CROSSWORD & PUZZLES Fun for your brain

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Across

1 Alternative to maize meal for storing maggots (7) 5 Colourful wrasse – and bird laying eggs in another’s nest (6)

8/21 Winner of 2021 Golden Rod Final (*cry ‘exalted’ OK!) (4,8) 9 ––– Ashby legendary carper and rod builder, died 2013 (5) 10 See 3dn.

11 The point of a rose? (5) 12 U-shaped rod handle support (4,4)

13 Simple tackle with no rod/reel (8)

15 False ‘bites’ when fish knock tackle (6)

17 Venue river of December 2019 RiverFest final (6) 19 Shipwrecked person (8) 21 See 8ac. 24 Leicestershire’s ___ Canal is linked to Coventry canal (5) 25 Hebridean island... in conservation area (4) 26 e.g. 100lb catch – going at fast speed! (3,2)

27 Bird family including coot... and train track? (4) 28 Crediton in Devon is named after this river (6) 29 e.g. ‘spat out’ by a fish (7)

Down

1 Mature gravel pit at Yateley’s Car Park (*kills a pet) (5,4) 2 Irish county location of Winter Shore Angling festival (*drew fox) (7)

3/10 Terry Dempsey’s book about carp angling (*Run My Bath) (5,4)

4 It protects finger when power-casting (*hum, I bet!) (7) 5 Top of a wave (5) 6 Father and son anglers, Nathan and ____ Hughes (*romance) (7) 7 Swear-words... in Arbroath smokies! (5)

14 ___ Poole, joint British Carp Angling Champ 2008 (3) 15 Mega Match This Champ, 2012, ___ Thompson (3) 16 Like a rig prepared in advance (*yet I dread) (5-4) 18 Cumbrian valley – its river flows to Ravenglass (7) 19 Strong pepper used in bait (*yen cane) (7)

20 Father and son anglers, Benny and Kevin ___ (7) 22 Smell / aroma (5) 23 Irritable ‘Wind in the Willows’ character? (5) 24 Fruit that daily keeps the doctor away? (5)