WEEKLY CROSSWORD

(* indicates an anagram)

ACROSS

1 A __ pear’s flat sides hold the bottom better (6) 4 Buoyant boilies (3-3) 8 Spiral e.g. of line on a reel (4) 9 ‘Grey matter’ that eating oily fish is good for? (5) 10 See 11ac. 11/10 It marks a fish’s sensory organs (*a real lentil) (7,4) 12 Month of AT’s Division One National Champs (6) 14 Estuaries e.g. of Solway and Forth (6) 16 Country location of King of Clubs festival (7) 18 Castled resort on Cardigan Bay (7) 20 River flowing through Tonbridge and Maidstone (6) 21 A canal joins the Firths of Forth and ___ 22 Mottled/streaked like a pike’s flanks (7) 24 Term for river eel – weird *sign (4) 26 Add-on bit of Essex trace? (5) 27 Distance between hook’s point and shank (4) 28 e.g. underwater shelves (6) 29 Well, right as rain (7)

DOWN

1 Sticklebacks and minnows are (5,4) 2 Not illuminated ... in Arun, literally (5) 3 Bob ___, of ‘Caught in the Act’ with Stu Walker (7) 4 Prized gravel pit of Mid Kent Fisheries (*an’ a kelp) (3,4) 5 Buddy – but not the beach shelter sort (3) 6 Smells bad (5) 7 Twice winner Ladies National (2014 + 2016) (*shake mightily) (8,5) 13 Thousand pounds? Excellent! (5) 15 Top carper Hearn – or Dempsey (5) 17 Accurate plumbing gives you this (4,5) 19 Snell knot was invented for such hooks (7) 20 Kent seaside town (*GMT area) (7) 21 e.g. kayak (5) 23 Lawful (5) 25 Device to keep fish’s mouth open? A joke! (3)

Solutions to November 20 – Across: 1 Bung 4 Shropshire 9 Coral 10 Tangled 11 Orfe 12 Delay 13 Avon 14 Scotland 16 Rod bag 18 Sphere 20 Midlands 22 Spit 24 Tyers 26 Rare 27 Inactive 28 Mouth 29 Carsington 30 Date. Down: 2 UK Carp cup 3 Garnett 4 Solid 5 Rattled 6 Pinky 7 Holland 8 Radio 15 Ace 16 Red 17 Aldershot 19 Entices 20 Mae West 21 Aground 23 Panda 24 Teign 25 Simon.