Angling: Fare-sized conger earns Rees a win; Alan's catch seals a merry Christmas.

Byline: Ron Cousins

NEW member Alan Rees was way out front when Gwent SAC held the Christmas Fare match at Cardiff foreshore.

He beached a 3.28kg conger while runner-up Mike Perrett put three rockling weighing 150gm on the scales and Ivor Smith, from Rogerstone, was third with a 100gm rockling.

Karen Davies did best in a gale lashed Newport SA competition at Sudbrook when she caughtacod that turned the scales to 0.74kg.

Mark Wall took second prize with 0.50kg from two eels and a rockling while Rob Chapman came in third with an eel of 0.26kg. The junior prize was taken by Chelsea Johnson who caught a 40gm rockling.

Few fish were about during the Penarth SAC competition.

Jim Sexton fished at Black Rock, where a conger and a rockling weighing 6lb 9oz made him winner by miles.

The only other catches were lone whiting from the pier.

Dave Marsh had one of 6.5oz; Ken Westgate's weighed 6oz and Bob Gal- ley took fourth prize with his 5.5oz fish.

Things were even bleaker in the Elysian SAC competition at Penarth when just one fish was caught, but Barry Owen had no complaints when his 13oz pouting put pounds 40 pool money in his wallet.

It was also quiet at Barry where one pouting weighing 7oz was good enough to give Richard Potts first prize in the Rhondda Valley SAC competition.

Rory Jenkins' 5oz whiting was second best while John Griffiths made it to third place with a 4oz rockling.

After four qualifying competitions, Cardiff angler Steve Smyth is leading the Seamaster points table with a 43-point total.

Mark Cowell, from Llantwit Major, is five points behind in second place with 38, while Cardiff's Steve Chadwick and Barry angler Ray Chris to for a to share third place with 36-point aggregates.

The next chance to add points comes on Sunday, December 7, at the Cardiff SAA Lee Holbrook Memorial Charity Open Competition on the foreshore.

Fishing is from 11.30am to 3.30pm, the entry fee is pounds 6 or pounds 2 for juniors and topping a lengthy prize list is pounds 300 donated by Cardiff firm Glamaco Ltd.

The WFSA East Region Shore League comes to an end with the sixth round at Cold Knap and Porthkerry on Sunday, December 14.

Competitors book in at Cold Knap car park by 5pm, fishing is from 6pm to 10pm and is only from the pebble beach at Cold Knap and the beach at Porthkerry.

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CAPTION(S):

TOP CAT: Cardiff's Colin Cook went to Spain and landed this 148lb catfish, one of 10 weighing more than 100lb he caught from the River Ebro