Real Men, Real Cold, Real Fishing and Fake Global Warming?
Extreme weather in the form of a Polar Vortex is hitting the USA, Canada and Northern Europe. I see that while most sensible people are staying indoors, the climate deniers are out in force declaring the death of global warming. One moment it was all thaw and uninsurable ice-fishing tournaments, now they say it’s too cold for the delicate greenies to go outside.
So are they right? On the one hand, they insist climate change is all bull-feathers while on the other it’s ‘Do you remember the good old days when we had real winters’? To try and steer a path through the confusion, here’s a handy little cartoon strip that explains what’s happening:
So nostalgia wins. Winters really aren’t what they were back in the day.
Which begs a question: If the climate is getting warmer, and it is, then what does the future hold? After all, these same climate deniers are both stridently pro- their nostalgic old-cold winters and pro-coal, which is where a lot of the warming CO2 pollution come from.
Well, the good news is that our prospects for containing the worst excesses of climate change are improving. We are fast approaching peak carbon (maybe this year, maybe next) and coal is looking a bit, well, limp.
The world’s green energy generation increased by an astonishing 50% last year (IEA). Solar accounted for three-quarters of this. In the US, utility solar power is expected to grow by 75% in the next two years while coal is in steep decline.
Consider also that the amount of energy each of us consumes has fallen sharply. Everything from fridge-freezers and washing machines to TVs, cars and keeping our houses warm is more efficient. We might have more gadgets, but they consume a fraction of the power of what went before.
They may not know it, but the carbon footprint of climate change deniers is shrinking – so give them a pat on the back. Well done! They’re doing their bit (non-consensual wokesterism – whatever next?).
The global flight of investment capital out of coal and fossil fuels and into renewable energy is becoming a stampede. This is not about greenie sentiment. Renewables have plummeted in price while their technologies have become more and more efficient. Simultaneously, the huge and long-term investment needed for new coal mines and oil refineries is very risky. Would you sink $5-15 billion into an oil refinery with increasingly uncompetitive pricing and diminishing demand? How will you get your money back?
The IEA expects a 250% growth in global green power production over the next 4 years. The COP target is 300% by 2030, so it’s starting to look doable.
And while we are now certain to overshoot the 1.5C warming set at the Paris COP, 2C or thereabouts is looking achievable. This is better than many expected, and will still be disruptive. But, even so, we can do a lot to adapt to 2C, whereas the 5C+ we were heading for would have been calamitous.
We’re getting there. To be sure there’s a lot of work to do – but I’ll back us to get it done. The direction of travel is set, King Coal is fading and the denialists are coming along for the ride (shh…). Just follow the money.
With thanks to ‘Not the End of the World’ by the brilliant Hannah Ritchie. A great read about positive outcomes. Thanks also to Andrew Kessler for using the cartoon before me – which is how I found it.
There is something special about the first fishing trip of a New Year. Perhaps it is the expectation of a new journey to the water’s edge, a fresh start, a time to recalibrate.
This year’s trip proved memorable in part due to the influence of Storm Henk the latest of many named storms over recent months.
The trip was in truth as much a social session as a serious fishing trip starting with a Full English in The Globe Inn at Sampford Peverel conveniently situated a short distance from the Tiverton canal. Keith Armishaw, Lee Armshaw, Dr Mark Everard, Dominick Garnett and two other chaps, one called Sid and the other Mark.
The Met Office promised rain and an amber warning of wind! After negotiating watery roads, we had all arrived safely by just after 8.00am and tucked into an ample breakfast along with fresh coffee. The breakfast chat agenda was mostly of piscatorial matters and of course a few diversions into the tragic state of the world. After planning how to put this right we headed for the muddy waters of the canal.
Each of us had a plan on how to catch a few fish. I had decided to target pike figuring that a smelly dead-bait fished beneath a bright crimson float would give a good chance of a bent rod. Others chose to offer maggots, bread and lures.
The canal water certainly reflected the recent persistent rainfall and water clarity was undoubtedly not good. I chose to fish in the wide basin close to the pub and set up beside a hedge that gave some shelter from the gusty wind and drizzle.
The two floats indicated the position of the baits and I planned to keep recasting every twenty minutes or so to areas that I had a hunch could produce.
The rest of the party headed further along the canal to areas that had a good track record.
