The Barley straw was put into both lakes yesterday. The boat work was done by Ian Simpson and his son-in-law Simon Randall who were helped (land side!) by Dave Owston and John Ditch. The small old boat was used as this is lighter than the recently refurbished boat because it had to be wheeled by hand across some very soft ground at Lund Court. Barley straw has to be put into the lakes in February if the worst effects of algae bloom are to be mitigated during the warm summer months.
I get great pleasure from being able to take a guest to the river for some fishing and this year I had two personal guests: my brother-in-law with whom I regularly fish when in the west of Ireland and a friend from Australia, Andrew Mossman. Andrew is an outstanding angler and his wonderful autobiography (My Fly-Fishing Life) was published in 2017. Andrew was a guest to our river on a previous visit to the UK in 2015 and although his return this year included lunch at the Fly Fishers Club in London and a couple of days on the River Test, it was his return to the River Rye that for him marked the highlight of his visit. Andrew keeps a daily diary and thinks deeply about his fishing. I was therefore delighted to receive, a day or two ago, a copy of 'Fly Lines' the Newsletter of The Victorian Fly Fishers' Association all the way from Melbourne, Australia in which Andrew has recounted our time at the river during this year's mayfly hatch. I attach a copy of the article and hope you find it to be interesting. Click on the image...
Those of you who fish at West Lilling Lake have been asking about how deep it is and where the fish are to be found! On Friday last Tony Teasdale and I used a new sonar device to scan the lake bottom and we confirmed that the average depth is between 8 and 12 feet with a significant (and much deeper) channel (up to 30 feet) running from south to north and into the neck of the lake. Our measurements were approximate but there was nothing counter-intuitive! I have put a hand drawn map of our findings onto the Gallery page (see West Lilling lake March 3). You will also be interested to learn that the sonar device picked up signals for a lot of fish and these were distributed across the whole lake with only slightly higher concentrations in what might be called the south west quadrant and into the neck of the lake. Rex Parry has revised the Club Constitution and Rule Book following minor changes adopted at the AGM. This is now available to view on the website. Finally, we are arranging a 'training day' for juniors (in conjunction with the Esk Fishery Club) to be held on Sunday 21 May. If you have children or grand-children (up to 16 years old) who would like to come along they will be most welcome. There will be guides, life-jackets, fish to be caught and even the possibility of a barbecue!
The season has started slowly after what seemed to be such a long winter with low temperatures and a lot of rain. Opportunities to walk the river bank in the early part of the year confirmed that more trees had been lost and that the shape of the river had been altered at key points. We, the land owners and Environment Agency, will have to think about the implications of losing so many trees for the structure and stability of the river banks: careful management of dying alders by taking off the major part of both trunk and crown but leaving the root system is one response; judicious coppicing of some trees to stimulate fresh growth is another; but in the long term we may have to think about planting new trees. Trees are essential for a healthy river, giving a nurturing environment for fly life and birds, giving structure to river banks and helping to minimize ‘run-off’ and silting from surrounding fields. The work party and stocking days are always enjoyable and the club is very fortunate in having a dedicated core of members who manage to come along to nearly all such activities. We did minimum pruning of trees this year concentrating instead on repairing and replacing ladders and other access points to the river; these will be maintained throughout the season. Supported by Jonny Grey of the Wild Trout Trust we also did some innovative work at The Kelds, weaving willow branches into natural barriers to improve water flow and thereby enhance the environment for young fish. We will be monitoring progress and will report back. As you know we put 500 trout (11 – 13 inch and now legally required to be ‘triploid’ – ie infertile) into the river and will be stocking again with a further 500 trout later this week. The fish are distributed evenly over our beats (excepting Ness Beat 3) and as part of the next stocking – we will be including 6 ‘trophy’ fish, one for each beat and tagged for easy identification. Any member who catches one of these fish and can provide evidence (witness statement, photograph or tag) will be awarded a bottle of whisky at the AGM! It is good to see that West Lilling Lake has been used and valued by members throughout the winter and spring. Although we have now put 450 trout (rainbows and blue trout – real beauties) into the lake the returns have been modest. It just goes to show that even though the lake is small and well stocked the fishing is challenging. I had a couple of hours at the lake on Sunday and I have to say that in the warm weather I thought the lake was ‘boiling’; there were trout everywhere though I can’t say what they were taking. I fished with a dry fly and was broken twice at the point of contact. I’ve come to the conclusion that 5X tippet is not strong enough for the bruisers of West Lilling – or