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ANGLING

All the up-to-date news from the Boston and District angling scene

With Barry Mallett

Angling news January 2006

Round-up for week ending January 29, 2006

Emphatic margin of success for Andy

Nothing changes much as we seem to be stuck in a mainly murky, but dry, period of weather with a cold easterly wind to keep us on our toes. Outlook appears to be for more of the same with brighter spells for our neck of the woods later in this coming week.

The River Witham continues to provide reasonable nets of mainly roach for pleasure anglers and small matches, as last week’s round of sweeps in the Kirkstead to Tattershall area seems to indicate.

The midweek event, which took place between the Skirth mouth and the Tattershall Bridge, brought an emphatic victory for Andy Scott who took a succession of good roach and a sprinkling of hybrids to pole and mainly punch. Danny Breslin opted for the waggler and maggot approach to clinch second spot with a little under 10lbs and some 13ozs ahead of Dave Edwards who made third place. Results: 1 Andy Scott 16lbs 2ozs; 2 Danny Breslin 9lbs 13½ ozs; 3 Dave Edwards 9lbs; 4 Ted Rowe 8lbs 6ozs.

Weights were somewhat lower for Saturday’s Kings Arms open at Kirkstead and here waggler and bronze maggot tactics paid off for Dave Bontoft who scored another comfortable victory from -2, this time at Maurice Thacker’s expense. Maurice also had it all to do to hold match organiser Ron Chambers at bay from the next peg, but at the weigh-in discovered he had a pound to spare over the third placed man. On a side note it was nice to see that in both matches 3½lbs was the lowest weight. Results: 1 Dave Bontoft 9lbs 1oz; 2 Maurice Thacker 6lbs 5ozs; 3 Ron Chambers 5lbs 4ozs; 4 Les Smith 4lbs 15ozs.

Serious ice breaking operations had to take place on most pegs before the Bourne MG open match could take place on the River Glen between the Ship Inn and Money Bridge. As is usually the case, fish are responsive feeders immediately the match gets under way and this was no different for many, particularly those pegged in the first meadow at the Ship Inn end. In fact five of the first six in the prize list were pegged on this section and ex-Peterborough star John Wincup gained a clear cut win from peg 15. John chose the simple method of a 4m whip and punch to take nearly 300 little roach and easily beat last week’s runner-up Chris Jenkinson at the next peg, and this week’s, in the shape of local angler Brian Harding, at the one beyond.

After that the Mark One contingent had a field day — which augurs well for them in next Sunday’s league match — as the likes of Bob Bates, Andy Greenwood and Pete Goodman filled the minor places, along with other section wins from their team mates. Results: 1 John Wincup, Essex County, 13lbs 2ozs peg 15; 2 Brian Harding, Bourne MG, 9lbs 15ozs peg 17; 3 Bob Bates, Mark One, 8lbs 10ozs peg 11; 4 Andy Greenwood, Mark One, 7lbs 10ozs peg 14; 5 Chris Jenkinson, Essex County, 7lbs 6ozs peg 16; 6 Pete Goodman, Mark One, 7lbs 4ozs peg 23.

Tough going in latest league fixture

The fourth match in the Rilmac Winter League series took place on the Foss Dyke Canal last Sunday and poor results in previous rounds meant that some sections were moved to the upstream side of the River Till. Some areas completely frozen over, and ice in the margins on others, suggested that it would be hard going, which proved to be the case as several anglers failed to trouble the scales.

Almost inevitably those sections above the Till mouth produced the goods as the top five individuals were all pegged on this stretch. Steve Nurse emerged top dog but not before he decided to switch from catching small roach to pole and squatts. A subsequent change to lobworm brought welcome results as a huge specimen perch of around 3lbs followed another of a mere pound to put him on course for victory. Ten pegs further upstream and Dave Bontoft stuck to pole and punch tactics for roach to record his second good result in as many days and take the runner-up spot on this occasion, finishing just 4½ ozs ahead of Mick Tamms at the next peg. Pole and squatt brought fourth place to Eddie Cheetham, a mere 1 ½ ozs adrift of Mick with John Small, pegged the other side of Mr Bontoft, in fifth place a further 5ozs behind. Results: 1 Steve Nurse, Grimsby HAC, 5lbs 5ozs; 2 Dave Bontoft, Whisby AS, 4lbs 3½ozs; 3 Mick Tamms Grimsby, Fox Elite, 3lbs 15ozs; 4 Eddie Cheetham, Whisby AS, 3lbs 13½ozs; 5 John Small, Lincoln Whisby, 3lbs 7ozs; 6 Dale Whelan, Sensas Lincs County, 3lbs 3½ozs.

