THE River Wear Championships split between Shincliffe to Chester Moor offered the ideal opportunity to practise for next week's opening fixture of the North East Winter League on the Wear and competitors will now be hoping for rain to freshen up a low clear venue, which was hard going for most. Malcolm Dunlop of Darlington Angling Centre left everyone trailing returning an excellent net of 17.14.0 on a difficult day.

Pulling out peg 8 below Shincliffe Hall Malcolm worked the waggler and caster through the shallow glide netting 9 chub. A couple came early on but a late burst ensured his name on the prestigious trophy. 2nd place was shared on 8.11.0. Durham's Steve Hann 3 below the winner on the Spillway peg also found chub landing 5 to floatfished maggot. Then Newman Scott's Peter Nixon on the peg above the weir at Prebends used the waggler and maggot for an assortment of chub roach perch and gudgeon from Brian Fields of Hartlepool on 7.14.0.

A clash with the Wear Championships reduced Chester le Street's Open sponsored by Turners Tackle to just 27 but Washington's Ralph Naylor wasn't complaining as his 12.9.0 net made for a bumper payday. Drawing on peg 45 below Lumley Castle weir Ralph trotted the stickfloat and maggot through the pacey swim, taking dace and chublets backed by a brace of surprise flounders 2.0.0 apiece which had worked their way upstream from the estuary. Fellow rod John Foster on peg 1 at Creighton Avenue used the same approach resulting in dace and chublets to make for 7.8.0. The Lower Ure Championships attracted 65 competitors to the river downstream of Boroughbridge and the cricket field again proved the place to draw.

Fishing peg 21 at the bottom of the cricket field feeder and caster across to farside willows accounted for two in the opening hours adding the others in mid match. There was also a tie for 2nd place on 9.4.0 and Stuart Proctor RSPS Tek Neek Trabucco next to the winner legered bread for three chub while Steve Evans of Bentley AC.

Over on the Tees Darlington's Rob Turner emerged a comfortable victor in Richmond Angling Society's Whitbread Cup on the middle reaches at Over Dinsdale. Fishing peg 8 at the Girsby end, waggler and caster resulted in 7 chub for 17.3.0.

This year's Royal Air Force Leeming Charity match takes place on Saturday 12 October on the middle reaches of the Swale between Leeming Beckmouth downstream to Thackeray Bend at Gatenby. There are 80 pegs booked with all proceeds going to a very worthwhile cause 'The Yorkshire Air Ambulance Services' registered charity 1084305. Tickets are £4 including food at the after match presentation. For further information contact Kirk Wood on 01677 / 422279. Ferryhill & District Angling Club AGM is next Thursday 10 October and the club is offering free membership for the rest of this year for new members wanting to join for 2003. Further details from membership secretary Steve Kent on 01740 / 655626.

CARP SCENE

It was almost another ton at the 'red hot' Woodlands Lakes when Hull and District's consistent Julian Griffin won Saturday's carp bonanza dragging 99.14.0 onto the scales. Julian on Partridge peg 12 started off at 13 metres with meat on the deck but gradually shallowed up landing quality carp all match tempting several in the 5 - 6.0.0 bracket.

Tri Cast Whizzo's John Allerton led five 70lb+ nets totalling 79.3.0. John required 18 metres to reach the island on Dragonfly 9 as carp tench and skimmer bream found his strawberry meat irresistible.

Others: J McGarrell (Map Elton) 77.11.0 J Chapman ( VDE) 76.14.0 G Archer (Yorkshire Tykes) 76.13.0.

Wednesday's Open Woodland Lakes

(72 rods) Curlew Kestrel Partridge & Skylark 1 D Harris (CAC) 62.2.0 2 G Twohey (EJ Tackle) 60.15.0. 3 S Wood (Leeds) 60.13.0.

It was a full house for Sunday's Oaks Open on Maple Lake and the North's top carp men battled it out. Map Elton's Darren Bridge weighed in 42.15.0 to see off the rest. Fishing off peg 50 the deeper channel down the middle held the shoal and Darren picked up a steady supply of small carp on maggot over loose fed pellets backed by a few bonus specimens of 5lbs. Second place Ian Bowman of Maver Barnsley Blacks on 63A located small carp against the aerator putting together 40.7.0 on long pole and maggot. Thursday's Open Oaks Sessay Maple Lake (38 rods) 1 C Hall (Oaks) 68.13.0. 2 D Smith (Map Elton) 58.0.0. 3 P Taylor (MapElton) 45.4.0.

TROUT NEWS

Leighton Reservoir: 195 rods - 379 trout. Rainbows to 8.0.0. Fish deep on bright days responding to lures, orange fritz, black & green and Dawson's olive. Small black daddy longlegs effective on the top during dull conditions. Buzzers deadly on Jubilee Lakes - 5 double figured rainbows with Billingham' s Brian Elliott grassing the heaviest of 16.9.0 on an olive cactus cluster. Scaling Dam - 143 rods- 355 rainbows to 7.0.0. Hoppers and daddy's top flies.

Fontburn - 408 rods - 1346 trout - best rainbow 6.8.0. Cat's whisker, appetiser, Dawson's olive and various boobies successful. Derwent - 346 - 941 trout. Top rainbow 6.8.0. The Dam wall and the North shore again fishing well with cat's whisker, Dawson's olive and black fritz best patterns.

Grassholme - 103 rods - 271 rainbows to 2.0.0. 11 limit bags. Hury - 136 rods - 318 rainbows to 2.0.0 & 11 limit bags Blackton - 61 rods - 138 rainbows. Black fritz and black pennel best flies. Heaviest rainbow of 8.8.0 grassed by WH Charlton. Kielder - 122 rods - 218 trout. Rainbows to 6.2.0. Best shorelines at present Tower Knowles and Hawkhope.

FIXTURES: Saturday 5 October *Middlesbrough AC Mac Hopson Memorial Middle Swale - Gatenby to Baldersby (200 pegs) Tickets 01642 / 899288. *Woodland Lakes Open. Tickets on 01845 / 526110. Sunday 6 October *Idle & Thackley AA Open (45 pegs) Swale at Swainby. Tickets on 01274 / 618569. *Thornaby AA Thornaby Anglers Open Cup River Tees Croft to Hurworth. *Northallerton & District Trenholme Cup River Swale at Scruton. *North East Winter League Opening Fixture on the River Wear at Durham. *Yarm AA Junior Holiday Open Trophy on Halnaby Lake. *North Central League (5) Cod Beck Thirsk. *Ripon Pisc. J. Webster Trophy (60 pegs) River Ure at Norton Conyers. *NYSD Fed Indiv. Champs River Tees at Over Dinsdale. Tickets on 01325 / 264213. *Tadcaster APA Open (60 pegs) River Wharfe at Smaws Ings. Tickets on 01937 / 832972.

*Chester le Street Open River Wear. *York & DAA John Smiths Hospital Cup River Ouse at Fulford and Middlethorpe (90 pegs). Tickets on 01904 / 629126. *Yorkshire WL (1) River Calder. *Oaks Sessay Open on Maple Lake.