Crawley team Jack Frost, the defending champions, made a significant move towards retaining their Billingshurst Winter League title when taking the third round.

The venue should have been the River Arun but after league organiser Mike Fuller and his helpers had pegged out the proposed match length at Okehurst the previous day, the river rose overnight into flood conditions.

Malthouse lakes became the alternative venue and here the 77 anglers found the water heavily coloured.

Jack Frost emerged top team on 52 points, just a single point ahead of Pulborough Carringdale Blue with Billingshurst Carringdale Green and Pulborough Carringdale Black, both 43, Billingshurst Carringdale Red 42, Grayshott Tackle Match Group 41 and Passies Tackle 39.

Neil Ardley of Jack Frost, pegged on the bottom lake at No. 39, got a bream of 3lb 10 1/2oz. This took a legered worm and it was his only bite but Ardley was happy as it won him £200.

Neil Boniface of Grayshott Tackle won £150 with 3lb 5oz of carp and rudd on the top lake (peg 14) and three pegs below him was Graham Mason (Back Arun) who had 3lb 1 1/2oz of bits and picked up £100. Fourth was Dave Gisbourne (Billingshurst Green) with 3lb 1oz which included a perch of 2lb 12oz.

Gisbourne had been using either pinkie or single maggot but switched to three maggots and the perch obliged immediately. Fifth was Brian Norman of Pulborough Black on 3 1/2lb.

The fourth of six rounds will be fished on February 18 at Shillinglee Park Mill with an 8am draw at the Half Moon pub, North Chapel.

Leading teams: Grayshott Tackle 139 points, Pulborough Blue 125, Jack Frost 117, Billingshurst Red 112, Passies 100.

Dave Woodward was an exception when the Rudgwick and Fernhurst clubs met over five hours at River Park which was coloured and high. Eleven Fernhurst anglers had 32lb 1oz and 13 from Rudgwick had 12lb 2 1/2oz.

At peg 28, Woodward got 22lb 1oz of carp and the next two for Fernhurst were Paul Romanuik 3lb 8oz and Phil Booth 2lb 15oz. Top for Rudgwick was Paul Connet with 4lb 4oz.

On Monday evening on the pier, 15 members of Worthing had a 30-minute spell when the wind dropped and the rain abated. Added to the poor conditions was a short tide and a sea rolling in but Tony Burton from the top deck managed to find four flounders and three rockling for 3lb 2 1/4oz.

Stephen Montgomery had a 1lb 9 1/2oz flounder which took his crab bait and three rockling for 2lb 6 1/2oz while David Lewis had five rockling for 1lb 5oz and Damien Evans four rockling for 1lb 2oz.

Moved off the Arun at Okehurst due to the river being up to the top, Billingshurst's members diverted to Shillinglee but it was a dour five hours.

Bert Perry won with 11 1/2oz of small roach, Dennis Light had 6 1/2oz (two skimmers), Rob Wilkinson 5 1/2oz and Martin Cooper 5oz.

Competitions secretary Dennis Light reports after a re-check of results that Wilkinson has won the Rowner Cup by a single point from both Les Gillett and Bert Perry.

Apart from Ray Thayre, who got two tench and bits for 8lb 6oz, it was grim at Rowfant Mill when Copthorne's 11 members got 12lb 6oz and six of Ockley club just 1lb 10oz.

After the five hours Dave Whitehouse was second for Copthorne on 15oz and best for Ockley was Brian Spittle with 1lb 3oz.

Moved off the Ouse at the Sloop to a small pond at Wabble Gate (Burgess Hill) five out of Haywards Heath's 12 members caught mainly small carp and rudd on pole and maggot. Dave Blunden had 5lb 9oz, Nick Hart 4lb, his father John Hart 3lb 8oz, Peter Gander 2lb 2oz and John Larouche 1lb 8oz.

This match replaced the scheduled pairs first round, meanwhile, the next competition will be a further round of the pairs on February 18 at Gold Bridge.

With the river far too high to fish, another club which had to switch was Isfield who went from the Uck to their Mill Pond at Horsted Keynes and 15 members enjoyed a reasonable five hours. Steve Hughes on feeder fished maggot had 18lb of bream to 4lb, Terry Walter 8lb 10oz of bream and roach, Alan Phillips 7lb 5oz and George Chapman 6lb 2oz.

Rother moved from a pushing through river at North Mill to Rotherfield pond and over five hours Nick Merritt led the field with a carp of 7lb 3oz plus skimmers and roach for a 14lb 11oz total. Paul Knight had more than 100 tiny roach for 4lb 5oz and Don Burchell 3lb 15oz of roach and rudd.

Previous New Pond result: 1. Chris Boxall 6lb 5oz, 2. Knight 4lb 4 1/2oz, 3. Merritt 4lb 4oz.