Match Fishing - January 2023

Matt Godfrey has made it onto the first cover for 2023 and inside he shares some of the vast silver fish knowledge he’s gained from fishing at the highest level since he was a teenager. Before December’s big freeze set in, we joined Matt at Hallcroft fishery which is one of the best venues in that part of the country for silver fish matches and it attracts some of the sport’s best to test themselves over the winter months. Matt’s advice is top quality and there’s sure to be a real nugget or two that you take from this and add to your own approach.

Also in this issue editor Dave Wesson travelled over the border into Wales to spend the day at Cardiff Docks with the current Feeder Masters Champion Zac Williams. Zac’s a humble guy with a lot of ability and you can read about his match fishing journey that ended up with him winning feeder fishing’s biggest match. And that’s just the beginning for Zac, now he’s chalked up a big win he wants to win more and will be going all out to do so. Also in this issue we visit Marston Fields Fishery where we joined owner Dale Jackson to see what’s on offer, Ian Smith breaks the ice to show you that even in the worst conditions possible you ca still catch fish if you’re prepared to venture out and make the effort. There’s plenty more too from Andy Power, Dave Wood, Dan White, Richard Chave, Tom Pickering, Andy May, Darren Cox, John Brooks, David Cowburn, Kye Jerrom and we’ve also got all the details and venues for our 2023 events including the MAP UK Pole Championships, The Garbolino Club angler of the Year and the Shimano Aero Leger Cup.

There’s plenty of new tackle and bait in New Gear and we’ve got detailed reviews of the Milo Redvolution D22 8m whip and Middy’s new XI20 pole. Finally we’ve got a Guru A-Class feeder rod and reel plus accessories worth £182 to give away in our latest competition.


England international Matt Godfrey passes on loads of his best tips on catching winning nets of silver fish in the winter months.

Co-owner Dale Jackson has been busy turning Marston Fields into one of the best commercials in the country. We met him there to find out more about the place and its future.

Breaking the ice to fish a match can be very daunting, but Ian Smith reckons there is nothing to be scared of, and the rewards are great.

We join Dave Wood at Worsbrough Reservoir where we gave him the challenge of catching skimmers and bream on the long-range feeder. It was a session that threw up a big surprise…

We recently talked to newly crowned Feeder Masters Champion Zak Williams at Cardiff Docks on how he won what is arguably the biggest feeder only competition in the country.

Match fishing becomes even more tactical in the winter when bites are harder to come by and Darren Cox is your guide to help you get more out of your peg.