Annual Dinner 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Over thirty people came to this year's dinner and it was refreshing to see one or two new faces joining us.
The evening opened with new chairman Alfred Pope saying grace and welcoming everyone to the evening. He later offered the loyal toast to the Queen and afterwards proposed a toast to our retired chairman Mike Gleave. He reported that Mike was currently doing well, was eating and gaining weight, and his blood count was now back to normal.
Dinner was served by Bristol Water's smart staff in the cosy atmosphere of Woodford Lodge.
This years speaker was Richard Dearnly of the Environment Agency. Richard and his team do a great job in protecting the fish life on the Somerset levels, particularly the eels, and more importantly the elvers that migrate all the way from their birthplace in the Sargasso Sea to Europe. Sadly too many end up in the nets of the elver fishermen and are sold on to countries like Japan where they fetch as much as £600 per Kilo. Richard told us that there over 3,000 elvers to a Kilo, so you can realise what damage excessive and illegal fishing causes.
The raffle was as usual run by Brian Kick who always seems to conjure up a great many prizes. Brian must be the highest individual contributor in the Bristol and West branch to branch funds and we do thank him for it.
All enjoyed this year's dinner, it always is a great curtain raiser to the Christmas season.
Roy Buckland
Members Day at Blagdon Lake
Sunday, September 13, 2009
We had good fishing conditions this year but the trout still proved tricky to catch. Lake levels had been dropping and in recent days bank anglers had been catching more than the boats, and so it proved on the day with the best catches coming in very shallow water , especially Rugmore bay and off Rugmore point-all at the shallow end of the lake. Best tactic was to anchor up and fish Diawl Bachs with a slow, almost static, retrieve.
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Eighteen members fished from boats and Pete McGuckian’s protégé, junior Daniel Byers, fished from the bank. We caught 24 trout with Len Harvey, proving fly tyers can catch too, taking 4 fish as did Chris Elms. David Marsh took a lovely 3lb 4oz rainbow in a three fish bag and Malcolm Fisher also took three. Daniel had a nice 2lb 9oz fish but trophy winner for the biggest trout went to Chris Elms for a 3lb 14oz beauty..
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Elaine cooked us special Blagdon sausages and onion mash, which sounds basic but was delicious-Pete McG ate 4 and they were big sausages so must have been good- as we enjoyed the usual lively after-fishing supper in the flickering firelight in Blagdon Lodge.
Chris Klee
Fun Day at Litton
Sunday, June 14, 2009
This is the second time that we have run this event, and, as last year, we had a day of warm sunshine, just right for a barbeque - the fishing was good also.
Chris Klee does a marvellous job in running these events, and we really appreciate all the work he did for this day.
The numbers were down this year due to the event clashing with the final meeting of our old friends the West Country Flyfishers. Their secretary Robin Gillespie very kindly donated a couple of bottles of champagne so that we could drink a toast to the the passing of this lovely old club which we duly did.
Paul Middle and his wife Sandy joined us this year. They brought along a bag of crayfish caught from one of their ponds which they had cooked and what a wonderful starter they made. So with champagne and crayfish on the menu fishing lost its immediate appeal.
The afternoon fishing went quite well, particularly after Alfie Pope and his boat partner Paul Reddish found the fish on the lower lake and quite quickly caught their limit.
This was one of those rare days when everyone had a fish or two.
It would be great if we could match this again next year and there is no doubt that Chris will try.
Roy Buckland.
Royal Bath & West Show 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
The branch had the task of running the show stand this year without the help of anyone from head office being their to look after things, which also meant that all costs were down to us. The Bath & West Society were more than helpful, giving us entance tickets and our site and tents without charge. We, however, were totally responsible for everything else - from setting up to closing down.
We were a little light on the ground on the first two days, but with the weather being so poor on the Wednesday, very few people visited the stand so coping was not a problem. Thursday also saw us a little light on numbers but we managed. Both Friday and Saturday were very much busier, but with extra helpers things went very well indeed.