More upsets in the team event as last week’s winners Brigg Britannia slumped to sixth place and conversely Grimsby HAC, who had experienced an indifferent series to date, finally came good to win the day with a handsome 52 points. Consistent Sensas Lincs County remained on course for the league title, though, as they took second place with 50 points. Whisby AS’s greatly improved performance saw them finish third with 46 points, beating their Lincoln Whisby counterparts into fourth with 41 points, Grimsby Fox Elite taking fifth with 33. After four rounds: 1 Sensas Lincs County 6pts; equal 2 Lincoln Whisby and Brigg Britannia 13pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 14pts.

At the bottom end of the scale the latest Fishtoft AC fixture was a thoroughly dire affair as the few that turned up for this event on the Cowbridge Drain at Kelsey Bridge could total barely more than a pound between them. Match secretary Mark Cook won this with ease, having scaled down to a minuscule hook and took a few very tiny fish on half a squatt to beat second placed Ernie Heseltine by 6ozs and Nick Mummery, who tied with Terry Gooding, by 8oz. Results: 1 Mark Cook 9½ozs; 2 Ernie Heseltine 3½ozs; equals 3 Nick Mummery and Terry Gooding 1½ozs. Sunday February 5, meet Sluice Bridge 7.30am.

Finally Boston and District Angling Association members are reminded that the annual prize giving will take place, along with the general meeting, next Tuesday at the Mayflower Club on Rosebery Avenue 7.45 pm start. Anyone planning to attend should make sure they have a current (2006) members book in order to gain access to the general meeting.

Round-up for week ending January 22, 2006

Combination tactics pay for Kaye

Last Wednesday saw the Witham midweek series move downriver to the Kime Eau to Tattershall Bridge area but with the water being run off at a vast rate of knots, some anglers decided not to participate. On balance that was probably the wrong decision as most of those remaining found a few decent roach and hybrids. Such was the case for Howard Kaye who combined pole and maggot to record the top weight that turned out to be only 3ozs more than that of second placed Roger Woolhouse. Results: 1 Howard Kaye Lincoln 7lbs 9ozs; 2 Roger Woolhouse Bardney 7lbs 6ozs; 3 Andy Scott Harlequins 6lbs 7ozs.

On to Sunday and back to Kirkstead Bridge where conditions were more amenable, consequently catches of mainly roach to pole and maggot were consequently a little higher. Fished again on the minus pegs and the Pound length John Hackney, pegged at minus 7, showed a clean pair of heels to second placed Dave Edwards who in turn did much the same to Dave Bontoft, both maintaining a clean 2lbs gap between these top three positions. Results: 1 John Hackney Lincoln 10lbs 10ozs; 2 Dave Edwards Riverside Tackle 8lbs 10ozs; 3 Dave Bontoft Southrey 6lbs 10ozs; 4 Les Smith Lincoln 5lbs 12ozs.

The River Bain at Coningsby was the scene this week for Fishtoft AC members as the water threw up some superb roach specimens. Jim Oglesbee made it two in a row with a catch which included those in the 8ozs to 1lb category and in reality was only just enough to see off the challenge of Jerry Clifton with a net of smaller specimens. After that catches took a dive and Mark Cook headed the chasing pack with less than half the weight of Jerry. Results: 1 Jim Oglesbee 10lbs 4ozs; 2 Jerry Clifton 9lbs 9ozs; 3 Mark Cook 4lbs 2ozs; 4 Ben Brighton 3lbs 11ozs. On Sunday, January 29, it’s meet as usual at Sluice Bridge 7.30am.

The main event this weekend was the second round Bourne MG winter league, which took place on a gin clear Town Welland and a not so clear counterdrain. While some decent nets of roach were recorded, around ten double weights, the reality again was a struggle on many sections, the surprise being that only nine of the 65 competitors drew a blank. Last week’s hot spot at the Chain Bridge proved to be just average on this occasion as Lincs County angler took the honours with a pole, punch and roach combination from outside of the ‘Dole Office’.

