30 Mar 2023

RIVER EXE – SALMON A River Full of Fish ( Once Upon a time)

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

RIVER EXE – SALMON

Lanacre Barn Gallery is situated in the heart of Exmoor a short distance from Lanacre bridge that straddles the River Barle. The gallery is hosting an exhibition focusing on fish and life within water. https://moorlandart.com

‘Fabulous Fish’ will run daily from 25^thMarch – 8^th April 2023, from 11am-5pm, at Lanacre Barn Gallery in Withypool, Exmoor, TA24 7SD. It will be open to the public, admission is free, and refreshments will be available.

As part of this event a talk was held with Phillip Turnbull Fisheries Technical Officer with the Westcountry Rivers Trust. The talk entitled The River Exe – A River Full of Fish, gave a fascinating insight into the history of the river Exe and the fish that have swum within.

The Westcountry Rivers Trust aims to enhance and protect rivers across the region with the long term survival of fish at the heart. Phillip listed the fish that have been recorded in the Exe including migratory and non-migratory species. Migratory species include salmon, sea trout, eel, lamprey ( sea, brook and River) Allis/ twaite shad, Atlantic Sturgeon. Non migratory fish include brown trout, grayling, bull head, stone loach and minnows.

The salmon are of course the most iconic of these species and much of the talk focused upon salmon and their past and future. The story of salmon on the Exe is an all too familiar tale with a dramatic decline in recent decades. Salmon are believed to have been harvested from the Exe since before Roman Times. Records from 1771 tell of a catch of 1000 salmon in Exeter in one week, A river full of fish indeed!

The largest salmon recorded from the River Exe was caught in a net at the mouth of the River in 1924 and weighed 61lb 4oz. I believe a cast of the fish can still be seen in the museum at Topsham.

Migratory fish (all species) have declined globally by 76% and 93% in Europe alone. This is reflected in global Atlantic salmon populations with a steady decline since the 1970s, with an estimated 50-70% decline in the past 40-50 years. River Exe salmon are classified as ‘At Risk’ meaning we need to work together to reverse the decline.

Salmon are seen as a keystone species the proverbial ‘Canary in the mine’.

An ambitious five point plan has been implemented to reverse the decline in stocks.

Improve Marine Survival – Missing salmon alliance https://missingsalmonalliance.org
Reduce exploitation – Catch and Release, Netting ban
Remove barriers to Upstream migration
Improve Water Quality
Safe Guard Flows

The present focus is to deliver bespoke fish passage improvements at all remaining weirs on the river, whether this be removal or installing site-suitable fish passes.

A similar initiative was undertaken on the River Taw and has resulted in some promising signs.

The River Barle has been identified as the prime spawning area on the Exe system and is an SSSI with good water quality and significant redd capacity.

Climate change is having a significant impact on river flows and weirs are impacted upon with times of optimum flow reduced. Salmon migration both upstream as adults and downstream as smolts is impacted upon by high and low flows. Up to 50% of smolts are thought to perish in the rivers. The slowing descent of smolts disrupts their marine feeding time, water quality is impacted by low flows and predation is increased.

The weirs can be removed or modified to incorporate fish passes. The project involves a great deal of research to determine ownership and complex negotiations to deal with abstraction licences and use. RETA ( The River Exe & Tributaries Association) Is working in partnership with Westcountry Rivers Trust, which is supported by the Environment Agency and South West Water.

The talk also highlighted many factors that can impact on salmon and river life some of which do not immediately spring to mind. The redds are vulnerable to disturbance during the winter and early spring and care should be taken when entering the river at this time. Veterinary products used to treat dogs such as Spot On are highly toxic to invertebrates living within the river. Wild swimming is also a concern with sunscreen highly toxic especially during times of low water when dilution is minimal.

AWARENESS of the river environment is key with education essential. Citizen Science can play a significant role in highlighting issues with regular monitoring of water quality a key initiative. The underfunded EA does not have the resources to carry out adequate monitoring.

The River Fly Monitoring program can also play a significant role in identifying and highlighting problems. https://www.riverflies.org

Connection with our rivers is vital in helping us to understand their delicate and unique eco systems.

Nicky Green gave a talk on the Invasive signal crayfish that are now to be found throughout much of the Exe system. These crustaceans carry a plague that kills the native white tailed crayfish. They predate heavily upon invertebrates, fish eggs, fry and lichens. They also burrow deeply into banks resulting in siltation and erosion.

The crayfish were introduced during the mid 1970’s as part of a failed food industry plan.

27 Mar 2023

ROSS CHERRINGTON COMMENTS ON TROUBLED RIVERS – Muck and Mud!

