SKIPTON AA

Winter League competitors had their first taste of wintery weather on Sunday when they fished the hospital length of the canal at Skipton after an overnight frost followed by a northerly wind and a bright sun. Unfortunately, for half of them the cold conditions rendered them inactive as they were fishless at the end of the three-hour match and some of those who managed to weigh in recorded poor weights. Veteran Bob Fenn caught a specimen perch in the first few minutes weighing 940g to give him a good start and, with a few smaller fish, he recorded a comfortable win with 1030g. League secretary Bill Davenport also landed a good perch of 820g in his second-placed weight of 900g, while Roy Veevers was third with 750g. The weights then tailed off rapidly, with Jason Aldis fourth on 210g, Steve Taylor fifth with 180g and Andrew Thomas sixth on 140g. In the pairs event, Bob Fenn and son Dave finished top with 1070g, with Davenport and Keith Brown second on 1,020g. Other leading weights: 3 Veevers and Wayne Eason 750g, 4 Aldis and Russell Heaton 210g, 5 Taylor and Andy O'Neill 180g, 6 Thomas and Andy Wharton 140g. In the two main competitions, the leaders are as follows – Individuals: D Fenn 17 pts, 2 R Fenn 31, 3 W Davenport, G Waterfall and J Aldis 33, 6, R Thornton and K Brown 37. Pairs: 1 R & D Fenn 9, 2 Davenport & Brown 16, 3 Aldis & Heaton 19, 4 Waterfall & Chenier 25, 5 Thornton & Wright 27, 6 Ramsbotham & Young and Veevers & Eason 31. In the knockout competition semi-finals, Aldis will fish against Davenport and Young against R Fenn. In the pairs knockout final, Waterfall and Chenier will fish against Davenport and Brown. The next match will take place on Sunday, November 26 on the Broughton Road length of the canal at Skipton, where the deeper water may counter any sudden overnight frosty conditions.

BRADFORD CITY ANGLING ASSOCIATION

Mixed weather this week, with very bright and cold conditions becoming milder and greyer towards the end of the week. River levels have generally been below normal, though a sharp shower mid-week put levels back up temporarily. Things look good for the weekend and anglers should be out on the banks of rivers and stillwaters again as a result.Fish are still feeding on the Swale at Topcliffe and Carl Moralees, fishing at Oakworth ponds, had a good net or two of carp and silvers. The cold snap last weekend put the fish off their feed. At the match at Staveley Ponds last Saturday – a location which produced match weights approaching 20lb in the summer – only Graham Brammer weighed in, recording just 4oz to win the Cinderella Trophy. Last weekend saw the annual Arthur Scaife Memorial Grayling day being held on the Ure for the first time. Ten anglers fished a low and clear river, conditions made even more difficult by bright sunshine, temperatures close to freezing and a strong northerly wind. Anglers used both fly and trotting methods, though fly was more successful on the day, with 15 grayling and a few out-of-season brown trout netted. The winning angler was Jonathon Barnes, with six good-sized grayling up to 40cms in length. This week we have started stocking mixed species of fish into our stillwaters. Shipton has been the first to receive fish, but further stock will be added at Staveley and Oakworth later this year.

Membership renewals will be going out over the next few days. Both new and existing members can join for 2018 through the online shop, via a link on the front page of the BCAA website at www.bradfordcityaa.co.uk. Subs this year are £34 for adults, £25 for concessions and £5 for juniors, with an additional £15 joining fee for new members aged 18 and over. The association is desperately in need new members to join the General Committee. If you able to help then please call Jim Munden on 07940-814431 to find out how you can assist and to put your name forward. The next coarse fishing match will be on Saturday, November 25, to be held on the River Swale at Salmon Hall. o book a place, and for information, please call Rodney Brooksbank on 0787-5275749.

BRADFORD No1 AA

A less than ideal low and clear river in the bright and windy conditions, coupled with a sharp drop in temperatures, meant it was difficult fishing for the 30 anglers in Sunday's charity open match on the River Nidd at Cowthorpe. The majority of fish caught were chublets and dace but there were a few proper chub lost. John Leyland won with 6lb 9oz, while Geoff Cox was second with 5lb 12oz. The next open match will be the Daily Mirror Cup at Cowthorpe on December 10. There are still a couple of places left for the Raskelf Winter Series, which begins on December 3. Contact Simon on 01274-571175 for more details. Widdington Hall will be closed on Sunday for a Yorkshire Winter League match. Ten-year-old Liam Matley enjoyed his first visit to Raskelf. Despite the colder temperatures, it turned out to be his most successful trip to date, catching six F1 carp in a three-hour session. With temperatures dropping, fishing for most species has dropped off – but there have been some good catches of pike from Shelf Dam, Knotford, the Nidd at Cowthorpe and the Ure at Roecliffe. The Nidd at Cowthorpe has an abundance of chub in the 3-6oz range, which should provide good sport throughout the winter.