After fifteen minutes my right hand float bobbed and started to slide along the surface. I picked up the rod allowed the line to tighten before winding into the fish. I was using a single circle hook and cursed when the fish that felt reasonable came adrift after a few seconds.
I rebaited and flicked out a fresh bait. The wind strength was undoubtedly increasing with strong gusts bowing the trees. The electric blue of a kingfisher flashed past and patches of blue started to show in the Western sky above the village church. The church tower and resonate tolling of the bell within somehow seemed to add a sense of perspective as we embarked upon the journey into a New Year.
Dom came over for a chat and I told him of the lost pike. As we chatted the float on the right hand rod bobbed and the float again slid slowly away. This time the hook held and a pike of around 7lb graced the net. A pleasing start to the year.
By now the wind strength was increasing noticeably with some very strong gusts. Dom had spoken with Lee who had found some clear water on the canal at a location a mile of so away. As heavy rain was threatened and the storm intensified we decided upon a coffee break and a move to find the clearer water.
As we headed to the pub for a hot coffee the wind gusts were exceptional and we heard later that 80mph gusts had been recorded 20 miles away at Exeter!
Early afternoon and we set up a mile or so along the canal to be further buffeted by the howling gale. At least the rain had passed and brighter skies illuminated the scene. The water clarity here was good which gave far more confidence. I put out a bait near to an overhanging tree and started to prepare the second rod. To my amazement the float bobbed and I was in action landing a jack of 3lb before getting the second bait into the water.
“Note to oneself :- Check your hat for pope like style!
I put the bait back into the same spot and made brief contact with another pike after ten minutes or so.
The rest of the afternoon passed by the howling gale swaying the trees. I savoured the winter scene and the rural landscape.
The light slowly ebbed from the day and we all packed away trudging back along the canal towpath to compare notes. A few perch and roach had been tempted along with a small jack.
We reconvened in the Globe for a final coffee and chatted about the day and past and future forays. We were all upbeat and had relished our day beside the water despite the rather meagre results. Plans to return in the warmer more tranquil days of summer in search of tench and rudd were discussed with a youthful optimism that was refreshing considering the fact that several of us were semi-retired.
Members of Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club assembled at Bulldog Fly Fishery on a calm cold winter’s morning. The bare trees of winter silhouetted against the misty morning light.
The friendly Winter Challenge competition was due to start at 10.00am and lines touched down on the calm lake surface as members cast their lures.
After half an hour I was surprised that I had not had a take as I searched the water with a damsel nymph fished in conjunction with an Intermediate Snowbee Line. As I looked around the lake at fellow competitors I was surprised at the lack of bent rods.
I guessed the fish would eventually switch on and this proved correct as members rods soon started to bend as the lakes residents started to feed.
Just as I pondered upon changing to a different fly a good sized rainbow appeared in the clear water and engulfed the fly as I was about to lift it from the water. After a spirited tussle my first trout of the day was safely netted.
I fished on keenly expecting more action but after half an hour I had received no more enquiries. I glimpsed a few trout moving close to the surface and changed tactics tying on a damsel booby with longish marabou tail. After a couple of cast’s, I watched as a good trout converged on the fly. A beautiful rainbow of close to four pound.
I persisted with the booby for a short while losing what felt like a good trout after a few seconds of contact. With several fish moving close to the surface, I changed to a floating line and lost a fish on a team of buzzers. After a further twenty minutes I tied on the damsel again and after a couple of casts I hooked into another good rainbow to complete my three fish limit.
By now most members had completed their bag. Club secretary David Richards arrived late at 1.00pm due to work commitments. This proved to be no disadvantage as his first cast produced the biggest fish of the day a well proportioned rainbow of 4lb 14oz. Within fifteen minutes David had completed his three fish limit and won the competition with 13lb 5oz.
It had been a good morning with the fish proving challenging enough to make the fishing interesting. It is far better when you have to work a bit to catch the days bag.
Another chance to see this engaging and enlightening film that highlights some of the issues facing salmon. It will be followed by a short talk and discussion. I look forward to seeing a few of you there.
A Happy New Year and a big thank you to all you readers who’ve found and subscribed to my scribblings. Also, a heads-up: I’m going to embark on an erratic and very occasional mission to restore doggerel poetry to the heart of global cultural life. Be warned! The first missive will be arriving soon. Meanwhile – have a great year.
