Angling Lines

Last Sunday’s Winter Series match at Raskelf went ahead, despite the lake being frozen from bank to bank, and all but two of the 30 anglers were rewarded with fish. Winner Steve Fox broke the ice to catch 10lb 12oz of skimmers on pole and maggot, James Vickerman’s 7lb 8oz catch of ide and bream claimed second, while third place went to Andy Jacques with 6lb 7oz of skimmers. Andy leads the series with 60 points after two matches. Widdington Hall will be closed this weekend for outside bookings. Tickets are now available for the next open match on the River Swale on Sunday, February 8 from Simon on 01274-571175. Membership for 2015 is still available, as well as extended-hours permits for a number of our river stretches. The club have continued to show their commitment to the future of their still waters with a further stocking of quality carp into three of their lakes. A total of 30 C4 carp, reared at VS Fisheries, have been stocked into Black Heath Pond in Ripon, Knotford Lagoon near Otley, and Kirklees Lagoon near Brighouse this winter to further complement the successful stocking of 100 carp into Knotford over the past five years.

Black Heath Pond, part of the Queen Mary’s complex of lakes, is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and, as such, is subject to strict controls over which species and how many fish can be stocked. Carp are not considered a native species by Natural England, the organisation which oversees SSSIs. However, as the club produced evidence suggesting the species had been present in the lakes since the club gained fishing rights in the 1950s, prior to the site being designated as a SSSI in 1983, permission was granted for stocks to be replenished over the coming years. All of the stocked fish were between 8lb and 10lb, and it is expected that there will be further stockings in the following years. The complex has previously produced fish to over 40lb, and the stocking comes four years after Black Heath was fully otter-fenced to protect it from predators. Knotford Lagoon received a further boost to its stocks with the fish joining a large number of quality fish in the water, including 100 specimens stocked from the same source over the past five years. The previous stockings have been deemed a massive success by the club and anglers alike, with many of the fish showing weight gains of over 3lb per year. A number of the fish stocked in recent years are now being caught at over 20lb, including some of the fish stocked at 9lb in late 2011. Joining the former gravel pit in being stocked was Kirklees Lagoon, which received a number of carp to assist in retaining similar levels of stock in the future and replacing any fish lost to natural deaths. The two-acre lake has recently been fenced to protect it from predators, and last year produced at least two different 30lb fish. Coarse angling within the club has also been provided a boost with the stocking of 1,500 ide into Raskelf Lake in North Yorkshire. The fish will improve further the already impressive catch rates at the venue throughout the year.

SALTAIRE AA

The non-native invasive demon shrimp (Dikerogammerus Haemobaphes) has been found for the first time in the Leeds-Liverpool Canal between Skipton and Shipley. There is information about the demon shrimp at http://www.nonnativespecies.org/alerts/index.cfm?id=3. It is unclear what the impact on UK eco-systems will be but this invasive species can impact on UK food chains, perhaps eradicate native shrimp species or have other catastrophic results. There is also the possibility that demon shrimp might carry parasites which kill off native species (as happened with signal crayfish), which lack acquired immunity. Clearly there is significant danger of the shrimp – or its eggs – being introduced to the River Aire or other waters via wet landing, keep-nets and footwear, and other equipment used by anglers. All anglers must therefore make every attempt to follow the 'clean, check, dry' procedure. Make sure especially that footwear, landing and keep-nets are dried thoroughly after fishing on one water before visiting another. This is especially important if – for instance – an angler fishes on two or more rivers in one day. Many waters in Lancashire are already infected. Demon shrimp was first found in Worcestershire waterways (River Severn and Worcester Canal) in 2012 and its close relative the killer shrimp (Dikerogammerus Villosus) at Grafham Water in 2010. It was also found in 2014 in the River Douglas (Lancashire) and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, and would appear to be in most Lancashire rivers all the way down to the River Mersey in Liverpool. There is a river match on Sunday, February 1, which is expected to use the middle and bottom lengths. Contact Barrie Murgatroyd on 07902-493139 for details and to book on. Canal match result from Sunday: 1 Dave Wells 13lb 10oz, 2 Nigel Storr 8lb 3oz, 3 Richard East 3lb 7oz.

BRADFORD & DISTRICT SEA AC

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, February 17 at the New Inn, East Bierley (8pm). Annual subs (still £10) are now due. The trip calendar, which can be picked up at the meeting, is now available. There are still one or two places left on our week's holiday to Culdaff in Ireland. If you would like to go, telephone Roger on 07773-139460.

LISTERHILLS AA

At the request of the fishery owners, anglers' vehicles should not be taken on site at Pilley's Fishery. For Sunday's members' match, the gate will be opened at 8.30am, with the draw at 8.45am. Cars to be parked outside the gate.