The first York Open angling match for some time comes back to the banks of the Ouse on Sunday.

The WJC Noakes Cup has been switched from its usual venue below the city to waters further upstream, where Beningbrough Park, Poppleton and Redhouse are all reserved.

The pegging will be subject to the size of the entry, but I suspect that not all the booked pegs will be required.

The Ouse is in good condition following the heavy rain earlier in the week that gave it a long-awaited boost of flow and colour.

Bream have not shown in big numbers this year but now is the time that a big shoal could be encountered.

Favoured areas might be around the Nidd mouth and in the vicinity of the Rough Field around Killingbeck.

The odd barbel has been taken by pleasure and club anglers from the Park in the past few weeks and Sunday will most likely see the odd fish hooked and lost.

A long shot it might be, but the bigger fish in the Ouse can sometimes be hard to find following a sudden return to autumnal temperatures. I quite fancy that roach will figure in a low scoring contest.

There are still plenty of fish showing at Poppleton, with pleasure anglers taking some decent catches from the double gates upstream as far as the willows opposite Church Farm.

Whatever the conditions and the outcome many anglers will relish the prospect of fishing a decent local river open match after a summer residing on the plethora of commercial ponds that have sprung up in recent years.

One such venture is the York Amalgamation's own Laybourne Lakes at Hessay, where sport has continually improved as the new residents have settled into a steady helping of anglers' baits.

There have regrettably been reports of excessive amounts of litter at the fishery, with some anglers reportedly mistaking the net disinfection tanks for litter bins. They should bag it and bin it at home.

If you have a notice of motion to be heard at this year's York and District Amalgamation of Anglers' annual meeting you had better look sharp as September 30 is the final day for notices to be in the hands of the general secretary.

Only two notices are currently scheduled for discussion.

One of these is a proposed price rise in Year Books. This will be the first rise for over a decade and is, many would argue, long overdue and needed to pay for the stocking and infra structure improvements at Laybourne Lakes.

The second notice relates to the same venue, where it is proposed that Day Tickets be available at a cost of £4.

Weekend bookings:

Saturday

Beningbrough Park - Local AC

Howsham Hall - Railway Institute

Redhouse Lagoon - York GPO

Sunday

Beningbrough Park, Poppleton and Redhouse - Noakes Cup

Fulford - White Rose

Howsham Barn Field - Cygnet

Howsham Hall - Clifton Hotel

Palace Ings - Burton Stone

Paradise Farm - Pudsey Royal

Stamford Bridge - Sea Horse

Tadcaster Healaugh Manor - BRS.

Updated: 10:21 Friday, September 26, 2003