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Many thanks to Ross Cherrington Senior Farm Advisor for the West Country Rivers Trust who agreed to write this short article highlighting the issues facing our West Country Rivers.

Recently both Paul Whitehouse’s programme “Our Troubled Rivers” and “Countryfile” have spent a lot of time focusing on the problems with nutrients and sediment entering the River Wye concentrating on the issues of intensive chicken farming within the catchment. Interestingly new intensive chicken farms have strict planning and environmental rules called the Intensive Pig and Poultry permits run under the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive IPPC. These plans are where it seems to be failing and should also include a manure management plan and be inspected every 3 years
It’s a shame that Our troubled rivers didn’t have more time to include the filmed Tamar segments, with interviews with an intensive dairy farmer, citizen scientists involved with the Sapputo Issues and a River keeper. I am sure the BBC could have had a complete programme on the Tamar instead of concentrating on a certain person of Scottish descent and his beavers. This is because in Devon and Cornwall our problems are not poultry or pig based but cattle and sediment. Muck and Mud. Too many dairy farms do not have enough slurry storage, or it’s in poor condition, and leaky. I still come across dairy farms in my job with the Westcountry Rivers Trust with No slurry storage just an old 3 stage settlement system with a dodgy pump.
There could be an easy way to service these new stores based on milk price, and tax breaks. The dairy company could offer a guaranteed 2p/litre more than base price for those farms with 5 months Silage Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil (SSAFO) regs compliant stores, with incremental payments up to that 2p limit for those getting there. It doesn’t make sense to me that its easier to get a tax break buying a new tractor but not for a new slurry store. The £3million slurry investment scheme has apparently had 8000 applicants for grants to construct a covered 6 month capacity store which if the average grant is £100,000 only allows for 30 projects.

Ross Cherrington

Senior Farm Advisor

Westcountry Rivers Trust

25 Mar 2023

River Torridge Fishery Association – Friday 24th March 2023

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, Club Page, Game Fishing, Sidebar, Uncategorised | 0

The River Torridge fishing community gathered at the Half Moon Inn at Sheepwash for the AGM of the River Torridge Fishery Association. Pauline and I always enjoy the twice yearly coming together of the membership for the AGM in the Spring and the annual fund raising dinner at the seasons close at the end of September.

The Inn was reassuringly busy as we stepped inside the familiar bar where many members of the association were catching up on all the latest news. After half an hour of rekindling friendships and fostering new ones it was time to head the meeting room for the formal proceedings to begin.

As with many angling clubs the River Torridge Fishery Association’s officers are long standing stalwarts with Secretary and treasurer Charles Inniss and Chairman Paul Ashworth controlling the meeting with an ease born from long experience in their roles.

Thanks to Charles for the below summary:=

“Over 30 members attended the agm on Friday 24th March. The Chairman announced that for personal reasons the North Devon Fishery Protection Officer had been transferred to work nearer his family home. The EA were currently interviewing for a replacement to the vacancy. The EA proposals for the mandatory release of salmon throughout the season had been deferred for twelve months. Members were keen for the hatchery project to continue and several members offered their support. Izzy Moser gave an interesting and informative talk on the work of The Devon Wildlife Trust, particularly the pros and cons of the inevitable spread of beavers into the headwaters of the Torridge catchment. After the meeting The Half Moon provided an excellent buffet.”

I would suggest that any anglers who fish the Torridge join the association and help support sterling efforts to protect the river for future generations. Subscription is just £20 per year. For details visit their website http://www.rivertorridge.org.uk

The report from 2022 was very concerning with the drought conditions resulting in perhaps the worst salmon season in living memory. A total of 15 salmon were landed from the river all of which were returned.

Fortunately, as I write this the rivers are brimming full last summer’s drought seems long ago. However, Roadford Reservoir is still at only 62% and Colliford in Cornwall 47%. In the Spring of 2022 these reservoirs were close to 100%. It doesn’t take a genius to conclude that another drought summer would have serious consequences. There is concern that South West Water would be forced to consider abstracting from the regions rivers an act that would be devastating for the rivers eco systems. Discussion reflected upon the apparent lack of water resource planning with no significant reservoirs constructed since Roadford in 1989. A new reservoir takes many years to come into being with years of consultation, planning and construction my own estimate would be at least 25 years before a new reservoir could be completed. One has to question why with an increasing population and climate change at the top of the agenda this is not happening?

The Associations Hatchery has been an ongoing project that unites the membership. The past few seasons have seen the project stalled by COVID and issues with permissions from the EA ,largely around risk assessments and health and safety concerns. The committee are working hard to progress with significant help and expertise from within the angling community many of whom bring skills from their roles within society.