But not this time … here I’m wondering where all the young fish scribes are:
Why are so many of the best fishing books written by dead people? OK, a lot of old dross has been winnowed out by the passing of time and there are a few giants who are still with us. But it’s true: In fishing, the author pre-amble is all too often The Late, Great … (but please, not Izaak Walton).
Much of this can be blamed on the recent arrival of a burgeoning genre of how-to-fish clones. Templated school essays, corralling a rod, a reel, this knot, that fly, a perfect cast and, pause for breath, how to think like a fish.
Think like a fish? Why? Fish brains are an evolutionary also-ran from the times when amoebae were the smart kids on the block.
Not that it matters. This entire genre is redundant because the definitive how-to-fish book was first published in the 1940s and, some 5m sales later, has no need to evolve any further. Mr Crabtree Goes Fishingremains a work of genius and awesome artistic merit. The unattainable benchmark for all that followed. Nothing else comes close.
Better still, Crabtree and son Peter are digital misfits. AI can’t touch them and Disney will never animate them. Although Aardman might: Wallace and Gromit go Fly Fishing … I’d pay to see that. And, sadly, author Bernard Venables is no longer with us. Another one bit the dust. And nor is Peter, who really was Venables’ son. He was tragically killed while riding his moped.
None of which advances the cause of this essay – the pursuit of a reading list with some fresh new talent to showcase.
I am haunted by dead writers – Hunter S Thompson is pictured above. I’ve always thought his essay The Great Shark Hunt was a deliciously snarky take-down of Hemingway’s obscene fishing habits (also dead), but not everyone agrees – including, perhaps, Thompson – and, anyway, it’s yesterday’s story. Does anyone under 40 care?
So there’s the living Matt Labash (some 5 decades in) whose works include Fly Fishing with Darth Vadar in which he flashes a threesome of braggadacious ticks for an ambitious writer: Social endorsement in high society, intimate fluency with a fly rod and, as the pièce-de, consummated wordsmithery. In no particular order that’s sex and drugs and rock and roll (are very good indeed) and a link to another magnificent wordsmith, the late Ian Dury – who I don’t think was a fisherman. What a waste (link below). Meanwhile, Labash has an air of post-coital smuggery, which is both very cool and aspirational. If you’ve got it, inhale.
I’ve also skimmed some great essay writers from other genres in the hope I would find some unsung fishing talent and so great fish writing. It’s not too surprising that Tom Wolfe (dead) had nothing fishy to offer. I should have left well alone. But I was really shocked to draw a blank on PJ O’Rourke (dead). He lived deep in rural New Hampshire where he espoused Republican causes and shot things. So surely he was a fisherman? Maybe not – it seems he tried, hooked himself and quit. How can anyone who wrote an essay titled How To Drive Fast on Drugs While Getting Your Wing-Wang Squeezed And Not Spill Your Drink not end up in a river? And now it’s out and on my desk, Republican Party Reptile has hijacked my best attempts at getting back to work. Genius. Maybe his friend Matt Labash can set me right on this?
You’ve probably noticed that there’s an emerging theme here. That’s because dead heroes are a symptom of ageing. They are the people we look up to when younger – so of course they die first. Aspiration doesn’t work when thrown down a generation because there’s a strong whiff of paunchy creepiness about mid-life people running after the kids.
Maybe I’m getting old? At least I can still raise a glass to Mr Crabtree, who was old before I was born. Cheers. And yes, I’ll have another – thank you.
So I’ll behave myself and stay in my generational lane (must I?). I came across writer James R Babb (alive) later in life, which makes me wonder what stone I’d been hiding under. While he might be fresh to me (I live deep in the time-warp of the Somerset Levels), he’s probably well-known to you. He shows me things I think I’ve seen but never properly noticed – and thus gives me the gift of hindsight. He writes beautifully and knows absolutely everything useful. Really. He can hand-brake turn a sub-clause and restore a beaver pond in an afternoon. Then catch supper.
So why aren’t non-fisherfolk queuing up to buy Babb’s books? Maybe it’s bad marketing by his publishers? On his behalf I’d like to find someone to blame.
And still – where is the young talent?
Good writing is mostly a craft skill that is best picked up young and practised – not unlike a teen strumming a guitar. You hope your fingers will learn to make a noise somebody somewhere likes. Sure there are a few late-starter keyboard warriors who, from the get-go, sprinkle digital faerie dust – but very few hit the page running, let alone with a comfortable niche (branding, you might say). John Geirach didn’t come out of nowhere. So I think great writers emerge, forged in battle with the subs desk (remember them?) and beating their heads against house style guides, editors, publishers and, if they get through all that, the bloody readers who are so willfully off-message – what’s wrong with them?
