The annual friendly match between Braintree and Bocking Angling Society and Kelvedon on Silver End Pits proved to be a very hard match with bites few and far between and several blanks recorded.

Penny Turner (Kelvedon) had just two bites, but they were from a tench and a big perch and they added up to a match-winning total of 5-9-0.

Braintree’s Bob Percival managed to find a few bream and ended up second with 4-2-0, followed by team-mates Peter Hunt, with 1-5-0, and Jim Loosley, with 1-4-8.

It was a different story for the Braintree Club trip to the Cable Pond at Clare, though.

In spite of strong winds and rain, the fishery once again produced the goods.

Jim Loosley had tench, bream and roach to win the match with 31-7-0, taken on the pole with various baits.

Pete Thompson stuck to caster and had a cracking day’s fishing with roach to the pound mark, to fall just short of the winner with 30-15-0. Another fixture has been arranged for the Cable Pond on April 19 and names should be given to Pete Thompson.

John Daniels continues to persevere with his pellet approach in the Notley Friday Sweeps and it paid off with another victory as he weighed in 9-2-0 of carp and F1s.

Second was Jim Loosley with 8-3-0.

The most recent match was a real struggle for bites and Bernard Huxter ran out the winner with 1-9-8, mainly thanks to an F1 taken ten minutes before the end.

Thompson had all small fish for 1-8-8 and second.

Meanwhile, the Braintree club have a problem with their headquarters.

The Rifleman in Notley Road has closed and this is the third one in recent years that they have lost. However, with the annual meeting coming up, a new venue has been arranged at the Liberal Club in Coggeshall Road, Braintree on Thursday, April 16, starting at 8pm.