*Torridge members at the Hatchery pre COVID*

The decline in salmon and sea trout stocks is alarming and many feel that the hatcheries are the only hope for slowing this decline. The EA hatchery at Colliford is to be an integral part of the future plans to rear ova to swim up fry stage. This hatchery has the facilities to enable essential temperature control a major problem for salmonoids as global warming takes a hold.

It is of course essential that the habitat into which these future salmon are stocked is suitable. The Torridge faces many challenges with intensive farming resulting in pollution from sediment and nutrients and sewage discharge resulting in further issues with phosphate levels that promote algal growth.

The Torridge River Association are working closely with the Devon Wildlife Trust and the West Country Rivers Trust to seek solutions to many of the issues. Guest speaker Izzy Moser delivered an inspiring illustrated talk on projects to restore the river and the environment. These include slow the flow initiatives like leaky dams, meandering river courses, gravel introduction and creation of wild flower meadows and wetlands. The introduction of beavers was discussed with some concerns about their impact on fish migration and woodland.

https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/northern-devon-natural-solutions

There was considerable interest in Citizen Science Monitoring to flag up any pollution incidents and to assess the ongoing health of the river. River Fly Monitoring has also proven to be a valuable tool in tracking keystone species. Data gathering is essential in tracking success in any projects in our rivers.

Invasive species are an ongoing concern with signal crayfish reported from several locations along the Torridge. Any sightings should be reported to the Devon Wildlife Trust.

A good news story on the Torridge is the healthy population of wild brown trout that were caught in good numbers last season with wild fish to over 4lb caught and released. Dry fly tactics also resulted in several good sea trout. With dwindling salmon numbers many feel that the future of the rivers angling very much lies with trout fishing that I hope to promote over the coming season.

24 Mar 2023

Musings on Angling literature from Richard Wilson

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Many thanks to Richard Wilson for sharing his latest musings on angling literature and the realities of early season excursions.

Sex, Drugs & A Perfect Snake Roll

Some of the finest fishing literature is drenched in sun-kissed hedonism and fuelled by drink, drugs, sex and fighting. So what am I doing wrong?

It’s early March and, at last, I’m on a real river. It’s the moment of transition out of my close-season daydreaming. A rude awakening.

Every year this re-entry induces a psychological shock as a churning ice flow crashes into my expectations. So why, after so many years of winter prepping, is this always a surprise?

Before we go chasing fish, please come back with me to my close-season habitat. My den is a place of comfort, clutter and a friendly armchair. There are plenty of fishing books, very few of which are of the ‘how-to’ genre. Real books offer tactile pages and vicarious riverbanks.

Meet the righteous stuff of my Dreamworld: From my armchair, I can prepare for the coming season with a dabble in Hemingway’s knuckled prose, sun-kissed marlin and drunken machismo. Surely (I hope) he would have been knocked senseless by Norman “A River Runs Through It” Maclean and his brawling brother.

And, from my playlist, what exactly did Louis Armstrong mean by his summery “Gone fishin’ – I’m real gone man”? Or how about John Gierach’s story of meeting a familiar face, knowing only that it was last seen “under the Haight-Ashbury sign” in a late ‘60s summer?

For more context, I could turn to flamboyant jazz maestro, author and fishing junkie George Melly. He was truly well gone, but back then the only snow in the jazz clubs went up your nose. And let’s not forget the Great Gonzo angler-provocateur Hunter S Thompson whose sun-soaked drink and drug-crazed fishing exploits would have been fatal for most of us.

It’s heady stuff and, back in my den, I’m left wondering if self-medicating my lengthening midlife crisis counts as exuberant hedonism. On reflection, I decide probably not – but live in hope.

Many of the best fishing books live hard and fast, mixing the profound with the earthily profane. And nowhere do these two primal urges collide with more urgency than in the timeless prose and jaw-dropping life story of Negley Farson, author of Going Fishing. He was the real deal; a buccaneering, hard-drinking, hard-living, hard-fishing all-American writer who really did drink Hemingway under the table. And, whisper it quietly, isn’t Hemingway’s branding looking a bit past its sell-by date? Just sayin’.

No list could be complete without the soothing influence of Harry Plunket Greene. He was light on drink, drugs and fighting, even though he had a direct family link to Mary Quant without whom the psychedelic 60s would have been beige. His utterly charming 1924 book Where Bright Waters Meet is a page-turning delight about favourite beats, some of which I know intimately. He transports me to a time when it’s always June and the evening rise is dappled perfection.

That was then. Now I’m in northeast Scotland where, thanks to my winter book-worming, I have arrived primed to hit the water with rod loaded and dander rampant (that’s a Scottish heraldry thing).

