ALTHOUGH there may have been a slight change in the weather with less heavy rain, nearly every day is wet and in the first 11 days of the New Year the rainfall locally stands at about 100mm (4 ins). This has been sufficient, given the soggy state of the land, to keep the River Aire well above normal and even resulted in more flooding into the fields last Sunday.

It is not surprising to find that no one has even attempted to wet a line in the river and it is difficult to remember the last time someone was seen fishing the Skipton lengths.

It will take a fairly long spell of dry weather to get the river down to an acceptable level for fishing and at the moment that dry period does not appear in the forecasts.

This week may just be colder with less precipitation but more low pressure and corresponding rain is on the cards again from next week.

One or two hardy Skipton Angling Association members have been trying their luck on the rather exposed Whinnygill Reservoir at Skipton where some decent fish have been coming to the net.

Kenny Wright landed a fine brown trout weighing 1,800g (4:0:0) when all the hooks had been taken out (2,270g/5 lb jokingly before). Apparently, the fish had successfully evaded capture on a number of occasions by smashing the line of the would-be captors.

Simon Chenior enjoyed a session when caught a number of fish which included a roach, a perch and a number of brown trout. However, his last fish of the day was the proverbial monster and put up a supreme struggle before finally breaking free during a dive to the depths of the reservoir. Simon was of the opinion that it was either a very big brownie or a good-sized carp.

Prospects on the reservoir should remain reasonable since all the recent rain has been relatively warm and this will have ensured that the fish have continued to feed.

There is a hint of colder weather but the deep water of the reservoir will take some time for the chill to penetrate. The moor side quarry corner is a popular place and also offers some shelter to the angler depending on the direction of the wind.