East Midlands Winter League THE practice match for the final round of this year s league was fished on Sunday at Cock Bank. Despite dire weather forecasts, conditions were comparatively benign, but apart from one or two good areas the fishing was very har

East Midlands Winter League

THE practice match for the final round of this year's league was fished on Sunday at Cock Bank.

Despite dire weather forecasts, conditions were comparatively benign, but apart from one or two good areas the fishing was very hard. Burnt House Bridge was the place to be, with Stanjay's Ian Benton on peg 53 winning the match with three tench in his 12lb 15oz.

Alistair Ogilvie was second with 9lb 12oz and Rob Hewison came in third. Stan, for the second consecutive week, drew next to the match winner but failed to catch the bonus fish which would have given him a top three finish.

The top two places in the league are already almost certain with several teams still in contention for the pride of third spot.

RESULT: 1 Ian Benton Stanjay Turbo 12lb 15oz, 2 Alistair Ogilvie Van Den Eynde 9lb 12oz, 3 Rob Hewison Sensas Mark One 5lb 1oz, 4= John Spalton Sensas Mark One White/Jon Means Peterborough 4lb 12oz.

St Ives AS

SUNDAY'S match, fished in awful conditions, was won by Chris Geeson with 46lb. Chris caught seven tench, the biggest an impressive 6lb 14oz plus three bream. Colin Leach was second and Paul Ashcroft, the early leader, came third.

RESULT: 1 Chris Geeson 46lb, 2 Colin Leach 33lb 6oz, 3 Paul Ashcroft 17lb 7oz.

Brampton AS

BRAMPTON'S penultimate match of the Fur & Feather club championship was held on the Forty Foot at Horseway Sluice on Sunday.

Despite the recent rain, the drain was carrying little extra water and fished well, with the average weight per man exceeding 11lb.

Chris Saunders and Mick Sonnet, who found better quality roach on hemp on a consistent basis, occupied the top spots, with Kevin Medlock third and Nick Marriott fourth.

Nick currently has a slender one point lead in the championship standings, but the situation could change dramatically after the final round at Decoy in early January once the leading trio discard results from earlier in the series.

RESULT: 1 Chris Saunders 17lb; 2 Mick Sonnet 14lb, 3 Kevin Medlock 12lb 8oz; 4 Nick Marriott 11lb 2oz.

STANDINGS: 1 Nick Marriott 64pts; 2 Colin Oliver 63pts; 3 Kevin Peacock 61pts.

Godmanchester AS

IAN Benton won Saturday's match on the Recreation Ground in awful cold wet weather conditions with 4lb 2oz. Stan and Ray Myring finished equal second.

RESULT: 1 Ian Benton Stanjay Turbo 4lb 2oz, 2= Stan Binge Browning Stanjay/Ray Myring St Ives 1lb 10oz.

Benwick AC

THE village pegs at Chapel Farm fished well for Sunday's club match. Terry Fairbrother won the match, adding two tench to a good roach catch to weigh in 13lb. Dick Denson was second with 11lb 6oz and Terry Moat came in third as hemp proved the bait for roach on the day.

RESULT: 1 Terry Fairbrother 13lb, 2 Dick Denson 11lb 6oz, 3 Terry Moat 9lb 12oz, 4 Kevin Gaunt 9lb.

Ramsey AS

THE Narrows is generally one of the most consistent winter waters in the area and Sunday was no exception, with the 11 anglers present catching a total of 115lb.

Winner Andrew Kilby caught seven tench and also lost another three for his winning weight of 31lb.

Mark Cunnington took second place with an all roach 13lb 9oz and Malcolm Sansome was third, also with roach, for 12lb.

With another four anglers weighing in nine pounds plus, the weights were good for a December day.

RESULT: 1 Andrew Kilby 31lb, 2 Mark Cunnington 13lb 9oz, 3 Malcolm Sansome 12lb, 4 Paul Kilby 9lb 12oz.

Lawn Farm

LAST week's Golden Rod match was won by Chris Young, with 37lb 8oz of carp taken on pellet and corn. Roger Dickerson was second, his 20lb mainly caught on maggot with a waggler. Dennis Holliday was third.

RESULT: 1 Chris Young St Neots 37lb 8oz, 2 Roger Dickerson Cambridge 20lb 13oz, 3 Dennis Holliday Biggleswade 18lb 5oz.

Pike Championships

THE National Pike Championships were held on the Fen Drains in November with the ladies' event producing a very popular local winner in Joan Cole from Warboys.

The victory was all the more remarkable in view of the fact that Joan had only a month before had all her tackle, carefully accumulated over many years, stolen.

Joan caught two fish from the Twenty Foot for a total weight of 18lb 12oz. She is pictured with Mick Brown from Fox International, who sponsored the event.