INVASIVE SPECIES _ADVICE
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A Riverfly Monitoring volunteer alerted me to what he thought could have been a Killer Shrimp whilst carrying a survey on the River Torridge. I passed the details to our local E.A Fisheries officer who alerted the relevant bodies. Fortunately on this occasion it was a false alarm but the relevant bodies are always grateful of reports in their fight against invasive species that can devastate the local eco-system. The EA can be contacted via their Hotline – 0800 807060
www.nonnativespecies.org
KIller Shrimp Species Description
Scientific name: Dikerogammarus villosus AKA: Killer Shrimp
Native to: South-east Europe
Habitat: Still or flowing freshwater and brackish water, often among hard surfaces or vegetation.
A highly invasive shrimp, with only a few known populations in GB. A key ID feature is the presence of cone shaped protru- sions on the tail. Often larger than native freshwater shrimp species and sometimes with a striped appearance.
It is a voracious predator, killing invertebrates and small fish. It quickly dominates habitats it invades and can significantly alter their ecology.
It is tolerant of poor water quality and can survive in damp conditions for up to five days. It could therefore be spread in ballast water and also by people on kit used in the water, including an- gling gear, boats, kayaks and trailers. Good biosecurity is essential to reduce the risk of spread.
As a non-resident species it could be an offence to release or allow the escape of this species into the wild.
Suspected records of this species should be sent with a photograph to: [email protected]
Another species of concern is the top mouth gudgeon see information and links below.
River Taw Fisheries & Conservation Association Urge Anglers support for petition
The River Taw Fisheries & Conservation Association are urging all anglers to support the petitions on the parliament UK website for adequate funding of the Environment Agency.
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This petition asks the government to give more funding to the Environment Agency and to free it from overly business-friendly Government codes and guidance, so it can pursue and achieve its principal statutory objective to protect and enhance English rivers. The petition has 2 days left to run and needs support, please click on the link below |
South West Lakes Trout Fisheries Report November 2021
All of the South West Lakes Trust trout fisheries continue to be operated under strict Covid-19 restrictions, in line with the current Angling Trust and Government guidelines. At the time of writing the on-site permit huts are not open, so day tickets, season tickets, and boats should be pre-booked online (www.swlakestrust.org.uk/trout-fishing) or via the telephone. Water levels are now starting to rise to between 60% and 75% full (depending on site), while water temperatures continue to fall.
Fishing:
Kennick – The weather conditions have generally been very changeable, with some pleasant sunny days mixed with days of strong winds and heavy rain showers, while overall temperatures have remained mild for the time of year. There has been little surface insect activity, and fish have only risen to feed very occasionally in the early part of the month. Subsequently, most fish have been caught between one and six feet down on slow-sink or intermediate lines, with bank anglers catching the majority of fish. Fish have been well spread out around the lake, although Sycamore Wall, The Narrows, and Clampitts have been particularly popular. The usual selection of nymphs (Buzzers, Diawl Bach, Montanas, and Damsel Nymphs) and lure patterns (Orange Blob, Boobies, Cats Whisker, Kennick Killer, and Nomads) have produced the best sport, with Bibios, Shrimp, and Vivas also catching well. Sharif Adams (from Moretonhampstead) caught the best fish of the month with an impressive bag of six rainbows between 2 and 5lbs, using a Gold Damsel fished about a foot beneath the surface. Graham Roberts (from Totnes) caught three rainbows weighing in at 2lbs, 4lbs, and 4lb 4oz, as well as a 1lb brown; Bryan Parry (from Newton Abbot) caught rainbows of 2lb 8oz, 3lb, and 4lb, using a Damsel Nymph; Mick Megee (from Newton Abbot) caught seven rainbows to 3lb 8oz using a sinking line and slow retrieve. The final of the Lakes Trust’s ‘Best of the Best’ bank competition, supported by Snowbee UK, was held on 17 October – with twenty one anglers competing. Cornish angler Dave Johns won the competition (and £1000 prize cheque) with twelve fish weighing in at 25lb 2oz, Devon angler Andy Watson took second place with 15lb 12oz, and Andy Gooding won the prize for Heaviest Fish (3lb 2oz).
