IF angling is a drug bailiff, Chris Connell is a self-confessed addict.

On Saturday, he found himself on the banks of our Woodshaw Reservoir fishery, which unfortunately was covered in a coating of ice and the dilemma was he either broke the ice or went home.

Well, predictably in no time at all, there was a fishable channel in front of his peg and in his words “I went for it” and was certainly glad that he did.

Using a tiny pole cup, he fed every twenty minutes or so with micro-pellets capped in brown crumb groundbait and fished caster, taking a gudgeon on his first put-in. During his three-hour session, he added twelve nice sized roach. Happy days.

On Monday, our disabled and over 60s match was held on this same venue, by which time the ice had melted leaving very cold-water conditions and bites few and far between. Weights came from pegs 1 to 3 and were made up of mainly roach and perch.

George Barber fished pole and maggot to take a win with 2lbs 15ozs 4drs. Jimmy Byrne was the runner-up and not too far behind with 2-6-3.

Regular contributor to this column Mike Pritchard visited the ‘Dead Length’ which at this time is literally stuffed with silver fish and, as you would expect, fair numbers of pike and perch who can’t believe their luck.

With so many fish present and protected from any major cormorant threat by overhanging trees, Mike reckoned he could cast virtually anywhere and with any bait and get a bite.

So, a few catapulted casters and the float was away and the result was a roach. It was the same for pinkie or maggot and he ended his session with thirty-plus fish which included a decent-sized perch.

Only a handful of anglers turned out for our Sunday Mersey match to be faced with a very out-of-sorts river.

Jimmy Byrne was in the money again with 10 roach plus a skimmer of four ounces for a winning weight of 1-2-8. He fished a groundbait feeder and maggot.

Ade Green put two roach on the scales to take second place with seven ounces. Again, the only current method catching any fish was groundbait feeder and maggot.

Anyone who is a night permit holder be aware that they expire on the December 31, 2017, and must be renewed before further bookings may be taken from January 1, 2018. They are currently available at HQ on payment of 2018 subscription.

Catch reports, catch reports, catch reports, please! Email to frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or give me a call on 01928 716238.

WAA headquarters at 52 Parker Street are open as usual every Friday between 7pm and 8.30pm for 2018 night permits/membership renewals, new members, subscriptions, and any queries.

Merry Christmas to all members and those who both read and contribute to this column!

Results:

Disabled and over 60s: 1, George Barber 2-15-4; 2, Jimmy Byrne 2-6-3; 3, Joe Garry 1-1-6; 4, Jim Johnson 0-12-4.

Sunday Mersey Series: 1, Jimmy Byrne 1-2-8; 2, Ade Green 0-7—0; 3, Ray Boden 0-6-0.

Fixtures:

Sunday, River Mersey Series: Draw 10am at Kingsway Allotments.

Disabled and over 60s: No match until January 8, 2018.