MALTON angler Peter Ascough had the catch of his life earlier this month - a huge pike weighing a whopping 31lb (pictured left).

Mr Ascough said he had always hoped to break the 30lb barrier but admitted his catch had come "out of the blue".

The prize pike was caught from a Ryedale stillwater but Mr Ascough was reluctant to reveal where exactly.

He said: "It's not for selfish reasons, it's simply to protect the number of fish there."

Mr Ascough, whose previous best was a 25lb pike from the River Hull, said the fish was a particularly big one for Yorkshire. He used a float-fished trout deadbait on a 15lb breaking strain line, attached to his 3lb test-curve rod.

Updated: 10:42 Thursday, March 21, 2002