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THANKS for purchasing this issue of IYCF.

It would be impossible to start this magazine without mentioning the Covid- 19 situation. As with everyone, it has impacted massively on how we work. We have plans in place to ensure that we can still deliver the best magazine every month but obviously it’s impossible to predict how things will unfold in the coming weeks and months.

In the event of it being difficult to find this magazine in the imminent future, we will aim to make sure that our issues are still available on digital platforms. If you can’t find us, or if you’re stuck at home, please consider one of the following: Downloading our app from the iOS or Android app stores. We have some superb one- off subscription offers in place with discounts of up to 50%, or you can purchase single issues. If you’re a Kindle Fire user, you can download our magazines from the Amazon Newsstand. If you are a print subscriber and we cannot deliver issues to you owing to the Covid- 19 situation, please visit www. greatmagazines. co. uk where clear updates will be given in due course.

The evening before this issue was sent to the printers the government announced that everyone had to stay at home and all non- essential travel is prohibited. In the days running up to this, although many fisheries had remained open with strict social distancing rules in place, there was a growing consensus among anglers that even though fishing itself is pretty compatible with self isolating once on the bank, there were still risks – tackle shop visits for bait, fuel stops etc – and we should avoid going.

I know that fishing offers a whole host of benefits and an escape for many people, especially in stressful times like this, but the fish will still be there in a few months, so let’s just keep ourselves safe. Avoiding contact will help us beat the virus and the sooner we get on top of it and return to some sort of normality, the better.

If you are staying indoors and want to chat about fishing please get in touch with us via email or social media. It would also be great to see what fishing related activities you’re getting up to at home.

Matt Powell reveals a new way to hook your maggots that will maximise your F1 catches