It’s the process that delivered many of the late-greatsand continues to deliver through the likes of Tom Davis, David Profumo, Babb and more. None of whom could have been generated by AI, or not yet and I hope never.
And have you noticed? In fishing, nearly all men. This is not true if you look in the op-ed pages of our great newspapers and the topical essay-fuelled magazines where female bylines thrive. Mostly the places where writing is curated, published and paid for – a tougher gig than the interweb. Women succeed on the river bank and in print – but are mostly too canny to mix them. Maybe this last point is, well, the point?
There’s an awful lot of self-published male drivel online, with more made possible by the arrival of DIY vanity publishing. Don’t tell me – I’m not listening (guilty as charged).
I can at least claim a publishing first – you’ve now met Mr Crabtree and Hunter S Thompson in the same sentence. And, hold onto your drink, Mr Crabtree is still with us.
So I’ll raise a glass to wordsmiths one and all, and wish a happy New Year to you and yours. Thank you for reading.
Tight lines (that’s an editorial diktat) from a journeyman hack and bankside duffer.
We are very fortunate in North Devon to have some excellent fishing tackle shops providing local anglers with a wide range of tackle and bait. Tackle shops are at the heart of the local angling community providing a meeting place where anglers can pick up the tools of the trade before spending their hard earned cash. Tackle shops are also a vital social centre where anglers can mingle to plan trips to the water’s edge. I value the support given to North Devon Angling News by our local tackle shops. Over the last few days before Christmas why not pop into your local tackle shop and maybe buy a present or two and stock up with tackle for the Christmas holidays and next year’s fishing trips.
Data is vital in telling a story it’s not exciting, entertaining but it can be depressing and in the case of salmon and sea trout it’s a horror story. I caught my first salmon from the River East Lyn back in 1981 a year when 22,190 salmon were landed by rod and line anglers in England and Wales. Most of these fish were killed and taken for the table.
In 2022 the total rod catch for England and Wales was 6,388 of which 6.111 were returned. I doubt if 2023 will reveal any improvement in catches. The most alarming part of this is perhaps the steep decline in stocks since 2017 with catches plummeting from 13,571 to 6,388.
I am no mathematician and I know that data can be manipulated to some extent but this is stark.
To some extent the data is impacted upon by changing fishery regulations and fishing effort.
I am often asked what is the cause and I reply its complex.
An imbalanced eco system, Survival at sea, pollution, consequences of intensive farming, habitat loss, sewage, predation, poaching, salmon farming, overfishing, climate change, pollution, disease.
Beneath each heading there are many variables but I would hazard a guess, no lets google it. The world population in 1981 was 4,524,627,658 (around 4.5 Billion) it now stands at 8,045,311,447 ( just over 8 billion). So, the common denominator is likely to be a rapidly increasing population and an obsession with increasing GDP.
Where on the political agenda is the environment?
Salmon are of course just one iconic species that anglers take pleasure in catching but they are surely an indicator of a wider decline / collapse in the natural worlds eco systems. There is a growing awareness of nature’s decline as marvellous films like Planet Earth bring nature into our sitting rooms where we watch entertained as the splendour of the natural world is revealed and tales of its demise exposed in an unfolding horror story to surpass any Hammer Horror production.
As a young angler in 1981 I thought that salmon would always be present throughout my lifetime. If I am lucky enough to live another twenty years I could witness the extinction of these magnificent fish in UK waters. “Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone”
DATA MAKES FOR GRIM READING
Research and analysis
See Link Below
Salmonid and fisheries statistics for England and Wales 2022
Published 5 December 2023
Figure 1: Salmon stock status in England 2022
Risk value Number of rivers Percentage of total
Not at risk 1 2%
Probably not at risk 5 12%
Probably at risk 6 14%
At risk 30 71%
Is it too late? Maybe not for as nature and its demise climb up the political agenda there is a chance that those who care will do what needs to be done to address the many issues that impact upon salmon and the wider natural world. They say that where there is a will there is a way and there are some clever people out there and if given a chance nature is resilient and can recover.
