Conger success remains slow but will surely improve in the next month when there are tides suitable for anchoring up over lengthy periods.

Two good eels were reported to the British Conger Club by the Cornish Federation of Sea Anglers, both by members of Looe SAA.

The heaviest was a 72 lb 2oz specimen by Mike Ivey while Nick Pinhey's weighed 51lb 12oz.

Brixham SAC is also a BCC affiliated club and its members achieved sizeable eels at a Lyme Bay wreck fishing from life-boat coxswain Mark Criddle's recently re-furbished Anna May.

He had the satisfaction of taking the heaviest fish of 68lb 15oz but Rob Marshall, who is a 'solitaire' expert, was a mere 4oz in arrears. Also aboard was the Brixham club's fishing chairman Doug Mosedale and he reeled in a ling of 24lb 10oz and several sizeable cod.

The BCC's junior conger championships are being fished from the Plymouth charter boat Sea Angler 11 on Saturday August 21. The contact number to book a place is 01752 785917. Age limit is 16.

If a vote was held to determine the year's leading species, the smoothound would feature strongly. Members of many clubs and other organisations have benefited from the mini-explosion of this variety of small shark on and off the North Devon and Somerset coasts, areas with a long tradition of attracting this species. But the number encountered this year and the size of the fish has been exceptional.

Wyvern, now part of the Angling Trust, logged a new record for a specimen of 21lb 14oz 1 dr caught boat fishing off North Devon by Steve Doidge. The fish set a record for his club, Paignton SAA. During the same trip his son Craig set a new club junior record with a fish of 12lb 8oz 14dr.

What is believed to be the heaviest plaice of the year, a superb specimen of 5lb 4oz, was taken on the Skerries Bank by Brixham SAC member Tim Hoult; otherwise fish in the 2- 3-lb weight class are proving difficult to find.

Eleven teams of four anglers fished the seventh annual Snowbee South West Lakes Trust Team Fly Fishing Championship at Siblyback Reservoir above Liskeard in challenging conditions of strong winds and rain.

Despite that, 70 rainbows were banked and there were three limit bags of six fish. The heaviest of 4lb 11oz and 4lb 9oz fell to Exeter's Steve Ebdon and St Austell's Dave Johns.

Siblyback Raiders Tony Chipman, Dave Johns, Paul Jones and Roger Truscott were convincing winners of the team title with 19 fish that had an aggregate of 31lb 7oz. Team Snowbee were runners up with 12 rainbows for 19lb 7oz and the Hawthorns, who were third had eight for 15lb 12oz.

The trust will be running its Peninsula 2,000 Open Boat 'Pairs' Competition at Wimbleball Lake on Sunday September 5. Best of a number of catfish that have come out of Paradise Lakes weighed 52lb for new Estate Supervisor Geoff Moores and he also shared with Joe Drury, who holds a similar post, mirror carp to 23lb and the grass variety, the best weighing 15lb.

The heaviest carp registered was a Linear of 29lb 4oz by Neil Keitley on a pineapple with a strawberry paste wrap.