COMPETITORS in the first match of this year’s Craven Summer League fished on the Swine Lane length of the canal at Riddlesden, could probably be forgiven for thinking they were still fishing the tail end of the winter league, judging from last Sunday’s weather and catches.

Dull, damp conditions prevailed coupled with a strong and cold west wind. Extensive lock movements at Bingley apparently created a strong downstream current although only a single boat passed through during the match length.

Apart from five decent bream, all the catches consisted of small roach, perch and gudgeon and the weights soon tailed off. Eighteen competitors turned up on the day with a few more giving notice of their intention to fish the rest of the venues.

Jason Aldis had four good bream and a decent roach in his winning weight of 3740g (6:4:8) while Graeme Waterfall had one decent bream in his second place catch of 600g (1:5:0). Other leading weights were: 3 Dave Moffat 380g (0:14:0), 4 Danny Bolland 250g (0:4:12) and 5 Wayne Eason 240g (0:4:4).

The next match will be fished on the gasworks length of the canal at Silsden on Sunday, May 15, 2016. The draw will be held at 7am with fishing from 8am until 11am.

The Canal and River Trust has recently cleared up the confusion over who owns the fishing rights on the canal in the vicinity of Barnoldswick, Bank Newton, Skipton and Silsden where many anglers are of the view that it is free fishing.

From Bridge No 151a at Barnoldswick to the top lock No 41 at Bank Newton, the rights are held by the Marsden Star Angling Society. From below this lock all the way down to Bridge No 178 (Belmont Bridge) at Skipton, the rights are owned by the Canal & River Trust and fishing can be obtained by taking out a Waterways Wanderers angling permit that runs for 12 months from the date of purchase. Costs are: Adults £20; Senior citizens over age 65 £10 and Juniors age 16 and under £5. The permit also covers extensive fishing elsewhere on the canal network.

From Bridge No 178 to Bridge No 183a at Farnhill, the rights are leased to the Keighley Angling Club and from Bridge No 183a to Bridge No 191 near Silsden, the leased rights are in the hands of the Hewenden Angling Club.

Basically, there is no free fishing on the canal, the bulk of the rights belong to the Canal & River Trust who lease out numerous stretches to angling clubs. Those wishing to fish must be either a member of the relevant angling club or have a Waterway Wanderers yearly permit.