This is the Oykel, a river I have long wanted to fish – but harsh reality is not quite the image I’ve spent the winter incubating. Spring, it isn’t. The baby rabbits, lambs, migratory birds and the damsels a-dancing are nowhere to be seen. It’s immediately clear that my cock-sure arrival is hopelessly misjudged.

Today the river is vengeful and the gillie is insanely lightly dressed. I’m wearing every layer I have because the wind, rain, hail and even the top 6 inches of the foam-flecked water are all travelling upstream. Everything is flotsam except the salmon, of whom there is no sign – and who can blame them? They’re all tucked up warm, comfortable and far out at sea.

It gets worse. I am on the right bank fishing down and the only cast that might work doesn’t. So another cack-handed Snap T variant disappears upstream, a flailing line spun from angry eels. And I’m still in mid ‘Snap’. I may remove the fly for my own safety and I’m starting to hallucinate with cold.

My face is blue, my hands are rigid and soon I’ll be the late departed and shuffling off to meet Isaac Walton. I think I see my fishing partner Charles float past, face down. Perhaps he’s a log. Whichever, I’m not going in to retrieve his corpse in this. Hopefully, he left his Winston rod on the bank. I can’t yet find the words I’ll use to tell his widow I’ve retrieved only the Winston, but I have 5 more days solo fishing to work that out – and enjoy the rod.

This, emphatically, is not the armchair fishing I have perfected over winter. What was I thinking of?

It’s not just the books that have led me astray. I’ve also followed a lackadaisical close-season training routine. I have occasionally sat in my armchair making perfect, minimalist Snake Rolls and Double Speys with, machismo alert, just my bare hands. Anyone who knows the mesmeric rhythm of Spey casting intuitively does this: Lift, roll and whoosh. Now try a Snake Roll. Always a perfect cast. We all do this boastful in the bar after fishing and in private as an angle-maniac’s onanism. Even when refined to the most compact of movements my imaginary rod loads and fires perfectly every time, if a little late in life.

It’s self-delusion of course and, worse, makes me look like an idiot in the eyes of my family. And, damn the hubris, my indoor training has now dumped me bereft of talent in the maw of a blizzard.

A picture containing outdoor, ground, field, old

Description automatically generated — A break in the weather.

I retreat to the fishing hut and a mug of chicken soup, mercifully hot from the flask. Disappointingly, Charles is alive and already in here. So I won’t be getting his Winston, yet. But he hasn’t seen or caught anything either, which is good. Fishing is a brutal zero-sum game. My gain is your loss, and vice versa.

And where’s the gillie? Have we been abandoned? We wonder if a fishing party has ever been found, days later, frozen to death in a fishing hut with snow drifting into the eves. Is there any nutritional value in cork? At that moment the door opens: “Sorry lads, had to move the pickup. How’s it going?” He looks pink, smug and warm. We exchange suspicious glances.

So whose fault is it that I always arrive bankside with plans-akimbo? Why, I wail into the gale, why didn’t someone tell me? Well, I already know the answer to that and can name names. I have a rogue’s gallery of culpable bastards whose fishing worlds promise warm, cosy waters stuffed with hard-fighting fish.

So here’s the shortlist: Hunter S Thompson for dazzling my teenage years with aspirational derangement. Plunket Greene for living the dream at the expense of his marriage (no, I can’t). Farson for showing that there’s no such thing as excess provided writing, fishing and drinking all travel together. The siren Taw Fishing Club for the sexiest fishing website ever. Simon Gawesworth for making Spey casting look ridiculously easy. The Beatles for staying at a favourite hotel, The Edgewater in Seattle, and fishing from their bedroom windows. And Led Zeppelin, who went one better and had a live fish in their Edgewater suite. Although what they did with it is not entirely wholesome and their drug-fuelled orgy might still, even now, have legal repercussions. Proper rock and roll fishing. So why wasn’t I invited? All bastards.

I could go on. There are many, many more and you may have your own to add (name some; it’s cathartic). In fishing, like politics and childhood, someone else is always to blame.

Finally, I would urge you to heed my favourite definition of fishing: “Getting away from everyone for a few hours to talk about stupid things and act like you’re catching fish.”

So next year I should spend February and March warm and cosy in my den reading stupid things and acting like I’m catching fish. So: Lift, roll and whoosh – then mend and … strike!

But I won’t: How else will I get the Winston?

A print version of this essay can be found in the March edition of the excellent Fly Culture Magazine. For the online North American take, please try this: The Hatch Magazine

21 Mar 2023

ANGLERS HEAVEN CELEBRATES

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Match Fishing, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Tom Wade has been the owner at Anglers Heaven for ten years and is celebrating with an open day at the shop on Saturday, April 1st when there will be selected discounts of up to 25%.

