THIS week’s article will be the last one I will submit for publishing in the Craven Herald, bringing an end to my contribution of almost 50 years of local angling news that I believe I started early in 1971.

I will conclude by reviewing the four local waters that have attracted my attention over all those years.

The Canal - In 1971 the first phase of the pleasure boating renaissance was underway and the water was just beginning to be discoloured by silt disturbance at certain times of the day.

This ultimately had a big effect on the trout population in the canal which stretched from Skipton to Gargrave.

In 1957 a 10:11:0 brown trout had been caught at the feeder near Gargrave to take the Yorkshire record and each year fish of up to three or four pounds were regularly captured.

At Niffany in the evening you could creep up to the bank edge and spot big trout lying in wait for an unsuspecting roach or perch but you could never attract them by rod and line.

The silting up of the water gradually reduced the trout population to nil but created a coarse fish explosion which is present to this day with plenty of quality roach, perch, bream and pike inhabiting almost any stretch that you care to fish and all through natural reproduction.

The only restocking that I can recollect was of a quantity of carp at Bradley and Farnhill which grew like mad over three or four years before simply disappearing.

Embsay Reservoir - The Skipton Angling Association have enjoyed the fishing rights on this 26 acre and 56 feet deep water more or less since it was constructed.

Until relatively recently it contained brown trout only but the pipe connection with Whinnygill Reservoir brought perch eggs and fry into the reservoir which have multiplied over the years.

Big perch (record 3:2:0) are few and far between but four ounce fish are plentiful.

Large rainbows, tiger and blue trout have also been introduced to produce a good trout fishery in very picturesque surroundings.

Brown trout have never grown well and the present record goes back to 1946 with a 3:12:0 fish.

Whinnygill Reservoir - The Skipton AA have held the rights on this water since the 1920s and ran it mainly as a put and take water for brown trout.

Latterly, it has been converted into a coarse fishery for which it is not that well suited.

The water is a rough stone lined hole in the ground on the east side of Skipton extending to six acre and with three depths of 12, 24 and 34 feet.

Restocking has consisted of bream, roach, ide, tench and carp, all of which have done surprisingly well with good bags of fish and specimens amongst them.

Perch did not need stocking as they were already numerous but brown trout are now few in number.

The present record fish was caught this year and weighed 7:10:0. Previously, a 5:0:0 fish held the record from 1946 until 2013.

River Aire - The River Aire around Skipton is my favourite water.

This water has seen the biggest changes of all the four waters and is now classified by the EA as a brown trout/ grayling fishery.

Fifty years ago it held very good brown trout plus a good stock of specimen roach, chub, perch, bream, dace, gudgeon, grayling and pike.

Disease and pollution since the 1970s have taken their toll with the trout suffering first, then the roach, perch, dace, gudgeon and bream (1975 to 2000) and finally the chub and pike in the new century.

From 2015 restocking with farmed trout has been banned unless they are the product of Aire stripped fish.

At the moment the trout appear to be holding their own and fish to over six pounds have been caught (something that never occurred 50 odd years ago).

Most clubs on the Aire enforce a catch and return policy but it is too early to see if natural reproduction can be a long term success.

There are signs that the chub and pike are recovering and this year has seen the capture of a handful of roach. Small gudgeon are also present below Snaygill.

It could be that in a few years we shall be heralding the arrival of salmon and sea trout in the Skipton area.

The EA have put all their eggs in one basket for this one so let’s hope that they will be successful and that future climate changes will be kind on all the fish.