it could be that my knots were not up to snuff! Just a little reminder – could members please book-on to fish before casting a line and not, if they remember, when they leave. I fished Nunnington Top Water (Beat 1) yesterday afternoon. Warm but with a little breeze it was good to see (and for the first time this year) that fly life was returning to the river. I am told that a few mayflies were seen on Sunday but I certainly can’t say that ‘the hatch’ has started. I saw steady number of fish rising throughout the beat, nothing prolific but enough to give encouragement, and I did manage to get three to the net; two stockies and one a small wild trout. Joe Scott and Dave Owston were at the river on a ‘strimming’ rather than fishing afternoon: well done! I received Salmon & Trout Conservation UK’s Annual Report the other day and found that it contained some fascinating articles. I was particularly interested in their reports about the quality of the country’s rivers – the overall picture is worrying. Kick sampling to record the range and numbers of invertebrates in the river, together with water quality samples, suggest that although the eU’s Water Directive is a force for the good there are major challenges facing the environment. We are lucky that the River Rye is in satisfactory to good order and we are especially fortunate in the one of our members, John Tharratt, conducts a regular kick sample, the results of which are to be found on the club website. The early returns for this year and not as good as at the same time last year but ‘point to point’ comparisons can be misleading. I encourage everyone to keep an eye on the data reports from John as they become available. I am very fortunate in being to split my time between Yorkshire and the West of Ireland. There are early reports that the ‘mayfly is up’ on some of the Connaught lakes. I will be out on my boat next week, certainly on Lough O’Flynn being closest to home, but also (possibly) on one or other of Loughs Arrow, Carra and Corrib. I have never caught any of the really big fish you can read about in the classic histories of fishing in the west or, indeed, in the reports still carried in the Trout & Salmon magazine but there is still great fun in casting a hand-tied mayfly to a decent in trout in beautiful countryside. When I get back I’m sure that the mayfly season will be well advanced on the Rye. Bring it on… and tight lines to you all.
We have come a long way in the last 12 months: from very uncertain beginnings the Ness Flyfishers Club has put down roots, with a strong membership and sound finances. Many people have worked hard to make this possible and we are positioned to ensure the very best of fishing for 2016. We did not experience any great floods this year and the river was therefore in pretty good condition throughout the season. Yes, there were days when the water was a little high and running with a deep brown colour but nothing to compare with floods of previous years. Indeed, the river overall is in a very healthy condition: kick samples indicate a rich variety of fly life and I think we had the best hatch of mayflies seen on the river for many years. It is very pleasing to see Ranunculus weed making a strong comeback because this is evidence of clean water and provides a rich environment for both trout and grayling. We invited the Wild Trout Society to visit the river and their report makes helpful recommendations for the improvement of habitat in support of even better fishing. We are looking to incorporate some of the suggestions in the work to be undertaken on club working party days. I got to fish on the river no less than 15 times this year and when I look back through my fishing diary I see that much of my (modest) success was with small native fish of between 7 and 10 inches. Now that the Environment Agency has banned stocking with fertile fish we need to support the native fish to breed so that they co-exist with the farmed fish that we put into the river. Developing a healthy mixed fishery will be an important challenge for the future. One of the special pleasures of being a club member is being able to take guests to fish. Earlier this year I spent a month in Australia and was able to do some exciting ‘bush fishing’ for trout in Victoria, guided by a remarkable angler. I was delighted to be able to offer a couple of days fishing on our water when the holidays were reversed and my Australian guide became my guest. To watch someone who can cast a straight line and see the fly drop gently to the surface is always a joy – almost poetry in motion – and to see him catching fish after fish was especially gratifying. There were no better summer days this year. We held our AGM at the end of October and members were able to raise issues of concern. That we are a responsive membership club is evidenced by changes to rules: the number of members’ guest days was been standardized and increased to 8 per member and the booking-on/booking-off times have been amended to provide greater flexibility. We are now planning for next year and will be contacting all members in the near future. Meanwhile, there is always Lilling Lake and the prospect of a ‘blue’ rainbow or two! This is a new ‘blog facility’ – and certainly it is the first time I have written a ‘blog’ – but it may be useful to members who wish to share experience of the river or raise issues for discussion. For those who live some distance from the river a recent account of water levels and colour may save a frustrating journey. In any event it will be good to hear from you. John Ditch Chairman