Winter League Round 8, Sunday 26th February:
Another tough gigg for the brave 16 anglers who took their chances at the draw. It was decided to give the second basin a miss and split the section between the Bird Hide and the deeper narrows with most people catching this time but still a struggle.
It was a day for chasing the bits on the punch and pinkie and Steve Whitehouse secured his first ever victory on the canal with a 4lb bag of small silvers all taken off the inside shelf. Ady Larkins found a few skimmers fishing the longer pole and they saw him easily into second place. Likewise, Matt Sampson stuck to the pole and brought in a bag an ounce shy of 3lbs to take third spot.
There were section wins with bags of small (and I mean small) roach for Simon Allen, Paul Braund and Rob Fuller. With two matches to go it is very tight at the top of the league making for an exciting finish (provided you get a good draw).
Editors note; Si and I have cross checked the points so some of you may notice small changes but after reconciling our scoring the league table is now correct. Also, good news, it was agreed at the last Committee Meeting that if you blank next year you will still be awarded a point!
| Pos: | Angler | Lbs | ozs | Peg No. | Pts | |
| 1 | Steve Whitehouse | 4lbs | 10oz | 19 | 16 | |
| 2 | Ady Larkins | 3lbs | 13oz | 15 | 15 | |
| 3 | Matt Sampson | 2lbs | 15oz | 18 | 14 | |
| 4 | Paul Braund | 2lbs | 14oz | 13 | 13 | |
| 5 | Simon Allen | 2lbs | 8oz | 43 | 12 | |
| 6 | Tony Hilias | 2lbs | 4ozs | 14 | 11 | |
| 7 | Jean Bowden | 1lb | 10ozs | 16 | 10 | |
| 8 | Peter Slade | 1lb | 7oz | 17 | 9 | |
| 9 | Rob Fuller | 14oz | 5 | 8 | ||
| 10 | Dave Allen | 11oz | 20 | 6.5 | ||
| 11 | Mark Gratton | 11oz | 46 | 6.5 | ||
| 12 | Adrian Hill | 4oz | 29 | 5 | ||
| 13 | Peter Giles | 0.5oz | 3 | 4 | ||
| 14 | Trevor Vernalls | 0.25oz | 4 | 3 | ||
| 15 | Mike Bowden | - | 32 | - | ||
| 16 | Kevin Hill | - | 33 | - | ||
| Winter League Table As it Stands: | ||||||
| Pos: | Angler | No. Fished | Points | |||
| 1 | Adrian Hill | 8 | 104 | |||
| 2 | Simon Allen | 8 | 102 | |||
| 3 | Rob Fuller | 8 | 100.5 | |||
| 4 | Dave Allen | 8 | 99.5 | |||
| 5 | Dick Turner | 6 | 95 | |||
| 6 | Matt Sampson | 8 | 92 | |||
| 7 | Len Hancock | 7 | 91.5 | |||
| 8 | Trevor Vernalls | 7 | 83 | |||
| 9 | Peter Slade | 8 | 79.5 | |||
| 10 | Tony Hilias | 8 | 77 | |||
| 11 | Paul Braund | 8 | 74 | |||
| 12 | Steve Whitehouse | 8 | 65 | |||
| 13 | Ian Croxton | 4 | 53 | |||
| 14 | Mike Bowden | 8 | 52.5 | |||
| 15 | Kevin Hill | 7 | 51.5 | |||
| 16 | Simon Hockaday | 4 | 50 | |||
| 17 | Jean Bowden | 7 | 46.5 | |||
| 18 | Peter Giles | 5 | 40 | |||
| 19 | Derek Foster | 3 | 36 | |||
| 20 | Kier Durrant | 3 | 35 | |||
| 21 | Ady Larkins | 5 | 49 | |||
| 22 | Mark Gratton | 5 | 31.5 | |||
| 23 | Colin Abbott | 3 | 20 | |||
| =24 | Wayne Burnard | 3 | 11 | |||
| =24 | Tony Johns | 3 | 11 | |||
| 26 | Paul Attenborough | 2 | 10 | |||
| 27 | Nathan Underwood | 1 | 7 | |||
| 28 | Jim Escott | 3 | 4 | |||
| 29 | Guy Pessell | 1 | ||||