SPRING has made a belated appearance in the York area.

While the bright, crisp mornings may have suited some people, the change to the more usual wet and windy weather is just what anglers have been waiting for.

Water temperatures look set to rise with air temperatures set to double and overnight frosts consigned to memory for another year.

Despite cool conditions, many fisheries have fished well in the past week, boding well for the weekend's fortunes.

Huntington WMC tackled Marley Lake at the Laybourne Lakes complex last Sunday where Kevin Cashmore won with an excellent weight of 54lb 9oz.

Drawn on peg 47, he alternated single maggot and pinkie to keep small carp coming throughout the contest.

Runner-up Peter Norris had 22lb 12oz from nearby peg 49. All his fish fell to either maggot or worm and were, once again, all carp.

Ray Peart took third with his all carp bag of 16lb 10oz that fell to tiny pieces of meat at peg 51.

Aside from the excellent catches on offer, all is not well at the Hessay fishery.

The caravan that is used as a match headquarters and ladies' rest room has recently been vandalised and is no longer of use as an amenity for anglers.

There has also been a report of fish being stolen from the complex by electro-fishing.

It is imperative that anglers help themselves, and each other, by reporting any unusual activity at fisheries immediately. If you observe any suspicious behaviour report it to the fishery owner, or in the case of York Amalgamation venues, to a member of the committee whose names and numbers are all to be found in the yearbook.

A set of keys was found recently at the same venue. If you have lost them, contact Jeff Marley at the fishery.

Earn your reward

I RECENTLY reported that the target set by the Environment Agency for return of match catch cards was met and exceeded.

As a result of the excellent response rate from club secretaries the EA have paid up their 'reward'. Any clubs which run junior sections to educate and encourage future anglers in how to protect the fish they catch and the natural environment can apply for a grant from the amalgamation secretary.

Anglers from the North East qualified for the Matchman of the Year final.

Once again our region provided more qualifiers than any other with 17 anglers topping the 20-point barrier.

Top York angler was long-time front runner Dean Smith, who, despite a late season lull, still finished well up the leaderboard with an excellent haul of 25 points.

Updated: 10:21 Friday, March 24, 2006