Bailey's winning start

A CLEAR and slow-flowing Bristol Avon proved a hard nut to crack for the 28 St Anne's Board Mills AC members competing in the first home match of the new season.

Top of the scoresheet was Tom Bailey with a 7-0-0 catch of bleak, roach and dace from peg five.

He said: "I fed the six-metre pole line and fished the far side with feeder and maggot while waiting for the fish to move in.

"During the first 30 minutes I converted my only two bites into a couple of small roach, so I was very pleased when I hooked into a third fish on my first put-in at six metres. From then on I managed to catch a few dace and the odd roach and had a good five to six pounds of fish in my keepnet when the fish moved up in the water.

"I immediately switched to a lighter rig and during the last 45 minutes added another 1-0-0 of dace and bleak to my total weight."

The top weight to come from upstream of the steps fell to Bob Dark. He float-fished maggot over hemp at one rod length off peg 11 and weighed in with 5-4-0 of bleak and dace.

He said: "It was a good 30 minutes before the dace honed in on the hemp but as soon as they started to feed I hooked one with almost every chuck."

Andy Wilson, who drew to fish the hot favourite downstream end peg one, was third. He alternated between a stick float, waggler and feeder with either double bronze maggot and bread and weighed in a 5-0-0 mixed bag containing dace, roach and a pair of 12oz chub.

Result: 1, Tom Bailey 7-0-0, peg 4; 2, Bob Dark 5-4-0, peg 11; 3, Andy Wilson 5-0-0, peg 1; 4, Rodney Buss 2-12-0, peg 14; 5, Pete Powe 2-8-0, peg 5; 6, Martin Fussell 1-2-0, peg 3.