Dave Harrell: I think it’s fair to say that in terms of winning money you have been the most successful match angler in the country over the past few seasons. Talk me through your highlights.Neil Machin: The first big highlight was when I won the Kamasan Matchman Of The Year title in the 2003/4 season. […]

Once carp start competing up in the water a good weight should almost be guaranteed and, for me, there is no better combination for this than the pole and pellets. Fishing pellets shallow on commercials is a match-winning method that rewards anglers who are prepared to work hard for their bites. Once you have mastered […]

Flaked maize is a really cheap way of bulking out groundbait, especially when you are pre-baiting and intend to use maize or sweetcorn on the hook. Once prepared so that it has turned soft and mushy, the feed will create an attractive, sweet cloud in the water that helps pull fish to your swim. It’s […]

Sloppy cat food is dead simple, dead cheap and dead effective. It will work anywhere with shallow water within pole range, whether that’s the margins, an island or the far bank.Although carp are the main target other species like skimmers, roach, barbel and tench seem to love the stuff just as much. This is useful […]

Stafford Moor Fishery in North Devon is noted for some superb silver sport in winter. tcf editor Gareth Purnell finds out more. I first met Andy Seery in Cyprus of all places. We were both fishing in one of the festivals on the reservoirs there and we shared plenty of laughs and beers. It would […]

Hooking A DeadbaitPredators swallow baits headfirst. With this in mind the correct way to hook one when fishing a deadbait static on the bottom is so that the trebles do not interfere with the fish taking the bait in its mouth and that when you strike the hook points connect directly. This means having the […]

Ian Welch looks at a rig that adds a subtle new dimension to that most deadly of barbel fishing techniques – the legered pellet. Legered pellet is one of the deadliest of all barbel tactics and is equally effective on rivers such as the small and intimate Loddon, Ouse and Dorset Stour as on the […]

Clear waters are a considered a ‘must’ when targeting grayling. However, Ian Welch faces a challenging upper Kennet after heavy rainfall has made conditions far from ideal. Coated in sparkling silver ‘chain mail’, shot through with purples, reds, indigos and black, and with a massive sail-like dorsal fin tipped and flecked with red and black, […]

Running water big-fish angler Pete Reading reveals the rig that’s seen him fool some wary barbel from the south’s most noted rivers. Even in floodwater conditions, cagey barbel may be suspicious of a big bait, such as a tasty 12mm to 18mm boilie wrapped in delicious paste.Barbel will soon learn to recognise a boilie as […]

Pole Clinic from TCF magazine turns its attentions to shotting patterns for pole rigs Shotting patterns affect the way a rig performs. It doesn’t matter how good your float and bait are, if your shotting is completely wrong your catch rate will suffer. Float, bait and shotting all work hand-in-hand to make the ‘perfect’ rig […]

Freshwater deadbaits  The natural diet of almost every pike in the land, coarse fish are deadly baits for pike and zander. Here are six of the best.   Banned BaitsNote that all freshwater fish including lamprey, pollan and trout are banned as deadbaits on most of the lakes of the Lake District of England, where only […]

The fishery manager of the country’s No1 angling holiday destination talks to Gareth Purnell about learning on the hoof and what it’s like to have to disqualify cheats. You are fishery manager at White Acres, the biggest angling holiday destination in the UK. How did that happen? I always used to spend three weeks fishing […]

After more than 40 years of avoiding trying to catch a 20lb-plus carp, tcf editor Gareth Purnell finally gets talked into having a go – in the worst storm of the winter! It’s wet. It’s windy. It’s winter. And the weatherman has promised to add ‘wild’ into the cocktail later this evening.I should by rights […]

What species can you expect to catch with sweetcorn?Other than predatory fish most species will readily take sweetcorn – it’s a great bait for trying to pick off the bigger roach and bream in your swim and is also especially effective for targeting tench and carp, and on rivers will also be taken by barbel […]