Skipton Angling Association will be holding their second members’ match this Sunday at Embsay Reservoir.

Competitors this year will be facing lower water levels than usual on the roadside length, and this could make fishing tricky due to the large number of big stones present on this stretch. The need to cast out to the deeper water creates further problems, and snagging will lead to plenty of lost tackle.

With only the fly, worm, minnow and spinning available at this venue, most anglers will opt to use the worm as minnows are now hard to come by at the reservoir.

Brown and rainbow trout are present, along with plenty of perch, although they tend to be mainly small fish.

A perch of 1.42kg (3:2:0) was landed at the first ever match on Embsay Reservoir to take the Skipton AA record but since then nothing has come anywhere near to beating it.

Members (full and RA&W) should meet on the car park for the draw at 8.15am. Fishing will be from 9am-noon.

The continuing dry weather is having a big effect on water levels, and river flows are at their lowest for several years.

A comparison of rainfall with that in the last drought year of 1995 shows that this year there has been almost seven inches less so far.

In 1995, at the beginning of July, there had been 16.73 inches and 22.29 inches at the year end.

On July 1 this year, the rainfall was 9.83 inches, so if the remaining rainfall mirrors 1995, the total for 2010 will be less than 16 inches.

So far the warm and dry weather will have benefited both the brown trout and coarse fish in that spawning and initial growth will have been good.

However, trout do not like long spells of hot weather coupled with very low water levels and unless there is drastic rainfall, some of the bigger fish may suffer.