Our principle fly tyer Malcolm Fisher did very well, with quite a few visitors buying flies from him. Malcolm played the key role for the whole show, being the first to arrive and always the last to leave. The branch thanks him and all the other volunteers who made it possible for us to run the stand.
Chris Elms, Paul Middle and Mike Hobbs were there on the Saturday to swell the numbers.
Len Harvey, Chris Klee and Alfie Pope were the main body of help throughout the show, along with Roy Buckland who did the demonstrations in the show ring. Brian Kick did his usual great job for the branch running the casting for the disabled competition with assistance from one or two members.
Everyone did their bit, not only for the branch, but in promoting game fishing in general.
Junior Course at Chew
Friday, May 8, 2009
The branch has completed it's second year of running our five evenings of teaching juniors the pleasure of fly fishing.
This year we made a flat charge of £5.00 per session and as a result we did attract a few more to the opening evening.
The unfortunate thing though was the weather, with an almost gale force wind which made it too dangerous to take beginners boat fishing. Even the jetty was not the place to be, so we did what we could with casting instruction on the grass.
Quite a few of this year's class were old friends from last year who we were very pleased to see. As the course progressed the improvement in their casting began to show and we all felt that a series of lessons is the best way of learning.
Len Harvey's fly tying classes again proved very popular and some of them were using their own tied flies to fish with.
At the end of the course all were presented with a pair of fishing polaroids and three of the newer boys were, in addition, given fishing books.
The tutors, all volunteers from the branch, did a great job and we are grateful to all of them, Malcolm Fisher who worked with everyone, and particularly the new expert boatman of our branch - chairman Alfie Pope.
Our thanks go to Bristol Water for offering their facilities for free plus providing us with two boats, we will again be giving them some fishing equipment in recognition of their help.
Roy Buckland
AGM 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Due to the AGM being two weeks later than usual it was moved to the Ring 'O' Bells at Compton Martin as Blagdon Lodge was now in use by anglers. The speaker, Andy Don, opened proceedings with an interesting talk on the current plight of the European eel and the work being carried out by the environment agency to improve their situation in the west country. His talk was illustrated with a film of eels climbing ladders of plastic matting at weirs where the original wooden structures were being replaced with concrete and stainless steel, very efficient but not as eel friendly. It was an amazing sight to see thousands of young eels ascending these man made ladders.
Lunch was followed by Brian Kick's raffle which managed to raise £70.00 towards branch funds. It was also great to see Brian back in action after his recent heart surgery.
President, Chris Klee, opened the meeting and welcomed outgoing chairman Mike Gleave to the AGM. Chris also gave the chairman's report on behalf of Mike who, due health problems, had not been able to take his normal place at branch functions. He took the opportunity to thank Mike for the outstanding contribution he had made to Bristol and West Branch over many years, fourteen of which had been as chairman, and presented him with a bottle of whisky as a thank you from the committee.
On behalf of the chairman he reported it had been a good year for the branch as most events had been both successful and well attended. He mentioned our new venture of 2008, the junior coaching course, held at Chew Valley Lake with the help of Bristol Water, and the enthusiastic way the juniors had taken part in it. The end result was that we were able to present fishing tackle to Bristol Water for use in their own teaching programme.
We were also able to present the local disabled group with two outfits for use in their 'Casting for the Disabled Days'.
The branch helped run the S&TA stand at the Bath and West where anyone interested had the opportunity to try fly casting.
The fun day at Litton had also been a great success helped both by the glorious weather and the generosity of members and guests with their donations of wine.
He thanked all who had taken part in any way during the year, Nick Mitchell who had organised the annual dinner so well, and all members of the committee for the part they played in helping run the branch through another year.
The secretary, Roy Buckland, in giving his report said he felt that members may be interested to know, that since including a counter on the branch web site, 4,750 visits to the site had been recorded since the middle of February.
