss in go ut to th eg ro un db ai tl in e. Th is wa sb ui lt up wi th lo os e fe ed an dt he nc ha ng in gt o po tte db al ls of grou nd ba it re al ly he lp ed me fo cu s th eq ua lit yf is h. In th e en d, sp or tw as ri di cu lo us wi th qu al it yf is he ve ry drop -i n, an dw it ht he tw ea ks we ’v es po ke n ab ou th ereI fe lt Iw as effi ci en ta sp os si bl e. I ca na ssu re yo uf ol ks th at th erew ill be av en ue lik e th is ne ar yo u, ha ve al ook arou nd an dm ak es ure yo ud on ’t mi ss ou to nt hi s aw es om ew in te rs po rt

There is some fantastic winter silver fsh sport to be had on the drains.

Even the best anglers like Andy Power can struggle in winter–itmakes the rest of us feel better!

“Theworst winter for fshing ever!” That’s the same phrase Ihaveheard everytimeI have been outthismonth!

WhilstI have been out of action fora fewweeks until nowI hadnot really thoughtofitlikethat, but afterthinkingabout the conditions that ourquarry have hadtoendureit’sno surprise at allthatthe fshing hasbeen especially hard!We have hadweeksofsub-zero temperatures,withrepetitive icemelt, andnodoubt salt washingthrough more naturalvenues. Thewater temperaturemustbeabout 4ºCorso, youwouldn’t expect many fshwould want,orneed to feedin thosetemperatures!

Fishinghad certainlyfelt likea challenge, butone I have enjoyedlately, even though it hasbeenvery clearthatthe fshhavebeen groupedinareas tightly, and in amatch situation, if they arenot in frontofyou,you simply will notcatch them, as Ihavefound outinmy last four matches!

Tunnel BarnFarm

TunnelBarnisa bitofa trek forme, butI felt likeit’sa venuealwaysworth some bitesinwinter, so Ibooked myself on to aqualifer there, to tryand getintoa fnal at thevenue in March.

Apartfromdoing some flming for“TheEdge” website, Ihadn’tbeento Tunnelfor alongtime, so

didn’t really know howhard thefshingmight be.I drew Peg 6onJennys, apool I hadnot seen in anyresults, so it wasgoing to be abit of an unknowndraw. To my rightI hadTunnelBarn regulars Paul Hollandand JonArthur, so Ithought to myself Imight at leastsee howit’sdone, sincethey spendsomuchtimeand efortfshinghere!

My pegwas atypical lookingpeg in themiddleof astraight, around 13 metres wide to theisland, over fve feet deep down themiddle, with areasofthree feet againstreedsonthe farbank. Lookingatthe colour of the water, it wasmuchclearer than therestofthe rest of the lakes. It hadalsoonlybeen

ice-free fora fewdays, so I wasn’t expectingtoneeda bigweight. Thegoalwas to winthe lake to qualify.

In my mind Ithought “dobbing”bread without feedingwould catchmea fewfsh in theclear water, especially sinceI hadsome reed coverinthree feet, whichI felt wasa nice depth to catch. Irememberfshing at Tunnelinthe past,and even with iceonthe water, threefeet cansometimes be thebestdepth.I guessthe fshjustgotowhere they are comfortable; cold waterwill sink to thebottom, so there must be that golden depth somewhere.

Ididn’tactually startmy matchonbread though, as Iwantedtomakesure

Lives:Wells

Sponsors:Preston Innovations, Sonubaits •MFsays:Always in the bigmatches

Peg6,Jennys Lake.

Iwasn’tmissing outon catching some fshcloserin to beginwith. Istarted at six metres with maggots through aCAD pot, butI hadno indicationswhatsoever! Paul to my left however, started on breadtothe bigreed bed opposite himand caught an F1 straight away.Then another, andanother and so on…I’d hadenoughand gave it ago!

Butnothing!“MaybeI’m thewrong depth?”I thought. Changing depths didn’t help Icaughtthe very occasional fshbut nothinglikewhat Paul wascatching. He also hadtwo bigcarpinhis net in thefrsthour. Ithought: “Well, this isn’tgoing well!”

