A trip to a mark to the south of the Needles on his dad's boat "Kirsty Anne" certainly proved to be a memorable occasion for 15-year-old Robert Hulme from Holbury when he struck into a monster from the depths which turned out to be a 21lb blonde ray.

Anchored off a bank to the south of the Needles the youngster used a large slither of fresh mackerel to temp the specimen which sets a new personal best while his dad could only look on in envy.

While the Hamble B team was getting the better of Bordon A off the Needles by a narrow margin during a CIU four-a-side knockout competition the Hamble A team elected to fish in the western Solent where they gave Eastleigh WMC A something of a battering.

Hamble A, comprising of Tony Spridgeon, Colin Searles, Rob Shattock and Ray Ashby, heaved 13 smoothhound, 28 black bream, 10 dogfish and a solitary ballan wrasse together totalling 149lb 12oz while their opponents could only muster 28lb.

Hamble B's Neil Powdrill, Des Rowe, Keith Coleman and Travis Webling landed 27 dogfish, 5 black bream and a smoothhound weighing 45lb 8oz to secure a narrow victory over Bordon A who finished with 40lb 12oz.

Quality was the key during the all night Chesil Open held at Cogdon with Steve Elliot winning the flatfish pool with a 2lb specimen sole while the runner-up in the same category was Ian Dancy with a 1lb 6.50oz plaice. Jed Bottomley won the roundfish pool with a 6lb smoothhound followed by Ian Golds with a 3lb 2.50oz hound.

The match was split into two sections with competitors in A section sampling the best action. Ian Weir won the section with 14lb 9.75oz followed by Dick Penny 14lb 6oz, Jimmy King 10lb 15.50oz and Steve Elliot 10lb 1oz. Reg Clough, from East Woodyates, was the top performer in B section with 9lb 10.50oz closely followed by Ian Golds 9lb5oz, Mike Taylor 8lb 5.50oz and Mike Teague 7lb 13ox, the latter two both come from Southampton.

The third round of the four-a-side Neptune League fixture held at Warren Edge saw 15 teams in action but the fishing was far from good with Bournemouth & District winning thanks to a 4lb 5.50oz smoothhound caught by Paul Blehs.

The runners-up were Castaway A with 2lb4oz followed by Pro Tackle A 1lb 14oz, Christchurch & District 1lb 13.50oz, Boscombe & Southbourne A 1lb 10oz and Wessex Falcons 13oz. Apart from the solitary hound mackerel, pouting and bass made up the rest of the catch.

With six matches remaining Christchurch & District head the overall leader table with 4lb 14.50oz but with the next round set for Hengistbury Head where the current action is pretty good there could be some serious changes. Others: 2 Bournemouth & District 4lb 8oz. 3 Castaways A 4lb 3.50oz, 4 Wessex Falcons 3lb 14oz, =5th Wessex Kestrals and Pro Tackle A 2lb 14oz, 7 Pro Tackle B 2lb 6.50oz, 8 Castaways B 2lb 5oz, 9 Boscombe & Southbourne A 2lb 4oz, 10 Wessex Hawks 12oz, 11 Woodys Dolphins 11oz, 12 Advance Angling A 10oz, 13 Boscombe & Southbourne C 5.50oz, 14 Advance Angling B 4.50oz, 15 Boscombe & Southbourne B 4oz.

Warren Edge was the setting for the first round of the High Shore League where Keith Brooks beached a 4lb 6oz mullet along with a sizable bass together totalling 7lb 40z to give Loni's C a clear victory on the night. Gary Strong landed a 4lb 11oz smoothhound to put Everton B into second position followed by Highcliffe A 8.50oz and Everton A 4.75oz.