Without knowing it at the time, Chris Jenkingson was only a mere 3ozs short of victory as he ‘whipped’ his way to successfully winning the Counterdrain part of the match. Back in the town, and local angler Trevor Lovell took a more comfortable third place, beating Sensas Image angler Lee Kempton into fourth spot by over a pound, he in turn relegating Mark One’s John Taylor to fifth by roughly the same amount. Result: 1 Andy Dixon, Sensas Lincs County, 14lbs 7ozs; 2 Chris Jenkinson, VDE Essex County, 14lbs 4ozs; 3 Trevor Lovell, Bourne MG A, 13lbs 10ozs; 4 Lee Kempton, Sensas Image Red, 12lbs 7ozs; 5 John Taylor, Mark One Blue, 11lbs 6ozs.

In the team stakes it was all change as the first round leaders Essex County and Mark One White disappeared from view, leaving Mark One Blue to score a decisive victory over an improving Peterborough outfit and local team Bourne MG A. This leaves Mark One Blue leading the table by three points after two rounds with a three way tie between the said Peterborough, Essex County and Bourne MG A, Mark One White falling back to a distant fifth place. On the day: 1 Mark One Blue 53pts; 2 Peterborough 47pts; 3 Bourne MG A 43pts; 4 Spalding FC 42pts. After two rounds: 1 Mark One Blue 24pts; equal 2 Bourne MG A, Peterborough and VDE Essex County 21pts; 5 Mark One White 17pts.

Pole and worm approach rewards Steve

In terms of catches the latest of Bingham’s winter series, again fished on the Swineshead Bridge section of the South Forty Foot Drain, must surely be the main talking point as 11 anglers totalled nigh on 190lbs of roach, skimmers and large perch. Practice makes perfect, I suppose, and a session last Sunday by the eventual winner Steve Simpson appears to have done the trick as he opted for the pole and worm approach to take perch to 1lb in a his match winning total. Second placed Martin Fielding also managed a midweek session which saw him choose pole and pinky for a huge net of roach and skimmers, unfortunately 2½lbs short of Steve’s total. Next up and still in the 30lbs category was Jonathon Wake, who also with a couple of practice sessions under his belt, plumped for the worm approach and outshined even the winner with two huge perch in the 2lbs category. Results: 1 Steve Simpson 32lbs 8ozs; 2 Martin Fielding 30lbs 6ozs; 3 Jonathon Wake 30lbs 1oz; 4 Dave Millington 20lbs 4ozs; 5 Dave Hall 19lbs 7ozs.

Another grim day for those involved in the Rilmac winter league on the Foss Dyke Canal between Saxilby and the Doddington Road. This third round match took place against a background of a heavy overnight frost and the upshot was that more anglers returned ounces rather than a pound or more. No great shakes for prize winning weights either as they were restricted to the 2lbs-4lbs range. Large perch made the difference in many cases and even the winner, in the shape of John Small, had to rely on 12 smaller models to add to 12 similar roach for that lofty position. Team-mate John Blades was less reliant on a few tiny perch as a switch to punch brought good roach in the last third of the match to clinch second spot.

Short Ferry’s Kevin Parkes continued his good run of form and after taking the runner-up spot in the first two rounds, again found himself on the prize list with a third place on this occasion. Team-mate Paul Gabbitas pinched fourth with the aid of a large perch, so denying the consistent Roger Wakenshaw who had to be content with fifth. Results: 1 John Turner, Lincoln Whisby, 4lbs; 2 John Blades, Lincoln Whisby, 3lbs; 3 Kevin Parkes, Short Ferry, 2lbs 12½ ozs; 4 Paul Gabbitas, Short Ferry, 2lbs 9ozs; 5 Roger Wakenshaw 2lbs 6½ ozs.

Four section winners gave Brigg Britannia a comfortable victory on the day, beating leaders Lincs County by no less than nine pts with third placed Lincoln Whisby another six points adrift. Having said that the Lincs County outfit retain the leadership at this halfway stage and lead Brigg Britannia by three points as Lincoln Whisby drop back to third, another two points further back.

Teams on the day: 1 Brigg Britannia 55pts; 2 Sensas Lincs County 46pts; equal 3 Lincoln Whisby & Short Ferry 40pts; equal 5 Grimsby Fox Elite and Grimsby HAC 33pts. After three rounds: 1 Sensas Lincs County 4pts; 2 Brigg Britannia 7pts; 3 Lincoln Whisby 9pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 13pts; equal 5 Grimsby Fox Elite and& Short Ferry 16pts.

Round-up for week ending January 15, 2006

Roach haul gives Dave the edge

Lifting temperatures produced welcome improved conditions at the weekend. But it wasn’t all bright news as an on-going shortage of rainfall ensured that fish in most areas remain tightly shoaled. But things were slightly better around the Kirkstead Bridge area of the River Witham where some fish appeared to be moving around over a stretch of some 25 pegs between the early ones on the Pound length, the minus pegs under the bridge itself and those few upstream opposite the boat moorings.

