A good days fishing?

I have just returned from a 'Upper Eden Beat' that is slowly but surely shaking off the last of its winter blues.

Spring has finally arrived and that minus 16 degree winter is now a fading memory. This year, due to the cold weather, I think everything is a few weeks behind.

Even though the fishing was slow I had a wonderful two hours on the banks of the river.

I must admit I was somewhat distracted from my search for a rising fish by a breathtaking display of spring wildlife. Dippers, Oyster catchers, lapwings, curlew and water shrews all made guest appearances. However, the best was yet to come as I watched a flock of Sandmartins, some 500 strong, get to work on a mid-day hatch of olives. This was precision hunting at it's very best. The Red Arrows have nothing on these guys.... I watched in awe at the aerial manoeuvres of these recently arrived visitors as they gorged themselves after their amazing migration from Africa......they must have been very hungry!

However, all too soon I realised my 'pass out' from home had come to an end and I had hardly cast a line. Did I care?...not a jot. As I walked back to to the car I pondered on what it is that makes a good days fishing?

These days the fishing tackle marketing men tell us we need all the latest space age technologies and stealth bomber whizz bangs, designed to give us that 'edge'. Apparently this will bring us to a higher level of consciousness and technical know-how, which we are assured will lead to greater 'enjoyment'.

Perhaps then, we should remember that we also need something that is not mass produced in some anonymous far eastern factory, something that has been in 'product development' for just a little longer than this years must have rod. How does a few epochs sound?........well that's how long your local river (Version 1.0) has taken to perfect itself.

The next time you go fishing take 5 mins out to reflect on this, take in your surroundings, observe the wildlife that you are sharing the river with - I guarantee you will enjoy your day just that little bit more.

As someone once put it - fly fishing for wild trout is just too special to obsess about just catching fish.

Workshop Report

Last week saw 110 delegates and speakers converge upon the Tufton Arms at Appleby for our workshop 'Trout Stream Management in the Real World'.

And what a two days it turned-out to be! The speakers were all excellent and gave many thought provoking presentations on subjects as diverse at genetics, stocking, habitat restoration, fish passes and the impacts of climatic change. Question sessions proved to be very useful and our decision to allow lots of time for this proved to be a good one.

There was also plenty of time for delegates to network and already a number of possible collaborations are being developed. In partnership with ART and the S&TA there are a number of issues that we hope to follow-up using their 'lobbying networks'.

The evening event ' How Good Was Your River' also went very well. We had a round 25 local anglers and riparian owners turn-up and some of the information provided was fascinating. The output from the night will shortly appear on our website http://www.edenriverstrust.org.uk/ Many of those on the night have also promised to hunt out historical records that will help us build-up a picture of how the Eden has changed over the decades. If you have any information you think would be of interest please contact me at the ERT Offices.

Feedback after the workshop has been very positive and there does appear to be a real appetite for 'trouty' events. All agreed it would be great if we could run a follow-up workshop in three or so, years time.

The one thing that really stood out for me was the 'broad church' of attendees which included landowners, fishing associations, clubs and rivers trusts from north and south of the border. So often events of this nature are the preserve of professionals from large organisations and it made a refreshing change to buck the trend!

The workshop could not have taken place were it not for some very kind sponsors and funders who are listed below:

• Esmee Fairbairn Foundation (http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/)


• Wild Trout Trust (http://www.wildtrout.org/)


• Environment Agency (http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/)
  
• APEM - Aquatic Scientists (http://www.apemltd.co.uk/)


• Institute of Fisheries Management (NW) (http://www.ifm.org.uk/)
  
• Salmon & Trout Association. (http://www.salmon-trout.org/)

Upland Habitat Manual

The 'English' launch of the manual took place at our Trout Stream Workshop on Tuesday this week. (Left to right) Vaughan Lewis (Windrush AEC), Heidi Stone (Environment Agency), Shaun Leonard (Wild Trout Trust) and myself (Eden Rivers Trust)

Following the successful track record of the Wild Trout Survival Guide and the Chalkstream Habitat Manual, the Upland Rivers Habitat Manual is aimed at fishing clubs, river keepers and riparian owners, helping them identify problems and finding solutions. It gives clear ‘DIY’ advice for local river improvement projects as well as the fundamental importance of land use and the need to work in partnership to address catchment wide issues.

Wild Trout Trust Director Shaun Leonard said ‘This guide is a fantastic, practical resource for clubs and owners. It is so important for grassroots organisations to feel they can address the problems of their local rivers at both a reach and a catchment scale. This guide is one way that the Wild Trout Trust can support and inspire local groups to take action. Wild trout, including sea trout, are a strong and visible indicator of the health of the river system and fishing clubs and owners have a tremendous opportunity – and responsibility – to look after them and the wider ecosystem’.