We are very fortunate in North Devon to have a wide range of local tackle shops that are at the heart of the local angling community. Anglers Heaven has been operating for over twenty years and is a well established shop

located in the heart of Bideford adjacent to the Pannier Market with plenty of short stay free parking.

The shop has a wide range of Carp, Coarse and Sea Tackle with popular brands including Century, Pure Fishing, Thinking Tackle and many more. They also stock a wide range of shelf life baits, live baits and frozen baits for both fresh and saltwater anglers. Early in 2023 Tom invested in an extensive expansion of the premises providing a spacious bright space in which to browse.

In addition to fishing tackle Anglers Heaven is a registered fire arms dealer stocking an extensive range of air rifles and accessories. They also stock an extensive range of knives and clothing for Country sports and pastimes.

The shop is open six days per week. Mondays and Tuesdays 9;45am till 5.00pm Thursday 9:30 till 3:00pm Friday and Saturday 9:30 till 5:00pm.

21 Mar 2023

Exmoor exhibition set to put the decline of salmon and the state of our rivers in the spotlight

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

A new exhibition on Exmoor is set to put the alarming state of our rivers in the spotlight. ‘Fabulous Fish’, ideated and created by well-renowned artist Jo Minoprio, will showcase the work of 10 professional artists which all together will form a compelling artistic intervention into the situation under the surface of our UK waterways and further afield.

‘Fabulous Fish’ will run daily from 25^thMarch – 8^th April 2023, from 11am-5pm, at Lanacre Barn Gallery in Withypool, Exmoor, TA24 7SD. It will be open to the public, admission is free, and refreshments will be available.

The exhibition will serve as a celebration of the rich biodiversity surrounding our rivers, and significantly, draw attention to the pressures that are inhibiting it. It will be an ambassador for the realisation that we all have a part to play in addressing the challenge of global climate change and habitat destruction.

At the epicentre of these pressures, and therefore the exhibition, is a species facing devastating collapse; wild Atlantic salmon. As a migratory species that traverses many regions and habitats, including freshwater and marine, salmon act as a key indicator species; representing the global health of our rivers, oceans and ultimately, our relationship with the natural world that sustains all human activity. Legendary in reputation and persistent in nature, the wild Atlantic salmon is our waters’ equivalent of the canary in the coalmine and are informing us of the wider issues caused by the twin crisis of climate change & biodiversity loss.

Lanacre Barn Gallery overlooks the River Barle, where according to electrofishing research, 70-80% of returning salmon in the entire Exe catchment spawn.

The exhibition has brought together a community of artists, scientists, educators, and environmental groups from all over the UK. Members of the Missing Salmon Alliance (MSA), a group of leading salmon conservation organisations fighting to reverse the decline of wild Atlantic salmon around the UK, are providing support for the exhibition. This includesessential scientific background advice from Game Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) and some ground-breaking footage on the life cycle of salmon for visitors to watch throughout the exhibition from Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST). The MSA continue to advocate for the protection of freshwater environments and the improvement of water quality and quantity in order to reduce losses of salmon in our rivers, coastal waters, and open ocean.

‘Fabulous Fish’ draws attention to the salmon crisis and thus the challenges faced by many other species across freshwater and marine environments. For example, celebrated artist and Society of Wildlife Artists member, Julia Manning, will be exhibiting her work ‘The Decline of Eels’, a series of 12 limited edition print reliefs, to raise awareness of this important conservation issue and pose fundamental questions about man’s relationship with wildlife and the wider environment.

There will be talks from local experts and conservationists throughout the exhibition. Phil Turnbull of The Westcountry Rivers Trust, crayfish researcher, Nicky Green, and Riverfly Monitoring lead on the Exe, Fred Leach, will be presenting on March 27^th at 5.30pm (this event is fully booked). Roger Furniss will also be giving a talk on April 5^that 5.30pm titled ‘Exmoor Rivers, A National Treasure’. To attend, get in touch here: CONTACT LANACRE BARN GALLERY | moorlandart

Speaking about the project, artist Jo Minoprio said: “I have decided to use my Fish exhibition as a platform to raise awareness of how desperate the situation is, right now, beneath the surface of our rivers here on Exmoor. I am a keen angler, carry out river fly monitoring, am a voluntary water bailiff, am on the board of the Exmoor Rivers and Streams Group (ERASG) and am passionate about saving the salmon and therefore our rivers. I am incredibly grateful to all those that have helped me better form my views and have supplied me with equipment, words and advertising. Namely, The Atlantic Salmon Trust, The Westcountry Rivers Trust, The Exmoor National Parks, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, The Missing Salmon Alliance and The Exmoor River and Streams Group. With much appreciated sponsorship from The River Barle Fishing Club and The River Exe and Tributaries Association.”

