HEAVY rain and windy conditions over the last week has caused difficulty for anglers and reduced catches.
The local rivers have been worst hit, with many severely flooded. Despite this, Ellesmere Port AC staged their club match on the Aerosol stretch of the River Weaver at Winsford on Sunday.
The water had risen by nearly two feet, resulting in a winning weight of only 1lb 11oz. This was recorded by Ellesmere Port’s George Roberts, who netted roach using pole and pinkies. A roach haul of 1lb 3oz gave Winsford angler Sid Taylor second place, followed by Ellesmere Port’s Peter Doyle with only 9oz of roach caught on bronze maggot.
Billy Gore had more success when he won the Rivacre club match on the River Dane at Blye Bridge, Middlewich, on Saturday. Gore, from Eastham, bagged 37lbs of chub weighing up to 5lbs on stick float and bronze maggot. He was the only competitor to catch anything on the day.
Anglers have also struggled on still waters this week. Mark Greasley of Ellesmere Port weighed in with 25lbs 8oz to win the Cheshire Police AC club match on Thursday.
Drawn on peg 27 of Willow pool, he battled against windy conditions, using meat and maggot for his net of barbel. Chester’s Andy Smith ran in second with a mixed bag of 21lb using maggot from peg 13.
No sizeable carp were caught on the day, limiting the catches.
Sunday saw the third match of the North Wales Winter League held on the River Weaver at Northwich. Nick Roberts was top rod on the day with 20lb 4oz of skimmers using feeder and worm. His catch helped place Ellesmere Port’s Rod ‘n’ Reel team in third place overall on the day.
Saints angler Paul Hughes weighed in with 18lb 12oz of skimmers for second place followed by Mark Goodwin (Connah’s Quay Match).
The final league positions after three matches find Saints in first place ahead of Chester Tackle Locker in second and Rod ‘n’ Reel holding third with three more matches to go.
