16 Mar 2024

WARNING – A SINISTER LURKING DANGER – PLEASE READ !

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

Many thanks to Richard Wilson for sharing his monthly prose on North Devon Angling News. I would urge all who tread upon our green and pleasant land to read this article. I have had many encounters with ticks over the years. When fishing some of our overgrown rivers I have returned home later in the day to find these nasty critters sinking there teeth into my skin. Its a bit like Russian roulette some are loaded with deadly lymes disease whilst others are not carriers. I have heard of several people who have been infected and we constantly remove them from our cat. Others find them in abundance upon their dogs. Awareness is undoubtedly a major factor in getting treated but thats not always straight forward as Richard explains below.

https://fishrise.substack.com

Lyme Disease: Running Riot

I’ve got it, you may have it too.

This is a good time to be a tick with Lyme Disease to share. You and I may bemoan the weirdness of the weather, but ticks love it.

As the world gets warmer and wetter, they’re partying. 10 years ago, in the wooded valley I call home, we had two distinct tick seasons – from mid-March to June, and a shorter burst in the autumn. Last year I picked up my first in early February and my dog had his last in November, and they continued without a break right through summer.

Ticks are the original muggers. They lurk on the tips of grass fronds, often in and around woodland, waiting for an unwitting victim to brush past. They’re looking for a free meal which, for us, turns into a lose-lose transaction. The tick gets our blood and we get Lyme Disease, a bacterial infection with very unpleasant consequences.

I’ve been paying attention to this because I’ve just been diagnosed with Lyme. Worse, I’ve had it untreated for about 8 years, which is why I can also say that most doctors wouldn’t recognise it even if they caught it, and that I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

There are two basics to understand about Lyme Disease, and they come hand-in-glove: An early diagnosis is both essential and very hard to get. Speed is everything because, given the chance, there’s no organ in your body or corner of your central nervous system that the Lyme bacteria won’t vandalise.

So how do you know if you’ve been exposed? A lot of people never see the tick that infects them. It can latch on at 1mm long, infect and then fall off. Others gorge themselves, growing bloated with their head buried in your flesh. The longer they stay, the greater your risk of infection. Thankfully, dog tick removers do a great job for us too.

The official advice is that the first visual clue of infection is a circular red rash around the site of a tick bite. This is where the medical profession starts to screw up.

In 2016 I had a tick bite and circular rash which I took into my doctor’s surgery. The nurse said it wasn’t Lyme (it was solid red from centre to edge and didn’t match the bull’s eye photo on her screen). No treatment was offered and, back then, I was as clueless as the nurse. I now know that anysort of rash or blistering (no rash) that might be tick-related should be treated as Lyme Disease. I also know that many Lyme cases never show a rash or blisters.

For patients and doctors, it gets worse. Blood tests, if done at all, deliver false positives and negatives in equal numbers in up to 25% cases. So even if a doctor suspects Lyme, and mostly they don’t, the test results are very likely to be wrong.

The next problem is your doctor. Once the bacteria get to work, your symptoms will be mistaken for heart disease, flu, a mild stroke, dementia, diabetic neuropathy, fatigue syndrome, Bells Palsy, arthritis, all manner of intestinal and organ malfunctions, viral infections, Parkinson’s, slacking and so on. Victims are constantly exhausted and, in my experience, at times look unevenly grey. This last blotchy observation is not in the textbooks – it should be.

There is no slam-dunk symptom for doctors to see that couldn’t be something more familiar. And to get an idea of what’s familiar, a quick look around their waiting room is revealing. The majority of patients are obese and bring diabetes, coronary heart disease and the such-like. Those who are not obese are mostly old with all that goes with advancing years. There are a small number of children with sniffles and one or two adults who’ve lost arguments with power tools. There are super-size chairs, but no dispensers of free tick removers and no warning signs or leaflets on how to avoid Lyme. It’s invisible.

Stand in most doctor’s surgeries and you’d never guess that Lyme Disease is the most prevalent insect/parasite-borne disease in North America and Europe and one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in both. That’s big. According to the CDC, almost 500,000 Americans get it every year. Many, many more in both North America and Europe are infected but undiagnosed. There’s a lot of trouble coming for a lot of people.