-Ends-

PR Contacts

Claire Zambuni [email protected]07921299990

Iona Mackay [email protected]07504661424

Exhibition website: https://www.moorlandart.com

Missing Salmon Alliance: Founded in 2019, a group of Britain’s leading conservation-focused organisations formed the Missing Salmon Alliance. Their combined expertise has continued to drive action to save our wild Atlantic salmon from the brink of extinction. The member organisations are the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, the Angling Trust with Fish Legal, Fisheries Management Scotland, and the Rivers Trust.

The Atlantic Salmon Trust was established against a backdrop of growing concerns over the significant decline in numbers of wild Atlantic salmon. The Trust is recognised to be one of the first conservation charities to be working on behalf of wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout.

The Atlantic Salmon Trust exists solely for the protection of wild salmon and sea trout. Their aim is to create a positive future for these keystone species; using scientific research to understand their decline and put evidence-based solutions into practice to better protect them.

20 Mar 2023

CASTS IN HOPE

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar, Uncategorised | 0

Hard to believe that three weeks of the 2023 salmon season have passed already. The first few days of the season saw rivers running low and clear with numerous kelt’s tempted by anglers fishing the lower Taw. There were rumoured to be a couple of fresh springers tempted but I have not actually seen any pictures of such fish.

Heavy spells of rain have brought the Taw and Torridge up and a couple of weeks have seen both rivers virtually unfishable. I set out today for my first visit to the Middle Torridge.

The river was running higher than ideal but clarity was good with a perfect tinge of colour. If any salmon were present I felt there would be a chance. Salmon are scarce these days and expectation is not as heightened as it once was. Despite this we fish on in hope and drift flies across those old lies where the line has tightened in the past.

After a couple of drifts across the river the line zipped tight and it was good to feel life pulsing through the rod and line. A pleasing brown trout of close to 1lb had siezed the salmon fly.

Steady rain was falling as I reacquainted myself with the river. It was good to be back once again on the river bank. The yellow splash of colour from primrose and daffodil telling that spring was here. Catkins and pussy willow decorated the riverside trees.

Pheasants broke cover occasionally startling me as they fled, mallards flew up from the river and buzzards mewed high above the trees.

All seemed as it should yet I couldn’t help but reflect on the depressing words of the ghillie who spoke of the dying river Wye on the BBCs Country file. The Wye that borders England was once one of the country’s greatest salmon rivers, today it is dying as a result of pollution and climate change.

The Taw, Torridge and most South West rivers are suffering a similar fate. It is sad that we could be the last generation to enjoy the privilege of fishing for the Atlantic salmon.

With this in mind I savour each cast hopeful that I might once again connect with that iconic silver bar.

19 Mar 2023

PONDERING POLITICS AND ANGLING

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Angling is a very divided pastime with each discipline having its dedicated band of practitioners. Historically angling has been split into Coarse, Sea and Game yet even within these parameters each discipline is segmented into different groups. In Coarse fishing we have specimen hunters, carp anglers, pleasure anglers and match fishers. Sea anglers can to some degree be split between shore, boat, match fishers, specimen hunters, LRF and those who fish primarily for the table.

Even within these branches there are those disciples of a particular style or method. For example, within carp fishing circles there are traditionalists who use vintage tackle and methods stalking the fish they seek. Then there are those who employ modern technics and tackle to deceive the carp using a trapping mentality that can involve long stays camping at the water’s edge.

I could write on about these differing strands of angling but hopefully I have made my point. Times change though and as always angling evolves within society and perhaps reflects the times we live in.

I am a rare breed in that I am a true allrounder casting my line into many waters for a wide range of fish. I truly struggle to say what my favourite fish or technique is often stating that I will fish for anything that swims.

In addition to fishing, I enjoy reading about fishing, writing about fishing and talking about fishing. Being passionate about the pastime I inevitably get drawn into the politics of it all from time to time.

It is probably true to say that many anglers try to keep clear of politics though there are of course numerous keyboard warriors on social media.

One issue that should unite all anglers is the dramatic decline in nature, its eco systems and of course fish stocks. In an ideal world all those who care for nature would work closely together putting their differences aside for the greater good. Sadly, this just isn’t the case at the moment. One issue is of course the moral question posed by those who think angling is cruel. Then there is the all too frequent confrontations between canoeists, wild swimmers and numerous other water users.

Fortunately, there is growing unity amongst many who enjoy the outdoors and the water’s edge. Pollution from agriculture, sewage and industry is destroying our rivers and the seas into which they flow. Nobody wants to swim, paddle or fish in filth so there is a growing desire to get those in power to sort it out.

