MOST local fisheries look like hitting top form over the coming month, but, for me, it is the resurgent Ribble that holds most promise.

It has hit its best form for years and though I can easily remember describing it as "one of the top rivers in the country" which it certainly is not now, great catches lately of big fish and plenty of smaller samples, show it is on its way back.

As a result there are more anglers on the bank and you need to be up early to bag one of the best swims. It is, nevertheless, worth the effort.

Samlesbury is tops for the big fish, but there are reports of double figure barbel, and chub to 5lbs, from other areas. It is, however, the quantity of fish now apparent that is causing the present "euphoria."

Bags of seven or eight big fish, barbel of 6-8lbs in a single session, are far from uncommon, and "ton up" bags, including small fish of 3lbs or so, are definitely possible.

There has not been as much water in the river as would see it at its best but, even in some slackwater swims, the fish seem ready to feed.

Regular readers will know I have favoured the Red Scar stretch for years, and here there is some of the best fishing -- and the easiest. "Old fashioned" tactics of fishing with hemp/caster packed feeders with triple caster on the hook, is working wonders for both barbel and chub. It is easy to buy a bag of pellets and they are also producing -- but not like the caster.

There are few cormorants on the river, as has been the case for a while now, and improving bags of dace and small chub, particularly on the Ribchester lengths, is probably a consequence.

I am absolutely delighted that the promised bright weather failed to materialise last weekend. It meant that daytime sessions on most venues, incuding the river, were as productive as the early/late variety. I expect the same this weekend.

Most anglers were successful, to varying degrees, as a result. Since we have not had the heatweave of last year, carp catches have not hit similar heights. Some commercial fisheries, Pilsworth for example, continue to struggle to produce the goods. The canal is definitely worth a try, with roach feeding well.

It seems we have had to wait an age for it to happen, but, at last, I can confidently suggest that you need only take hempseed with you for a canal session. You may have to wait some time, feeding a dozen grains every few minutes, for the action to begin.

When it does, at pegs all along local stretches of Leeds-Liverpool canal, it can be frenetic. Not all the fish are large, there appears to be plenty of two ounce fish, but the pounders certainly make up for them.

Though we haven't enjoyed any sustained periods of warm weather, the fish are ready to respond to any rise in temperature by feeding at, or close to, the surface. Remember that a consequence of constant loose feeding is to bring the fish up in the water. If you don't want to have them there then change your feeding pattern, putting more in less often. I think it's best to have them feeding, at whatever depth, and adjust my tackle and presentation to suit. Forget all about "nailing" your bait to the bottom in August.

Some great bream catches have been taken over the past week from local reservoirs and, for these, an early start is a definite essential. You should be in your peg at first light. Feeder tactics are tops and the redworm/caster combination is proving best for quality fish.

Having said that, all these reservoirs hold a big head of quality roach and, personally speaking of course, 25lbs of these is better than 80lbs of anything else. Once again think of nothing else for bait and feed, other than hempseed. Like the canal though you may have to wait for them to "switch on."

The open match scene locally is pretty quiet at the moment, but one national result has caught my eye and is worth a comment.

I think it is fantastic that the new Embassy Ladies National Champion is 65-year-old Lilian Wells. Lilian, from Peterborough, apparently only took up fishing five years ago, having enjoyed landing a fish on her husband's gear.

The River Soar is a poor venue but perfect for an inexperienced angler like Lilian. She had five bites all told, catching just two bream for a 3kg total.