Last week’s events were a good case in point as those above the bridge produced the goods in the Wednesday sweep and those on the minus pegs and the Pound length for Saturday’s Kings Arms open. Not exactly spectacular catches but three anglers in a line on pegs in the 450s all caught steadily and Dave Edwards emerged the winner with just under 7lbs of quality roach. A bonus hybrid of around 2lbs helped keep Ted Rowe in touch, eventually grabbing the third place ahead of veteran Maurice Thacker. Results: 1 Dave Edwards, Riverside Tackle, 6lbs 14ozs; 2 Kevin Rice, Sheffield, 6lbs 8ozs; 3 Ted Rowe, Lincoln, 5lbs 12ozs; 4 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 5lbs 9ozs.

On to Saturday and the minus pegs were the place to be and Maurice climbed the ladder to second spot this time, being beaten only by Dave Bontoft, and a very large perch of 2lbs 2ozs, from the end peg. Results: 1 Dave Bontoft, Southrey, 6lbs 10ozs; 2 Maurice Thacker, Lincoln, 6lbs 2ozs; 3 Les Smith, Lincoln, 4lbs 10ozs; 4 Malc Green, Whisby, AS 3lbs 10ozs.

Many good weights of quality roach were recorded in the open match on the Town Welland last Sunday, but this really belies the fact that many anglers on the extremities of this 70 peg match did in fact record either dry nets, or at best, struggle for the odd fish. Strangely enough many pegged in the town sections suffered this fate and the Chain Bridge area, which has been in the doldrums for many a year, has suddenly struck top form, the first four individual weights being taken from this area.

Peterborough’s Chris Tanner came out on top by the proverbial mile as he took top class roach to 10ozs using a simple pole and punch method from start to finish. From close by, Paul Spriggs was more than happy with his days work using similar tactics to hold on to second spot, as local angler Tony Evans pushed him hard and took third a single pound behind. Results: 1 Chris Tanner, Peterborough, 28lbs 5ozs; 2 Paul Spriggs, Mark One, 22lbs 10ozs; 3 Tony Evans, Decoy, 21lbs 10ozs; 4 Arnie Palmer, Holbeach, 21lbs 1oz; 5 Steve Cooper, Mark One, 18lbs 15ozs.

The same number (65) will be fishing next Sunday’s second round Bourne MG winter league on the same venue over much the same pegs and all involved will no doubt be hoping for a draw in this vicinity to boost their chances of individual success.

Fishtoft AC members also paid a visit to Spalding and had a better than expected match on the Vernatts Drain at Two Plank Bridge. Roach were not in the same numbers as the previous report but all in all the sweep was very competitive as only 2lbs separated the top four anglers, Jim Oglesbee scoring a comfortable victory with over 1½lbs to spare over nearest rival Alan Dixon. Alan, in turn, only just squeezed home ahead of Mark Cook by the close margin of just 3ozs with Terry Gooding a further 5ozs adrift in fourth. Results: 1 Jim Oglesbee 6lbs 14ozs; 2 Alan Dixon 5lbs 6ozs; 3 Mark Cook 5lbs 3ozs; 4 Terry Gooding 4lbs 14ozs. Next Sunday meet as normal Sluice Bridge 7.30am.

Grim time for catches on canal

The whole field of 70 anglers endured a grim day in the second round of the Rilmac winter league on the Foss Dyke Canal between the Bridge Inn and Doddington Road. Despite what appeared to be favourable conditions the majority of the 70 competitors struggled for bites, some not managing a single one.

Even the eventual winner was dumbfounded to learn that with a few roach and the odd perch caught at 11 metres to squatt and pinky, he had not only won his particular section but also had gained the top place.

For the second week running Kevin Parkes had to settle for second spot and despite a bonus small bream of around 2lbs he fell an agonising ½oz short of Paul’s weight. A couple of good sized perch after a switch to worm brought third place to Kevin Wilson, again just a couple of ounces back, with Neil Smithson and Phil Foster single ounces behind in fourth and fifth respectively. Individuals: 1 Paul Andrews, Lincs County, 2lbs 9ozs; 2 Kevin Parkes, Shory Ferry, 2lbs 8½ozs; 3 Kevin Wilson, Grimsby HAC, 2lbs 6ozs; 4 Neil Smithson, Lincs County, 2lbs 5ozs; 5 Phil Foster, Lincs County, 2lbs 4ozs; 6 Tony Hepburn, Brigg Britannia, 2lbs 1oz.

