DESPITE a sharp overnight frost, the Worcester and District United Anglers Association Canal Open still managed to provide a reasonable winning weight of 5-8-8 for Worcester matchman Mick Salcombe.

Scoring his first victory on the canal in over four years, Salcombe took perch to eight ounces by offering caster bait in the deeper centre channel on peg 158 in the park.

Swan AC member Alan Hanson took second place with 2-13-15 consisting of some good sized roach and perch which, like the winners net, also fell for pole fished caster, this time on peg 179.

'Mr Positive' Ian Granger (Creaking Creels) landed one good skimmer along with two perch and two roach from the reed bed on peg 172, all taken on worm bait for a third-placed 2-13-9.

Section winners were A: Pete Bailey 2-2-5. B: Alan Perry 1-7-9.

n Wards 84 AC held their annual Fur and Feather contest on the club pool where Matt Wells used maggot bait on peg 20 to take one carp for a winning weight of 4-14-0.

Close behind in second was Dave Reeves with a mixed bag going 4-8-0 whilst club stalwart Don Groves took third with a level four pounds from peg 25.

The first round of the club's winter series gave fourteen year old Len Smith the top prize when he landed a carp of 5-1-0 from peg 15.

Ian Wood came home with the runner-up position after netting a mixed catch of 4-8-8.

n Worcester angler Dave Powell scored a narrow victory when he won the Portobello fur and feather contest by just three ounces.

Held on the Island pool at Broadheath Fisheries, overnight frost ensured the match was going to be difficult and Powell had to call on all his years of still water fishing to net seven carp on feeder tackle for a match winning weight of 15-9-0

Agonising close in second place wasclub star Billy Hill who used the same tactics to land five carp going 15-6-0.

Once again 'Deckchair' John Jefferies made the leader board, this time in third place, when he netted four fish for 14-12-0 beating Lol Jameson whose 6-4-0 was good enough for fourth.

n Lifestyle MG member Dave Jordan used sweetcorn bait on his peg 54 on the Meadow Pool to win a frost affected sixth round of the Moorlands Farm winter league.

Changing between pole and waggler kept carp to six pounds coming to the net for the Van Den Eynde-sponsored matchman giving him a final winning weight of 42-4-0.

Runner-up was venue regular Lee Nutland with fish to double figures in his 37-4-0 catch. Third place wentto Lee Richards (Top Four) with 36-12-0.

Best team on the day were once again Top Four with 16 points followed by Lifestyle VDE with 23 and Ringers on 25.

The win keeps Top Four in pole position in the league with 12 points whilst in second place Daiwa Gordon League are their only main contenders for the title with 18.

Wednesday Open: 1. D. James 69-2-0; 2. J., Cockayne 60-2-0; 3. W. Mellings 58-3-0.

Sunday Open: 1. L. Nutland 37-7-0; 2. R. Pharoah 26-9-0; 3. C. Daley 23-4-0.

n Local anglers will be saddened by the death last weekend of popular Worcester national angler Nigel Harvey.

Founder member of a number of top match fishing teams including Motor Dcor and Phoenix, Harvey's true love were the National Championships where he represented the city for over twenty years winning a bronze medal on the river Thames in the late eighties.

Latter days saw the Phoenix 'Godfather' spend most of his time fishing the local canal circuit but, unlike a lot of younger matchman, he was never afraid to compete on rivers and stillwaters.

n Prospects: The river Severn has been in top form recently with float caught nets of roach exceeding twenty pounds being taken. If the river remains low, the bend at Pitchcroft along with the bottom of Diglis should produce good bags. Meanwhile stillwater and canal anglers are governed by frost conditions which will make a cautious approach more necessary.