THE Environment Agency have confirmed that the level of the River Aire on Boxing Day 2015 was the highest ever recorded and beat the previous figure set as a result of the thaw that followed tremendous snowfall in the winter of 1947.

It has also been acknowledged that the succession of very high water levels and serious flooding in November and December will have certainly affected fish stocks in all of Yorkshire’s river systems. Some fish will have been lost after leaving the main river and ending up stranded in fields or even streets whilst others will have been carried downstream by the current.

Since most of the flooding occurred either during or just after the brown trout spawning period, it is anticipated that virtually all of this season’s eggs or fry will have been lost.

In streams where the bed suffered severe scouring and bed material movement, further losses of all age groups of fish will have occurred due to starvation as most of the food supply will have been washed away and replacement of the food will not occur until at least spring with the return of warmer weather.

The exact extent of the fish loss will not be apparent until mid 2016 when it should be noticed in angling catches as well as visually. The loss of the 2015 recruitment fish may take longer to ascertain and the earliest signs should be apparent in 2017.

Canals, still waters and reservoirs will obviously have not been affected anywhere nearly as bad as rivers but they may still have been fish swept over sills during some of the worst periods of really heavy rain.

With just one calendar month to the start of the new brown trout season on Yorkshire rivers, Skipton members will need to renew their subscriptions from February 28 and certainly before March 24. Mr Mark Hindle (07771 892224) is the new membership secretary and should be contacted for details of how to make postal renewals.

Alternatively, both new and existing members can take out or renew their subscription via the easy to use Skipton AA Online Store. Full details can be found on www.freewebstore.org/skipton-angling-association.