ALL the recent reports regarding water shortages certainly baffled the members of Lord Nelson AC when they staged Sunday's match on Rudyard Lake.

The water levels are so high at the moment that a lot of the established pegs are submerged and what at one time was a field at the northern end of the lake is now part of the yachting course.

This, coupled with a heavy overnight frost, made fishing difficult and many of the anglers failed to catch.

One member who always seems to find a winning bream is Steve Booth. His chemistry set was put to good use when he tempted a slab of 2lbs 7oz on his secret additive recipe.

This single fish was enough to give Steve a good pay day of £76.

Second was Swinton angler Peter Lee who caught two skimmers and two nice perch for 1lb 15oz.

Third was Phil Stewart of Crown Tackle who had a three-quarter pound perch and a little jacky for his 1lb 14oz weight. Peter Wood of Kearsley British Legion with 1lb 11oz and John Turton of Garbolino with 1lb 6oz 8dr won the section prizes.

BRADSHAW Fisheries have started their Wednesday Open matches. The draw is at 9am and there is no need to book on, just turn up on the banking.

The rules include barbless hooks only. Groundbait can be used but only to a maximum of one kilo, no trout pellets or paste is allowed and all anglers must dip their nets as they come onto the water. Anyone not doing so will be banned from the fishery.

On the first match, held on Lodge number four, Mark Whiteside of Pilkingtons stole the show with a nice bag of carp, roach and skimmers taken on the pole with maggot for 36lb-10oz.

Phil Wilson, also of Pilkingtons, was second using similar methods. He finished with 29lb-8oz.

Third was John Tompkins of Platt Bridge with 20lb-14oz and Ray Davies of MAP Elton finished fourth with 18lb-9oz. BRADSHAW number four's formed dipped a little in last Sunday's Crown Tackle and Bait Series. Tommy Pennington of Pilkingtons caught carp on the pole for the winning weight of 18lb-7oz-10dr.

Just behind in second place was Paul Bottomly. The unattached angler caught 18lb-3oz-7dr of carp on the pole.

Phil Wilson of Pilkingtons framed again, this time in third position with 14lb-9oz-15dr.

Others: Fourth - Dave Pawson (Crown Tackle and Bait) 14-0-0; Fifth - Dave Williams (MAP Elton) 13-14-0; Sixth - Harry Foster (The Horwich Team) 12-2-5

BOATHOUSE AC Sunday Series, Old River, Irlam: 1st: F Oakes 1-15-8; 2nd: P Artford 1-9-0; 3rd: D Berry 1-6-8; 4th: T Waterworth 0-10-8; 5th: K Wright 0-1-4.

BOLTON Anglers Association stage the Little Lever Shield on the Bridgewater Canal at Dane Road on May 4. The match is intended for either teams of four or individuals. The draw is at 8.30am with fishing from 9.30am until 2.30pm Pools are £6 plus entry free. To book contact Dave Hanson on 0161 761 7441.

ALL contributions to this column are welcome. Please ring Glynn Kateley on 01204 709749.

OVERNIGHT frost and flat, calm conditions greeted members of Bolton Coop AC for the final match of the aggregate pairs series held last Sunday on the Club's Hesketh Reservoir.

Everyone found the going tough with bites at a premium. With half an hour of the five-hour match remaining the slim three-point cushion of leading pair Tony Smethurst and Tony Birchall looked precarious.

A change to maggot late on brought a nice two-pound bream which, added to his net of bits, gave Tony Birchall 4-1-4, the match and, with his partner finishing seventh, the series.

Individual runner-up on the day, David Mann, set his stall out for quality and was duly rewarded with a good chub and a bream to weigh 3-14-0, leaving Rodney Makin in third place for his 2-7-0 made up of a pound plus perch and small silver fish.

Match Result: 1st Tony Birchall Peg 18, 4-1-4 pole fished pinkie. 2nd David Mann Peg 23, 3-14-0 pole fished caster. 3rd Rodney Makin Peg 22, 2-7-0 wagler fished maggot.

Pairs Result: 1st Tony Smethurst (Capt.) partner Tony Birchall - 19 points

2nd Colin Haughton partner Rodney Makin - 28 points

3rd Alan Humphries partner Stuart Price - 30 points

4th Mick Riley partner Ralph Davies - 38 points.

GLEAVES Reservoir was the venue for the Tuesday Open match held to raise funds for Bolton DAA National team.

Most anglers decided to start by catching small silver fish from the all in with a switch to caster or swimfeeder if their catch rate was too slow.

The winner, Graham Mortimer (Anglers Corner) got amongst the quality roach with pole fished caster for his 3-5-2 taken from a peg mid-way along the Belmont field side.

His nearest challenge came from next peg angler Bill McDonald (Standish) whose 3-2-12 comprised mainly of eight ounce skimmers. Bob Walker (Dunscar Groundbait) had the best small silver fish net, taking his 2-14-13 on pole fished pinkie.

Match Result: 1st Graham Mortimer (Anglers Corner) peg 17, 3-5-2 pole fished caster/pinkie. 2nd Bill McDonald (Standish) peg 16, 3-2-12 pole fished pinkie. 3rd Bob Walker (Dunscar Groundbait) peg 7, 2-14-13 pole fished pinkie/squat.

Future Matches: Bolton Coop - Hesketh Reservoir, Saturday, draw at bankside 12.30pm. Fishing 1pm - 5pm.

Bolton National Fund Raiser - Gleaves Reservoir, Tuesday, draw at the bankside 12noon. Fishing 1pm - 6pm. Tickets £5 all in. Booking on at Anglers Corner.

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