Gard wins at Bitterwell Lake

Only one carp was caught and it was silverfish that provided most of the action in round 12 of the Roland Poole Monday Series fished on a snow-ringed Bitterwell Lake.

Andy Gard won the match with 3-2-0 of skimmers taken with a waggler and maggot fished at 20 metres centre off peg 20 on Road Bank.

Second was Norman Ferris, who used a long pole and maggot to prise 2-8-0 of the same from peg 12, while third-placed Roland Poole fished the same as the winner at 13 for 2-2-0.

The only carp caught fell to Bob "The Bread" Price, who fished a straight lead with pellet close to the aerator off 14 and converted his only bite of the match into a 3-8-0 common.

Result: Andy Gard 3-2-0, peg 20 Road Bank; 2, Norman Ferris 2-8-0, peg 12 Car Park Bank; 3, Roland Poole 2-2-0, peg 13 Road Bank; 4, Steve Mundy 1-14-0; 5, Bill Ferris 11oz. Carp: Bob "The Bread" Price (Alcove AC) 3-8-0.

Plenty of fish weighing around the 10-pound mark are being caught at the Lechlade & Bushyleaze Trout Fishery, near Gloucester, despite the falling snow and icy temperatures.

Trout love the cold weather and for those anglers willing to brave the wintry conditions the top flies are buzzers and damsel nymphs.

The January report for Lechlade shows that 266 anglers caught 965 fish, of which 386 were doubles. The heaviest was an 18-4-0 specimen taken by a Mr Francis, from Wales, with Peter Ford, of Cheltenham, coming a close second with one weighing just under 17-0-0. The best flies were bloodworm, yellow dancers and diawl backs, all fished on floating lines.

At Bushyleaze, 173 anglers caught 677 fish, of which 196 weighed more than 4-0-0.The heaviest was a 7-4-0 specimen taken by a Mr Walker from Stroud.