TENCH are still feeding on Grey Mist and Phil Brown braved the wind and rain on Monday to repeat the previous week’s catch of three quality fish – each weighing 6lbs-plus using his usual successful method of maggot feeder.

Wayne Cole was very happy with his end-of-season visit to our stretch of the River Ribble on Monday where he managed to land three barbel.

His dilemma was should he call it quits for the season and end it on a high or go again before Friday and risk a blank. I rather think the current weather has made his decision for him.

Our Sunday Mersey Series drawn at Mersey Walk saw Chris Wray clock up his first win of the year.

With only a few small fish in the net and five minutes remaining of the match he decided on a desperate chuck and chance method whilst he had a brew.

Off came the maggots from his size 18’s hook which he substituted for a lobworm.

Surprise, surprise it proved a match winner when his tip suddenly shot round and he was into a decent fish.

After a heart-stopping fight a 6lbs bream lay in his landing net, shooting his winning weight up to 6lbs 5ozs 0drs.

On the next peg and unaware of this last-minute development, Ade Green thought that he had the win in the bag with a weight of exactly 6lbs.

How wrong you can be when Lady Luck coupled with angling skill takes a hand.

The Monday disabled and over 60s match on the Bridgewater Canal at Hough’s Bridge saw Alan Brown win with a net of roach and perch caught alternating between bread punch and pinkie for 6lbs exactly.

Ron Durr was trailing by only a few fish, taking second place with a similar catch for a weight of 5-14-5.

The fish were tightly shoaled and some anglers really struggled for a bite. Not surprising considering that only several days previous, regular contributor to this column Mike Pritchard tried several pegs whilst pleasure fishing and ended up with only six fish for his efforts.

Our bailiffs enjoyed a chat and get together with colleagues on Tuesday evening courtesy of the Star Inn at Statham. Definitely a prize-winning pint of Guinness!

Keep those catch reports coming – good, bad, or indifferent – as they help follow members to weigh up how waters are fishing to plan their outings and give me something to write about!

Email 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 9pm.

New members are welcome to call in and join, current ones can renew their subscription, or night permit.

Results:

Sunday Mersey Series: 1, Chris Wray 6-5-0; 2, Ade Green 6-0-0; 3, Roy Everson 1-10-0; 4, Stan Charnock 1-5-0

Disabled and over 60s: 1, Alan Brown 6-0-7; 2, Ron Durr 5-14-5; 3, Geoff Brookes 5-6-7; 4, George Hollis 1-6-0

Fixtures:

Today, Thursday, Last Chance Mersey Match: Draw 9.45am at Mersey Walk

Monday, disabled and over 60s: Draw 10am at Bridgewater Canal, St Peters Church (Walton Arms)