Seventy anglers had five grim hours searching for fish in the Eastbourne beach festival, but Alan Macdonald made the journey across from Hastings a profitable one.

He only got 1lb 1 1/2oz (flounder, plaice, rockling) but went home with £300.

Joe Arch travelled from Wales and had a nice return for his trouble, winning £125 for catching flounder, dab and rockling for 15 1/2oz. Joe was a zone winner as was fellow Welshman Vince Burte, who had a 9oz plaice and collected £125.

Only eight of the competitors, who each paid £15 to compete, went to the scales.

The Eastbourne AA Smith and Gibbs Cup held at the same time was won by Ron Yates with 10oz (rockling and plaice) from Richard Joyes (two rockling for 4oz) and Snowy Ruffle (a dab of 3oz).

Pevensey Bay Aqua Club's 35 members competing in a three-hour midweek match struggled to find rockling, the heaviest of which was 6oz by Peter Fountain.

Trevor Rooney won with 2lb 6oz, Kevin Morgan had 1lb 13oz, Barry Hurd 1lb 111/2oz and Brian Meades (who also had a flounder of 6,oz) and Dick Penny 1lb 11oz each.

The Anglers Den Open will be held at Pevensey Bay on March 25 and anyone wanting to book a ticket should ring Glyn or Kevin Morgan on Eastbourne 460441.

Neville Breading (Haywards Heath Sea Club) won the fish-of-the-month award from the shore in the Southern Division of the NFSA with a rockling of 6.72oz (84 per cent of specimen size).

The boat award for the month went to John Barden (Bexhill) with a plaice of 4lb 7 1/2oz which was 99.31 per cent of specimen size.

On a wet and windy evening, 19 members of Newhaven Shore over four hours could find only rockling. Rose Browning near the harbourmaster's office found 12 (best 5oz) for one kilo.

Simon Thomas had ten for .98 kilo, Dennis Puttock ten for .85k and Kevin Skippings six for .57k.

On the same evening 15 members of Worthing found it uncomfortable on the pier where Colin Carey won the third round of the Pearson Cup with four flounders (best 15 1/2oz) and a rockling for 2lb 11 1/2oz. Alan Gilbert had seven rockling for 1lb 11 1/2oz, Danny Palmer three rockling for 12oz and Tony Burton three rockling for 11 1/2oz. With a round to go, Carey leads overall.

Sixteen of Livewires all caught fish during the match at Seaford Beach and the total weight was 25lb 14oz. Apart from a few pout and two flounders, the catch was of rockling.

Ken Bull led with 2lb 6 1/2oz, Phil Holmes 2lb 5oz, Graham Willard 2lb 3oz and Peter Hole 2lb including a 90z flounder.

Ken Filtness and Tony Beadle shared the round-fish pool, each with a 5oz rockling and Willard took the flat pool with a flounder of 11oz. Bull leads the championship on 60 points from Mick Wells 59 and brothers Peter and Kane Funnell and Peter Hole all on 55.

With the scheduled venue of the River Thames and a first choice alternative of the River Mole at Horley both ruled out due to the foot and mouth disease, Crawley switched their fifth round of the Winter Championship to New Pond in Parish Lane at Pease Pottage, where members spent a miserable five hours in the rain.

For the penultimate round, Simon Clark and Phil Harris went into the match sharing the lead on 12 points with Steve Jones a point behind and Barry Wheeler on eight.

Clark decided to use a long pole hunting for carp but his search was in vain and his title chance might have gone as Phil Harris got 4lb of roach on caster bait and with five points for second place has taken a commanding lead.

Match-winning teenager Liam Wheeler (5lb 4oz) made a successful appearance. He found bream plus a few roach and perch on a long pole with maggot as bait.

Lenny Wells, in third, had a bream of 2lb on groundbait feeder plus a few skimmers and roach for a 3lb 2oz total and fourth was Alan Simmons with 2lb 2oz of roach. It is hoped to fish the final round on March 25 (venue unknown) and the top five are: Harris 17 points, Clark 12, Jones 11, Barry Wheeler 10 and Wells eight.