TAD RUDDIFORD from Hythe boated a top bass as local anglers again got in on the specimen trail.

Fishing from the Lymington-based boat Tomkat, skippered by John Skeggs, self-employed bricklayer Ruddiford used a fillet of fresh mackerel while fishing over a sandbar just to the south of the Needles.

He first tempted a bass which tipped the scales down to 8lb 2oz and then boated a 10lb 8oz fish.

In the strong tides the fish gave a very good account of themselves and were in excellent condition.

The Ventnor Open held around the shores of the Isle of Wight attracted 140 competitors who returned some cracking fish to the scales, George Bernowicz collecting the £350 top prize with a 39lb 1.5oz catch of ballan wrasse, bass and smoothhound.

Bernowicz also teamed up with Cliff Williams to win the pairs' section.

Runner-up Collin Phillips, who collected £150, had a 32lb catch of smoothhound.

Not to be outdone, Alan Bravery, the manager of Scotties' Newport-based shop, fished from his local beach at Ventnor, virtually out of the back of his car, to catch a huge conger which thumped the scales down to 28lb 1oz.

He collected a new reel for finishing third position, £70 for the heaviest fish, £50 for the biggest conger and another £50 for being the top member of the host club. Not a bad evening's work!

Top lady was Liz Cunningham, with 4lb 15.5oz, while Michael Haxell won the junior section with 5lb 1.75oz.

John Turner collected £50 for landing the day's heaviest bass at 4lb 14oz while Anthony Gulliver won £50 for the heaviest ray - a 5lb small-eyed.

Gordon Pressey was also laughing all the way to the bank after beaching a 2lb 3.75oz dogfish worth £140 in pools for the best specimen.

The Poole Bay Small Boat Angling Club annual bream competition produced excellent sport, including good bream, huge tope and hefty rays.

The bream section was won by James Parker with a fish weighing 3lb 4oz, fishing from Blue Warrior. He also landed two fish topping the 3lb mark. Also in the money was Adam Franklin with a 2lb 14oz bream caught fishing from the same boat.

Other fish of note included a superb tope weighing 45lb 8oz, caught by 13-year-old Sam Chapman, fishing from his dad's boat, Great White. He used a chunk of garfish to tempt the specimen which was weighed, photographed and then released alive.

Not to be outdone, Sam's dad, Charlie Chapman, trapped a 19lb blonde ray while Adam Franklin also recorded a very nice small-eyed-ray weighing 11lb.

James Parker also got a taste of the action, landing an 11lb undulate ray during a freelance session. Nick Cull has recorded a black bream weighing 4lb 9oz.

The Wessex Division of the National Federation of Sea Anglers are delighted to announce that their chairman, Geoff Knight, has been voted vice chairman of the national body, which will hopefully give the Wessex Division far more input on national issues.

There is plenty of work to be done if the Federation is to get back on an even keel.

The latest Wessex junior fish-of-the-month award, sponsored by Hansfords of Fareham, has been won by 16-year-old William Jenkins of the Lymington club, who landed a fine thick-lipped mullet weighing 4lb 8oz from the Lymington sea wall.

The first round of the Hansfords junior beach-fishing league was staged along the Warsash section where bass dominated the event, along with a solitary silver eel, the heaviest fish of the day.

A 2lb 8oz bass was caught by 13-year-old Jay Norton fishing for only the second time. It was the first fish he had ever caught and he took it on his very first cast of the day. What a way to start!

Aaron Hayter won the event with 15 fish worth 222 points, ahead of Dan Pope and Robert Ford with 96 and 86 respectively.

The next round in the series, which is open to all juniors in the Wessex area, will be held on June 23 at Hamble Common. All youngsters joining the league will get a prize. For full details give Claire at Hansfords a call on 01329 281213.

The annual all-night Chesil Open will be held on June 19/20 at Cogden (fishing 8pm-7am) when smoothhound, dogfish, pout, sole and some nice plaice can be expected.

The pegged and zoned event is strictly pre-book only. Tickets, inclusive of all pools and parking, have been set at £11. Contact Eddie Painter for details on 01308 425925.

The Bembridge AC open boat bream competition attracted 55 members and guests, Alan Deeming winning the top prize with a 2lb 14.5oz specimen. He also collected the sweep for the heaviest brace of bream, weighing 5lb 2.5oz, amassing £230 for his efforts. There was a tie for second place, with Bill Platt and Paul Reynolds both recording bream of 2lb 14oz followed by Ray Lewis with a fish weighing 2lb 11oz.