WITH the holiday month of July now upon us, I am sorry to say that 'stay-at-home' anglers may well be disappointed, writes Kingfisher.

Certainly those of you who have already dispensed with work for a couple of weeks will find life difficult, to say the least. Those who have to wait until mid July for their "wakes weeks" have much better prospects.

It really is never brilliant right now but, thanks mainly to a cool spring, this year promises to be quite poor.

I refer to coarse fishing here, on both river and stillwater. The trout angler has much better prospects, and those anglers with the tackle and expertise to succeed at both disciplines should leave their options wide open.

There is little, or no, sign of roach starting to feed in earnest on any local water. Stillwater anglers, whether canal or lake, should concentrate on other species for the next week at least.

Bream are the only species locally filling any nets, though some waters do offer the chance of a few tench or carp.

Tench, in fact, have figured in a surprising number of catches made from the Burnley stretch of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal lately. Up to 3lbs in weight they have provided some great excitement to a few anglers, yet are not present in sufficient numbers to make them a specific target.

It is best just to fish in a manner to suit bream or skimmers, ie caster or corn overdepth, and just hope one happens along.

The Burnley stretch is, in fact, one of the better areas at the moment and that's very useful since there are lots of anglers on holiday in the town. Nevertheless, I would definitely consider a few visits to Foulridge Reservoir. It may prove a little more expensive in terms of bait and day ticket but prospects are excellent. In any case, what's a few quid if you are having to stay at home?

Some great catches of bream from both field banks, containing odd roach of real quality, continue to be taken on very simple tactics.

Swimfeeder at 30 metres range or so, with caster, caster/worm or sweetcorn on the hook is all you need.

Sweetcorn is, in fact, proving to be an excellent bait for most waters at the moment. We're talking quality fish here of course, for which a grain of sweetcorn is merely a morsel.

That's why it is working well on the Ribble - anglers cannot find anything but quality fish. Chub are the mainstay for the majority of anglers, though some decent barbel to 8lbs have been taken.

There is no sign of improvement on the Ribble and, though some anglers are doing well, it is a struggle for those with little knowledge.

If that is what you are after to name is definitely the best bet. All feature carp, some quite big ones but others with fish easy to handle, and they are feeding very well.

Some are a fair drive away, like Border fisheries in Cheshire but we are all mobile now and the results are very tempting. If you don't finish the day with 40lbs it will have been a very unusual one, provided you are not a novice.

That applies to most of this type of fishery. Do not be under any illusions, if you don't know what you are doing you will catch much less than anglers who do. There are some great weights coming from a fishery a little closer, Greenhalgh Lodge. Here you will not get into the match frame with anything less than 20lbs, and you will need 50 to win.

These anglers are fishing pole with pellet and paste, and if you don't know what I am talking about you will not get weights like this.

Don't get me wrong; you will catch and you will catch easily. In fact you might consider it to be brilliant - just don't expect too much.

With the school holidays just started, you are unlikely to get a quiet time anywhere locally - except the Ribble and a commercial fishery. Considering the form of the Ribble I may just have to sacrifice some principles. Perhaps I'll put my tackle away for a couple of weeks - but probably not.

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