A BOLTON angler did what our cricket, soccer and rugby league internationals sides could not do by beating the Aussies in their own back yard.

Simon Roberts of top Bolton match angling team BAS Sensus quickly accepted an invitation from ex-pat friends Down Under to fish in the Australian and Tasmanian Open Trans-Tanzman Challenge.

The Aspull angler packed his tackle and set out on the 23,000 mile journey to his peg determined that at least one English competitor gave a good account against the Kangaroos.

He joined up with Alan Wood, John Foxhall and Winston Todd and the four Poms took on teams from all over the continent on Melbourne's Carrum Rowing Course.

And to rub it in, the employed good old English fishery tactics in pursuit of carp using 1gram rigs with double maggots on short poles.

The set-up worked a dream with the team hauling in over over 70 kilos of small carp giving the English team the 4,000 Australian dollars (£1600) top prize, beating tolp teams from Canberra and Melbourne into second and third places.

Just to rub salt in the wounds Simon also fished a couple of open matches while Down Under. In the first he set a new match record on Bostock Reservoir with 104lbs of roach, smashing the previous record of 42lbs. His second foray came on a carp water when he returned a massive 282lbs of fish to win an event on Eldon Reservoir.

Now Simon is planning a second long distance fioshing foray, having taken up an invitation to fish in next year's New Zealand Open.

Warm weather stirred the smaller fish of Shore Top reservoir into feeding in last week's Cain Cup.

Trevor Bevin took small skimmers and roach on the tip with red maggot to record his second win of the year with 6lbs-1ozs. Second was John Turton, who fished swing tip with maggot for 4lbs-13ozs. Third was Ken Stewart, who finished with 3lbs-15ozs.