It is fair to say that the angling sector having most influence in this area is the game fishing fraternity. In the UK freshwater gamefish are determined as Salmon, trout and grayling all of which have an adipose fin. In England’s historic class hierarchy these fish were fished for by the upper classes. The coarse fish and sea fish were predominantly the domain of the lower to middle classes.

This was put to me during a discussion at a recent meeting when I was expressing concern at the lack of engagement between sea anglers and the state. Recent restrictions on netting in estuaries that benefit sea anglers in protecting bass and mullet stocks were largely brought about by lobbying of those in power by River Associations whose members are primarily salmon and sea trout anglers.

It is fair to say that there are far more sea anglers and coarse anglers than game fishers and yet the minority who fish for salmonoids seem to have greater influence. Is this because they have more money, because they move in privileged circles, because they are better organised or better educated?

Such questions seem wrong, politically incorrect but there is undoubtedly an undercurrent with our history that perhaps lingers.

Apathy within many angling community’s and a distinct dislike and distrust of authority runs deep. Whilst angling is undoubtedly one of the biggest participant sports in the land with estimates ranging between one and five million the number who actually belong to its governing body number just thousands.

It engages huge numbers of people – estimated to involve around 900,000 fishing in freshwater in England and Wales and around 750,000 people who fish in the sea every year in the UK3.

A thorny topic amongst sea anglers has been a suggestion that there should be an angling licence . Such suggestions often result in indignant statements that fishing in the sea is free and always should be. The finance raised would not be used to protect or promote angling interests, Just another tax and so on.

Freshwater anglers have to buy a licence and revenue from this is used to protect and promote angling via the Environment agency in liaison with the angling trust.

But perhaps this is the only way that sea angling will be truly recognised and valued? Sea angling is undoubtedly of more value to the economy than the commercial sector but this is not widely acknowledged.

Licence or not sea anglers as stakeholders do not in general engage with the bodies that manage our waters. I sit on the D & S IFCA as a general member and have engaged with MMO consultations. Of the thousands who cast a line in sea water how many actually get involved as stakeholders?

The D & S IFCA website is worth a visit if you want to get a bit of background on fishy politics and management of our waters.

https://www.devonandsevernifca.gov.uk/

11 Mar 2023

A GREY AND GLOOMY DAY WITH FROME GRAYLING

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

“Fancy a day trotting for grayling on the Frome in Dorset ?” Asked my good friend Bruce.

Sounds good I replied and booked up the adjacent beat on the estate hidden away between Dorchester and Wareham. Weather looked good, dry and cold.

A week later on the eve of our trip; severe weather warnings in place. Sleet ,heavy snow and strong North East winds. We were to be right on the border of the severe weather with potential heavy rain instead of snow!

The call of the river is strong and at 6.30am I was on my way to meet Bruce at Honiton; a convenient half way meeting point on the journey. As I drove over Exmoor trees coated in heavy snow and roads slippery with slush and heavy snow falling I questioned our sanity.

After a short delay in Honiton as we arrived at different car parks we eventually converged and I loaded my grayling gear into Bruce’s capacious van.

The higher ground was snow covered but as we got closer to the river the snow turned to rain.

Arriving at the river bank we were relieved that the rain had eased and the temperature had climbed to a balmy 3 degrees!

There was a bit of colour in the water but it looked Ok and running a little fast. The prospect of a good grayling had us both buzzing with excitement as we threaded line through the rings setting up with crimson topped floats, size 14 hooks and 3lb hook lengths.

Bruce walked the Upper beat with me showing me some promising swims where he had enjoyed success on previous visits.

*Wrapped up warm I set off for the river. No such thing as bad weather I was dressed for the occasion.*

I set the depth to allow the maggot or corn hook baits to trip over the gravel bottom. The fishery has produced grayling to over 3lb with 2lb fish highly likely.

After half an hour of trotting I hooked a powerful fish that fought hard in the strong current. I was disappointed when the flanks of a two pound plus out of season brown trout appeared. I netted the fish and slipped it back. This was followed ten minutes or so later by an almost identical trout. It might even have been the same fish.

I fished various swims as I fished slowly down river trotting baits through likely looking runs. It was good to be beside the river despite the damp gloomy conditions. I noticed the wrens flitting to and fro amongst the bank side reeds. Flocks of long tailed tits flew about in the adjacent trees.

The float dipped from time to time as the baits caught on the bottom but grayling were proving elusive. In a promising run the float dipped and I was delighted to feel a satisfying resistance and glimpse the dorsal fin of a good sized grayling. At 1lb 14oz it was a pleasing result.

