IT'S been a cracking good fishing week!

The rain may not have been pleasant for anglers but it certainly did something for the fish, with big catches and big fish reported across the district.

Take the Avon for example.

Higher than normal for June and with a colour more akin to autumn, roach, barbel and chub have been in a feeding mood.

From the Lifelands stretch near Ringwood, barbel have been caught to 12lb 13oz plus chub to 6lb 14oz.

From Redbrook three specimen roach have been caught, each weighing around 2lb 8oz.

Further upstream at Britford a couple of 2lb roach have been landed.

River anglers have not had it all their own way because the lakes have been fishing very well.

Hot spot, the Spinaker Lake near Ringwood, is again in the news with a tench of 9lb plus two others of 8lb 3oz and 8lb 2oz, not to mention a handful of carp in the mid-20s.

At Waldens Farm Fishery, West Grimstead, there has been a spate of carp from Abbots Lake with the best a 19lb 8oz common caught by Mark Latham.

Others included a 14lb common to Darren Walker, a 12lb 6oz ghost carp to Mike Anderson and a 12lb common for Gordon Senett.

On Monks Lake, Mark Jenkins caught a bag of tench and crucians weighing 54lb, which included a tench of 5lb 4oz.

The fishery's other lakes are all fishing well for bream, roach, crucians and carp.

Good bags of silver fish and carp from Witherington Farm Fishery at Standlynch with all lakes reporting plenty of fish.

But, the haul of the week goes to a fishery not yet open.

Salisbury Angling Club was invited to send a team for a trial match on a new fishery currently under development at Dandy's Lane, Wellow, on the Wiltshire/ Hampshire border.

Two lakes were fished, the main lake and a smaller lake known as the Canal Lake.

Top weight on the main lake went to current in-form club angler Ian Goodfellow, who hauled in 175lb of bream, carp and roach.

Second place on the same lake was Malc Pepperill, who caught 111lb. Mark Cannings was the top weight on the Canal Lake with 64lb.

The fishery stocks carp, bream, roach and even barbel and will eventually have three fishing lakes.

It is not yet known when the fishery will open to the public but with weights like that, it is going to be popular.

Trout anglers at Avon Springs, Durrington, have also been among big fish with a rainbow of 8lb 9oz taken from Willow Lake to a pheasant tail nymph and one of 7lb 4oz from Club Lake, which fell for a buzzer.