A team plan targeting small roach on the pole to hand offering squatts gave Newman Scott a winning start on the Tees around Yarm during the opening round of the Northern Division of the Drennan Super League.

The ever-consistent Ronnie Wilkinson led the charge putting a super net of 12.2.0 onto the scales from the 88 competitors that lined the lower reaches.

Fishing four below the Town Bridge opposite the jetty Ronnie swapped between pole and whip at six and seven metres feeding occasionally with groundbait and, apart from two perch, he swung in tiny roach up to 4ozs all match and could have had more but for some troublesome pike unsettling his swim from time to time.

Teammate Dave Smiddy made it a Newman Scott 1-2. Sat opposite Whitehouse Farm off peg 173 it was more of the same for 8.2.0.

Arch Rivals Team Shimano Quaker A' adopted the same tactics on the day but in the overall scores slipped an agonising one point behind the mighty Newman Scott on 74.

League placings: 1 Newman Scott 74; 2 Shimano Quaker A' 73; 3 Diawa Cleveland 61; 4 Big Waters 52 & jt 5 Anglers Services Hartlepool & Northallerton AC 49.

The upstream peg on Hutton Conyers Beckmouth decided Ripon Piscatorials Simpson Cup as chub made for some excellent nets.

First off the mark at the scales Bentley Angling Services Steve Evans hauled 38.12.0 of chub.

Opting for the bomb and loose feeding casters across, Steve switched hookbaits between caster corn and wasp grub in order to keep them coming and 14 specimens later victory was in the bag, despite the last two hours slipping by without a fish.

Runner-up Ian Lumb of Turners Tackle came off the Willowgarth straight upstream of the North Bridge and worked the blockend feeder and caster landing 10 chub and a lone barbel for 28.15.0.

Others in the frame: A Hodgson (Ripon) 28.0.0; J Bywell (Aireborough) 27.12.0.

Quality chub also featured on the River Swale at Scruton during the Northallerton and District AC fixture on Sunday and the top pair landed ten apiece above Morton Bridge.

Several lost fish yet local rod Mick Thirling still held on to take the glory. Drawing peg five below the Mill Beck island bomb and maggot over to far bank willow cover resulted in 36.4.0.

Meanwhile Paul Bosomworth in the bottom Willowgarth started on the blockend feeder without success and a quick change to the stickfloat made all the difference as the moving bait accounted for 33.4.0.

Fish were hard to come by in the latest Idle and Thackley AA Open on the middle Swale and a draw in the shallows was essential.

Shildon's Malcolm Fleetwood got the peg everyone wanted the 'run off' below Maunby Village and managed to extract three chub for a hard earned 8.7.0 all falling to bomb and caster.

Best of the rest proved Newcastle's Alan Shearer whose two chub on legered cheese were enough for second place when the scales settled at 6.10.0.

Carp Scene

A total of 96 rods and a big winning carp haul of 97.0.0 made for a great match at Woodland Lakes on Saturday.

Split between Kestrel Partridge and Skylark Lakes Diawa Goldthorpe's Daryl Taylor set a new Kestrel best.

The 'in form' star fished off peg 14 and presenting pole and paste at 12 metres Daryl picked up all carp as specimens to 7.0.0 succumbed.

Fish were in good supply in this area and Diawa Cleveland's Jeff Leyton replied with 71.11.0 off the adjoining peg on the day no. 12 as the deadly paste once again outperformed the other baits.

Then for the Oaks Sessay Open on Sunday, competitors witnessed a carp explosion as fish fed avidly all around Maple Lake and over 35.0.0 only guaranteed a section win.

Tri Cast Whizzo expert John Allerton quickly disposed of the others.

Getting ahead of a tight pack he heaved 76.8.0 onto the scales.

On peg 55 John on the long pole into the corner utilised chopped worm and caster netting samples up to 2.0.0.

Winner the previous week's big money final Eric Willan slipped into second place this time around.

The Sensas Garbolino man on peg 30 located mostly carp on chopped worm at 13 metres supplemented by a few roach and ide to push his score to 59.12.0 followed by Dean Smith, (Tek Neek Trabucco Elton) 57.6.0 and Mark Vanderkamp (Sensas Garbolino) 56.9.0.

Trout round-up

Fontburn Reservoir: 325 rods 1172 rainbows - best 12.0.0 on worm for Newcastle's G Alelezas.

Blackton: 129 anglers 351 trout. 3 limit bags. B Freeman from Bishop Auckland landed the top trout of the week a brownie of 5.0.0. Successful flies - Bibio, Dawson's olive and claret bumble.

Grassholme: 341 visitors 966 trout to 4.8.0. 32 limit bags. Bibio, devastator & fritz patterns most popular.

Cow Green: Now open but trout hard to tempt. 42 rods 155 brown trout to 3.4.0.

Derwent: 499 anglers 1461 trout. Top rainbow 7.4.0 taken on a dry fly for H Hall. Cat's whisker, buzzers, orange and black fritz productive. Best areas Cronkley Meadow, above the sailing club and on the dam wall.

Scaling Dam: 160 visitors 428 rainbows up to 3.0.0. 17 limit bags.

Kielder: 158 rods 456 trout. Heaviest a rainbow of 8.6.0 and the best of the season was landed by D Dodds. Top flies knotted midge, clan chief and hoppers.

Leighton Reservoir: 194 anglers 430 trout - 65 limit bags. Rainbows to 6.0.0. Best flies are small blacks, mayfly, daddy longlegs and small buzzers.

Tunstall: Rod average 2.9. Best bags Andrew Hopper of Gateshead and Peter Gray of Birtley. Biggest rainbow of 4.2.0 went to Lawrence Richardson of Murton. Black hoppers, Kate McLaren and buzzers enticing the majority of fish.

Jubilee Lakes Redworth: Known for its heavyweights rainbows to 18.2.0 figuring in catches to gold head damsel and Dawson's olive. Rod average 2.5.