Express & Star

Keith Grace, a recent newcomer to the area from Lancashire wiped the floor with the regular competitors in Wolverhampton AA’s latest open event with a 14-2-8 outstanding haul.

Given useful information by his friend, Willenhall contest organiser Lee Woodhouse, he was soon in action on the Staffs Worcester canal at Wombourne. The match which was organised by Fox Match Tipton VDE  team man  Paul Turner  was spread along the Bratch lock sections where Grace drew a peg on the noted ‘short pound’ by the Royal Oak pub.

Commencing with casters it didn’t take him long to locate a shoal of chub and he latched into  half a dozen to 2 lbs.

When bites slowed he changed back to squatt maggot which brought lots of roach and gudgeon from several different areas.

In form Turner was second from a noted peg by the boat turning bay with 10-6-4/ Alternating casters and squats he caught roach to six ounces in the first two hours. When bites faded he changed to squatt hookbait to tempt 70 small gudgeon. 

Third placed Brierley Hill’s John Garbett’s (Black Country Tackle) 8-5-8 came from the second peg above the Bumble Hole lock where he caught chub between 10 oz and 1 lb plus one weighing 3 lbs.

Well known Wilf Kneller’s (Midleisure) fourth placed 7-10-0 came from the next peg to Turner where he too included odd chub with small fish.

Richard Guest’s (Fox Match Tipton VDE) 5-2-0 of gudgeon came from the Bumble Hole area while Brownhills based Dave Holland qualified for the last prize with 4-5-0.

The whole of the lengthy, club controlled sections of the Birmingham-Fazeley canal at Curdworth was used for the latest Stirrup Cup A C’s  open fixture. 

But despite careful selection of the most favourable pegs the best catch weight was a mere 5-9-0. 

This was taken by Atherstone’s Dave Freestone from peg 51 opposite an old tree stump.

It’s a noted spot for bream and he hooked a brace between 1 lb and 2 lb but lost two much larger samples with caster feed and hookbait.

He then switched to squatt maggots to add a few roach and perch. 

Club member Dave McIntyre’s second best 4-10-0 came from peg 20 at the opposite end of the line-up, a noted spot where he began operations with punched bread.

This brought a few small perch and gudgeon before a switch to casters fetched a brace of skimmer bream to 1 lb. Probably the most fish were caught by  third man Graham Murphy (Dams & Lock whose 4-0-0 consisted of near enough 100 small roach.

He drew end peg number one at the bottom end of the section where he used squats. Next to him was Mervyn Rogers (Sensas R & D) with 3-4-9 while other prize winners were Kevin Perry (Trabuco Midlands) 2-8-0 and Pete Allwood (Long Eaton) 2-5-8.

  Cold conditions and a low water temperature put paid to any hopes of good catches in the Bilston Angling’s regular Wednesday open fixture. 

Fish were so hard to tempt that a mere 2-6-5 earned a victory for Dave Angel.

The match was held on the Bladon and Stafford Road sections of the Staffs Worcester canal at Pendeford where the West Bromwich based rod drew a peg at the back of the playing field.

Offering caster feed and hookbait he caught just six identical roach. Second placed Tony Wordley (Bilston) was in the same area and his 2-1-5 consisted of just two fish.

Also using casters he hooked a 2 lb chub and a small roach.

John Burns (Bilston) was third with 1-9-0 over Colin Cole (Bilston0 0-13-4 and Dennis Lewis (Bilston) 0-11-11.

 A very cold east wind put the brakes on sport in the latest Walsall Arboretum contest and Kevin Edwards won easily with a modest from the venue 5-12-0.

The local lad fished peg number nine by the boathouse where he had little option because of the rough surface water and strong waves but to use swimfeeder tactics.

Relying on sweetcorn feed and hookbait placed hard on bottom fairly close in he attracted a brace of 2 lb bream plus a few roach to two ounces. 

Ron Nicholls (Walsall) on the next peg eight had to be satisfied with a single 2-5-0 bream and he too used sweetcorn with a feeder. Walsall’s Dave Gouge 2-4-0, one bream from peg five, Craig Arnold (Walsall) 1-2-0 and Roy Jackson (Leamore) 1-1-0 made up the top five.

The wind also affected the fifth round of the Heronbrook Spring league which took place on all of the Stafford based fishery’s pools and it was peg two on the Meadow which produced a 71-14-0 top weight for Andy Moors.

The Garbolino All Stars team member went home very happy after collecting £170 from his catch of carp to 7 lbs.

He caught them with sweetcorn offered in the margins. Local lad Richard Gillow’s (Heronbrook) second best 66-14-0, again F1 carp, came to pellets off peg 27 on the New Canal.

 Ade Cattell (Lea Hall Gold) was third with 53-4-0 from Meadow peg 4 while other leading scores came from Mick Mee (Pickerings Garbolino) 52-10-0 and Chris Shelley (Trentside) 49-2-0. 

Top teams Chester Tackle Locker and Garbolino All Stars both collected 35 points to beat Trentside Pickerings Garbolino 21.

Current league places are Chester Tackle Locker 118, points, Pickerings Garbolino 111 and Garbolino All stars 109.