By now it was gone 1.00pm and I was almost back at the van. I dropped Bruce a message and we met up for lunch in the back of the van. Comparing notes, it was obvious that the grayling were not in a cooperative mood. Bruce had tempted two grayling one of over 1lb the other a little smaller. He had also caught a brace of trout.

After the short break we set back out onto the river. I returned to the swim I had caught the grayling in before dinner. After a couple of trots the float dipped and a second grayling of around 1lb 8oz was brought to the net.

I spent the next couple of hours searching the beat with a couple of brief hook ups and another out of season brown trout. As the light faded my expectations waned and I headed down to see how Bruce was getting on.

Bruce was trotting his float expertly through a fast run and had just lost a good fish. The light was fading fast, as I watched the float shot under and Bruce was into a good grayling of around 1lb 12oz. I had packed away my rod and enjoyed watching Bruce fish until the float was barely visible.

*A pleasing grayling for Bruce of around 1lb 12oz in the fading light of the day*

It had been a good day’s fishing. Hard going in cold gloomy conditions with the grayling hard to tempt. The strong east wind forecast had not arrived and the heavy rain held off. We will be back next winter for sure.

We drove home through heavy rain with sleet on the high ground. I arrived at Tiverton to find the link road closed resulting in an unwelcome diversion over the snowy moors. I arrived home at close to 10.00pm a long but enjoyable day at the water’s edge.

5 Mar 2023

DYING RIVERS _ A VOICE OF CONCERN – WHO DO WE BLAME?

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, At the Waters Edge, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

It is to be welcomed that the state of the countries rivers is now being vigorously debated across the media. As anglers we are all too aware of the issues and I for one have tried to promote any actions to raise awareness and address the issues. As a passionate angler and environmentalist, I get very angry at the way we as a species fail to value the planet of which the rivers can be likened to the vital arteries of the land.

Politicians will say what wins them votes and join in the clammer to apportion blame for the state of our rivers. We all do this to some extent venting our anger and pointing out what is wrong. Pictures of raw sewage discharging into rivers, dead fish killed by silage spills etc. Politicians play on our concerns; the water companies and farmers are singled out to blame.

But it’s not that simple. The Environment Agency one of the regulatory bodies who are accused of lack of action. They undoubtedly have good people working within but they cannot do their job because they are underfunded or mismanaged. South West Waters infrastructure frequently fails; underfunded, mismanaged ? Truth is that all of this is very complex and the fact is that if we focus on economics and profits the environment inevitably pays the price.

It is easy to blame not so easy to fix. One fact we all need to keep in mind is that it is us who produce the shit. Easy to blame SWW but it’s our crap they are processing. It is totally wrong to discharge raw sewage but someone has to pay. As more houses are built construction companies make money but does the system plan to enlarge sewer capacities, create new water storage reservoirs. The same can of course be said about health care, Council services, policing etc.

Privatisation of the water companies has been blamed for much that is wrong but it was failing as a public service as a Victorian infrastructure crumbled. The tory government passed the problem to private industry. We vent our anger at the fat cats and the shareholders creaming off the profits yet in the complex world of commerce this is where investment comes from. Morally the water companies should be publicly owned but that means funding from government and would voters pay the price?

We need to put the environment at the top of the agenda. But how do we fund this? The present model doesn’t work. Government bureaucracy moves slowly, too slowly for as we dither and think species decline the salmon being a good example of this. As we raise awareness and ponder the natural world slowly dies before our eyes.

Politics is beyond me. I don’t have all the answers. I know what’s wrong and I know what needs fixing. If you agree then who do we vote for to put it right? We can do our bit and raise awareness. Direct our anger in a constructive way. Report what’s wrong; apathy has no place that’s for certain.

“You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you might get what you need”.

It is well worth tuning onto BBC 2 on Sunday night at 8:00pm when Paul Whitehouse is presenting a documentary about the state of our river’s.

Paul Whitehouse travels through the north of England, looking at the impact water companies have on its rivers.

Our Troubled Rivers

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jw6x

Paul explores the change in the water industry since privatisation in 1989 and what regulations are in place when it comes to sewage discharge into rivers. He meets concerned locals in Yorkshire looking to highlight the health of the River Wharfe, a conservationist who warns of the ecological decline in iconic Lake Windemere, and the man at the front of the battle for the country’s waterways, Feargal Sharkey.

I REMEMBER WHEN

The old guy said,

I remember when the salmon poured into the pools,

Packed like sardines you could have walked across their backs, (1983)

I remember when some anglers caught one hundred salmon in a season, (2003)

It’s been a better season we caught forty from the river last year, (2023)

I remember when there were salmon in the river, (2043)

I remember being told there were once salmon in this river, (2063)