I was first introduced to fishing by my Dad when I was about 9 years old. Back then we were like any other inexperienced father & son and made plenty of mistakes, but Dad always did plenty of research to make sure we succeeded in catching our intended quarry. Throughout my teens we both set out to catch every UK freshwater species, this being the main reason that I think I became an all-rounder rather than a single species angler. We tried all types of angling, from Lure fishing and Fly fishing to stalking and sitting behind alarms. It soon became apparent, this was not just going to be a hobby that would grip me for a few weeks; I was well and truly hooked for life!

At the time of writing this intro, I'm 25 years old, and in the past 2 years have begun to start targeting specimen fish of all species. Being brought up in the Cambridgeshire fens, I really am spoilt for choice for waters to fish. Though I will fish wherever the fish are, I try to stay away from Stillwater's, much preferring to target the quieter Rivers and Drains the fens are famous for. There are certain species that do attract me to the Stillwater's however, with two of the prime candidates being specimen bream and tench. When all is said and done, the fens are where I made my first casts back when I was younger, I'll certainly be fishing them for many more years to come.

I have a lot of friends that I have introduced to the sport, but the carp side of angling is the biggest attraction for most of them. The thought of targeting specimen rudd and perch for instance, just does not appeal to them, which is a shame. I do have a couple of friends that are getting their teeth into the all round style of angling, and within this site I plan to publish their catch stories and photo's as well as my own.

My aim for this site is to try and help others, the internet is now a great tool for gathering info on just about anything, but in my opinion there are still very few angling websites specifically aimed at targeting all of our native coarse species. This site will not only hopefully help others, but it will also give my friends and myself instant access to our own catch results.

I have a Facebook page: 'Matt Rand Fishing' where you can follow my more recent exploits.

Tight Lines,

Matt Rand