A couple of columns ago I advised that with rivers falling back to normal after the flooding now would be a good time to get out there and bag yourself a barbel.

Well, here is the proof. I netted a beast, all 11lb 10oz of it, from the York water at Beningbrough Park last Friday.

The old warrior was 30 inches long and had a girth of 17 inches. It fell to hair-rigged halibut pellet fished in conjunction with a cage feeder packed with pellets and halibut pellet groundbait.

I have checked all the available literature and spoken to the Barbel Society and I believe the fish is the second largest ever taken from the Ouse, bettered only by the official record of a fish of 12lb 8oz taken by a Mr Dean in 1958 at Linton.

I returned on Monday evening and bagged a brace of 8lbers plus a bream. The slabs were rolling all over the place but, as usual, there was not another angler to be seen.

While the wettest August on record might not meet with the approval of holidaymakers it provides ideal conditions for the river angler.

There was an amazing contest in the mid-week evening open match at the Willows, with two ton-up catches in only three hours.

Paul Gallagher won the carp-fest with 124lb 4oz taken fishing shallow with pellets.

Steve Pearson was pushed into into second place with his splendid 102lb 8oz taken on cat meat.

Best of the also-rans were Gordon Fenell, with 63lb 6oz, and Barbara Jeffries, on 53lb 8oz.

Fifteen-year-old Ben Fisk, from Leeds, won the Bob-Co match on Saturday with 74lb 4oz. He had carp to 5lb on pole and cat meat from peg 50. His Team Gem colleague and fellow junior Joe Carrass, was second with his 68lb 2oz haul from peg 34.

Over on Dragonfly, Skylark and Mallard at Woodlands the match was as good as over when Kamasan front-runner Dean Smith (MAP Elton) pulled out plum draw Dragonfly 14.

Fishing tight to the island with meat at 15 metres the York ace netted 75-4-0 of carp, ide and skimmers.

Andy Findlay (Preston Innovations) was second from Mallard 18. He used his special meat paste fished at 19 metres for an all carp 55-1-0.

Others: Lee Murray (Daiwa Goldthorpe) 54-6-0; Graham Skirrey (Turners Tackle) 50-12-0; Dave Wilson (Elton Tackle) 37-4-0; Roy Johnson (Pontefract) 37-2-0.

Mick Potter, from Copmanthorpe, was sixth in the Gas Club match on the excellent River Calder, with a 9lb 10oz roach catch. Woodthorpe's Steve Hodson was sixth on the Ure at Ripon.

Updated: 10:56 Wednesday, September 01, 2004