THE Skipton Angling Association will be holding its 109th annual general meeting next Tuesday g at 8pm.

Once again it has been necessary to change the venue for the meeting from the Skipton WMC and this time it will be at the Three Links Club which is situated at the eastern (way out) side of the town hall car park which has free parking during the evening.

All members are invited to attend and show their support.

The association has had another successful year with membership remaining stable in all categories. Apart from the last two months, the weather had been generally favourable to angling and members enjoyed some good fishing once the temperature began to rise at the end of May.

Embsay Reservoir produced some rainbow trout to over the 1,800g (4:0:0) mark while Whinnygill Reservoir generally fished well for coarse fish with the newly-introduced roach frequently coming to the net.

The River Aire produced plenty of trout and grayling but for once the average size was below what has come to be the norm in recent years.

November and December saw one flood after another sweep down the Aire and must have resulted in the loss of many fish.

There is a vacancy for a new membership secretary due to illness and a couple of places exist for committee positions.

Proposals are also to be put before the meeting for some minor rule changes.

Although it may be too early to say, there has been a slight change in the weather with less rain and lower temperatures with the wind coming from an easterly direction.

River levels have generally fallen but are soon affected by the slightest rainfall. Anglers have hardly been quick to take the opportunity to try their luck on the Aire and no one could be seen in action anywhere between Skipton and Keighley last weekend.

At the moment the canal and still waters may provide the best sport with the canal probably the best bet.

Even this stretch of water suffered from a sharp increase in flood water but has now returned to normal. The basin at Skipton may be a good place to try. It can produce some very good perch at this time of the year.