Siblyback – Although there has been little surface activity and few insects on the water, a few fish were caught early in the month on a dry static fished Black Hopper. Otherwise lures and sunk nymphs have been the patterns of choice (Red Matuka, Baby Doll, Viva, or Damsel Nymphs and Montanas), with an intermediate line producing the best results, and Crylla Bay the preferred location. Generally, fish caught have been between 1 and 2lb, with the best rainbow weighing in at 2lb 5oz caught by Nigel Muscelwate; Neil Barron caught a rainbow of 2lb 2oz.
Burrator – There was little surface insect activity over the month, and with the fish feeding sub-surface, generally intermediate lines with varying retrieval speeds proved to be the most successful method, with either a nymph (Montana, Damsel, or Diawl Bach) or lure pattern (Muddler, Leach, Orange Blob,or Kennick Killer) – although a Zonker fished on a floating line and pulled fast did result in a few fish caught. Longstone Point, Pig Trough Bay, and Sheepstor proved to be the most productive locations. The best fish of the month (and the best brown of the season) was caught by Al Lawson (from Plymouth) – a beautiful 4lb fish, using a Blue Flash Damsel on an intermediate line. Kevin Sellar (from Plymouth) caught a bag of seven rainbows to 2lb, using Damsel and Orange Blob patterns, while Steven Carter (from Tavistock) caught four rainbows to 2lb on a floating line and fast retrieve.
Stithians – Fish continue to be well spread out around the water, with most locations producing fish, although Goonlaze, Pipe Bay, and Dam Bank are all worthy of mention. With insect activity on the surface sparse, most fish have been caught on intermediate or sinking lines, although the occasional fish could be tempted by a dry Daddy, Deer Hair Sedge or Black Gnat on a floating line. With the majority of fish being caught subsurface, lure patterns such as Orange Blob, Cats Whisker, Black Cormorants, Boobies, and Fritz patterns produced the best catches. John Henderson (from Falmouth) caught the best fish of the month – a 3lb 8oz rainbow, as part of a bag of five rainbows using small orange gel blobs and mini orange boobies; Phil Messenger-Roberts (from St Austell) caught six rainbows to 3lb using black and white and green fritz patterns; Clive Pearce caught five rainbows to 3lb.
South West Lakes Trust’s brown trout waters (Roadford, Colliford, and Fernworthy) have now closed for the season, to reopen in March 2022.
Please visit the website (www.swlakestrust.org.uk/trout-fishing) for details on ticket prices, fishery information, clubs, competitions, and boat availability.
Chris Hall (November 2021)
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Annabel Underwood
Communications and Marketing Manager
South West Lakes Trust
01566 771930
Barnstaple & District Angling Association – Launch New Website
Barnstaple & District Angling Association held their AGM on line consulting the membership via email. The club Chairman John Webber reported on a very successful year with positive developments on the upkeep of the waters on the Lower Taw and at South Aller. The club launched it new website last Tuesday evening that will provide a valuable working link to the membership. http://www.barnstapledistrictangling.co.uk
The B&DAA formed in 1941 is one of North Devon’s longest running clubs and it is good to see that it is thriving thanks to the dedication of its long running committee. The club gave special thanks to Colin Ashby who has been membership secretary for at least 25years. Don Hearn and Alan Jump also deserve credit for the work that they have undertaken on the club waters.
Click home to visit :-
Autumn Trout Sport at Bulldog
I joined eight members of South Molton and District Angling Club at Bulldog Fishery where a good days sport was enjoyed. It was a surprisingly mild and sunny day for early November and several good sized trout could be seen cruising in the clear water.
Bulldog is a small water and eight members is close to the maximum comfortable number for the water. But with all members being friends and it being very much a social event the fact that lines came close at times didn’t matter.