The Upland Rivers Manual was supported by the Environment Agency in England and Wales and the Welsh Assembly Government. The manual was produced by Vaughan Lewis of Windrush AEC with support from Dave Charlesworth (Environment Agency Wales), Martin Janes (River Restoration Centre), Alistair Maltby (Association of Rivers Trusts), Simon Johnson (Eden Rivers Trust) and Tim Jacklin (Wild Trout Trust).

The manual is in Portable Document Format (pdf) and will be available for free download from the Wild Trout Trust website (http://www.wildtrout.org/) from 1st April, and a high-resolution version is available on CD from the WTT on-line shop for £10 including P&P.

Under Starters Orders......

The trout fishing season starts on 15 March and the roving angler scheme for the Eden Valley - Go Wild in Eden - is back for 2010. Go Wild provides exclusive access to over 25 beats of wild brown trout and grayling fishing in beautiful surroundings.

As well as providing some very challenging fishing, Go Wild enables anglers to enjoy some of Cumbria’s most unspoiled scenery. As the beats are on private land, accessible only with permission from the landowner or through the Go Wild scheme, you can enjoy these hidden gems of the Cumbrian countryside away from the crowds.

Managed by the Eden Rivers Trust, Go Wild in Eden is now in its sixth year and has proved very popular with local and visiting anglers, as well as landowners, who kindly allow Go Wild anglers access to their land. The number of beats has more than doubled since it started!

Go Wild is an extremely important initiative as it creates a link between farming and fishing. Many of the beats incorporated into the scheme are a direct result of ERT’s important habitat restoration work. This creates a real ‘win:win situation, as not only does it create conditions for wild fish to thrive in , but it also provides farmers and landowners with a modest income from the fishing. This invaluable income can help to fund the future conservation management of the river.

For those with access to the internet, visit http://www.go-wild.org.uk/ to see the fishing available, download beat maps and purchase tokens. Otherwise you can obtain these from Eden Rivers Trust on 01768 866788 or email info@go-wild.org.uk. Beat maps and tokens are also available from John Norris of Penrith (see very cool links) and Appleby and Carlisle Tourist Information Centres.

Tokens are available in books of 4 (£10) or 10 (£25) and beats vary in cost; from one to four tokens per beat.

The brown trout season runs from 15th March to 30th September and you can fish for grayling from the 16th June to the 14th March.

Anglers are reminded that all Go Wild Beats are operated on a 100% catch and release basis.

Don't forget about the many Angling Associations that offer some superb wild trout fishing throughout the whole length of the catchment - on an affordable day ticket basis. See the very cool links section on the right of this blog.

ERT wishes you all a 'Drag Free' season!

The Hitcher

I've just come off the phone with Ian Maclean of Orvis, who has been telling me about a new wading boot with an EcotraX soul.

Fascinating I hear you groan!

Well, actually I think this could be a very significant development in our fight against the spread of aquatic invasive species or AIS as they are known in the trade! Orvis have developed a soul which has been shown to reduce the risk of the transfer of these most unwelcome of hitchers......

From my previous blogs you will know that I am very concerned that we are under threat from numerous alien invaders such as Himalayan Balsam, Japanese Knotweed, Signal Crayfish and Gyrodactylus Salaris. We should do all we can do to reduce the risk of cross-contamination of these 'once they are here' species. As anglers we have a responsibility to ensure we do not become the vectors of contamination as do other groups like canoeists.

So I am going to go out on a limb and call for the end of felt souled waders in the UK - I feel that they could represent significant threat to the quality of our very special catchments.

There is well documented scientific proof that felt represents a special problem in wading boots. Although many boot parts are capable of trapping and carrying AIS, the difficulties of disinfecting felt make it very different from the rest of the boot parts. While the elimination of any boot part that could trap or transport AIS is beneficial and should be encouraged, the move to eliminate felt is a prudent and appropriate response to the threat it poses.

For once I hope we would not have to do this by legislation and I would hope that the tackle industry can take the lead by simply phasing out felt. Companies like Orvis and Simms are leading the charge on this.

In New Zealand they have banned felt souls to stop the spread of the highly invasive dydimo algae.

Some anglers have questioned this approach.

However, the move to eliminate felt is based on conclusive scientific proof that it represents a special threat. Companies, organisations and agencies are all starting to accept this and the move away from felt will continue to grow. Anglers may not like the change and some will be vocal in their opposition. However, we should all make sure that any argument is based on sound science. The science shows that felt is a special problem and anyone disputing that has nothing to back their claims.

