AT last week’s 111th Annual General Meeting of the Skipton Angling Association, the members present found that the club has enjoyed a successful year on all fronts – financial, membership and sport wise.

The association had continued to buck the present nationwide trend in reducing membership numbers and 2017 had seen an increase of 12% in the overall membership total.

This also impacted positively on the financial situation which in spite of good spending on restocking, had seen the profit margin more than quadruple over the 2017 figure.

On the sporting front all the association’s four waters (Leeds & Liverpool canal, Whinnygill and Embsay reservoirs plus the river Aire) had maintained some good sport throughout the year.

Several records were broken at Whinnygill and on the canal.

One particular record of note was the breaking of the brown trout record at Whinnygill which had stood since 1946 when 16-year -old Ronnie Burton had landed a 2.380 kg specimen.

In 2017 the 71-year-old record was initially broken by John D Nicholls with a 3kg fish and then 50 days later, Michael Ickringill, landed the same fish which had slightly increased in weight to 3.040 kg.

Besides being the new Whinnygill record this trout is now the overall association record having exceeded Andrew Facey’s 2.495 kg fish landed from the Aire in 2014.

Two propositions were put before the meeting and both were overwhelmingly accepted.

The first offered free membership of up to two juniors under the age of 12 if their parent was a full association member and the second proposition stopped the use of a proxy proposition or vote at any meeting.

All retiring officials willing to serve another term were re-elected. Lindsey Tipling was elected as membership secretary and is the first woman to become an association official.

She takes over from Mark Hindle who was made a vice-president. Mark Bradley became bailiff at Embsay in place of Michael Ickringill and Ernie Ramsbotham took up the vacant bailiff position for the canal.

Chairman, Alan Wade thanked by the secretary for the skill and expertise he had brought to all the meetings during the last year.