A Cambridgeshire angler who loves fishing on Norfolk rivers is Broads champion 2011.

Lee Klimczuck made the trip from his Fenland home in Whittlesey last Saturday to end his five-hour shift with a title-winning haul of bream and roach totalling 28lb 1oz from his peg on the section of the River Thurne above the Potter Heigham road bridge.

Pegged upstream of the riverside bungalow, once the home of the famous fishery bailiff Tom Cable, the Fenland ace pinned his faith on pole tactics, baiting a tiny size 20 hook with a single red maggot, while peppering in regular free feed.

'I value my fishing on the Broads rivers, I am looking for the right property to move and live here,' smiled the Bait Tech-sponsored angler, after pocketing cash winnings of �220.

Runner-up was Yarmouth Sportsman Brian Weavers, who won �200 for his 24lb 4oz net of skimmer bream, caught on the feeder from the South Walsham pump end of the River Bure, then followed Paul Cooper (Earlham Silvers), who was better off by �180 for his 19lb 4oz from the Martham end of the River Thurne.

With the field down to 72 rods, it was clearly a case of not being in two places at once. For some would-be competitors were known to have made the trip to Manchester watching the Canaries' hard luck defeat.

The match organiser, Tony Gibbons, commented: 'The River Thurne was in splendid form because it is less hard-fished than the River Bure where some sections were disappointing, although only two were below double figures.'

Gibbons' two-day, midweek festival on these venues produced satisfactory results and the overall winner was Kevin Paynter (Sportsmans), who scored 16 section points, one ahead of Ian Bailey (NDAA) on 15.

The first open event of the autumn on the River Wensum in Norwich produced a surprising and spectacular record catch of urban bream and perch totalling 98lb 1oz.

The angler to rewrite the record books was Daiwa Angling Direct shop boss Glen Hubbard, of Norwich, whose need for a second keepnet was satisfied by his brother Robert in order to conserve the welfare of 28 bream to 5lb and several quality perch.

The catch, taken mainly on a pole rig baited with worm, beat Nick Larkin's previous Wensum record by nearly 10lb and left the remainder of the field gasping in amazement, while playing a spectator role.

'When I sat down at my peg between the bridges I never expected to find bream feeding in such crystal clear water,' recalled Hubbard, for whom it was a premature 50th birthday present.

'I fed the swim lightly and suddenly a mass of bubbles surfaced. I caught my first bream within 20 minutes, immediately switched to my worm rig and bagged 17 bream to 5lb in the next two hours. When the tide changed and the flow eased it became almost stationary, the bream stopped feeding, otherwise I would have required another couple of keepnets.'

Elsewhere on the match scene, the blistering Indian summer sunshine dulled the appetites of lake fish, with one exception. Barford produced a stunning 151lb 2oz winner for Codgers' Mark Girling.

Further afield at the finals of the county championships for 46 teams of five at Barston Lake and Packington Somers, the fine weather gods fail to disperse a cloud of despondency hanging over Norfolk and Suffolk, who respectively finished 40th and 35th, while the winners Lincolnshire shared the �10,000 prize.

n Those few intrepid anglers who can summon the courage to hunt down one of the least attractive aquatic life forms on the planet – the ugly alien European catfish – can now try their luck on the prolific Oakwood Park Lakes (formerly known as Witch Lakes) at Hockwold, situated on the Norfolk/Suffolk border.

Lincolnshire's famous predator angler, tackle consultant and author, Mick Brown, was a guest star fishing on the set of UK Monsters, due for release in DVD form by Anglers' Mail this Christmas, when he heaved out a real Leviathan example of this species, scaling 115lb 5oz.

It is believed to be the heaviest of its kind taken on rod and line in the UK.

This fish will not be accepted as a national record, for only indigenous species qualify.

View the Oakwood Parks Lakes website for further details or telephone 01842 827812 during normal working hours.

On the popular carp waters, heaviest fish of the week was a 33lb 2oz common from Taswood for Norwich regular Ian Topley. Another of 31lb 12oz fell to Leighton Ward, of Norwich, and Tom Harris of Hemsby bagged a 30lb 1oz mirror. Other fish in the 20s were reported by Ken Smith, of Lingwood, Matthew Arthurton (Norwich) and David Dyke (Lowestoft).

At Billingford Lakes, local carp enthusiast Tony Sergeant enjoyed a busy 18-hour overnight session that resulted in seven fish, the best of them mirrors scaling 27lb 8oz, 25lb 7oz and 20lb 4oz.

The management has also converted one of the lakes into a fly-only trout water containing rainbows and brownies to 6lb. Day tickets are �20, which includes retention of four fish.

Barford Lakes gave up a 200lb-plus haul of carp to Sheringham rodman Michael Craske, fishing banded pellet in the margins.

This pleasure catch has prompted Barford to issue day tickets for their waters, including Colton, Tuesday to Saturday until the end of the year on lakes that are not match booked. Check available venues on 01603 759624.