Iwas making lots of changestomyrig butinthe end, Ifeltthere must have been abig ball of fshin

frontofhim, andI just needed to be confdent in what I wasdoing. Ifound that most of my bitescame in around threeto threeand a half feet,but interestingly well away from the bank was best Afteran hour anda half,I then hada nice runoffsh. Iseemed to have found agroup of them,asI wasgetting bitesinone spot in front of me.This area wasokayfor an hour or so,until they seemed to disperse.Paulalsoseemed to stop catching at this point apartfromcatchingsmaller “stockie”F1s Ifeltthe main groupoffsh hadstarted in frontofPaul andI hadcaughtsomeas they left himand went past me.Nobodyreallycaughta lotfor thenexthour. Ihad a feelingthe fshwerenow to

my left,but Iwas reluctant to addsectionsand chase them,potentially pushing them furtherdownthe lake.I gave in,though, andwithan hour anda half left,I added asection to my pole,and had thebestspell of thematch!

My rigconsisted of a 9Hollo elastic, a4x10Maggot foat with most of theshot directly underthe foat, with aNo12Stotz above my hooklength,witha size 16 SFLhook on sixinches of 0.10mmPower,and just hookinga 6or7mm punchedpiece of Warburtons bread. Having hardly any shot down thelinecreates aslownatural fall, which givesthe fshmorechance of seeing/takingthe bait in theclear water. In hindsight the9Hollowasn’tquite right. Hollow elasticdoesn’t tend to work well in cold temperatures,soa 9Dura Hybrid mighthavebeen much better,but Ididn’thave any!

AfterPaul’sbrilliant start he wasa bitunfortunate as thefsh hadobviously deserted him, andI wasnow overtaking him, catching fshwelltomyleft.During theday Ihad triedtocatch by feeding. Itried feeding andfshingwithmaggots on thehook.I even triedtiny nuggets of groundbait to try andget some fshtofeed,but Idon’t actually remember

Youcan’t beatabit of bread in winter.

My winning catch at TunnelBarn Farm.

Tunnel Barn results sheet.

Tunnel Barn bread dobbing foat.

My peg on the Burr Bank at Larford.

catching anything with feed! Iguess thewater wassocold that only ahook bait dangled in frontoftheir nose would catchthem!

At theweigh-inI put86lb on thescales, whichwon the matchand gotmeintothe bigfnalatthe same venue. A nice easy daylikethiswill do forthat. Fingerscrossed!

More Qualifers

My next fewmatches weren’t quiteasplain sailing! Imademyway to Larford formyfrstGoldenRod Feeder fshing qualifer of the year.I drew on theBurrBank of theMatch Lake,arounda thirdofthe wayalong.Not normally agreat area,for thosethatdon’t know With thefshingexpected to be hard,likeeverywhere at themoment, Iwas actually hoping andexpecting a lowweighttobeneeded to winthe lake andqualify. Normally theend pegs dominate,soa lowweight afairwould give me a chance from anywhere

This wasa feeder only match, butI fanciedstarting with an emptyfeeder and popped-up bread, likeyou wouldwithjusta bomb, so couldsearchmypeg withoutleaving pilesofbait everywhere.Wellinthe frst 10 minutesI caught twocarp for15lb, abrilliant start! In that frst 10 minutesDave Berry twoanglers to my left caught threebig carp UnbelievablyI didnot catch anotherfsh,nor even get anotherlinebitefroma fsh. Iwas convincedthatatsome pointI wouldfnd some more,but nothinghappened! Ican only guessthatthe bulk of thefsh move into the littlebowlbehindthe island, whichwasn’tpegged.

Icould seemostofthe anglersaroundthe lake apart from thefar endpeg.From what Icould tell afterfve hoursDavewas winning the lake with histhree fsh, then it wasme. As it turned out Iwas thirdonthe lake with 15lb, as theend pegwon with 29lb. Ididn’tknowthisuntil I

gothome, andonthe journey back Iwas kickingmyselffor nottryingtocatch silver fsh. Butnow IknowI needed 29lbthenonlyanother run of carp wouldhavemadea diference.

My othertwo matches were silver fshonlymatches Thefrstone beingatViaduct FisheryonCampbellLake. IdrewPeg 132 in ashallow corner andI knew it was goingtobeadifcult day when Icould seethe bottom quitefar out! Ihad one decent skimmerand half a dozenperch,which Icaught alongthe marginsoncasters

Thetop threewereall next to each otheronthe opposite bank,all catching bigskimmers, with Mikey Williams taking thematch outwitharound50lb. Iguess theskimmersjustwanted to be in that area.Maybe a warmer area? Iknowitis slightly deeper,and thereis also apipewithunderground water, whichcould potentially be warmer?

