SOUTHAMPTON duo, Steve Harder and Steve Deathe, are chasing hard for the leader's spot in the ISAC Open League.

The latest round was held at Cogden attracting 89 competitors, and saw Josh Simmonds from Weymouth head the table with 18 penalty points, followed by the two Steves with 20 points.

Action on the night was pretty good with 84 anglers returning almost 850lb of fish to the scales. The catch comprised 625 dogfish. 160 pout, 38 poor cod, 21 silver eels, seven smoothhound and a solitary sole.

Pete Jones from Horndean in Hampshire won the event with 24 dogfish weighing 29lb 14oz, followed by Ant Buik with 20 doggies weighing 29lb.

Wayne Perrett from Eastleigh came third with 16 doggies and a brace of pouting weighing 19lb 12.50oz, and then Mark Carmen from Bordon, who included a 4lb 5oz smoothhound in his 18lb 7.50oz catch.

The next match in the series will be held at Abbotsbury on June 15 with fishing from 8pm to 1am. Tickets, which are pre-book only, have been set at £15 which is inclusive of pools.

The match will also double up as a Penn Points fixture. Full details from Trevor Sutch on 023 9220 1696.

The Yeovil club are also in action on June 15 with an open event at West Bexington with fishing from 6pm to midnight.

Tickets have been set at £10, inclusive of pools, and details are available from Bill Bosworth on 01935 841449.

After lengthy negotiations with the National Federation of Sea Anglers and other interested parties, a new code of conduct for local baiters is going to be drawn up.

This will hopefully help to protect the inter-tidal habitat and the surrounding flora and fauna, while at the same time allowing the individual angler to dig his own bait.

At a meeting held last week in Lymington with members of the NFSA, along with William MacKenzie from English Nature, and Rachael Bayliss, the Solent European Marine project officer for Hampshire County Council, the basis of the new code were agreed.

This new code will hopefully be user-friendly. It is currently being drawn up, and there will then be a number of meetings throughout the region when anglers will be consulted before the final code is published. It will hopefully be a joint project.

Communication, education and co-operation are key elements of the proposed new code, which will replace the existing NFSA bait diggers-code for this area.

While the individual angler has the legal right to dig bait for his own requirements, more thought must be given to the delicate structure of the shoreline and conservation is the key.

A healthy and thriving inter-tidal zone is not only an important habitat for wildlife but it will also attract more fish, which, in the long-term, is a benefit to the angler.

Local anglers are reminded of the importance of backfilling all holes when bait-digging and to keep any disturbance to a minimum.

Details of the forthcoming meetings will be published in the Echo when the dates and venues have been finalised.