In spite of the difficulties trying to give casting lessons between moving trains which circled the lake at the Bath & West, we were still able to give over forty lessons so, once again, it was a worthwhile venture by the branch. We will be there again this year, but unfortunately with no head office support apart from them supplying us with display material.
John West outlined the current state of branch funds in his treasurer's report and gave everyone a copy of the balance sheet. He told us we had been able to give all youngsters who took part in the junior course free membership of the S&TA for one year. He also reported the now closed WCFF had given £500.00, ring fenced for junior coaching, which we were very happy to receive.
Election of Officers.
The one nomination for chairman was Alfie Pope who was proposed by the president, seconded by Nick Mitchell and elected unanimously. All other branch officers were available for re-election. A proposal by Peter McGuckian, seconded by Andrew Gulland that they were elected en-bloc was carried unanimously.
The president thanked all for coming and hoped this coming year would be as good as the last.
There being no other business the meeting closed.
Roy Buckland.
Avon Walk
Sunday, February 22, 2009
For this visit we asked Wessex Branch to join us, since we were invading their territory, and equal numbers from each branch resulted in a turnout of 18 people to see the results of habitat improvement works on the Hampshire Avon between Amesbury and Salisbury. Our guide for the tour was Allan Frake from the Environment Agency and since he has been masterminding improvement works for over 15 years he was the ideal person.
Allan explained the river has suffered from excessive dredging, over-widening and straightening starting in the war years and continuing right up to the 1980s. This has left a uniform, silty and sluggish river, which provides poor habitat for invertebrates and fish, particularly salmon and trout.
Because of its high conservation and fishery value the Avon is designated as a Special Area for Conservation (SAC) and has thus attracted considerable funding in recent years and this, together with support and actions from local riparian owners and angling associations has brought about a lot of improvements.
Allan took us to Lords Walk in Amesbury to see how whole trees have been anchored into the bank with 4 or 5 metres sticking out into the channel and already these were deflecting the flow, allowing material to acrete on one side creating new banks that were becoming colonised and stabilised by marginal plants. The result was a narrowing of the river, speeding up the flow and energising the removal of silt. In some sections Allan had added many tons of gravel and this too caused deflection of the flow and provided an area of new clean bed for spawning. At The Broads we saw new Islands established mid-channel, D shaped bank creations and more gravel riffles. This has added hugely to the diversity of the hydromorphology (river shape) but made the reach harder to fish so a new, hard access path is being created to made things easier for older anglers. Not every scheme has worked as well as intended, but most have, especially at Lower Woodford and Avon Bridge.
We ended up in the Wheatsheaf Inn at Middle Woodford for a roast lunch and drop of well earned bitter and all agreed it was an interesting and instructive event. It was good to mix with members from another branch and good to see and support this sort of conservation work, which will benefit not just salmonids but also coarse fish, invertebrates, aquatic plants and the people who cherish this iconic river. Many thanks to Allan for his excellent guiding and to the Environment Agency for the good work.
Click here to see more pictures Chris Klee.Annual Dinner 2008
Friday, November 21, 2008
A near to full restaurant at Woodford Lodge for this years annual event went a long way to creating a warm atmosphere and an evening to remember.
It was helped by the waiting staff of ladies in smart black dresses and beautifully decorated tables - the restaurant itself was festooned with Christmas dressings and crackers at every place setting.
Chairman Mike Gleave opened the proceedings by saying grace and we all sat down to an excellent meal of which there were several choices. The service from the immaculately dressed ladies was first class.
The speaker this year was our old friend Paul Reddish who gave us, by way of a projector, a tour of Cuba plus some fishing which had all the anglers in the audience green with envy. Paul travels the world as a television film maker of wildlife documentaries and it is while doing this that he always takes the opportunity to fish whenever he can. At the end of his talk our president Chris Klee thanked Paul and said he thought it one of the most interesting we had enjoyed.
Brian and Margaret Kick again ran the raffle and raised £135.00 for the branch funds.
