ANGLING: Royal Mail remain very erratic

A life on the ocean wave: Pete Dixon with 3lb Grafham perch

Up and down like yo-yos, they were joint-winners of the first round, last in the second...and clear winners this week.

All that, combined with league-leaders Black Horse making an uncharacteristic stumble to fourth on the day, means ‘Mail are back in third place overall and just five points short of top spot – while RAF have quietly slipped through into second place.

Life can get oh so complicated in league fishing!

‘Ashby A Team’s Lloyd Haynes had top weight on a low-scoring day with 30lb from the Brickyard as Browning’s Joe Lewis had 26-9 from Grendon and ‘Mail’s Mark Tottingham 22lb from the ‘Yard.

League: ‘Horse 6 points, RAF 10, ‘Mail 11, Milton Keynes (second on day) 12, Oakwood 14, ‘Ashby ‘Youth’ 16, Browning 18, ‘Ashby A Team 21.

TWO casts with a two-inch dropshotted lure brought Pete Dixon bristling perch of 2-12 and 3lb in successive chucks at the close of a long, long day afloat, Sunday.

He and fellow Gilders’ man Dan Todd had spent the rest of their time trying to keep their breakfasts down as their boat rocked and rolled on Grafham’s wild and gale-lashed 1,500 acres – with only the odd trout on spinner to show for it.

ON another gale-lashed expanse (Lough Inniscarra) Steve Ringer has been in Ireland all-week defending his world champion’s tag – won in last year’s inaugural event – in the five-day ‘world feederfest championship’. He made a flying start by winning Sunday’s practice with 17lb of silvers.

STANWICK’S best of week were a 27-5 mirror to Nathan Bartnick and a 27 common to Lewis Beaumont. Drayton recently produced a new 35lb venue record to Ollie Booker.

FLORE & Brockhall’s last carp match of their season (Dog Lane) fell to Bob Prowse 95lb, way ahead of Bert Isle 22lb and Terry Smith 21lb.

WHITE Hart Flore old boys, midweek, Tofts: Trevor Griffiths (on his birthday) 192-11, Ron Collins 158-12, Tom Griffiths 123-13; WHF, Barby Banks, Terry Adams 55-8, Vinny Atkinson and Dave Chapman both 48lb.

COUNTY Vets, Canons: Paul Lafflin 18-2, Ian Halliwell 14-8, Dave Cantrell 11-9.

NEWPORT Ouse open, Sherington Bridge: Steve Chilton 14-6 of silvers, Alan Carr

and Kevin Osborne both

7-4.

CASTLE winter league third round, Canons: Dave Cantrell 12-11, Paul Brand (current leader) 9-7, Paul Brand 9-7, Colin Bradbury 8-1.

NENE/Towcester, Ouse, Stony Main, mostly perch: Les Wallace 9-7, Les Ramsden 7-12, Bas Eaton 7-4.

FIXTURES: Sat Nov 11, Olney Ouse RBL charity match, 01234 240061.