Warrington Anglers Association column

LAST Wednesday, two of the younger members of the Preston family of mad keen carp anglers were out on Grey Mist.

This time Marley took his younger brother Leon, 11, and let him fish the spot that he normally fishes and after only 30 minutes, the youngster landed a cracking beauty of 19lbs 8ozs 0drs.

The successful method was one of the families closely guarded secret boilie mix ‘specials’ with crushed boilies in a PVA bag.

Mark Mathews enjoyed a nice pre-birthday catch on Friday at Grey Mist in the form of a common carp of 22lbs.

The fish fell for a pre-drilled 14mm halibut pellet over a bed of loose-fed 8mm robin red pellet.

Some of the lilies were selectively sprayed at Rixton Claypits on Tuesday and will be repeated next year as an ongoing project, however this did not stop the fish feeding on what was a scorcher of a day.

Neil Plunkett managed a couple of nice bream, a large roach and a tench while Ian Summers reported an all-roach catch taken on pole and pellet of around 10lbs and lost a decent fish which stretched his elastic to its limits.

Andy Corr reports a cracking catch of roach from Appleton Reservoir over last weekend, all taken on the pole at 11 metres.

Dave Grey fished a different method – a small groundbait feeder and double maggot – for an equally decent catch of roach.

Many years ago, this water was part of a graduate study from Liverpool University which pointed to the fact that they were a fast-growing strain.

I must admit reports of large roach are rare but with the amounts of high protein carp baits being fed, there must be some fair specimens.

After checking that all anglers were members on our Woodshaw Reservoir fishery, bailiff Chris Connell enjoyed some well-earned ‘me time’ and a decent evening’s fishing.

Chris had quality roach and fished at 13 metres on corn at dead depth for some feisty crucians.

The Sunday Mersey Pairs match was fished on the Mersey Walk stretch of the river and members drew their pegs in two sections, pairing with the corresponding number in the other section which added interest to a normal series match.

The individual winner was Alan Faulkner, who started off on a groundbait feeder and maggot to snare a bonus bream of 3lbs plus a decent skimmer over a pound.

A change then to pole and maggot added roach and perch to end up with an overall weight of 8-10-0.

Bob Clough took second place with 7-4-0 of roach and perch taken on pole and maggot.

The winning pair was Bob Clough and Jimmy Gannon, who added 6-12-0 to give a total weight of 14lbs exactly.

The second pair included overall winner Alan Faulkner and Jimmy Byrne, who added 4-7-0 to make a total weight of 13-1-0. Twenty-four anglers fished.

Our disabled and over 60s Monday match was fished this week on the Bridgewater Canal at Daresbury Labs.

Jeff Stoll, who is back on the Warrington match scene and has been knocking on the door the past few weeks, was the clear winner with 4-15-0 and over a pound to spare from the runner-up George ‘Breadman’ Barber, who weighed in 3-13-0 of roach and skimmers all caught on the white stuff.

Jeff had a similar mix of fish all caught on the pole at four metres on maggot and pinkie. Seventeen anglers fished.

Some filthy individual is not adhering to our rule 28, which clearly states that all litter must be taken home. This is evident by the amount of bagged litter and even a dumped bed-chair left by the bins adjacent to our Sandiway entrance gate.

Anyone caught in breach of this rule will simply lose their membership.

Our WAA headquarters at 52 Parker Street, Warrington WA1 1LT remains closed on Friday evenings but members can simply post to this address or put their book or request in an envelope with their payment and a stamped addressed envelope through our HQ door, where mail is collected and dealt with most days.

Alternatively, you can post to Warrington Anglers Association PO Box 71, Warrington WA1 1LR where mail is collected on a weekly basis.

Catch reports from members, pics or funny stories are always welcome. Email frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or give me a call on 01928 716238.

Results:

Disabled and over 60s: 1, Jeff Stoll 4-15-0; 2, George Barber 3-13- 0; 3, Roy Rogers 3-12-0; 4, Jimmy Byrne 3-8-0

Mersey Series: 1, Alan Faulkner 8-10-0; 2, Bob Clough 7-4-0; 3, Jimmy Gannon 6-12-0; 4, Jonathan Green 6-6-0

Fixtures:

Sunday, Mersey Series (members only): Draw 8.45am at Victoria Park. Entry £5 and £5 optional pool. Exact money only, no change given. Covid-19 match rules apply.

Monday, disabled and over 60s: Bridgewater Canal at Acton Grange Bridge, Peg 256. Draw 9.45am. £5 all-in. Exact money only, no change given. Covid-19 match rules apply.