KEIGHLEY AC

Cooling temperatures have heralded the beginning of changing activity as pike anglers turn to the river, still waters and key stretches of the canal in pursuit of prime specimens which patrol our waters. There have been reports of pike seen beneath floating leaves along the canal. Grayling occupy clean stretches of our Aire in increasing numbers, with red maggot proving an effective bait for coarse anglers. But fly angling is also becoming popular, with grayling being tempted to the bank by red and pink nymphs. Our club maintains some of the finest waters in the area which are home to many diverse species including roach, chub, trout, grayling, pike and barbel. Next year, the club will celebrate its 150th anniversary and is marking the occasion by offering immediate membership to the end of 2017 for anyone wishing to become a new member in 2018. Anyone interested should contact club secretary Dennis Freeman on 07980-338225. This year's annual meeting will be held at the Octagon Club in Sandbeds, Keighley on Tuesday, November 21 at 7.30pm. Members are welcome to attend.

LEEDS ASA

Lawping Lake at Kippax park has been stocked with 600 rainbow trout between 1lb-1lb 4oz, with the odd fish of 1lb 8oz and further fish to go in. This is to give anglers something to catch when carp cease to feed freely during the winter months. Saturday's match was won by M Jukes with 95lb 14oz, with L Willshire (83lb 10oz) second, S Pearson (52lb 10oz) third and A Rymer (49lb 9oz) fourth. The Sunday open match at Moor Monkton Pools was finished on cyprio and the match pool winner was S Powers (62lb 10oz), with O Hewitt (46lb 2oz) second. Before the cold snap a few carp were caught at Knotford, weighing into the mid-20s. It is hoped the minnows will have diminished in the Wharfe as they have been a problem, however a few decent-sized grayling have been caught. A few pike have been caught in the Ouse, mostly on the small side. Roach are now shoaling up in their winter quarters and catches into double figures have been recorded. The Aireborough match was won with 10lb 12oz.

BRADFORD & DISTRICT SEA AC

Any rule changes or other important changes must be brought to the attention of the secretary at or before the annual meeting on Tuesday, November 21. The trip to Hartlepool last week went ahead but the fishing was a bit slow, with 50-plus cod caught and 20 or 30 whiting. The overall winner was Dave Kitchingman. As our secretary and president are stepping down this year, we are looking for members to fill their boots. If you think you are able of filling either role, make it known at the annual meeting. Paul and Brian have done the work for a long time and we will be sorry to see them step down, although they will carry on being members.

CLAYTON AC

Result of Christmas Cheer match at Farview (18 fished): 1 Kevin Armitage 45lb, 2 Alan Haley 20lb 12oz, 3 Jason Craig 18lb 4oz. Section winners: Peter Foulds, Steve Biddiscombe, John Hartley. Pairs winners: Kevin Armitage and Trevor Bateman. Thanks to all who attended the match and presentation evening, as well as members who kindly donated prizes. Angler of the year final positions: 1 Steff Armitage, 2 Alan Haley, 3 Steve Charge. Clubman of year winner: Jack Hawkins. Our annual meeting is at The Fleece on Wednesday, December 6 (7pm).

LISTERHILLS AA

The committee match fished in cold conditions on the Leeds-Liverpool canal was won by G Reeday (3lb 8oz), with D Jackson (2lb) second. The final positions in the aggregate weight trophy saw a club record for E Harrison of 128lb 13½oz. Runner-up was J Harrison with a weight of 108lb 8oz, achieved by fishing less matches. The winner of the merit trophy was D Frost. The winner of the Open League was B Mason, who also won the canal series.

BRADFORD PALS AC

Result of Sunday's match at Birkwood Farm (main lake): 1 Bernard Hook 54lb 1oz (including a carp of 16lb 9oz), 2 Pete Milner 21lb 12oz, 3 Terry Richards 11lb 2oz, 4 Keith Gardner 9lb 5oz.