THE final weekend of the river coarse fishing season saw the River Aire at a decent level for fishing and for once this winter, the weather was kind with little wind and much milder conditions.

Quite a few anglers were in action throughout the Skipton and Bradford lengths and most managed to catch at least one or more out of season brown trout.

Grayling also showed up with one angler getting a good fish of around the 900g (2:0:0) mark from above the Carleton stone bridge. Smaller fish were also caught on the fly and worm.

One pike angler on the Skipton length, fishing the sprat, failed to attract a single fish in a couple of hours fishing.

When packing up he decided to throw the remaining sprats into the river only to see the first one immediately taken by a pike as soon as it touched the riverbed and a few moments later a jack pike came to the surface to snatch a further sprat within a second or so of it being thrown in.

The coarse fishing season on rivers has now closed until 16 June and rivers are closed to fishing until the brown trout season commences on March 25.

Coarse fishing is usually allowed on most ponds, reservoirs or canals throughout the year but it is wise to check first before fishing a new water.

Embsay Reservoir is to receive a batch of 200 tiger trout soon to augment the fish that have already been introduced and to determine the qualities of the new sub-species.

The new fish will average 450g (1:0:0) in weight and members are requested to return them to the water to give them a chance to become established. Identification will certainly not be a problem apparently.

The Skipton Angling Association will be holding its annual clean up event on the River Aire this Sunday morning and is open to anyone wishing to take part.

Please meet at the Skipton By-Pass overbridge at 9.3 am where all materials will be provided. The recent floods have brought down more than enough debris which has included plenty of plastic and glass items.