An impressive performance with a total of five section wins saw Lincs County cruise to their second consecutive victory and on a low score basis lead the league from Brigg Britannia and Lincoln Whisby by four clear points. On the day: 1 Lincs County 55pts; 2 Brigg Britannia 47pts; 3 Grimsby HAC 44pts; 4 Lincoln Whisby 43pts. After two rounds: 1 Lincs County 2pts; equal 3 Brigg Britannia and Lincoln Whisby 6pts; 4 Grimsby HAC 8pts.

Boston juniors also had a torrid time in the third round East Coast winter league on the Woodcocks area of the Foss Dyke Canal, which is just down the road from where their senior counterparts were fishing.

This proved to be harder for everyone as only 14 of the 32 youngsters managed to catch – and not much at that! Four small perch to pinkie from under an overhanging tree at 14 metres proved to be the match winner for Lincoln star Shane Spraggins as brother Steven made it a family double by grabbing second place.

The Lincoln team therefore gained a win on their own turf as Boston teams by contrast had a thoroughly miserable day finishing in the fifth and sixth positions. Not only that but after leading the field before this second round the Raiders now find themselves three points adrift in second place behind that self same Lincoln outfit.

Results: 1 Shane Spaggins, Lincoln A, 6¼ozs; 2 Steven Spraggins, Lincoln B, 5¾ozs; 3 Dan Collins, King’s Lynn Gold, 5ozs; 4 Stuart Chapman, Holbeach A, 4½ozs. Teams on the day: 1 Lincoln A 16pts; 2 Holbeach A 17pts; 3 King’s Lynn Blue 19pts; Lincoln B 20pts; 5 Boston All Stars 21pts; 6 Boston Raiders 23pts. Overall: 1 Lincoln A 28pts; 2 Boston Raiders 31pts; 3 Holbeach A 32pts; equal 4 Boston All Stars, King’s Lynn Gold and King’s Lynn Blue 41pts.

Next Boston club match will take place this coming Saturday meet Windsor Bank 9 am. Any juniors wanting to join at this stage and fish should contact Dave Rance on the usual number.

Round-up for week ending January 8, 2006

Cosy all-roach success for Howard

The weather conditions took a definite turn for the worse as leaden skies and cold daytime temperatures descended upon us from midweek onwards. The adage that “with the wind in the east, the fish bite least” certainly springs to mind and matches on the River Witham at Kirkstead between Wednesday and Saturday go along way to prove that particular saying. Both winning and backing weights for the latter over the same pegs were halved over that short period of time as the top weights also was taken from exactly the same pegs on both matches.

Minus 7 was the peg from which Howard Kaye scored a comfortable victory, taking an all-roach catch to bronze maggot and punch to long pole. This left Dave Bontoft to pick up the pieces from the next door -6 to come home with almost exactly half the winner’s catch, Dave Edwards taking much closer order in third. Results: 1 Howard Kaye, Lincoln, 6lbs 7½ozs; 2 Dave Bontoft, Southrey, 3lbs 3ozs; 3 Dave Edwards, Riverside, 2lbs 13ozs.

Forward to Saturday’s new Kings Arms open series that will run for the next four weeks, and as already mentioned, it was a case of same pegs much poorer results. Ted Rowe had to employ much more varied tactics and bait to keep fish interested, finally paying off handsomely as he more than doubled the weight of second placed Kevin Rice, and Dave Bontoft among the prizes once more in third. Results: 1 Ted Rowe, Lincoln, 3lbs 15ozs; 2 Kevin Rice, Sheffield, 1lb 10½ozs; 3 Dave Bontoft, Southrey, 1lb 7ozs.

A total of 65 anglers in 13 teams contested the opening round of the Bourne MG winter which kicked off on the River Glen and Counterdrain. Most were surprised to find that both waters had retained a fair amount of colour after the recent snowfalls and therefore were less surprised that good weights of roach were to be had from both venues. Indeed, every single area sported at least 6lbs of fish to gain the section prize but the main individual prizes were reserved for those pegged fairly close together on the Counterdrain. A battle royal developed between pegs 10 and 11 and both Malc Payne and Chris Jenkinson took good roach almost from start to finish.

