Len lands a record

RESULTS from most local coarse venues last week would appear to give little encouragement for this. Nevertheless all the popular stretches of canal should give some sport.

We are promised improved weather and, though the temperatures have remained depressed all week, it is possible that catches will improve marginally.

Local non-commercial stillwaters are unlikely to prove any better than the canal, but the densely stocked commercial fisheries offer almost guaranteed decent nets -- almost.

Despite the cool weather and most trout fishers have continued to produce the goods though, as you would expect, sport has tailed off a little.

Pennine Trout Fishery, at Littleborough, is one of the closest and one of the best. A rod average of 11 fish will be hard to maintain this weekend, but Oswaldtwistle's Len Pilkington can always reflect on his capture of the venue's record brown trout, a magnificent 23lbs 11oz.

Len was using only a 5lbs b.s. leader to present a green damsel, and had to use consummate skill to ensure the beauty was not lost. Both lodges here are fishing very well.

As predicted Esthwaite Water, Cumbria, continued its good run of farm with a rod average of almost eight. Top fish here was also a brown trout but not quite so big. Nevertheless at 10lbs 12oz it was still quite some fish.

Lures have made their way to the fore here, as they have at many waters. The big one fell to a Cat's Whisker fished on a Hi-D line. Viva, and any of various patterns of sparkler are doing well.

Back on the coarse scene, Bradshaw Hall, Bolton, produced some decent pleasure nets through the week, but wasn't in great form for the matchmen. Sunday's Cats and Dogs Bonanza qualifier did throw up a decent looking 39-7-0 winning weight, but it was a long way ahead of the rest.

Top local was Burnley's Ray Ayre, who took second spot with 16-10-0. Bruce Clarke, also from the town, made the frame in fourth with 13-9-0.

Small carp, boosted by a few skimmers, made up the winner's net. He, Paul Bottomley, used the almost obligatory pole alternating between sweetcorn and caster on the hook.

The regular series of spring matches at Littleborough's Hollingworth Lake are underway, but its form is hardly likely to attract any more than 46 who turned up last week.

Old stager Ben Martin, no mug with the tip, drew a great peg near the outflow, but only needed three skimmers and a few small roach on red maggot, to take the winner's £155 jackpot.

Accrington's ace matchman Arthur Hargreaves demonstrated his versatility by winning the 45-pegger at Copthorne, with 16-12-0 of carp to around 2lbs. Red maggot on the hook over pellet feed was his method.

A poor turnout of only 34 for Todmorden AC's Open match must have been somewhat disappointed with the weights from the club's stretch of Rochdale Canal.

Just three tench, on caster, were all that Burnley's Gary Jones needed to win. They totalled 6-14-12 and put him well clear (in fact he only needed two) of second placed Steve Buckley of Todmorden, with 3-13-4.

Kevin James and John Fallows also made the frame to ensure that most of the money stayed local.

Clear and very cold are precisely the conditions you don't want to find on any canal, particularly the Huddersfield Broad. Of course that's exactly how it was last weekend for the latest league match (Gas AC).

It wasn't easy, as you would expect, and no anglers from this side of the hill could make the frame. Big fish were again, the order of the day and both bream and carp were landed.

The winner however, included a super canal chub of almost 4lbs in his winning 10-2-0. Big bread-punch was the method and pegs on the long length and marina are tops.

Carp aren't my favourite match fish and I rarely can be persuaded to talk about them, except in derogatory terms. I must however, make an exception when it comes to the one landed by Chorley angler Tommy Hill.

He was fishing a small 12-man contest with his mates from the Chorley Kingfishers Club on the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Gorst Lane. Tommy was using typical gear for here, pole with 18 hook to 1lbs b.s. line, when his caster was sucked in by this fish.

A fair old battle, lasting all of 10 minutes, ensued before an absolutely outstanding specimen of no less than 19lbs 10z lay in his net.

It is of course, one of the biggest-ever match-caught carp from the canal (probably one of the biggest in it as well) and was obviously big enough to win the match -- as if Tommy was bothered.

Stunned is the word Tommy used to describe his feelings, or one of them at least!