The fascinating battle for supremacy in the Suffolk and Norfolk Teams of Five Angling League has developed into intense inter-county rivalry much on the lines of Ipswich Town and Norwich City.

From the first whistle the league became a series of derbies between the Daiwa Angling Direct tackle shops located in Norwich and Beccles.

And with just one leg of the tournament remaining scheduled for the river Yare on September 9, the Norwich DAD Black squad heads the table with 13 league penalty points with challengers Beccles Gold in their shadow, just two points adrift.

On the competition banks there is little love lost between these keen angling outfits separated by the county borders and demonstrating top tackle where it matters most – at the waterside.

In the penultimate river Yare clash on Sunday, Beccles Gold squeezed into top spot on the day with 16 section penalty points, insufficient to close the gap on the Norwich Black outfit, runners-up with 17 points thanks to Kevin Bland with a top roach net of 15lbs 12oz.

Gold's best was Mark Pollard in fifth with 12lbs 10oz, but with his four team-mates performing with the dedication of a Jamaican 100m relay squad they came through with flying colours to head the team card.

According to Gold's team skipper Tony Anderson his men desperately need help from others if they are to emerge triumphant from the final weigh- in. 'We cannot win this tournament on our own. We trail by two points so we need help in the last round which we must win while hoping two other teams intervene ahead of Norwich Black.' he said.

Norwich team boss Glen Hubbard agreed. 'This tournament has provided us all with healthy inter-company competition between hugely skilful anglers, and that's the essence of our sport. As for the chances of our Black team, we are out in front and intend to stay there,' he insisted.

For the hard-working league organiser Mick Hanks arranging this series has required a difficult balance arranging avenues to suit both commercial lake and tidal river contestants.

• The Nisa Feeder League for individuals on the same river Yare venue on Saturday produced a runaway winner, Wayne Anderson (Daiwa Angling Direct) with a stunning catch of bream scaling 36lbs 9oz from peg 118.

There were fish to over 3lbs apiece taken on maggot and caster on a feeder rig, the only catch of its kind along the whole match length.

Tony Gibbons (NDAA) was runner-up with 18lbs 15oz of roach from peg 48 then Nigel Porter (Biggleswade) with 16bs 12oz from peg 69.

On the commercial match lakes, carp fed with some abandon. Chris Cooper (PW Angling) won the Railway Open with 101lbs 7oz and K Clarke of Acle headed Sunday's Mill Farm card with 100lbs 4oz.

Among the clubs top bag was Zenith winner R Gregson with 121lbs 9oz at Bergh Apton, M Dorey of Woodbridge AC won at Abbey Waters with 116lbs 4oz and R Collings headed the Ashphalt outing at Hill Farm with 102lbs 5oz.

The Beccles club concluded their successful Summer series at Haddiscoe – overall winner was K Howlett with 179lbs 7oz aggregate with K Brown runner-up with 146lbs 7oz.

The Holt SAC Summer Accumulator in the Great Ouse Estuary ended with John Carter topping the table with 143 points.

On the specimen fish circuit the massive alien record catfish of 120lbs heaved out after a one-hour struggle by Lechlade lady angler Kirstin Hole from the famous Norfolk Oakwood Park Fishery hogged the headlines on a number of national news pages.

But for two Norfolk youngsters Alex Addison, 15, of Tasburgh and Jaydon Stone, 12, of Gorleston the celebrations were ongoing for days after catching their PB carp from Swangey Lakes where Alex netted a mirror of 24lbs 8oz and Jaydon a 23lbs common.

Among the adults, fish of the week from Swangey was a 31lb mirror for Daniel Burton of Attleborough while Dennis Cooper of Lowestoft bagged one of 30lbs 2oz. Others with fish in the 20s were Robert Stone, Gorleston and Ian Rayner of Wisbech.

The new contact number for Swangey is 07716 888744.

At Taswood various carp to the high 20s fell to regular permit holders Joe Phillips, North Walsham, Kevin Smih Lingwood, Matthew Heeton Norwich and Conrad Badowski of Lowestoft.