The evening closed with chairman Mike Gleave thanking everybody for coming particularly those who had joined us for the first time and looked forward to as many coming in 2009. He thanked Woodford Lodge for the food and the very efficient staff who looked after us so well. He also thanked Nick Mitchell for once again organising the evening for us.
Roy Buckland.
Members Day 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Fourteen members fished at our annual event this year, numbers a little down on previous members days. Although fishing wasn't easy some people managed to catch a few fish, in fact the total number of fish caught was twentyeight. The biggest fish, which wins the Lord Darling Trophy, was 3lb. 10oz. and was captured by one of our newer members Mike Smith fishing in this event for the first time. Well done Mike! The boat with the most fish was Mike Gleave and Malcolm Fisher. They had nine fish between them for 19lb.12oz. Another creditable performance came from Allan Philips, fishing on his own he managed five fish for 11lb.
Elaine's kitchen once again gave us a super beef casserole followed by a choice of two excellent sweets - most people managed both.
Our chairman Mike Gleave presented the Lord Darling Trophy to Mike Smith for his fish of the day.
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This is always a friendly day out, a few more members taking part would add to the atmosphere.
Roy Buckland
New Salmon Pass Opened
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
On the 13th August a new salmon pass was opened on Devon's river Yealm. Our president Chris Klee was one of the officials at this important event.
This new pass allows salmon and sea trout to get up what was a steep weir on the Yealm and thus get access to 15 km of upper river on Dartmoor where there is a lot of good gravel spawning area. The EA built the pass with financial contributions from Yealm River Association and Dartmoor National Park. The West Country Rivers Trust have done farm visits along the river to encourage farmers to fence stock out of the river and to take steps to prevent polluting run-off from entering the river system. EA will survey the upper river next spring to see if parr are present, indicating successful spawning.
Above picture taken at the opening of the new pass with from left to right, Martin Weiler (Devon & Cornwall Area Manager ), Lord Chris Smith (Chairman Environment Agency), Richard Cresswell ( Regional Director) Lesley Newport (Fisheries Technical Officer), Chris Klee (RFERAC Chairman).
Junior Coaching 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
The five afternoons of our junior course have come and gone all to quickly. I think instructors and pupils alike would have liked it to continue, we all had such a great time.
At the end of the third session there was a major transformation in their casting. Malcolm Fisher and I looked at a row of young men practising on the lawn in front of Woodford Lodge and you could not help but notice the improvement. We both felt quietly pleased with ourselves in that we had played a part, along with the rest of the team, in getting them to this level. I think we demonstrated that this type of tuition has to be considered as a way of not only teaching them, but also in encouraging them to become permanent anglers for the rest of their lives.
We were able not only to teach fishing, but show the whole picture, they were able to have a try at fly tying with Len Harvey as their teacher and that was a terrific success. We did some basic entomology and fly identification, boat safety and general behaviour while at the waterside.
All were able to do boat fishing, Bristol Water had kindly given us two boats for every session. Chris Klee helped at every session and was our major ghillie and he was well supported by Brian Kick, Allan Philips, and Malcolm Fisher. At the end of the final session each pupil was given a fishing book and boxes of flies, the flies of course being tied and donated by Len.
We qualified for grants from Salmon & Trout association under the Sport England banner and this has been used to buy further teaching equipment for Bristol Water along with two outfits for Brian to use in his work for casting for the disabled.
Overall we all felt that this had been really worthwhile along with the enthusiasm from the youngsters who all wanted to do it again.
Click here for pictures
Roy Buckland Fun Day at Litton Lakes 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
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The Litton day proved to be a very successful event. It was the first time the branch had used Litton for a day out and a very good choice it turned out. It was helped a bit by a glorious day, always a plus when you are running a BBQ. As far as the fishing went, all the fish and all the action came from the lower lake which had a little colour, as opposed to the upper lake which was crystal clear, although by the late afternoon it also began to fish quite well. What was particularly good, was that all the family and friends who joined us also enjoyed their day at the lakes. For those who have never been there it is a beautiful setting.