Finally, we must realise that felt is only one part of the problem. There are many other places where invasives can be trapped and transported in our boots and other gear. We must adopt new habits that include careful cleaning after each use. While switching to felt-free waders is a good thing, it is just one step in the process of becoming a clean angler. Any one of us could be the person to carry an invader to a new water and none of us wants to be that person. Inspect, Clean and Dry your gear after each use and you will help to protect the resource that we all depend upon.

Lastly have a look at this video on the Orvis website -

http://www.orvis.com/invasivespecies

I think it's a great example of a company with a sense of it's environmental responsibilities...they are to be congratulated!

Grayling

I fished the 'Middle Eden' for a quick couple of hours on Saturday. The river was looking good and it wasn't too cold. Rather than fish my normal spots I decided to have a look around - after struggling I eventually came across a long slow pool of about chest height...that just screamed grayling. The flow was just pushing through nicely to allow me to bump through a ' duo rig' with the heavy nymph (4.2mm Tungsten) on the dropper. I remember saying to myself if there isn't a grayling in this pool ...I'll give up...just at the precise moment when that, oh so satisfying, pull happened. After a short tussle and stunning 15inch+ grayling was caught and released (barbless makes this very easy). "This is it" I said to myself "it will be like shelling peas".........and that's as far as my theory went.....nothing else happened...it started to rain and I went home to a cold beer and a warm fire!

However, I really enjoyed my snatched couple of hours beside the Eden - I was privileged enough to see oyster catchers, snipe and widgeon and teal....best of all I had the place to myself. For those brief two hours, I cleared my mind of the pressures of everyday life and thought about nothing else other than just 'going fishing'. I'd recommend it to anyone.

So........Just How Good Was The Petteril?

ERT hosted a very special evening last night. We invited around a dozen guests who have fished the Petteril since the Mid-1950's to come and tell us about experiences on this special trout stream.

During the evening we learnt first hand about the truly wonderful river the Petteril once was. I tried to visualise the halcyon days in the 1950's and 60's when a good days dry fly fishing was measured in the scores of fish, across a range of sizes. Even the early season fishing could be very good. One angler Terry Cousins used to fish the river every opening day...dry fly only,with his best pal. They must have been special times. Another fisher Stuart Kinnear described in detail the hatches of flies, which would have given many a southern chalk stream a run for its money. The fishing was highly prized and some of it controlled by the Brakenbrough estate was only available to around a dozen very lucky anglers. But the river was not just the preserve of the privileged few and the fishers of Carlisle had access to some very good quality fishing all the way down to the confluence with the Eden.

Pollution was always a spectre waiting to take it's toll, often involving oil from various sources. However the worst was to come in 1968 when a road tanker containing phenol overturned. Then then fire brigade hosed down the completed load into a beck feeding the Petteril. The result was catastrophic and it would be an event that the river would never recover from......it must have been heart breaking. About this time several infrastructure improvements were taking place (M6 / West Coast Mainline) run-off from these sources contained all manner of nasties. Post-war agriculture was also picking up pace with pollution incidents involving silage and slurry becoming all too common.

In short we had a river that had a suffered a severe body blow through the tanker pollution and every time it tried to recover it would receive another knock out punch through various point source and diffuse pollution incidents.

The river had hit rock bottom and to many the river wasn't worth the effort.

But nature is resilient and slowly but surely trout have gained a toehold back in the river. However this should not be interpreted as a recovery - it's too early for bold statements like that. But we do appear to be witnessing a fragile improvement of some sorts. Anglers are reporting catching adult trout and last year observing good numbers of fry and parr, where once they were absent. To a certain extent this has be observed in our fisheries surveys......but it is way to early to draw any conclusions and we are only one step away from yet another pollution body blow. However things are different this time with the commencement of our Petteril Project and the appointment of our very capable officer Alison Reed. The other exciting development is that last summer we found salmon fry and parr in our electric fishing surveys in the Wreay Woods area.......something that when I first arrived in the job I was told the river has never had and would never support!

So things are getting interesting on the dear old Petteril...a river I am becoming very fond of (I love the underdog) With efforts underway to improve the river through our Petteril Project we are better placed than we have been in many years to try and reverse the fortunes of this once termed 'Jewel in the crown of the Eden'

Terry Cousins came back into our office today to share some more of the entries in his fishing diaries with us. I felt very honored that Terry would choose to share this very personal information with us. What really touched me was that Terry said he had once wept over the state of the river.....I suddenly felt a very real sense of responsibility to the Petteril and it's fishermen. We must make every effort not to let anglers like Terry and Stuart down.