IT was a Grimsby one-two when Carr Lane Angling Club duo James Whitley and Paul Barnstable went into battle in Doncaster.
The pair were competing in a club match at Tyram Hall.
Everyone feared the worst when league leader Matty Benwell drew the end peg, which looked ideal.
He was casting into open water at the end of the island, but the wind was in the wrong place.
There was a film of scum on the water, and things were difficult – Benwell only caught a couple of pounds.
I was also at that end, and could not get a carp no matter what I tried. I decided to fish for silvers and was kept busy on the pole.
Elsewhere, Whitley decided to fish using the long pole and pellet on the hook. This worked a treat. The carp were all of a decent size and they put up a real fight trying to make their escape.
On the next peg was Barnstable. He was also fishing shallow.
At the end of the match, it was very close. Only six ounces separated the leading duo.
Whitley just clinched it with 29.9lb. Barnstable had 29.3lb.
Third was Shane Bennett, who also caught shallow. He had 22lb.
Rob Thompson was fourth with 19.4lb. He caught on the bomb and method feeder – and also lost a really big fish on the pellet waggler, that just snapped him clean off.
Over at Saltfleetby, there was no stopping the wizard from Market Rasen, Mark Critcher. He was on one of the unfancied pegs, but this did not prevent him from winning. He weighed in 108lb from peg 21.
In second was Grimsby's Glen Tucker, who was on peg 18 and had 72.1lb.
Third was the ever-present Lee Popham who nearly always frames. He had 71.lb from peg 4.
In a midweek match at the venue, Mablethorpe's Paul Underwood won with 55.7lb off peg 3.
There is no open match tomorrow – it is today. Draw is at 11am. Fishing starts at 12pm.
The Island Pond at Messingham produced a bumper weight for one of Grimsby's top commercial pond anglers, Andy Bryant.
'Chippa' as he is commonly referred to, caught 195lb and actually lost a further seven fish which would have taken him well over the 200lb mark.
At Pasture House, the Saturday match was a real struggle. The weights were well down on previous matches.
Dave Birjoo was first with 48.4lb. He was on the main lake and fishing from peg five.
The following day, the fishing was far better and all the anglers enjoyed a decent day's fishing.
Glen Collins was top angler on the day with 76.8lb from peg 21 on the canal.
Grimsby angler Tim Chapman made good use of peg 36 on the main lake to claim second with 54.15lb, just one ounce in front Simon Miller who was also on the main lake on peg 18.
