Frank Lythgoe's Warrington Anglers Association column...

ON his weekly Saturday angling escape day, Mike Pritchard went to his favourite Dead Length section of the Bridgewater Canal.

He started off on bread punch catching roach from the off, eventually changing to pinkie and adding a few perch.

He was feeding a swim with casters, which produced half a dozen better stamp roach towards the end of his session.

He ended up with around 40 fish caught on conventional rod and line, but that was before he realised his keepnet was being attacked by a pike.

A few sweeps of his landing net produced a pike around 12lbs witnessed by another angler who was targeting these toothy predators without success.

It was released and Mike started to pack away his gear and was ready to leave when the other angler was into a fish. Eventually landed and on the unhooking mat, it turned out to be the very same pike.

When unhooking the fish, another treble was found in its throat which thankfully was removed and the pike safely returned to the water.

The Mersey Series match on Sunday was fished on the Mersey Walk section of the river and guess what, no change as the river really was carrying extra water.

Again given the prevailing conditions, it was another all-feeder match with predictably very low weights with bites being few and far between.

Alan Faulkner only cast his feeder in at 10 metres to catch 15 small roach on maggot to win with a weight of 1-6-0.

Chris Wray took the runner-up spot with 1-1-0, 16 members fished. I would put money on it that the weights are much better next week.

Our Monday disabled and over 60s match took place this week on the Bridgewater Canal, pegged from Hough’s Bridge towards Moore.

After a few weeks in the shadows, match organiser Jimmy Byrne was back on top form, easily blitzing his previous week’s 0-1-11 section win with a winning weight of 7-0-8. He fished pole and mainly bread punch to catch 100 roach plus a few perch on pinkie.

He stopped Alan Faulkner getting a double, but Alan wasn’t too disappointed to take second place with 4-14-0 of roach on bread punch. Seventeen anglers fished.

Another lot of hard graft by the working party volunteers at Rixton Claypits on Sunday with overhanging branches removed and peg improvements.

More dates will be published in in the next week or so and remember, every member is more than welcome to attend and you might even enjoy the experience, the banter and pick up information in the company of like-minded anglers.

More working parties are taking place on Sunday at Big Sandiway (meet near the lock-up at 9am) and Moore Quarry (meet in the car park at 10am). All members are more than welcome to attend.

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 weekly.

I really appreciate any catch reports from members, especially at this time of the year when they are understandably few and far between with there being not many anglers out fishing.

Email frank@warrington-anglers.org.uk or call 01928 716238

Results:

Mersey Series: 1, Alan Faulkner 1-6-0; 2, Chris Wray 1-1-0; 3, Paul Field 0-11-0; 4, Ade Green 0-6-0

Disabled and over 60s (Bridgewater Canal): 1, Jimmy Byrne 7-0-8; 2, Alan Faulkner 4-14-0; 3, Mike Worley 3-9-0; 4, Neil Buist 3-4-0

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: Draw 9.45am at Walton Church. £5 all-in. Exact money only, no change given. Covid-19 match rules apply.