with Kingfisher

THE Ribble has a new record barbel, it was revealed this week and the captor, thank goodness, is not one of the new breed of Ribble anglers who speak with a Brummie or Scottish accent!

He, David Dean, could hardly be more local to the stretch of river from where he took the giant fish living, as he does, in Preston. At 15lbs 4 ounces it eclipses the previous record of Accrington's Mark Halstead by almost a pound and is not, Dean states, the best fish in the river.

The fish, taken on a 15mm Nash Scopex boilie from a slack water swim as the high water receded, is not the Prestonian's only claim to fame, not by a long chalk. He also boasts 'a number' of bream over 11 lbs and a mirror carp of 28lbs from the same water, though not the same swim.

As regular readers will be aware the Ribble has been in fine form of late and other notable catches have come to light this week. One Oldham angler took no less than 14 big barbel in one incredible four hour session, topped by a fish of 12lb 7 ounces. All his fish fell for double hair-rigged pellet (no feeder).

Fusion boilies have been doing the trick for barbel at Balderstone, where two anglers shared a fine 20-fish catch, to double figures. This stretch is also producing some very big chub as well as the whiskers, though they seem to be falling for the same tactics here - feeder/pellet.

I cannot put you on the exact pegs that all these catches came from, but you should take note that all these anglers fished go equipped with head torches!

Other waters locally have also continued to fish well, thanks to the great weather we have enjoyed I'm sure. Having said that it did get a bit too bright later this week, though I am confident that will not pose a problem this weekend. With yet more holiday in imminent prospect for most of us, the immediate future looks extremely bright.

Local stretches of canal are well worth exploring and I cannot really find a commercial fishery that is doing badly. Corn is producing quality fish in either case (though you will definitely have a longer wait for a bite on the canal), with hempseed the best attractor by far.

I know many of you like to try somewhere different from time to time and there is one such fishery that is attracting the attention of those in the know at the moment, particularly matchmen.

It is Bannister House Fishery, at Mere Brow near Preston (postcode PR4 6JR). There are four different types of lake here but it is the latest, a new canal lake that has the matchmen drooling.

For a start there are no less than 80 pegs on it, so a match on here is a proper one. Secondly and quite importantly I suppose, it is chock full of fish. Roach, Perch, Rudd, Chub, Tench, Bream, Barbel, Golden Orfe & Carp (including Crucians) all vie for the angler's bait. A bite a chuck place if ever there was one.

It only opened its doors for weekend matches last Sunday and 62 turned up for a decent affair, won by local John Croasdale who took six biggish bream (up to 4 lbs) and 'pastie' carp for a 40-0-0 total. Hyndburn's Arthur Hargreaves was there and he finished in the money with 32-0-0 for third place.

Other locals amongst the money lately have been; Simon Beswick, second at Brookside with 33-4-0, Nelson's Terry Clark whose 44-0-0 was worth only fourth at Copthorne and Ray Spall who fished the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in a Slaithwaite match and was sixth with a mere 1-14-0.