Welcome from the Editor...

THANKS for purchasing this issue of IYCF. When the clocks have gone back and all the leaves have fallen from the trees, many anglers turn their attentions towards perch. Every year there are more 4lb-plus fish reported, and the chances of catching a three-pounder are becoming increasingly realistic. We often get asked about tactics to target perch in specific types of venues, so this month we’ve compiled some of our favourite perch rigs to cater for stillwaters, rivers and canals. So whether you want to leger a fat, juicy lobworm at a day-ticket stillwater or drop shot with a small rubber lure on a canal, we’ve got a rig for you to tie. Putting a magazine together is never dull. But occasionally things fall nicely into place. While we sat racking our brains about what other perch content we could include, Tony got a message from Phil Taylor, which read: “Been catching loads of big perch from my local river on worms. Had 30 in a day recently and a two-pounder is virtually nailed on. Are you interested?” And just like that, we had our extra perch feature. Sure enough, Phil wasn’t exaggerating and he caught some fantastic fish for the IYCF cameras. His tactics were incredibly simple and prove that big perch can be caught by anyone. Read more about how he’s been catching them on page 34. Once you’ve read it, go and grab yourself some worms and catch a giant perch. I hope all the perch advice comes in useful, and we’d love to see the pics of any fish you catch. Make sure you let us know which rig worked best for you. See you next month.