Andfnally,mylatest attemptwas aFishSouth Silver Fish qualifer at Ivy House. IdrewanareaI have struggled from before,Peg 15 on theOld MatchLake. Before thestart Iwas chatting to regularGaryEtheridge andwebothagreedPeg 10 wouldprobablywin as it’s normally consistent in winter forthe biggerskimmers. Littledid IknowGary actually went anddrewit!

To cutthe storyshort allI couldcatch wastinyroach, no matterwhatI did, so didn’t bother thescalesman Iwas please to seeGary winwith20lb. He is abit of alocal legend in thesouthwest,and hasbeenaround forever. It wouldbegreat to seehim winthatfnal!

So apartfromthe great matchatTunnelBarn, it has notbeenveryfruitfullately, butitshows what winter fshing canbelike, and indeed this year in particular. In warmer weatheryou can make changesand make things happen, butthe lineI will go back to is “Ifthe fsh

Hair-rigged bread on an empty feeder caught me two carp at Larford.

ViaductFishery, Peg132

Thesection weigh sheet from a diffcult Larford Lakes.

Ivy House, Peg15 Old Match Lake.

aren’t in frontofyou simply cannot catchthem!”Hopefully we will geta period of milder weatherto spread thefsh outa bit!

Looking To The Summer!

My calendar is rapidlyfllingupfor thesummerasdates forqualifers andfestivals arebeing released.As perusual many of thequalifers clash. This year RiverFestand Golden Reel fnalsare both on the same date.Thismight mean Iwill notsee as many naturalvenuesthis year,which Iama bitguttedabout as Ireally do enjoythe variety in my fshing.I thinkGoldenReel will take priority in my calendar, as although Ireally enjoyed theRiverFest fnal last year,the thoughtoffshinga fnal with over 90 otheranglers doesn’treally have thesameappeal as afnalwitha onein25chanceofwinning Ihavealwaysthought thelikes of Fish ‘O’Mania should have acoupleofdiferentvenuesas qualifers; it wouldbegreat to get amix of diferent anglersinthe fnal,aswellasmoreall-rounders. Iwould love aqualifer or big eventonmylocal BristolAvonfor somethingother than RiverFest. MaybeI should begthismagazine to bringbackthe DrennanKOCup! Feeder Mastersthough, does includea mixofvenues, although only oneatqualifer at Tamar, whichI am hoping to miss,asit’s thesameday as theFish‘O’ Mania fnal!

Provingthe popularityofFeeder Masters, therewas amad rush for tickets, with most sellingout in minutes! Iwas luckyenoughto geta fewtickets in time.Tamar is a brilliant fshing venuefor thefnal. This year thefnaldoesn’t clash, so Iwould love to qualifyfor that one afterhavingtopullout threetimes nowdue to qualifyingfor two fnalsonthe same day!

By thetimeyou read this Fish ‘O’Mania ticketswill have been released,which hasalsobeen a madrushinrecentyears.I am hoping to be luckyenoughtoget my handsona fewtickets/chances to getintothisyear’sfnal, which is back at Westwood Lakes. Iam starting to getusedtothatvenue andthe fve-hour drivetoget there! Hopefully youare alllucky enough to getthe ticketsyou wanted if you wanted some,and we canlook forwardtosomewarmertimes!

GaryEtheridge with his winning catch at Ivy House.

My Ivy House bait options… thatdidn’t work!

WhereToVisit

SOUTHEND FARM

Southend Lane,Waltham Abbey, Essex EN93SE. Tel: 07950 012614

www.facebook.com/SouthendFarmBaitShop

WSouthend Farm is astillwaterfsher ylocatedinEssex. Most notedfor coar se andmatchfshing, roach, mirror carp and common carp areamongst thekey speciesonoffer at the venue. Thereisanon-site tackleshopfor bait,tackleand advice., plus acaféfor hotfoodand drink. Thereare on-sitetoilets Youcan contactSouthendFarmtodiscuss thesiteand facilitiesortomakea booking.

So utend Fam

We head to Essex’sSouthend Farm whereMAP’s AlexClements tacklesskimmersahead of theFishSouthSilver Fish Final.

ewon’t lie,fndingsomewhere to getsomebites forthis month’sVenue Detective wasn’t theeasiest task we have ever had, butthe show must go on andwehavefound ourselvesa gemofa venue.

Thereare some venues outthere that producethe goodsnomatterwhat, and Essex’sSouthendFarmisone of those

venues,which is whythat’swhere you fndusfor this month’sfeature!

