Match Report

It was decided to peg this third leg of the LEC Cup in the Canal Basin itself, elsewhere on the canal due to the lack of pleasure boat traffic the water was gin clear and with the bright sunny conditions was expected to be difficult. The Basin appeared to be crammed with fish when the competitors arrived but luckily there were very few pleasure anglers about.

Steve Jeffery was drawn between the two benches near to the entrance of the Basin and elected to fish the waggler up to halfway across. Using single red maggot or caster as hookbait, Steve caught Skimmers and Roach steadily throughout the match with his best Skimmer weighing approximately a pound , giving him more than enough for his second win in this series of four matches.

Second was Steve Simmonds, who was drawn halfway down the southern side of the Basin. Steve started on the waggler and managed to catch a few Skimmers and Roach but this line died at lunchtime. A change to the whip at four metres gave Steve instant results as a series of better Roach started to come to the net in the last two hours.

Third was Keith Hughes, who was drawn next to Steve Simmonds and caught small Roach and Skimmers throughout the day. Keith must have been the unluckiest angler on the day as he lost a Pike, a Tench and a Carp. Any of those fish would have probably helped in to second or possibly first place. As for the Lec Cup, with one round remaining on the 17th February it couldn’t be tighter, Steve Jeffery has 29 points and Steve Simmonds 28.