The second round of the York and District Winter League produced a New Year surprise for the 90-strong field in the shape of a bream bonanza that saw records tumble.

With the river nearly a yard above normal level - and rising throughout the contest - few would have predicted the bag-up that ensued.

Selby-based Cochranes won the six-man team event, backed by Acomb Tackle, with a record-breaking aggregate weight of 49lb 1oz 8dr.

They were led by Brian Richardson, who netted 16lb 8oz of skimmers from the bottom peg in the Donkey Woods.

Team captain and former Barnsley Black Keith Mitchell also weighed in with 12-12 from the Fulford bank.

Mick Doyle (Waterline Wibsey) topped the individual standings with his 20-8 net of bream, skimmers, eels and roach taken on feeder and lob-worm from the wispy willows above the Donkey Woods sand-bed and, despite captain Colin Hardy taking second with 17-13 from the paddock at Fulford, the Waterline Wibsey boys could only manage second with a weight of 41-13.

Other leading weights in a contest that saw 86 of the 90 anglers bank a staggering 284lb of fish were Dave Taylor of South Bank with 11-10 and Tony Golton (Barlby Village Stores) with 11-9.

Aside from the aforementioned top two the best of the rest in the team standings went to Anglers World Holidays with 32-0-0; South Bank on 30-14-0; Barlby Village Stores 22-4-0 and Acomb WMC and Tang Hall, who tied on 19-1-0.

After two rounds it is tight at the top with Anglers World Holidays ahead on 27 points with Cochranes and Barlby Village Stores just a point behind and Waterline Wibsey and South Bank a point behind them. It's all to play for in round three on the same venue in a fortnight.

York ace Dean Smith missed out on the chance to top the New Year charts after the entry in the Bank Holiday Open on the excellent Langwith Lakes, near Heslington, York, came up agonisingly short.

A field of 49 enjoyed a brilliant contest on Bethany and Kevin's lakes with the scorecard looking more like that from a June open rather than a bitter January day.

Smith said: "I won a few evening contests here in the summer but this is the first time I have fished a day contest here so I didn't really know what to expect.

"I decided to play it cagey as I thought it could be tough and fished a single maggot on an 0.10 bottom to a size 22 Kamsan B611. I just cupped in three or four maggots every put in and was soon into small carp.

"I alternated between 13 and 14 metres to keep the fish coming and really enjoyed the day.

"It certainly beat my two other festive opens - I blanked on the Taddy match on the Wharfe and then just managed a pound in the York Winter League when everyone sacked up with slabs."

Updated: 11:32 Wednesday, January 05, 2005