FOLLOWING yet another week of wet weather and high water levels, last Saturday’s 24 hours of heavy rain driven by gale force winds, resulted in flooding of the Aire valley on a scale not seen for some considerable time. On Sunday, the valley resembled a huge lake and at several points the course of the river could not be seen.

No doubt a good many fish would have been lost into the fields where they remain until lower water levels and fish eating birds take their toll. Small fish like sticklebacks and minnows disappear in their thousands and can end up many fields away from the river.

I have seen them in animal drinking wells along the course of an underground stream and once rescued over 50 fish from nothing more than a puddle alongside Heslaker Lane, days after the river had returned to its normal course.

One fish that seems to fall victim to flood disorientation is the pike probably because it likes nothing better to lie in a quiet backwater waiting for the chance to undertake a short, sharp burst of speed to catch an unwary fish.

If it has to rise with the flood water due to its lair changing its characteristics with the extra water, it appears that it can easily drift over the bank edge and into the adjacent fields.

Chub are another species that can be in trouble with flood water although the only fish that I have come across in floods was one with deformed back and another that probably should have weighed about 1,800g (4:0:0) but was in a very thin condition.

Both were returned to the river unaware of their lucky escape. Trout and grayling that spend most of their life in currents seem to be able to cope but for their fry it may be a different story.

Unfortunately, the Skipton Winter League penultimate match results from last Sunday’s efforts on the Long Ing length of the canal at Barnoldswick were not available at the time of writing so will be published at a later date. Conditions were certainly not ideal on the morning of the match and may have caused an upset with the leading contenders in the various competitions.