ECKINGTON match secretary Nigel White easily won his club’s Christmas match with a fine winter weight from the famous stumps peg on the River Avon.

With the river finally carrying extra colour, competitors expected big bream to feed but all the leading contenders' nets were made up of smaller skimmers.

Drawn on peg three in the top field, White used a standard groundbait swim-feeder set-up with maggot hook bait to take fish up to 2lb and claim the win with a total weight of 22lb 14oz 0dr.

Runner-up Ian Lewis was in the railway meadow on peg 32 where he too used a feeder to net similar-sized fish to the winner and weigh 14-4.

On the adjacent peg 33 came third-placed John Snelson weighing 11-4 and fourth went to Jeff Knight on peg four with 8-11.

Weighing in the only non-skimmer net was fifth-placed Dave Wallace who used the pole on peg 24 to take 8-7 of roach.

A midweek knock-up on the lower Avon saw veteran Worcester national man Tony Hamilton continue his recent good canal form by winning a close-fought contest, this time on the river below Twyning.

Pegged on the upstream end of the match, Hamilton cast a groundbait feeder with maggot and worm baits mid-river to take bream to 4lb which along with smaller skimmer samples pulled the scales down to a healthy 34-10 total.

Second place went to Richard Blight who took an all-skimmer bream net on feeder and maggot going 31-3.

In third spot came Bob McAulay weighing 30-4 to beat fourth-placed Alf Hand’s 19-2 catch.

Moorlands Farm, Thursday open: 1 C Pace 81-5, 2 J Newton 72-7, 3 C Bradley 53-0; Saturday, fur and feather: 1 P Hadlington 71-3, 2 R Kings 68-14, 3 P Hodge & R Kings jnr 51-1; Sunday open: 1 P Bailey 68-14, 2 S Tibbetts 46-1, 3 C Pace 39-7.

Match organisers and club secretaries who would like their results published should ring Alf Hand on 01905 821059 or email alf.hand@btinternet.com.