Here’s why it took 8 years for me to get treatment: As said above, I first went to my doctor’s surgery in 2016 with a circular red rash caused by a tick. Patients treated with antibiotics at this stage mostly complete a fast 100% recovery, which is why medical guidelines say treat first and confirm the diagnosis second. Antibiotics are very low risk, but the consequences of delaying treatment are serious. In my case, medical ignorance delivered the wrong diagnosis.

The trouble started slowly. Within 2 years the fatigue, aches and pains were worryingly intrusive. Multiple trips to the doctor, scans and tests revealed nothing. Increasingly worried, I remembered the tick rash and asked for a Lyme test. It came back negative. Nobody told me how inaccurate the tests were, and still are.

Fast forward through many more scans, tests, a gall bladder removal that was supposed to resolve my woes (and didn’t), a 2nd negative Lyme test and more. I was a minor medical mystery. Then, this autumn, I paid for a 3rd test and it came back positive. The next day my doctor re-tested with both the standard LISA test and a Western Immuno Blot test. Both came back positive. 3 positives in a week, including a Western Immuno Blot, is as good as a positive diagnosis gets.

Such a late discovery brings problems. Given time Lyme bacteria also attack and disrupt our Autonomic nervous system which controls all those things that just happen without conscious thought: Blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, digestion and so on. They also disrupt our short-term memory, which is why, if I stop to make a coffee, I may have to remind myself that I’m writing about Lyme. That’s very disconcerting. Weirdly, I don’t forget why I culled an adjective or shunted a sub-clause down a paragraph. It’s also why my blood pressure can veer from 180:140 to 80:50 and my heart sometimes sounds like Animal, the Muppets drummer, playing deranged rhythms with one hand. And as medications are added to treat the symptoms, so cause and effect get complicated.

If getting a diagnosis is difficult then getting rid of Lyme is even harder. Symptoms can persist long after the antibiotic course is completed and the longer you’ve had the disease, the longer they’ll last. When this happens researchers are very careful to refer to Post Treatment Lyme, and not Long-or Chronic-Lyme. This may sound like semantics, but it’s important.

I have been treated with 2 courses of antibiotics (the sledgehammer and then pile-driver versions) and it’s extremely unlikely that any of the bacteria have survived this onslaught. They’re dead. So now I’m living with the damage the Lyme bacteria have done, especially to my nervous system. I felt like sh*t then, and still feel it now. Mending this could take years.

Imagine a human-scale version of a deserted battlefield. The war is over, the armies have gone home and all that remains is a landscape of devastation and dysfunction. Eventually, the land will recover, the trees will grow back and any unexploded munitions will be removed. How long will this take? We don’t know. Welcome to Post Treatment Lyme Disease.

__ ___ ___ ___ ___

A Footnote: Whole-genome sequencing of Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme Disease, has shown a huge range in variety and complexity. This is thought to explain the multiple Lyme disease symptoms, from severe arthritis in children to fatigue and debilitating joint, neurological, and cardiovascular impacts in adults.

For further reading, I recommend the Lyme specialists at Johns Hopkinsand Harvard.

Soon there will be a vaccine (it’s in Stage 3 trials). And about time too.

12 Mar 2024

RIVER TAW FISHING CLUB – AGM

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

Gerald Spiers delivers an engaging casting clinic

I was privileged to be invited to attend the Taw Fishing Club AGM at the Fox and Hounds at Eggesford last Saturday. The Taw Fishing Club has five and a half miles of fishing on the Upper Taw and its tributaries offering some excellent fishing for wild brown trout.

I arrived at 10:00am to join members in the field adjacent to the River Taw where Gerald Spiers of the Devon School Of Fly Fishing was offering a casting clinic for members. It was good to be close to the river with the evidence of Spring all around. Gerald chatted about the intricacies of casting and fly presentation in depth. Engaging the audience in discussion on mending the line, fly choice, reading the water, casting loops, arc, wrist position, and how to approach the water. He also discussed the finer details of tackle choice advising on leaders, tippets, rod choice and line care. I am sure all walked back to the hotel for lunch enthused for the coming season and eager to employ the knowledge imparted by Gerald. The art of fly fishing and fishing in general is a never ending game of interaction with nature that offers an absorbing fascination that can never be quelled once hooked.

Members and guests mingled over lunch and engaged in conversations that I feel sure contained many fishy tales. On our table the fishy agenda drifted into the toxic world of politics and the environment. It seems increasingly apparent to me that populist politicians are leading the human race on a slippery road to extinction. Failure to acknowledge uncomfortable truths to ensure election is a symptom of a generation that is increasingly disconnected with the natural world.

