Warm weather brings out the biggest catches

Furzton saw good doubles falling to happy anglers with Ryan Huish among them as he had 12 to 21-8 over three nights. Don Warner had good fish, too, as did John Plested.

Carp weren't the only fish feeding there. Dave Timlin and Gary Mason had 'a great day's fishing' with the bream.

And Jack Sharpe fooled a big double from Newport's pits on April 1, while Jamie Boomer found crucians feeding at Tingrith. Nearer home Kane Thompson netted a good Wolverton Mill common and Roger Martin had a good tench within minutes of starting on Tear Drops.

On Bradwell Lake Len Brookman bagged a mint 7-2 tench and Mitchell Ridgeway (pictured) a 5-12. A session with bailiff Shaun Taylor on Ashlands led to seven year-old Joshua developing ear-to-ear smiles over his second-ever fish, a chunky mirror. Canal bream seem to be livening up, too.

TOWCESTER Vets fished either side of Castlethorpe Navvi canal bridge, with those on the Stoke side filling the frame as Graham Martin had 17-8, Kevin Nightingale 14-4 and Tosh Saunders 10-8.

LINFORD's first canal match of their year saw Nick Barker top rod with 14-8. John Hough had 8-10 and Roy Hefferon 8-8.

MK Vets, Cosgrove GUC: Ernie Sattler 9-8, Kevin Osborne 5-13, Neil Hughes 3-11.

MILL Pond open, Husborne Crawley: Paul Abbott 15-8, Paul Caton 12-2, Steve Davies 11lb.

TOWCESTER Wappenham): Tony Hirst 2-13, Barry Eales 1-12. A carper had a 14-pounder.

IT is rod licence renewal time. The EA has already apologised for the (seemingly traditional) delay in sending them out to those who applied early...

MAJOR work on the trees and bushes around Bradwell Lake has been finished.

NOT surprisingly, new partial restrictions on fishing Willen South's H5-H6 banks are not going down well with venue regulars. Part of the problem has been the amount of gear some clowns (thought to be largely after-dark poachers) have been leaving wrapped round the ski tow cables.

THE Angling Trust – representing all forms of angling in England and Wales – has had to shed some people following a £110,000 a year cut in the money it gets from Sport England.

Previously employing 59 full and part-timers, it has made one full-timer redundant and not renewed the fixed-term contracts of two others, while restructuring its crucial efforts to get more people into the sport.

FIXTURES: Saturday, junior teach-in, Ashlands, 2pm-4pm; Sunday, mini-open, Newport Pits, 07795 068428; April 23, MKAA canal spring league teams-of-four opener, 01234 713144.