This week's warmer weather has sparked a frenzy of feeding activity on local stillwaters and some amazing catches have been reported from across The Press catchment area.

Some huge nets of carp have been taken at Woodlands with 100lb-plus hauls coming from Partridge, Skylark and Curlew. The fish are responding well to baits fished shallow with regular loose helpings of pellet or meat drawing the carp to investigate the surface layers.

Further south Oaktree Leisure at Huby is also producing well with Pond Four in fine form. Pole and pellet or corn is accounting for some fine mixed nets here.

Langwith Lakes are fishing superbly well at present with all four lakes producing hectic action. Match anglers regularly target the far margins in search of the carp but pleasure anglers should find the fish willing to feed closer under less pressured conditions. Pellet is scoring well but maggot will also yield more variety.

At Carpvale, stunning bags of carp have come to surface baits on, notably, Cyprio pool.

The venue regulars target fish on the surface with long lengths of floating pole enabling them to present baits tight to the snags and cover that the fish so favour. The pleasure angler, however, need not go to the strain nor the expense of wielding 20 metres of high quality carbon fibre. When the fishery is quieter, notably as dusk approaches, fish start to patrol open water and the margins in search of bait discarded by anglers.

One fishery that should be high on your to-fish' list is the Pool Bridge Farm complex at Crockey Hill. This week has seen fish to double figures falling to floating bread from Normans Lake.

Horse Shoe Lake also saw fish taking surface-baits with floating pellets or chum mixers fished to the island with a controller float bagging fish to 8lb in three-figure hauls.

On the Coarse Lake, it was a skimmer a chuck for anglers fishing pole and pellet to the lilies. The odd better bream and tench provided some variety.

Raker Lakes continues to produce the goods with big carp to double figures being taken on pole and cat meat or paste fished tight to the marginal tree cover.

Floating bread is also scoring here, where the bomb will often out fish the pole. Fish the floating bread on a hook length slightly longer than the depth of the far-side and the bread will pop up to the surface firmly anchored in place.

Anglers probably spend more time next to rivers and streams than any other section of the public. Therefore, we are ideally situated to help the York Natural Environment Trust (YNET) in their ongoing survey for the presence of water voles.

They are a regular sight on the River Foss around Huntington and, with the help of observant anglers, YNET are hoping to build a much fuller picture of their abundance and distribution in the York area so their habitat can be protected.

Sightings can be reported to the York Amalgamation Secretary or the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.