Warrington
Neil Smith took total advantage of a peg facing the brambles at Stanney Lunt Bridge to win the Warrington AA Open on the Bridgewater Canal.
The spot is home to large carp and Neil, fishing for Trev’s Tackle, went for them with a 14 metre pole offering worm on a size 14 hook and strong line.His “no nonsense” kit was picked up by a common carp after 50 minutes, which gave him about 5lb, but then he had to wait until the last hour when the same bait produced a mirror carp and pushed his total to 11lb 13oz.
Liverpool’s John Turner (Dick Clegg Ray’s) was second with 10lb 5oz.He was drawn at the end of three tree lined far bank at Grappenhall and targeted the resident bream with a 16 metre pole and caster, catching four bream, a couple of decent perch and skimmers.
Dennis Knight (Whizzo Octoplus) was third with 6lb 3oz then came Ray Rigby (Gaswise Liverpool) on 6lb 2oz.
Sea Fishing
The North West Association of Sea Angling Clubs’ Winter League got underway with 14 sides fishing at Moel-y-Don in the Menai Straits.
Wirral-based Team Leisure Angling went straight into the lead, desperate to improve on their runners-up plate in last year’s event, and finished two points clear of Personal Members Green on 49.
Dave Lynch (Sea Eagles), one of Merseyside’s top shore anglers from Wallasey, had a mixed bag of small pouting, codling and dogfish for a 6lb 13oz, total.
Mersey expert Joe Perry won the North West Association’s Personal Membership championship qualifier at Seaforth Rocks with 14lb 3oz.The 29 year old, fishing on his favourite river mark only “down the road” from his home, took a chance with a single hook pulley rig for the cod and got seven of them, including a fish on his first cast on crab hookbait, but lost another seven fish!
Steve Norbury from Barnton had 10lb 01oz of whiting and codling followed by Dave Evans of Tranmere with 7lb 7oz.