Main UK population of Atlantic salmon moves to endangered
In the species reassessment released today by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the main UK population of Atlantic salmon is reclassified as endangered – meaning they are threatened with extinction. Global populations are reclassified from least concern to near threatened.
Here in the UK, we are set to lose this incredible species before anyone else unless urgent action is taken.
IUCN’s reassessment indicates that the mechanisms in place to protect Atlantic salmon are not working. The regulators responsible for their protection are failing both the species and the habitats on which they depend.
The main threats to the UK populations of Atlantic salmon come as no surprise and include declining water quality, in-stream barriers, salmon farming, exploitation and climate change.
In response to today’s announcement, our chief executive, Nick Measham, said this:
“Thanks to the money raised by our supporters, we commissioned IUCN to reassess the status of Atlantic salmon stocks across the world. The outcome, although not unsurprising, is very grim. The UK population is in crisis thanks to our government’s and its regulators’ failures. We need the government to give our regulators the mandate and resources to act urgently to save our Atlantic salmon and their rivers”.
Another difficult year but it has had its moments , the Kelt run in March was spectacular ,all well repaired fish in the 6lb to 8lb range we had 14 reported in the first 2 days of the season before we asked for restraint and hope at least some make it back!! Also, Several good fish were caught during the year . I saw an old ghillie from the Tweed on TV recently explaining that salmon are called the fish of 10,000 casts .However we do actually have a new member who caught a salmon after just a couple of visits. This goes to show that Anything can happen at Newbridge but as ever “you have to be there”
A member sent an article from very first issue of Trout and Salmon in 1955 saying 100 fish were caught in the Taw Torridge tidal pools that year .They say it was a record and the result of restocking with Scottish fish a few years before. Food for thought.
We’ve had another year of low warm water ,leading to more angling restraint requested, the short spate in august brought a few fish up but the September spate was once again too late for us . Just as the fish started showing we had to stop.
Apart from Salmon ,Where are the sea trout? So, few have been reported even from traditionally prolific beats up river. It does seem that as the fish decline so does the fishing effort which doesn’t help with reported numbers.
We have good news ,as most are aware We have now finished the new club hut. This has been a huge effort by dedicated volunteers and the club are very grateful for it. It’s a lovely peaceful place to rest a while with a companion and watch the river pass by. We intend to have a formal opening on the first day of the season next year and Members will be notified nearer the time. Also, John and Hayden Kenyon led a working party for the installation of steps and a ladder to improve access to the railway swirl pit, now called the Chairman’s steps .They have our thanks for that.
You may not be aware but Earlier in the season our local wildlife trained police officer Lucy Robinson and our local EA bailiff Sam Fenner had a person excluded from our water due to antisocial behaviour connected to Elver poaching. This isn’t an easy process that included a difficult “home visit “and We are very grateful to them for this action. It’s good we have this level of support from our local enforcement officers. They always do as much as they can for us but they are under so many constraints and can only do what they are resourced for. The EA bailiff Sam Fenner also got involved with the cattle encroachment from just above the bridge .After a meeting The estate has now replaced the fencing and that is ongoing. The West Country rivers trust has installed water quality monitors just upriver from us and we’re all interested in any reports from that. Another item of interest is that Adi’s wife ,Caroline Podesta ,is in the citizen scientist project and takes monthly water samples at the bridge ,it all helps to keep the pressure up on abuse of the rivers and the genie is firmly out of the bottle in regard to that. Who does what about it is another matter though! We can but support any campaign we come across . We generally have a negative attitude to these agencies but mostly the people on the ground are on the same page as us and as frustrated as us when it comes to any deployment of resources. Please be patient with them if you have any personal contact, we have to support them too as they are doing their individual best under a lot of pressure .We are encouraged to call in incidents/events at least it will get logged.
As a club We always doing our best to protect and improve The Newbridge beat we’re but always happy for any suggestions. Very exciting news is the club is finalising the purchase of another beat further up river. All details regarding fees and access will be forwarded to all members ,hopefully in time for the coming season.
Club cups were awarded at the recent AGM and this year the committee cup went to Dave Winter for his efforts at Newbridge, Paul Meredith gets the most salmon cup for his 3 good fish, Chay Boggis gets the Bass on the fly cup for his lovely 7lb fish from Clovelly, and I was lucky enough to get the best Salmon 34inches estimated at 13.5lb.
Don Hearn
Newbridge river keeper
Colin Ashby presents Dave Winter with the B&DAA Committee Cup
