A practice match for the third round of the Warwickshire winter league attracted 117 entries to the Walsall and Tame Valley canals at Ocker Hill near Tipton.

These areas are noted for producing large catch weights and it was no surprise when Stafford expert Alan Round made double figures. 

Competing for the W B Clarke squad he put together a 10-13-12 mixed bag at peg 129 on the Tame Valley. Working with bloodworm and joker bait and feed he hooked lots of small roach to 2 oz plus one perch weighing 1-4-0.

Second man Ted Yearby’s (Dams & Lock) 9-2-14 came from a peg on the Walsall canal section  where he too used bloodworm but also hempseed for small ‘skimmers’ and perch.

Drennan North West  team mates Lee Addy 7-15-8 and Andy Beasley 7-9-0 were next both with small bream and roach over Dave Hughes (Tipton VDE) 7-7-6 and Rob Holt (Sensas North West) 7-5-0.

Wolverhampton-based all round expert Paul Turner was unfortunate to finish second just 1lb adrift behind winner Alan Mayer in a Shrewsbury A S B C open fixture on the River Severn in the town. 

Held in memory of the late Alan Mayer, an England international, the event attracted the largest entry for many years and they were pegged along the County Ground and the Quarry sections. 

Winner with 15-10-0 of dace was Martin Wedley from Wrexham who was at peg 62 in the Quarry.

He caught them with bronze maggots offered close in and far out with alternated waggler and Bollo floats.

Turner, who competes with the Tipton VDE team, made his 14-10-0 effort at peg 71 in the same area but he took all perch with red maggots. Third place went to local angler Brian Smith with 14-7-0.

The second round of the Bilston Angling sponsored winter league was held on the Staffs-Worcester canal at Otherton where Neal Cole ran out an easy winner with an outstanding 14-1-0 catch. 

Grouped with Wednesfield-based Wood End A C he made good use of end peg number one situated on the edge of the marina. 

Putting his faith in chopped worms and casters he offered them under the far bank to catch a dozen or so chub all around the 1lb mark. 

Organising club member Martin Spruce was second but well adrift with a very modest 3-15-0. He was on number eight  opposite a boat moored next to the bridge. 

His mixed bag of small roach, perch and gudgeon came to squatt maggots offered as close to the boat as he could cast. 

Third man Wilf Kneller (Midleisure) weighed in 3-14-0 over Steve Groome (Bilston Angling) 2-0-0; Craig Cope (Bilston) 1-15-14 and Neil Baker (Bilston) 1-12-9.

The latest fixture in the Stoke City AA’s open individual series took place on the Shropshire Union canal at Norbury where catch weights more or less matched those from the previous event. 

This time it was experienced Eric Gardner (Eclipse A C) whose 6-0-8 headed the list. Drawn at the first peg above the steps near the access he commenced operations with caster bait and feed and soon hooked a 2 lb chub and a 1lb perch but then he had a quiet spell. 

A switch to bread flake did the trick and he was soon hooking lots of small roach. Bilston A C’s Dennis Sumner  was second  with 5-6-4 from a peg near Barn bridge. He used maggots and bread for small ‘skimmer’ bream, roach and perch.

Wolverhampton based Shakespeare team man Dave McCall was next with 4-15-0 of small fish and then came Mick Millgate ((Isaac Walton, Stafford) 4-13-0 and Paul Ross (Shakespeare) 4-3-8. 

Currently there is nothing to separate the top three leaders in the table – Dave McCall,  Eric Gardner and Fred Cheetham all have three points.

Bilston tackle dealer John Hall is enjoying a run of success in canal contests and it was no surprise when he clinched the latest Wolverhampton ‘Over Fifty Five’ open match. This took place on the Staffs-Worcester canal at Gailey where pegs were lined up in the Round House area. 

Drawn at number nine, almost in the middle of the stretch, he used his favourite ‘caster’ bait offered under the far bank to catch mostly gudgeon.

Brierley Hill’s Barry Lewis  (Black Country Tackle)  was on the nest peg where he used the same baits to attract a second best 3-14-6 – two small bream plus roach and gudgeon. 

Stan Mincher (Brittons Tackle) was next with 3-5-0 over Stan Kneller (Angler’s Peg) 3-5-0, Tony Wordsley (Gailey) 2-14-4 and Pete Eldershaw (Penkridge) 2-13-6.

Cornerstone team expert Mel Howard left the opposition well behind with a 9-0-0 winner in the latest open fixture on the Soho Loop stretch of the Birmingham canal at Winson Green. 

Organised by the ‘Insurance Factory’s  team skipper Colin Gregg the fixture took place on the hospital sections where Howard  drew peg 26 by the ‘gates’.

Relying on his favourite hempseed hook bait and feed he caught roach and perch to twelve ounces. 

Dave Steele’s 5-8-0 second best 5-8-0 consisted of mostly small roach plus one or two better sized perch taken with  squatt and pinkie maggots. Other prize winners were Ian Hingley (Dudley Bait and Tackle) 5-1-0, Dave Angel (West Bromwich) 4-14-0 and Carl Daley (B’ham) 3-7-0.

It seems that the large shoals of bream which used to make up large catch weights in the Stirrup Cup A C’s open matches on the Birmingham Fazeley canal at Curdworth have moved on. 

These days just the odd one or two appear and it was a single 2lb sample which  helped local lad Alex Newman to a 5-8-4 victory. 

Drawn  on the far end peg number 74 he used squatt and pinkie maggots to catch it along with mixed roach, perch and gudgeon.

‘Digger’ Conway’s (Dams and Lock) second best  4-10-0 came from a peg in the middle section. He also offered maggots for a similar bag. Anthony South (Stirrup Cup) was third with 4-7-0 over Dave Sippetts (Stirrup Cup) 3-6-0.