with KINGFISHER

SOME local stretches of canal produced decent catches in competition last week.

Fortunately, for the 84 matchmen gathered for the latest round of the Hyndburn & Blackburn AA Spring League, the lengths selected by organiser Dezzy Forrest were amongst them.

A breadpunch approach resulted in small roach for just about all of them, but there were pockets of better quality fish that showed to both bread and caster.

The pegs along the reeds at Clayton were reckoned to be a plum draw, since they always contain plenty of fish at this time of year.

It surprised no one then that the top weight was taken here, but the quality of some of the winner's fish might have.

He, Van den Eynde's Danny Martin, started with the punch at eight metres. An immediate response convinced him, obviously, that he might just be onto a good thing.

While frequently catapulting casters right across to the reeds, he continued with bread.

The roach gradually moved out until he was fishing at ten metres and getting very close to his caster swim, at 12.

A change to caster then, across at 12 metres, produced some better quality fish, including one around the pound mark and he finished the match with a beautiful net of roach that pulled the scale down to 11-1-0.

It put him well clear of the rest, with his nearest challenger almost 4lbs adrift.

That was Mark Gregory, Specialist Baits, who brought 7-4-10 to the scale but it was only a couple of fish better than the top local angler Dave Pickering, who weighed in 6-13-0.

In the team stakes the winner's team-mates provided solid backing for him,and Van den Eynde claimed a very comfortable win indeed, by no less than 22 points.

In second place, tied with teAMS Hynburn & Blackburn, were Messers Ted Carters Southport, were the overall leaders going into the match by a very wide margin and remain at the top, a full 30 points clear of Messers in second spot.

I mentioned that this stretch of canal was something of a rarity, showing improved form over the previous week, and so it was.

Not all the canal responded to the charms of the matchmen as it did in Clayton.

It was, in all fairness, pretty poor along may stretches, including some in Burnley chosen to host a small match of just 22 anglers, by Mack's Tackle.

Evergreen Mick Teale must have been as surprised as anyone that a net of fish weighing just 3-5-12 would win this one, though he could see many of the opposition from his peg, number one.

Surprised maybe, but delighted for certain since it was his net of roach and skimmers (on the ubiquitous breadpunch of course) that took the money.

Bob Harrison, teAMS H&B, obviously has Pilsworth well sussed out and he was in the money there again last week.

This time his pole fished maggot resulted in a mixed net of fish weighing 12-8-0 to win a low weight contest, fished by only 20 anglers.