CRACKING sole continue to be taken along the Solent foreshore, with Craig Haskins the latest to cash in during a short evening session.

Haskins landed a beauty which tipped the scales down to 2lb 14.25oz. The 37-year-old cleaner from the Waterside was fishing from the western end of Calshot Beach when the oversized flattie picked up his ragworm bait, presented on a size one hook, over the high water period.

Slightly further afield, a superb specimen bass has been caught from a dinghy within casting distance of the shoreline of Poole Harbour. Jan Tryska took the specimen on a small free-line wrasse at first light. It weighed in at 11lb 2.5oz.

Excellent bass have also been recorded off The Needles, with Pete Waite easing a 9lb 12oz specimen over the gunnels of the Lymington-based boat Tomkat, skippered by John Skeggs. The hefty predator was one of several caught during the session. It fell to a whole mackerel.

A wide range on species were caught during the ninth round of the Isac Open Pegged League at Abbotsbury where 67 of 80 competitors weighed in two dabs, 166 dogfish, 140 garfish, one red gurnard, four tub gurnard, three golden grey mullet, five red mullet, 39 poor cod, 50 pouting, 25 scad, 31 silver eels, 16 smoothhound, four sole and a solitary whiting.

The night's heaviest fish was a 4lb 14oz smoothhound, bagged by Brian Fisk from Bournemouth, while Danny Woodcock set a new golden grey mullet record for the series with a 1lb 3.75oz fish.

Overall winner on the night, fishing in B section, was Mike Kempster, with 15lb 13.50oz, while Lee Cullen from Southampton was second in the section with 13lb 5.5oz.

Reg Clough from East Woodyates came out on top in A section with 12lb 7.5oz to nudge out Dave Lane (11lb 15oz).

In C section, Rob Marshall came out on top with 13lb 3.5oz to edge Ian Golds from Portsmouth by just half an ounce.

The final section was won by Joe Arch, with 14lb 7.5oz, beating Chris Equeall, with 10lb 5.75oz.

Arch continues to head the overall leader table with just 16 penalty points, followed by Golds 42, Colin Richards (Newport) 43, Cullen (Southampton) 49, Ian Dancey (Waterlooville) 54 and Tony Burton (East Preston) 55.

Next match in the pegged open series will be at Friars Cliff on October 30 (fishing 6pm-midnight). Pout, silver eels, sole and bass are expected to supply most action. The match is pre-book only. Trevor Sutch has details (023 9220 1696).

Competitors struggled during the third round of the Solent Challenge at Southbourne, Wayne Edginton, representing the Calshot club, winning the individual classification with just 1lb 3oz. Runner-up was Ted Yates from the Ashlett club with 1lb 1oz, followed by fellow club member Steve Pitman, with 13.5oz.

Species caught during the event included mackerel, pout, sole and scad. The Ashlett club top the overall leader table with 340 points, followed by Calshot (257), the Army AA (168) and Perry's Plus (154).

A huge £1,000 top prize is again on offer during this year's Pro Angling Charity Open Beach Festival, to be hosted by the Christchurch club on October 3 between Boscombe Pier and Solent Road.

The event will be in several zones, with fishing from 10am until 4pm. There will be a special easy access zone set aside for disabled people.

Apart from the top prize, there will be £100 for zone winners, £100 for team winners and another £1,000 worth of prizes. The match will double up as a Penn Points fixture.

Pre-book tickets for the event are £10 but, if purchased on the day of the match, will cost £13 plus a £2 pool and the team event costing £2.

The event, which has raised many thousands of pounds for charity over the past few years, will once again raise funds for the Victoria School for Physically Handicapped Children.

Calm conditions will mean garfish are likely to figure prominently but, if there is a chop on the surface, bass and flatties should figure.

Pre-book facilities are availably at Pro Tackle, situated at Barrack Road, Christchurch. For full details call 01202 484518 by day or 01202 424637 in the evening .

All eyes will be on Swanage Beach on Saturday evening when the Swanage club stage their pegged and zoned open competition (fishing 7pm-11pm). The event is limited to just 80 pegs so pre-booking is recommended. Tickets are £10, but £12 on the day.

There will also be pools for the heaviest round and flatfish and zone spools. Sole, pout, wrasse and eels are expected to supply most action during the event, which doubles as a Penn Points fixture. For full details and pre-book facilities, call Ray Jarvis (01202 256140).