Welcome from the Editor...

WELCOME to the latest issue of IYCF. I’d like to start by congratulating Dai Gribble on being crowned the Drennan Cup champion in our sister title, Angling Times. It is the second time in three years that he has won the prestigious award, which is no mean feat. In fact, he is only the fourth angler in the competition’s history to have won the Cup more than once along with Terry Lampard, Alan Wilson and Martin Hooper. And he spent part of the season unable to go fishing due to a broken shoulder. The Staffordshire big-fish hunter regularly appears in Improve Your Coarse Fishing and when it comes to targeting specimen sizes of tench, bream, chub and barbel there are few anglers more knowledgeable. I’m sure this won’t be the last time he wins the Drennan Cup. So what have we got in store for you this month? I’m sure Mark Pollard’s feature at Wold Farm Fisheries in Northampton will be of interest to many readers. We get numerous emails and letters complaining that coarse fishing has become obsessed with carp and that they are the only species venue owners are interested in stocking. Well, The Moat at Wold Farm is a carp free zone. It is stocked with tench, bream, crucians, barbel and silvers. So if carp don’t turn you on, this could well be the lake for you. We also reveal a northern day-ticket water that is full of big roach and, sticking with redfins, Paul Garner explains how to fish for them with helicopter maggot feeders. I hope you enjoy the issue and get in touch if you have any catches to report! James Furness Editor