Roy Buckland. |
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Royal Bath & West Show 2008
Saturday, May 31, 2008
This years Bath & West will be remembered for one incredible one and a half hours of rain which started on day two at around five pm and completely flooded the whole show site. We in the Salmon & Trout tent were in just about the worst possible position at the bottom end of the show ground. Most of the water seemed to make its way to us, and, within the hour, our tent was seven inches deep in sewage contaminated flood water!
Trying to get home was another story with local villages cut off and impassable.
There was doubt as to whether we would open on the Friday, but we did, and things got slowly better throughout the day. We appeared to have lost nothing more than some brochures and leaflets, but our electricity was out for most of Friday.
Wednesday was a dull and rainy day which affected numbers coming and we did only three lessons on that day.
By the end of the show we had had forty people for lessons so we were able to make some money for the branch - just a little better than last year in fact. Our big disappointment was only getting three new members to join although we all tried hard.
The efforts of all who helped was very much appreciated, Brian Kick came on all four days and also went off to help with the disabled casting competition - a task he has done for many years. Malcolm Fisher and Colin Linge covered the fly tying, but after watching Malcolm I realise I have no place behind the fly tying vice. Richard Payne from the Somerset branch came and did a great job encouraging as many as possible to come and have a go at casting.
Peter McGuckian came for two of the days and Chris Klee and Alfie Pope came and gave a hand for a day.
Mike Hobbs flew in from a holiday in Cuba and joined in the casting instruction although he must have been a bit jet-lagged on the Friday.
Tim Gaunt-Baker from head office was there running things. He was also trying his best to get new members and gave the most beautiful casting demonstrations for both trout and salmon.
By the end of the show we all thought it had been worthwhile, and if we can be restored to our normal casting position on the lake, make an arrangement with the model railway whose trains now circle the lake, I feel sure we will be back next year, but we must have more helpers and not leave it to the same few.
Roy Buckland.
S&TA vs. WCFF 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
The annual match between S&TA and West Country Fly Fishers (WCFF) resulted in a win for the WCFF. This year the venue was changed to Sutton Bingham near Yeovil, a good choice as it turned out, just about everyone caught fish with two fish over five pounds. The WCFF also had three fish over three and a half pounds. S&TA had thirty three fish in total but WCFF managed forty. There was no set lunch this year everyone brought their own food and enjoyed a picnic.
Individual results were:
| S&TA |
WCFF |
| Chris Cavill - five fish, total 11lbs 10oz |
Brian Bowyer - five fish, total 10lbs 0oz |
| Sam Tyrer - five fish, total 11lbs 10oz |
Dave Richardson- five fish, total 15lbs 12oz |
| Jim Smart- five fish, total 12lbs 5oz |
John Deacon- five fish, total 9lbs 8oz |
| Simon Bush - five fish, total 9lbs 0oz |
Henry Blacklidge - five fish, total 13lbs 1oz |
| Len Harvey - three fish, total 5lbs 8oz |
Matt Ellis - five fish, total 12lbs 5oz |
| Brian Kick - five fish, total 9lbs 4oz |
Brian Winward - five fish, total 10lbs 8oz |
| Alfie Pope - five fish, total 10lbs 7oz |
Geoff Tidball - five fish, total 10lbs 4oz |
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Will Blacklidge - five fish, total 11lbs 12oz |
Junior Evening Courses
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
This year the branch has the opportunity to run five evening courses at Chew Valley Lake made possible by the S&TA funding the cost of these evenings with support from Sport England.
The dates of the evenings are 9th May, 16th May, 23rd May, 6th June and the 13th June. They are all Friday evenings from 4pm until 8pm.
Bristol Water have kindly donated their excellent facilities plus they are letting us have two boats free for these events. In addition they are supplying all the fishing tackle and we greatly appreciate what they are doing to support us.