The hotspot seemed to be close to the lake inlet where several fish were showing including a large fish well into double figures. Small imitative patterns seemed to be the way to go with several fish tempted on montana nymphs. My first fish of the day succumbed to this pattern with a further three falling to small gold head PT nymphs.
I believe at least half the members ended the day with four fish limit bags with most fish weighing between 3lb and 5lb.
Bulldog is an intimate water that is stocked with rainbows averaging over 3lb and browns into double figures. It is a perfect winter venue that offers good sport and a good chance of a double figure fish.
Quay Sports fishing Tackle & bait Store have purchased North Devon Tackle.
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Quay Sports fishing Tackle & bait Store have recently purchased North Devon Tackle.
An agreement was reached last week and the North Devon Tackle store will be closed as from Monday,November 1st.
All of the popular products and brands that were previously stocked in North Devon Tackle will be available very soon in the Quay Sports store.
A Quay Sports team member said, “We aim to offer the same great service and choice of products that North Devon Tackle have over the past 6 years and would like to wish Jamie all the best for the future.”
The move comes at a time when the High Street continues to contract with larger stores on the edge of town offering free parking and a wider range of products in larger premises. As angling’s popularity continues to grow it is great that a shop front style shop is available for Barnstaple’s anglers.
North Devon Angling News wish Jamie all the best for the future. The advice he gave freely to local anglers was very much appreciated.
BEAVERS ON THE WAY TO NORTH DEVON?
I have followed the debate surrounding the re-introduction of beavers with interest over recent years. Re-wilding is in vogue at present with a drive to bring back a wide range of species including white tailed eagles, beavers, storks and even lynx and wolves.
On the face of it resurrecting many of the species that once roamed the lands of the UK is commendable. Let’s face it we have done an awful amount of damage over the past 400 to 500 years. Taking a look around Waterstones bookstore the shelves are packed with commendable books on the joys of nature, re-wilding and climate change. Perhaps COVID has refocused many minds onto the more important aspects of life that anglers have been appreciating for hundreds of years? It’s as if the greater majority have suddenly woken up to the damage we have inflicted on nature and the planet and want to rush to put it all back as it was without considering that we have lost many pieces of the jigsaw. I am no scientist so my views are that of an observer who enjoys the countryside. I know that eco-systems are extremely complex and the creatures that live within are often inter dependant on other species and the vast range of flora and fauna that grows within.
The re-introduction of species is perhaps different to invasive species imported from foreign lands. Grey squirrels, mink, signal cray-fish, Himalayan balsam are a few that spring to mind.
It was with this cautious view that I attended the Beaver talk at Bishops Tawton Village Hall. As an angler one concern I have is that beavers might impair upstream migration. Chris Jones delivered a fascinating presentation about the reintroduction of beavers and I left the meeting erring on the side of reintroducing these huge rodents. The benefits they could bring seemed to outweigh the potential negatives. Beavers apparently live in harmony with salmon in Norway on some of that countries prime salmon rivers. They are now also widespread in Scotland on the River Tay where Miss G.W.Ballantine landed the British Record salmon of 64lb in 1922. Surely if beavers have been introduced there then far wiser persons than I believe that they are beneficial?
Many thanks to Don Hearn who also attended the meeting for allowing me to publish the report (Below) that he wrote for members of the Barnstaple & District Angling Club. I hope to learn more about the project in the coming years when perhaps I will catch a glimpse as a beaver swims past whilst I cast a fly for salmon on the Taw or Torridge.
I attended the meeting in Bishops Tawton regarding Beaver introduction in Devon.
