THERE could have been no complaints about the weather at last Sunday’s Skipton Winter League match fished on the hospital stretch of the canal at Skipton in almost spring like, mild and windless conditions once the early morning mist had cleared.

For once the fish also obliged and some good weights were taken to the scales at the end of the three-hour match. Most fish caught were smallish roach, perch and tommy ruffe but there was a few good perch, including a couple of fish that weighed about 680g (1:8:0).

Several anglers enjoyed getting good strong bites only to find nothing on the end when striking. These were eventually indentified as signal crayfish once one or two had been landed and it was apparent that the venue had turned into a hot spot for them.

Results – Individuals: 1 Brett Young 1,640g (3:9:12), 2 Dave Fenn 1,380g (3:0:8), 3 Darren Wright 1,200g (2:10:0), 4 Kenny Wright 1,090g (2:6:8), 5 Andy Wharton 1,000g (2:3:4). Pairs: 1 D & R Fenn 1,990g (4:6:0), 2 Young & Mawson 1980g (4:5:12), 3 Chenior & Waterfall 1,350g (2:15:8); 4 Wharton & Maguire 1,300g (2:13:8), 5 Heaton & Aldis 1,210g (2:10:12).

With just two matches remaining to be fished, the leading competitors are: Individuals: 1 D.Wright 119pts, 2 D. Fenn 115, 3 R Heaton and A Wharton 98, 5 E Ramsbotham 88, 6 R Thornton 81. Pairs: 1 D & R Fenn 53, 2 Heaton & Aldis 46, 3 Wright & Thomas 45, 4 Wharton & Maguire 37, 5 Ramsbotham & Cockshott and Chenior & Waterfall 36.

The penultimate match will be fished on the Long Ing length of the canal at Barnoldswick on Sunday, November 15 and will include the Knockout Individual semi-finals and the Pairs final. These will be contested by Waterfall versus Wright and Chenior versus M Bradley in the individual semi-finals and Thornton & Eason versus Heaton & Aldis in the pairs final.

The River Aire received a fair amount of water last week and was running near to the top of its banks on the Friday. Weather conditions were ideal but the high water, especially on the Saturday, put most anglers off wetting a line. Barring any more heavy rain, the river should be in good angling trim for this weekend.