What we will need is members to come along and help on these evenings, so will you please volunteer to come along and help such a worthwhile cause. What could be more satisfying than helping young people to start fishing.
AGM 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Members met for the AGM on 16th March at Blagdon Lodge. Sadly numbers were a bit down this year, possibly due to the poor weather and the clash of dates with the Bath half marathon - not that any members were running in it, but it caused serious traffic delays made worse by the bad weather.
Before lunch, and after a complimentary glass or two of wine, we were treated to a superb talk from Fionna Bowles of Wessex Water, backed with some interesting slides. Fionna’s talk was about what happens to some water courses as a result of abstraction and summer droughts. She concentrated her presentation on the upper Hampshire Avon and the rivers and streams that feed into it, namely the Nadder, Till and Bourne. She showed us the effects on water plants such as rannunculis (water crowfoot) and also marginal and bank side plants. She also demonstrated the effects on the invertebrates in these waters. We, as fisherman, have to applaud the work Fionna and her team carry out, and Wessex Water who initiated these studies. It’s not often we fishermen have the opportunity to say well done to a water company for showing their concern in what happens on the rivers they abstract from.
The usual first class hot lunch was served up by Elaine’s kitchen. Very much appreciated on such a wet and cold day, but we must exclude them in future from the raffle as they seem to win most of the prizes.
After lunch Brian Kick ran his raffle where everyone seems to win a prize and Brian is always able to make a substantial contribution to branch funds.
The AGM began at 2.30 when a minutes silence was observed for Kim Lucas who was tragically killed in an accident at his home on the previous weekend. A short tribute was paid by our president Chris Klee. Apologies were read, and in the absence through illness of our chairman Mike Gleave, Chris Klee took the chair. The minutes of the 2007 AGM were accepted with no matters arising.
The president reported another successful year for the branch, all events were well run and well supported.
Our treasurer John West presented his report and mentioned one or two items that had made significant contributions to branch funds, namely the silent auction of fishing tackle which Frank Whitehead had generously donated just before he emigrated to New Zealand, which raised over £200, and the Bath & West contributed £140. The latter resulted from all those members who gave up their time to work for the branch at the show. The branch funds are currently in a very healthy state.
Roy Buckland gave the secretary’s report and thanked all those who had helped in the production of the newsletter, particularly Nick Mitchell who had seen to the printing, the result of which was that the newsletter was posted to all members by the 10th January - the earliest we have ever achieved. He went on to say that our new web site, designed by Howard Grason, was in his view the best in the whole of the S&TA and urged members to make active use of it. He then gave members a report on the Bath & West and stated that, although last year had been very successful, it had encountered problems preventing members of the public from straying across the site, resulting in problems while trying to give casting lessons. There was one minor accident and by the afternoons of Friday and Saturday it proved too difficult to continue teaching. This clearly raised a health and safety problem so he had written to Tim Gaunt-Baker outlining the problems and suggesting possible remedies. He understood that this letter was forwarded on to the appropriate office of the Bath & West but has to date not received a reply. He felt that if no assurances regarding the security of the S&TA site and the health and safety issues were provided, then we would have to stop offering casting lessons.
The president then gave an address on the possible merger of the S&TA with other angling bodies which it is felt would greatly enhance the political clout of angling with government. Head office were in the process of sending out information to all branches and all members will be canvassed and given a chance to vote on this proposal when it is received. This will definitely have to be before the S&TA AGM on April 22nd 2008.
The S&TA have applied for, and been granted, charitable status which means that all branches will now become affiliated members and subscriptions can be gift aided.
Election of officers.
Chris Klee was proposed for president by Brian Kick and seconded by Malcolm Bond. This was passed unanimously. The president then proposed that all other committee members be voted for en block, this was seconded by Mike Hobbs and passed unanimously. It was proposed by Roy Buckland that Mike Hobbs be elected as a committee member. This was seconded by Brian Kick and passed unanimously.
