It was a pretty good year for fishing in the Oxford area.

Looking back over the past 12 months, our large fisheries certainly produced, with very big fish coming out of Orchid at Dorchester, and Linear and Linch Hill at Stanton Harcourt.

On local rivers, our matchmen proved that there were still fish to be caught and we have a champion in Paul Harrop from Abingdon, who finished first in the Division 5 National.

Oxford AC won the Drennan Summer Super League and the Oxford Division of the Winter League. Dick Clegg (Tring) won the Cotswold Division, but local teams were not far behind.

On the subject of large fish, Joe Taylor travelled all the way to Thailand and caught an Arapima weighing 185kg.

On the trout front, both Farmoor and Lechlade produced a lot of fish, some of them quite large.

We saw young Tasha Lancaster showing the experts how to cast, and Marsh Pratley becoming a casting champion.

It was also a sad time with the deaths of Alan Wilson and Jonathan Webb.

So what will 2002 bring us? I hope more representatives of Oxford clubs will attend the Upper Thames consultative council meetings and ask the EA questions about fishing in and around Oxford.

The EA need to take a serious look at the crayfish problem that seems to be getting worse. They also need to consult angling bodies when removing gravel shoals from our rivers and protect these valuable spawning areas.

I hope that all anglers will act as one and not fragmented groups - at the end of the day we all want to catch fish.

As if we haven't got enough to worry about with crayfish, water abstraction and the removal of spawning areas etc, pigmy cormorants should now be added to the list, according to The Independent,

These birds are very rare and at one time near to extinction, but since about 1990 their numbers have increased and they are moving towards the UK.

The experts do not believe that they are any threat to fish stocks yet, because their numbers are so low and they only eat 'tiddlers'. But as all fish start life as tiddlers, there should be some concern.

A Budapest bird expert said: "They are good flyers and seem robust, tolerating tough eastern European winters.

But colonisation would require several birds to get to the UK at around the same time, meet and find a suitable breeding place."

I expect someone said the same about their larger cousins who have decimated fish stocks in some areas.

If you have any angling news, contact Andy on 01865 725606 or email ag@webber36.fsnet.co.uk or andrew.webber@innogy.com