IS there ever going to be a dry spell this autumn to bring river levels down and allow anglers to indulge in a spot of fishing which has sadly been out of the question for at least the last month or more?

The short period last week did allow one or two anglers to fish the top end of the Aire around Inghey Bridge for grayling but even so, the flow remained well above normal and the cooler nights with the first air frost of winter appeared to put the fish off the feed.

Normally grayling are unaffected by cold weather and can be tempted to take a fly or bait on the coldest of days, so maybe they have been put off by the constant high water levels of late.

Pike anglers are not having much chance to try their luck with this fish during what is the traditional time to seek them out.

Normal methods of fishing for them such as free lining or spinning need a lower, slow moving water level for successful angling.

Leaves on the bottom can also be a nuisance and whilst most of the early fallers have been washed away there are a lot still on the trees.

Recent reports suggest that the local lengths of the canal are still providing some good sport and have not been affected by the cooler weather.

Good perch, roach and bream are still active throughout the Skipton lengths of the canal when conditions are reasonable.

Sport at Whinnygill Reservoir has tailed off a little but decent catches of ide, roach and perch are still being achieved from the sheltered corners.

Anglers are few and far between at Embsay Reservoir, most likely because of the conditions at this exposed water during the winter months.

Prospects once again depend very much on the weather where only a couple of weeks or more of dry and dare I say it, relative mild conditions, would bring about an improvement, especially on the rivers.