The sea angling arena is always full of surprises as Chris Ellis, a shipwright from Lymington, found out during a Lymington & District SFC Shingle Bank League fixture staged at Milford.

Ellis was expected to catch a few doggies and the occasional small pouting, but on his very first cast of the day an unseasonable 7lb 8oz small-eyed ray snapped up his sliver of mackerel, presented on a size 1 hook. He went on to win the event by a mile.

Apart from the ray, the usual dogfish, pouting and rockling dominated during the event, with Richard Baker coming second with 2lb 1.75oz of doggies. In third position was Malcolm Stote with 2lb 0.75oz.

Some cracking bags of flounder have been recorded during the past week from Poole harbour, with Peter Richardson and Jan Tryska sharing a 20-fish haul while going afloat in their own small boat, Holy Mackerel.

Richardson, a 46-year-old painter and decorator, landed the pick of the day, a superb specimen which tipped the scales down to 4lb 2oz. When it was officially weighed and verified 24 hours later at Wessex Angling Centre it was just quarter of an ounce adrift of the magical 4lb barrier.

Ragworm presented on size 1 hooks did the trick for the duo with Tryska bagging the second heaviest fish of the session, weighing 3lb 4oz.

Following on from the 4lb 3oz plaice caught by Richard Cowdrey from Lepe during a Shirley club competition, yet another oversize redspot has been landed from the top end of the deep water section midway between Lepe and Calshot. Michael Mapes, a 38-year-old laminator from the Waterside, used ragworm presented on a size 1/0 Aberdeen hook to tempt the specimen, which tipped the scales down to 3-14.

The first round of the Wessex Spring, staged at Durley Chine, saw a full house of 50 competitors, although the action was far from good with just a smattering of flounders, whiting, pout and rockling recorded.

Reg Clough, a fencing contractor from East Woodyates, was on fine form, winning the event from peg 50 with six fish worth 135 points during the catch-and-release event. The runner-up in the B section was Colin Francis, from Bournemouth, on 94 points.

Ben Assaraiti came out on top in the A section with four fish, worth 80 points, to nudge out Dave Chedzoy (56).

The next match in the series will be held tonight at Branksome Chine, with fishing from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. The event has already been sold out.

Steve Carter got among the plaice when he tackled the Southsea section, where he landed a trio of decent redspots up to the 2lb mark - all taken on ragworm.

The signs look good for the Allan's Marine 200-peg open along the venue on March 7 when a £1,000 top prize is up for grabs. The big event also doubles up as a Penn point fixture, when the Wessex NFSA Personal Members beach Championships will be fished in conjunction with the event. Tickets are strictly pre-book only. Alan Watson will have all the details on 023 9267 1833.