THE fishing locally is becoming so consistently good in certain areas that some anglers are getting bored with it.

I know it sounds stupid, but that really was an opinion expressed to me at the weekend. Ironically, I suppose, the angler in question was fishing a peg that was producing nothing at all - so I suppose he had a good day.

For the rest of us the continued good form, of the canal in particular, is fantastic news - and not at all boring.

If you consider what there is that affects the quality of fishing that has also remained consistently good, you arrive at just one answer - temperature.

It Is a fact that it is much, much warmer in winter these days than it was some years ago. I was concerned at one time that the poor fish stocks apparent in the canal were a direct result of the warm winters.

It seemed reasonable to suggest that "freeze ups" were necessary to kill disease carrying parasites and because there were none, the fish suffered.

There now seems to be more fish than ever in local stretches (and further afield) -so I've changed my mind.

A double figure winning weight for a local match was once, most definitely, something to write home about. Now, it seems, anything less than a double figure winning weight is cause for concern.

Top young local angler Mark Ellement, winner of four matches this winter and runner up last week, was the latest to break 10lbs. Pegged by the flyover bridge on the Church length Mark fished the usual bread punch at six metres to take small roach from the off. He was still catching (an end peg was significant here) at the finish and put 10-1-4 on the scales.

Burnley veteran Kass Jedd, 23 pegs closer to Church than Mark, also used bread in his peg by Foster's swing bridge, to take 6-8-9 of a similar stamp fish for second spot. Yet another excellent contest for the 54 entrants needed over 5lbs to frame.

I suspect none of the competitors at Church even contemplated using hempseed. I'm not surprised really, though the great roach weights reported week after week from other stretches of the Leeds-Liverpool canal must make it tempting.

Yet again it was seed that produced a superb 15lbs winning weight at Lydiate. Food for thought?

I am realiably informed that it does work locally, and in matches. The method is to feed liquidised bread at the start, as you would normally, and fish punch on the hook. Immediately though, and at very frequent intervals thereafter, flick half a dozen grains over the top.

After half an hour or so, try hemp on the hook. If you catch it will be a better quality fish, probably, and you're on your way. If you don't catch, you continue to feed the hemp sparingly and try on the hook every 20 minutes or so. Apparently it doesn't put the smaller fish off the feed - so you've nothing to lose.

The entry at Church was somewhat less than you might have expected, possibly because of the first round of the GTI Teams of Four event taking place at Hebden.

I suspect many of these anglers wished they were in Lancashire, as the Rochdale canal fished very poorly. Though the 8-2-0 winning weight of one of the exiles, Hyndburn Match Group's Ray Spall, seems reasonable, it does not tell the tale. The sixth placed angler weighed in only 1-10-0 and there were numerous dry nets. Hyndburn Match Group, led by Ray Spall, took the team honours - which was some consolation for the other three.

There really is little point in doing any travelling at all if you just want a few bites and a few fish. Local stretches of canal, even if you have to buy a day ticket (£2) offer great value and there are loads of "hot" stretches.

If you're not sure where to fish, the best advice I can give is to try a few places, just looking, and settle down where there are plenty of other anglers. You only need bread hempseed and a few casters, so even if you have found the river in flood (again) you can still be prepared for a canal session.

It is rain, and only rain, that is the great drawback to these warm winters. When it froze, for months on end it seemd, I could fish the river whenever I wanted. Sure it was cold, but I caught plenty of fish.

Nowadays, it seems, whenever it is possible to get to the river, it is in flood. I can promise you it is flooded at times midweek as well as weekends. Those lucky anglers who live close to the river, and can easily get a couple of hours when the level drops, continue to do well with both chub and barbel.

It looks like, at the time of writing, that we could be lucky in this respect tomorrow. I think you might be unwise, if you know what you're doing on the river, to pass up the chance.

I suggest lobworm again as a top bait. There should be flavoured (curry) luncheon meat in your bag and bread. Balderstone, Red Scar, and Salmesbury, are top areas and an early start may be needed to secure the best pegs. Unless, of course, you choose to fish at the best time - which is definitely at dusk.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.