UK’s Bauer Media ceases publication of Improve Your Coarse Fishing

UK-based Improve Your Coarse Fishing magazine (IYCF) is to cease publication from next month. The magazine’s publisher, Bauer Media, will integrate the brand into sister publication Angling Times.

“In a challenging period for many magazines, we’re pleased to bring the Improve Your Coarse Fishing content under the Angling Times umbrella,” said Steve Prentice, UK Group Co-CEO of Bauer.

“Our mission has always been to give anglers more confidence and enable them to catch more fish; this move allows us to do that more effectively than before.”

Launched in 1991 by the EMAP publishing group, later acquired by Bauer, IYCF quickly hit the mark with its target audience by providing an easy-to-read cocktail of tactics, tips and techniques, supported by excellent photography and graphics. During its heyday it consistently sold 50,000 during the spring and summer months.

The closure of IYCF is the latest story in the demise of Bauer’s once powerful print presence in the recreational fishing sector. Trout Fisherman was closed in January 2020,  more than 40 years after its launch, sister title Trout and Salmon was sold to Fieldsports Press in April last year, almost 70 years after it first appeared on newsstands, and Sea Angler, launched in 1972, was sold to Kelsey Media in July 2020.

The shrinking portfolio is indicative of the pressure put on print publications by the internet, with most consumers now sourcing their information digitally. Print titles from other angling publishers have also fallen by the wayside.

Angling Times Editor James Furness said: “Improve Your Coarse Fishing has been a trusted friend to thousands of anglers for three decades, thanks to its inclusive tone and easy-to-understand tips and tactics to help people catch more fish. My team and I will be incorporating that tone and ethos into Angling Times.”