It rained here most of yesterday finally clearing towards evening.  It was steady, soaking rain rather than a thundery monsoon so the parched ground has really benefited as has the river which, whilst not in great water, is certainly more fishable than it has been for some weeks.  This morning has dawned bright with a fair bit of dark cloud that may bring more rain as the day progresses so the prospect for good river fishing into the early part of next week is fairly good.

Be warned that Horton is yet again besieged with sponsored walkers today so if you are planning to come up to fish then parking in and around the village will be nigh on impossible.

The crayfish in the classroom project at Horton school is proving a great success and all the eggs that the resident female was carrying have now hatched.  The tank is full of tiny crayfish all sculling about and hiding under mum or the stones provided for just that purpose.

The big national conference on this endangered species at Malham is now not far off and the Hon Sec and I will be be there to present a fisheries management perspective and promote the argument that all angling clubs should be concerned about the spread of non native crayfish and be proactive in conserving natives where they are still present.  We have high hopes that this conference will lead to changes in legislation and Government policy that will enable the EA to be far more effective in controlling the decline in native crayfish numbers and populations and reduce the threat to our fisheries posed by non natives.

Ian