After several days of warm, sunny weather, there was a change last Sunday when Skipton Angling Association held their first match of the season on Skipton’s Whinnygill Reservoir.

Light rain fell for most of the three-hour match and the temperature was down on recent days but at least the wind remained quite light and all the competitors had fish to weigh when the all-out was called.

The match winner failed to buy any maggots due to being away on holiday, so had just sweetcorn and bread.

However, the corn proved an ideal bait and attracted three good rainbow trout and a decent brownie.

Unfortunately, two of the rainbows escaped by either straightening the hook or smashing the cast but the remaining fish were enough for John Preston to record a win with 1290g (2.14.4).

Second place went to Alan Wade with a mixed catch of a single rainbow and five smallish perch for 1160g (2:9:0).

Association secretary Malcolm Mawson took third spot with two perch and a rare roach for 460g (1:0:0).

The next match will be on Sunday, July 4, and the venue will either be the Broughton Road length of the canal or Embsay Reservoir.

Sport at Embsay has been quite good of late, with the warm weather getting the fish on the feed at all times of the day.

Fly and bait anglers have met with equal success, taking brownies to around the 675g (1:8:0) mark and rainbows to over 900g (2:0:0).

On the River Aire, the water level is now very low and ang-lers are conspicuous by their absence.

The riverbed is still mainly clear of both weed and scum, even in the deeper water, and both trout and grayling are rising well to the fly but no-one is fishing for them.

With a change to more unsettled weather and a forecast of spells of heavy rain, the river may well receive some extra water to help improve things for all methods of fishing.

The coarse fishing season starts in little over a weeks’ time and prospects may be much better by then.