With thevastmajorityofvenues fshing waybelow paroverthe last few months duetoa prolongedcoldwinter, venues likethisone areworth their weight in gold when you’ve endureda runoftough matches.

With Southend Farm hostingthe prestigiousFishSouth Silver Fish Finalin

afew weeks’ time,which Ihavequalifed for, it wasthe idealopportunitytovisit themainlake, whichwill stagethe fnal, andget some much-needed practice in

As theevent name suggests, silvers will be thetargetand this placeis absolutely solid with skimmers and roach. That said,itcan also provetough, as anywhere can, butthe potential weightsare astounding with lots of

There’sa good tackle shop onsite.

“Silverswillbethe targetand thisplaceis absolutely solid with skimmersand roach.”

100lb-plus catchesofskimmerscaught everyyearinthe right conditions

Thereare four lakesonthe venue, themainlakethatwe’re fshing today, Damsel,Kingfsher andDillons,all of whichare full of silversand carp alike making this atruemixed venuewhere greatfshingcan be foundall year round. Match-wise thereare regularopen matchesheldatSouthendFarm, and

Alex Clements

Age: 31

Lives: NearPortsmouth

VenueTop Tip

Feel your wayinto a session rather than feeding allyour lines at thestart.

qualifersfor Fish S TrustSilverfshand the South East Pole Championship areall events that attract anglersfromfar andwide.

outh Silvers, Angling Depth Is Key!

Thevenue also features afully stocked tackle shop on site,which hasall thebait andtackleyou mayneed covered, andat this time of year,the onsite café is always abig attraction forthe visiting anglers pre-match.

One of themainaspectsof themain lake that makesitsoconsistentinthe colder months is itsdepth;withanaverage of around eighttoninefeet anda few deeper andshallowerareas around the lake it hasall theelementsofanexcellent silver fshwater

With asimilardepth on ashort 5to 6m lineasyou have at 13 metres it gives

Alexsatonthe main match lake for his session

Hewas sooninto the skimmers

Alex

u plenty of optionswhenitcomes to ating lines andfeedingthemslightly ferentlytoo. As youmoveout past the m line,inmanyareas thelakestarts shallowupslightly so this is another eathatcan produce, especially abit ter in theday when thefsh move into e shallowerwater

Agreat starting area whileyou’re aiting foryourskimmerlines to settle rightdownthe edge,tight into any rees or reedsinaroundthree to four eet of water. Thelakeholds loadsof oachand perch, whichlovetofnd anctuary around cover, so by loose feedingsomemaggots or castershere you canget your matchoftoa good ratherthansitting andwaiting for meskimmerstoarrive on thelonger es.

seemstobethatwhenthe weatheriscolder, pellets areveryefective.

Somethingthatyou won’tfnd tooshocking is that with skimmers beingthe main target, I’ve chosen adarkand largelyfshmeal dominatedgroundbaitmix today. With the amount of pellets that thefsh see, andthe betterstamp Ihopetocatch,fshmeal is always my go-toonvenueslikethisone.

To kick things of I’ve fed twoloosepots of groundbait with afew particlesinat13 metres,the same at 11 metres anda smallball of micros boundtogetherwithsomecrushed expander at 16 metres to my right.

As Ihavealready said,manyanglers start of shortfor theroach andperch with an odd skimmer, butwithnobodyonthe lake today Ifeel thoseskimmers maycometomybait abit quicker, so I’mgoing to kick of on the groundbait lineat13metres.

tChoiceAnd Feeding

e bait tray todayisfairlytypical of hat you’dexpecttofnd fora silver fsh ssion!Today I’ve bought some casters, aggots andpinkies on thenatural bait ont andthentotry somethingdiferent veboughtsomeexpanders andmicros, s pelletshavebeen catching theirfair harehereinrecentweeksand it always

Rigs

As thedepth is pretty uniformhere, I’mvery pleasedthatI canget away with just tworigs today– onefor anywhere in thedeeper water, whichisaroundseven anda half feet andone at 16 metres in sevenfeet of water.

Both rigs arereally simple,madeupon 0.15mmto0.09mmMAP OptimumPower; I’ve gota 4x14 foat setupfor thegroundbait

SOUTHEND FARM

Soft elastics areimportant.

Alight, slim foatis perfectfor thejob.

Is thatthe newMAP fagship G60 pole we see?

Mark the depthand keep checking it as the fsh scour out thesoft bottom.

The new G60 looks good at 16 metres.

Twoofthese to kick things off.

caught asteady stream of skimmers allday.