Chris Klee thanked all for attending and the meeting sent its best wishes to our chairman Mike Gleave for a full and speedy recovery.
The meeting closed at 3.30pm.
Kim Lucas (Deceased)
Saturday, March 8, 2008
We were extremely saddened to learn of the untimely and tragic death, in an accident at home, of our fellow committee member Kim Lucas on 8th March 2008.
Kim worked for Bristol Water for 30 years, and for the last seven as Fisheries Manager (Operations). He managed the trout hatchery and rearing-on units that produce some 80 tonnes of well proportioned and hard fighting brown and rainbow trout each year for stocking to the Bristol Water fisheries at Chew and Blagdon. He also oversaw the work of the team of full time and seasonal rangers who run the fisheries, operate the boat fleets and provide the bailiffing around the lakes. In all this Kim was a dedicated and talented manager and the excellence of the world famous fisheries owed much to his skill and hard work. We were privileged to count him as a fellow committee member for the last seven years and will miss him sorely.
Whilst Kim deserves respect and praise for his career achievements, it was as a warm, funny and loyal friend that most of us will remember him. He was a truly special person who enhanced the lives of all those who spent time with him. His funeral saw the pretty East Harptree parish church packed to overflowing with friends, fishermen, sailors and fellow water company employees, whose number bore witness to his popularity.
We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Amanda and to his three children.
Chris Klee
News from New Zealand
Monday, February 25, 2008
I am delighted to report that Frank (Whitehead) flourishes in New Zealand. Very much his old self, he hates the petty bureaucracy, the dumbed down television and he voiced his not always PC opinions on a variety of subjects.
He very much enjoyed a short stay of 2 nights with me in Turangi where we dined each night. There was no way I could join him in his pre-dinner offer of whisky and brandy, but at least I could find the keyhole of his room for him after dinner.
He accepts that the rigours of fishing in the back country rivers are now too much for him (he recently fell heavily on one such trip, but was only bruised) so while I was away in the outback he gently fished the world famous Tongariro River which runs only a few yards from his bedroom, albeit with no success.
I said that I would let him know the date of my next visit for another reunion. At 88 time is even less on his side than mine. I hope we both make it.
David Marsh.
Winter Talk
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Thirty people came to Woodford Lodge to listen to Dr Dafydd Evans, Head of Fisheries at the Environment Agency, explain their current thinking on the management of trout and grayling. He told us about habitat enhancement schemes to maximise fish numbers and steps taken to promote angling opportunities. Of particular interest was their plan for maintaining the genetic integrity of wild brown trout in rivers. Evidence strongly indicates that stocking farm strains of brown trout to rivers causes damage to wild populations so they now propose to introduce a policy forbidding stocking with fertile, farm bred brownies. Instead owners will be allowed to stock infertile triploid trout and, in special circumstances, diploid fertile fish spawned from first generation wild fish. Some concerns have been raised that triploids will not perform well in a fishery or that they may adversely effect the resident brown trout. Now research has shown this is not the case with the great majority of anglers saying the triploids provided good sport.
His presentation was followed by a lively session of questions and comment, at the end of which our Water Resources officer Alfie Pope thanked Dafydd for his talk. We are indeed fortunate as a branch to have such knowledgeable persons as Alfie and our President Chris Klee (who had introduced Dafydd at the beginning of the evening) to be able to attract such high level people to keep us involved in fishery policy as it is developing. It was great to see some of our old friends from BRFFA and from Knowle AA joining us for the evening - they were all very welcome.
Frank Whitehead
Monday, December 24, 2007
Everyone will remember that Frank Whitehead moved to New Zealand during the summer. He has sent us a short letter and this picture of him fishing on the legondary Lake Taupo. Franks daughter and grandaughter went with him on the trip. He was off to his first meeting of the local fishing club and looking forward to getting to know the fishermen in his area. He sends his best wishes to all branch members.