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THANKS for purchasing this issue of IYCF. It’s certainly been a month of extremes in the world of matching fishing. At the end of September, the biggest ever prize in UK match angling – £ 100,000 – was won by Zac Brown, who regular IYCF readers will no doubt recognise from the several features he’s done with us over the last few years. Competing against 20 other anglers in the inaugural Fishing Association Super Cup Final, the 38- year- old secured victory and the ‘ crazy’ amount of money from peg 21 at Woodland Lakes’ Partridge Lake with an overall weight of 208lb 11oz.

The weights weren’t quite as heavy at The NuFish Feeder King Final a few weeks later. Held at Southfield Reservoir, bites really were at a premium.

With the majority of the field blanking, Neil Mallison took the £ 10,000 first prize with just one bream of 2lb 6oz. By my reckoning that must now be the most valuable bream in the UK!

Whatever species you’re targeting or type of venue you’re fishing over the coming weeks, your tactics are going to need to be tweaked to contend with the autumnal conditions.

Drops in temperature, reduced daylight hours, high winds and leaves falling into waters all have a big impact on how we need to approach our sessions. Get it right, though, and this can be one of the most productive times of the year. While summer species such as tench and rudd may be off the menu now, we can expect plenty of bites from carp, barbel and bream which are feeding up for winter, along with predatory species such as perch, pike and zander that once again become viable targets. So, whatever you do, don’t even think about putting your tackle away for the winter just yet – there’s still far too many fish to be caught! And if you want to ensure you’re always up to speed with latest tactics and best methods, check out our subscription offer on page 20 and never miss an issue of IYCF again!

Go big with groundbait to catch more reservoir fish, says Ashley Clements