BRADFORD CITY AA

THE fishing season has now reached the point where it’s only the bravest or most hardy anglers out on the banks in the cold weather and wind-chill factor. Nonetheless, a few daring individuals have fished both rivers and lakes, and had a few fish to the net.

At Staveley, Tom Pawson braved a chilly night session and was rewarded by a good-looking mirror carp, while Alan Robinson netted three pike to 10lb. On the Aire at Broughton, in falling river levels and with the sky not too overcast, our fly secretary Phil Bailey had two grayling during a short session. Both were well over 1lb and the larger one was 43cm – probably around the 2lb mark.

Steven Brown reported that although he was out on various waters three times this week, he had limited returns because of the cold, northerly wind. His most productive outing was to the Ribble at Skirbeck, where he landed several grayling on stick-float and maggots.

This week, we have seen an amount of tackle left behind on our fisheries. If any angler has lost anything, they should contact Jim Munden (07940-814431).

This weekend we will be continuing our tree-planting programme in earnest. We still need volunteers to help us plant 1,000 trees in various locations along the River Aire to help improve habitat and river ecology. Work will start at 10am on Sunday, Wednesday (December 6) and next Friday (December 8) at locations between Gargrave and Broughton. If you are able to give us a hand – even if just for two or three hours – please give Phil Bailey a ring on 07811-286652 to obtain precise details of meeting places and times.

Yearbooks for 2018 are now on sale at most agents, while renewals and new memberships can also be had from our online shop via the front page of our website at www.bradfordcityaa.co.uk. Renewals are £40 per year for adults and £25 for concessions, while a £15 joining fee is payable by new members. Junior membership costs £5, but no joining fee applies. Members should note that in 2018, club rules require anglers to return all fish they catch to the water alive, including pike under 5lb. Despite rumours to the contrary, we’d like to confirm there is no compulsory keep-net ban, no compulsory requirement to use an unhooking mat (except for carp), and no rule saying that all coarse and game fish must be landed using a landing net. However, anglers are urged to follow good practise and handle any fish caught with great care.

Nets weighed in from our match at Salmon Hall on the Swale last weekend suffered from cold northerly winds and high river levels after overnight heavy rain. Result: 1 F Hardcastle (ND Angling) 8oz, 2 Rodney Brooksbank. Our next match will be the Copper Kettle Challenge at Shipton Lake tomorrow. To book a place or find out more, call Rodney on 07875-275749.

BRADFORD No 1 AA

Raskelf Lake will be closed on Sunday for the opening round of this year's winter series, which will draw at the Black Bull at 9am. There are still a few places available for this match from Simon on 01274-571175. Tickets are also available from Simon for the open match on the River Nidd at Cowthorpe on Sunday, December 10.

The match calendar for 2018 is now on the club website, with more than

30 matches again taking place next year. Membership for 2018 will go on sale once the yearbooks are received from the printers, which is expected to be the middle of this month. Senior membership will cost £50, with concessions £30 and juniors just £5 for the year, giving access to 11 lakes, over 35 miles of river and 12 miles of canal within Yorkshire.

James West has produced a great video about our Knotford fishery, including catch pictures and some drone footage, which can be seen on YouTube, our social media pages or our website gallery. If you've never fished the lake or are looking for a club to join for next year, be sure to take a look.

Darren Starkey and Andrew Fieldhouse had a good day's fishing on the club's stretch of the River Derwent at Howsham Wood. Darren caught eight chub up to 4lb 10oz and roach to over a pound on feeder and bread, while Andrew added a further three chub to 4lb. There have also been good catches of chub from the River Nidd at Cowthorpe and the River Swale at Maunby.

Permits for Queen Mary's Ponds will be available to book online from next month, and Matt Foster will be taking over issuing permits through the current postal system. Full details will be in the new yearbook.

SKIPTON AA

While the prospect of cold weather did materialise last week, the deeper water in the Broughton Road length of the canal failed to save the sport for last Sunday's Skipton Winter League match, and all that was caught were small roach and perch, which together produced the lowest winning weights of any match this season.

Not only that, some of the names on the leaderboard were refreshingly different.

Result: 1 Brett Young 380g, 2 Rob Thornton 320g, 3 Russell Heaton 270g, 4 Andy Wharton 210g, 5 Andrew Thomas 180g, 6 Dave Fenn 140g. Pairs: 1= Andy Wharton & Andrew Thomas, Ernie Ramsbotham & Brett Young 390g, 3 Thornton & Kenny Wright 320g, 4 Heaton & Jason Aldis 270g, 5 D&R Fenn 200g, 6 Bill Davenport & Keith Brown 170g. Standings (with one match left at Long Ing length of canal at Barnoldswick on Sunday, December 10) - Individuals: 1 Dave Fenn 27pts, 2 Bob Fenn 36, 3 Rob Thornton 49, 4 Bill Davenport 43, 5 Graeme Waterfall 45, 6 Keith Brown 47. Pairs: 1 D&R Fenn 14, 2 Davenport & Brown 22, 3 Heaton & Aldis 23, 4 Thornton & Wright 29, 5= Waterfall & Chenier, Ramsbotham & Young 32. Pairs Knockout: Davenport &d Brown bt Chenier & Waterfall 200g-20g. Individual knockout final: Davenport v Brett Young.

Hopefully conditions will be kind and good sport will prevail for the last match, although a two-week long cold spell has been forecast. LEEDS ASA

There has been a rise of £1 across the board for all classes of membership for next year's books, with the exception of juniors. The cost of a Moor Monkton Pools permit is £15 per year. There is also an increase in match-pegging fees. Result of match at Kippax Park on Tuesday, November 21: 1 P Carter with 99lb 4oz, 2 S Armitage 52lb 12oz, 3 N Rymer 47lb 15oz. Result of Wednesday match at Moor Monkton Pools, fished in gale-force winds: 1 M Green 19lb 2oz, 2 A Bolton 17lb 3oz, 3 S Bolton 12lb 13oz. Result of Saturday match at Kippax Park: 1 A Rymer 52lb 5oz, 2 M Gaunt 39lb 11oz, 3 B Rymer 37lb 9oz. Result of Sunday's match at Moor Monkton Pools: 1 T Bainbridge 29lb 2oz, 2 A Gallant 21lb 7oz, 3 M Green 20lb 3oz. River levels should be suitable for this weekend.

BINGLEY AC

Christmas Cheer match will be in Myrtle park on Sunday, December 10, draw 9am in the park, to book-on contact A Newman on 07783-332705. With the colder weather, fishing is slow but pike are being caught on the canal, and after the recent rains rivers should be back to fishable levels. There will be another series of work parties at Coppice Pond this winter. Details will be posted on Facebook, on our website and on this page when available.

LISTERHILLS AA

Not many anglers have been out over the last week but the canal is a good standby. The number of people fishing club waters without a membership book or day ticket is on the increase, and more members are requested to come forward to act as watchers. Also anyone who knowingly allows non-members to accompany them will be severely dealt with as they are cheating the rest of us.

HEWENDEN AC

It is the Christmas Cheer coarse match on Sunday at Hewenden Reservoir. Members must have fished a minimum of three coarse matches since last January to be able to fish the match. Please meet in the car park prior to paying on at 9am. The water will be closed for any pleasure fishing until after the match.