Tactics pay off as Booth bags victory

Angling: A POSITIVE approach worked the oracle for Paul Booth in the final round of the Todmorden AS teams-of-three winter league on the Rochdale Canal.

Drawn behind the Gordon Rigg Garden Centre, Booth weighed in with 5lb 1oz of roach and the odd skimmer on bread punch and caster.

I was second with 3lb 15oz 8drams of roach on the pole and caster, while Ian Latham claimed third place thanks to 3lb 14oz 8drams of roach on bread punch and caster.

The top team on the day were TRI-CAST Rochdale with 24 points, but they were denied the overall title. They were beaten into second place with Maver Red claiming top honours, with Maver Blue in third.

I, like Booth, was drawn on a peg behind the garden centre.

Booth started off like a house on fire, catching roach straight away on punch before switching to caster for a better stamp of fish.

There was an empty peg between us and for the first two hours I didn’t have a bite. I feared the worst at this stage.

I tried bread punch both down the track and across, but no luck. I eventually opted for caster up the peg and got my first fish, a roach, and then nothing for another 30 minutes.

Due to the strong wind, I decided to lay right on with a tiny shot on the bottom which held the bait really still.

It worked and I caught steadily to the end. I lost the odd fish, including a real dog roach of around the pound mark, but it was still a good way to finish the series.



JIM Evans won round five of the Chadderton Mill AC winter league on the club lodge.
The former tackle dealer, drawn on peg one, boasted a level 25lb net which included one good-sized carp, three smaller samples and 5lb of ide on maggot towards the tins.

Situated on the next peg, Chris Shaw (Stalybridge Angling) also had two carp in his bag of 18lb 10oz. He also had plenty of ide on the waggler and maggot.

Although new to match-fishing, Adie Hicks is learning fast and netted third place with 14lb 2oz. He had two carp and some ide using maggot on the deck.

Phil Hulme leads the series with just four points, followed by Evans.



CONRAD Taylor (Gilders) won the Partridge Lakes open on Covey Canal.
He employed the pole and pellet approach at six metres for 40lb of mostly carp, together with a few f1s from his end peg 100.

Runner-up Ian Burley was second, with maggot tempting a 33lb 3oz bag, while Mark Kemp had 30lb 1oz for third spot.



BAIT dealer Mick Risby claimed second place among a quality line-up which fished the Carr Mill Dam Sunday open.
Risby used tip tactics for 7lb 3oz of skimmers and roach.



THE Centurian AC are holding their presentation night on Thursday, February 2, at Springbank Bowling Club, Queens Road, Chadderton (8pm). This will be the last chance for members to pay subscriptions.


LEES and Hey AS are staging their annual meeting on Sunday at Lees and Hey Conservative Club, Warrington Street, Lees (1pm).
New members are welcome. Membership is £10.

The meeting will discuss the match calendar — half-a-dozen are already in the diary — and the club presentation evening.



Venue Guide
Denshaw Vale: Memberships available. For more details, contact John on (0161) 665 1779.

Ogden Reservoir: Day tickets on the bank and at Tight Lines, Shaw.

Huddersfield Narrow Canal: Day tickets on the bank.

Rochdale Canal: Bread punch and caster tempting plenty of roach, but a bit peggy, which is to be expected at this time of year.

Bardsley Canal: Pleasure anglers catching roach, skimmers and perch on red maggot.

Chadderton Mill Lodge:

Red maggot seems to be working for most fish with carp, ide and silvers all feeding.

Park Lake: Day tickets on the bank.



Diary Dates
Every Sunday: Northern AA open matches on the Macclesfield Canal. For further details, contact Albert on (0161) 792 2684.

Monarch AC winter series: Members-only matches on the club water. For further details, contact Dean on (0161) 213 0539 or 07518 459714.

Every Saturday: Todmorden AS open matches on the Rochdale Canal. For details, contact Simon on 07896 237224.

Every Sunday: Todmorden AS open matches on the Rochdale Canal. For information, call Frank on 07769 905319.

Every Sunday: Pilsworth Fishery open matches. Draw 10am in the car park.

To report any news or views on the local or national angling scene, contact Jan Verbruggen on 07846 456408 or email janangling@hotmail.co.uk.