BARBOURNE AC star Nigel Hobday bounced back to win his club's latest encounter on the bottom lake at Brockamin by a comfortable margin.

Hobday suffered a bad outing on the canal previously when he lost a match-winning fish and a section of his pole.

Opposite the bottom island on peg 33 this time, he cast a waggler and corn set-up to the far bank and was rewarded with a fine carp of 12 pounds in the first 20 minutes.

A change in wind direction forced a tactical alteration and a switch to hair-rigged corn, along with a straight ledger rig, saw Hobday continue to net fish, ending with 41lbs 6oz.

Runner-up Ashley Bosworth was on corner peg 40 where he presented sweetcorn and pellet at eight metres and found fish to 7lbs in his 20-2 catch.

Andy Wheeler came third from dam wall peg 25 with a pole-caught carp of 18lbs which bulked up his 19-9 weight.

Pete Hughes took 15-12 off unfancied peg 16 for fourth prize. The next Barbourne AC match is this weekend on the WDUAA Cobb House Farm fishery.

Droitwich club Rifleman's Arms found catches tempered by the cold, wet conditions at the normally-prolific Barbourne pool at Cotheridge.

Overall winner with 7-13 was Wayne Smith, who tackled his peg with pole and white maggot in order to net small carp and roach.

Cliff Henshall came second with 7-6, thanks to three carp which accepted his bread bait a few feet from the bank.

Mick Watson claimed third with a breadpunch-caught 2-7 to beat John Gatley, who weighed in one maggot-fed carp going 2-6.

Members of Swan AC also found things difficult with the unseasonal conditions on the BAA Tibberton stretch of the local canal.

Breadpunch specialist Les Sanders used his favourite bait to net a roach and gudgeon before changing to squatt and groundbait close in.

Sanders topped up his net with a further 20 small gudgeon to give him a winning weight of 1-5.

Just four ounces adrift was Adie Ike, who took small roach, rudd and gudgeon on the pinkie weighing 1-1. Chris Turner came third with just 0-12 in front of Paul Nordledge's 0-9.

Moorlands Farm Thursday Open: S Harris 81-1, D Turner 77-8, M Johnson 49-2; Saturday Open: M Djucik 69-4, M Watson 68-3, G Picken 44-12; Sunday Open: I Mills 41-10, J Kelly 35-3, A Evans 33-11.

Prospects: With milder conditions forecast, stillwaters should improve.

On commercial fisheries, carp are starting to accept luncheon meat as well as corn, while, on the canal, bream can be taken on caster and worm.