Chris Jones is a founder member of the Beaver trust and has successfully introduced beavers on his farm near Truro. They have managed to alleviate flooding in his area and The figures and flow charts produced by Exeter university are impressive. The proposal is to introduce Beaver into the Caen catchment above Braunton to help with the Caen flooding problem. Our interest lay in the fact that they do populate other areas in time ,and without predators can do well, as they have in Scotland. They may even come up the Taw in future and i understand one has been caught in a camera trap much higher up. There is no suggestion they could populate the lower Taw but would have to be upriver and probably in tributaries. This could all be many years away and would have no effect on the Taw in the foreseeable future. I canvassed the E.A. on their opinion but the consultation has been led by DEFRA. I understand there will be a decision in 3 months with a licencing and long-term management plan to follow. The meeting was titled “Beavers in Bishops Tawton” and was well attended but there was no question of that happening. Wayne Thomas asked about dams impeding migratory fish and was assured they can still get through and haven’t been affected in other rivers. More info about this is available if you google “final report of the beaver salmonid working group” . Clearly A lot of research still needed . Chris Jones has invited us to view his land and beavers near Truro and this can be arranged via ” The Beaver trust” site. I hope to visit it myself in the near future with other interested members.
Regards
Don
THE CHALLENGE OF WIMBLEBALL
Late October and I am excited to be heading across Exmoor on a mild murky morning to target the hard fighting trout of Wimbleball. I am meeting with Snowbee Ambassador Jeff Pearce.
The news reports from the lake indicate that catches have been good in recent weeks with the lower Autumn temperatures encouraging the trout to go on the feed. Jeff had fished a match the previous day when some competitors had registered catches into the lower teens.
We were greeted at the boat pontoon by the ever helpful and enthusiastic Trevor who chatted about the day to day complexities of running the fishery and where we might find a few trout.
As we chugged out onto the lake it was soon apparent that the wind was going to be a bit challenging. A force 4 to 6 South Westerly was whipping up white horses on the water. We set up a drogue to slow the drift but even with this in place progress was brisk.
We commenced drifting the narrows casting our offerings close to the shoreline. Jeff was into a hard fighting rainbow first drift. Whilst I managed a couple of tugs. A repeat drift brought a second rainbow for Jeff and yet more pulls and tugs for myself.
On the third drift a savage pull resulted in connection to a pristine rainbow to my rod estimated at well over four pounds.
At this stage it looked like we were heading for a bumper day. But as the wind increased we decided to try our luck elsewhere on the lake. The wind was blasting into the shallows of Bessom’s and Rugg’s where we tried a couple of drifts before deciding to head up to the Upton Arm where we could enjoy more sheltered waters.
The wooded slopes of the Upton Arm were showing the distinctly Autumnal shades of golden browns. We drifted close to the shore where we tempted several beautiful wild browns each admired in the net before being released.
After a couple of hours without a rainbow we decided to head back into the wind. A drift across Cow Moor resulted in me hooking two good sized rainbows that came adrift after a lengthy and enjoyable scrap.
With the day ebbing away fast we headed back to the Narrows. A good sized rainbow teased as it followed the lure to the side of the boat before turning away at the last moment. This was repeated by a blue trout as we contemplated our last casts of the day.
Once again we had enjoyed a fantastic day with plenty of chances not converted into fish in the net. The strong wind had made everything hard work with difficult drifts, tangled lines and hard to find trout.
The joy of fishing these large waters is that they feel like truly wild lakes. The fish fight hard with their full tails and jewelled flanks. I hope to squeeze at least a couple more trips before the seasons end savouring the challenge of Wimbleball.
Briefing from Jamie Cook of the Angling Trust
The Angling Trust have been working hard to influence MPs to vote against the dumping of sewage into our rivers.
A personal view :-
The inadequate sewerage systems are a legacy of years of underfunding by water companies with much of the infrastructure outdated and unable to cope with the extent of development across the country. This is a complex issue and it is easy to blame the politicians and water companies in truth we all need to accept that it is us who produce the product and it is all of us who must foot the bill. The privatisation of the water companies in the 1980’s allowed the government to dodge the issues along with the successive governments that have followed. The need for housing in an ever growing world has exceeded the capacity of a sewerage system built for a much smaller population. The challenges of climate change and severe weather events add additional urgency to the situation. Anglers at the waters edge are well aware of the state of the nations rivers and have long campaigned against pollution with some success. It is essential that the wider public appreciate what is happening to the Rivers of North Devon and beyond.
Wayne Thomas
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