Both employed pole and punch but at the end of the day a dozen more fish gave Chris a deserved victory as Malc finished 2½lbs behind. Further along the drain and an equally hot contest ended in a tie for stable mates Stewart Taylor and Simon Godfrey with Bourne MG A team members grabbing the fifth and sixth places from both venues, Trevor Lovell on the Counterdrain and Mick Dixon on the Glen.

Many of the multiple entries from teams actually cancelled each other out, which paved the way for Essex County to score a comfortable win, having already opened up a five point gap over Mark One White after this initial round. Results: Individuals, 1 Chris Jenkinson, Essex County, 21lbs 1oz; 2 Malc Payne, Bourne MG C, 18lbs 10ozs; equal Stuart Taylor, Mark One Blue, and Simon Godfrey, Mark One White, 12lbs 14½ozs; 5 Trevor Lovell, Bourne MG A, 12lbs 2ozs; 6 Mick Dixon, Bourne MG A, 11lbs 11ozs. Teams: 1 Essex County 54pts; 2 Mark One White 49pts; 3 Mark One Blue 44pts; 4 Bourne MG A 43pts; 5 Peterborough 38pts.

Somewhat different for Fishtoft AC who visited the town section of the River Steeping at Wainfleet and found fish much harder to come by. Punch and pinky were the main attractors but had to be swapped on a regular basis to keep the few roach on offer at all interested. Ben Brighton obviously did the right thing at the right time as he strolled to a comfortable win, almost doubling the weight of second placed Mark Naylor, and Jerry Clifton taking close order a couple of ounces further back in third. Results: 1 Ben Brighton 3lbs 10ozs; 2 Mark Naylor 1lb 12ozs; 3 Jerry Clifton 1lb 10ozs; 4 Mick Whitham 1lb 7ozs. On Sunday January 15, members are asked to meet at Sluice Bridge 7.30am.

A dismal beginning, both in terms of weather conditions and overall catches, to the 2006 Rilmac winter league on the Saxilby to Doddington Road stretch of Foss Dyke Canal last Sunday.

Seven teams of 10 anglers were competing for the title and found the going hard in the highly coloured water as the vast majority had to make do with either a few ounces or just over the pound mark. Small roach were really the sole takers but a small bream added to Kevin Parkes’ catch boosted him to second place. Not quite enough though to overhaul Dave Small who is currently in the middle of a purple patch and took the honours with some 54 roach and 2ozs to spare. The ever consistent Roger Wakenshaw came home third just a single ounce further adrift with Ian Rodgers the only other in the 3lbs category.

The team event also proved to be a tight finish and Lincs County just shaded it from Lincoln Whisby AS by a single point, the rest trailing in at best six points further back. Results: Individuals: 1 Dave Small, Lincoln Whisby, 3lbs 11ozs; 2 Kevin Parkes, Short Ferry, 3lbs 9ozs; 3 Roger Wakenshaw, Brigg Britannia, 3lbs 8ozs; 4 Ian Rodgers, Lincs County, 3lbs 5ozs; equal 5 Jamie Osgodby, Lincs County, and Wayne Smith, Whisby AS, 2lbs 7ozs. Teams: 1 Lincs County 53pts; 2 Lincoln Whisby 52pts; 3 Whisby AS 46pts; 4 Brigg Britannia 45pts; 5 Grimsby HAC 35pts; 6 Fox Elite Grimsby 30pts.

Local sport in short supply

Locally, very little happening with almost no anglers at all on the riverbanks but apart from half a dozen pegs on the West Fen Drain at Frithville the one bright spot appears to be the Swineshead Bridge area of the South Forty Foot Drain.

Sunday saw Bingham AC paid a visit to those pegs immediately on the upstream side of the bridge and found many superb roach and perch towards 12ozs feeding at most pegs. Indeed the first 10 anglers averaged over 12lbs per man as Martin Fielding topped the list with a brilliant 20lbs plus net to pole and bronze maggot. Dave Hall took second spot but could not really live with the pace and ended the day 7lbs lower with smaller fish to much the same method. Furthest away from the bridge and Steve Simpson had to rely on chopped worm for a mixed bag to finish on 2ozs less and third place whilst fourth went to Jonathon Wake, a single ounce adrift of Steve. Results: 1 Martin Fielding 20lbs 3ozs; 2 Dave Hall 13lbs 1oz; 3 Steve Simpson 12lbs 15ozs; 4 Jonathon Wake 12lbs 14ozs; 5 Brian Matthews 12lbs 8ozs; 6 Tim Swift 12lbs 5ozs.