Brockamin regular Mike Spragg went one better than his previous week's runner up spot when he won the latest open on his favourite venue by a comfortable margin.

After a number of near misses Spragg hammered the rest of the opposition when he successfully landed three carp from peg 34 on the bottom pool.

Taking his fish early in the contest, the Malvern matchman used hair rigged sweetcorn presented across to the island on ledger gear to record an excellent 32-8-0 total.

After heavy midweek rain adding cold extra water to the lake back up weights were understandably tempered and Hereford angler Kevin Rosser took second position with one carp and a tench going 11-14-0 which fell for worm bait presented on pole tackle at14 metres on peg 30.

The previous week's winner Max Hill (Portobello) had to settle for third this time when he once again managed to loose two huge specimen before netting one carp of 11-6-0 which fell for straight ledgered worm on peg 31.

Section winners were: A) John Ludlow (Portobello) 9-11-0, B) Nic Hill (Portobello) 11-1-0, C) Jerry Thomas (Disco Boys) 3-2-0.

There will be another open match at the venue on Sunday, details from Alan's Tackle.

Gale force winds and heavy rain reduced catches at Moorlands Farm but the unfavourable conditions didn't stop Lifestyle's 'bagging machine' David James recording two open victories in a week at the venue.

The first of James' wins came during the Thursday open match on the Island and Bank pools when he recorded 34-6-0 using pellet and corn on the pole from peg 27 on the Island pool. Second was Bilston's Colin Pace with 33-7-0.

James' second success came on Saturday when he headed the list from a wind-lashed Bank pool peg 20 with a weight of 38-2-0, all his fish falling for corn and pellet presented at just 11 metres.

Steve Palmer (Hodnet) took second place thanks to an all-carp net of 30-12-0 while Brian Cawley (Kamasan) finished third with 27-8-0

Sunday's big open match on the Island, Meadow and Moors lakes provided Lifestyle member Steve Picken with his first major victory at the venue.

Due to the incredibly strong winds, Picken was forced to fish at just six metres on his peg 16 on the Meadow pool, taking carp to five pounds regularly on sweetcorn to end with a creditable total of 54-5-0.

Runner up from the sheltered corner peg 7 was Cliff Payne (Mid City Match) with 37-8-0 while just adrift in third place came David Grange (Tackle Box) with 37-7-0.

Wednesday Open. 1 E. Banner 28-10-0, 2 R. Baxter 25-0-0, 3 P. Short 20-0-0.

Prospects: Now that the river season has closed attention turns to stillwaters and canals.

Local lakes are starting to improve with carp responding to the warmer conditions. Worm, pellet or corn will take most fish with the straight lead or feeder being preferable over the pole.

Canal anglers could see the local fishery benefit from a reduction in matches over recent weeks with roach now willing to feed on caster or maggot baits.