COARSE fishing resumed on the River Aire this week as the fish-spawning season came to an end with anglers eager to test their river skills with traditional maggot and cereal baits.

However, some anglers might find stretches of the Aire could pose an added challenge after flooding earlier in the year flushed out familiar swims, carving new depths which created fresh contours on the river bed. The floods also deposited debris and other submerged hazards.

The recent climate has boosted plant life along the river and some committee members at Keighley Angling Club have begun strimming bank vegetation near the bridge at Keighley Golf Club. Pegs are also being cut for the new season.

Meanwhile, fly anglers have continued to enjoy great sport on the Aire. Trout, tempted to the surface by abundant mayfly hatches, have risen to dry flies cast onto the surface of fast-flowing gravel stretches and also on slower waters near to Kildwick and Stockbridge.

The canal is also reported to be fishing well: several large shoals of roach were spotted at Leaches Bridge, Riddlesden and one junior Keighley member chose a combination of maggot and bread punch to land five skimmer bream and more than 50 roach in a two-hour pole session close to the former gas works at Silsden.