The Taw Club has been running successfully for over a century and is presently in a very healthy state thanks to a hard working committee Chaired by Gordon Murray with secretarial responsibilities carried out by Chris Searles. The club has a current membership of fifty and welcomes new members to its ranks. The Taw Club is a friendly group that offers plenty of opportunity to mingle and learn during club teach ins and bank clearing days.

The Chair addressed a large proportion of the membership at the meeting and highlighted concerns mirrored across angling clubs throughout the land. There was conversation around the aging dynamics of club membership and the need for a younger generation to take up rods on the water. Angling participation and social interaction has undoubtedly been impacted upon by covid and recovery is slow.

The health of the river was top of the agenda with a focus on working with landowners to safeguard the future. Gordon expressed his views on pollution and quoted the phrase; “ Kind Words butter no parsnips”. Farming incentives to deliver habitat improvement, River fly monitoring, Citizen Science Water Quality Sampling and the vital work of an underfunded Environment Agency was all discussed with passion. It is essential that this desire to safeguard our rivers is put into practice.

The Environment Agency was represented by North Devon’s Fishery Enforcement Officer Sam Fenner who engaged with the club members offering advice and guidance on a range of river related enquiries.

There was discussion around invasive species including signal crayfish and mink. The increasing population of beavers were also acknowledged which are generally thought to bring wide benefits to the rivers eco systems.

An exciting increase in shad spawning in the Taw system was noted with hope that this will bring focus upon the importance of the Taw system to this rare and endangered species.

Catches of wild brown trout across the club’s waters has been consistently good over recent seasons with between 300 and 500 trout registered by members each season. The use of an online recording system has been a very beneficial recording tool ensuring up to date information is shared across the membership.

The AGM was concluded with a talk from Gerald Spiers who gave some valuable advice on wading safely. His three top tips being to wade slowly and upright, wear studded waders and use a wading staff.

Membership details for the Taw Fishing Club can be found at :-

https://www.tawfishingclub.org/membership-and-rules

http://www.lance-nicholoson.co.uk

10 Mar 2024

WIMBLEBALL – A NEW SEASON

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

*Opening day action – Image Jeff Pearce Snowbee*

When my good friend Martin Turner sent a question via messenger saying he was going to Wimbleball mid-week would I go for bank or boat? As luck would have it I already had the day pencilled into my diary and asked if he minded me joining them on the bank?

A few days later I convinced Martin that there was no rush to get at the water for early dawn and as a result we decided on stopping off at Dulverton for breakfast. We walked into The Copper Kettle Cafe at around 9:15am and ordered up their mini breakfast and hot drinks. Half an hour later we set off glad we had gone for the rather adequate mini breakfast.

Martin and I have always plenty to discuss and had talked non stop since leaving my house in Loxhore and had still not exhausted the agenda when I climbed out of the car an hour after dark following the days fishing.

It had been a bright and sunny day with a strong East to SE wind adding a bite to the moorland air. We had decided to start off near Bessom’s but on meeting Martins friend Mike Snudden walking the path and reporting no action we changed our plan and diverted to Rugg’s that was sheltered from the cold wind.

I had been absent from Wimbleball for far too long and was eager to re-engage with this water that has a beguiling wild feel. It’s hard fighting rainbow trout are renowned amongst the Fly fishing fraternity testament to the hard work undertaken by Mark Underhill and his family over recent seasons.

Early March and to me fly selection is simple, surely any lure with black and green fished on an intermediate line is the order of the day.

We spread out along the bank and set about searching the icy waters emersed in our own worlds. I relished the cool water as I waded out to my waist, the chill water on the fingers as the line was retrieved. I expected that thrilling pull at any moment as I settled into the rhythm of cast and retrieve.

I took stock of the surrounding rolling hills, the stark bare trees of early spring, blue sky and occasional fluffy white clouds. The margins were populated with frogspawn and melodic bird song drifted on the chill wind.

I was surprised not to have caught after close to an hour and strolled over to Martin and Mike who were engaged in conversation with a fellow fisher.

The angler was Chris Guest who I had engaged with frequently on social media over recent seasons. It is always good to meet in person and we chatted fluently for several minutes comparing notes on bass, trout and books.

My theory on not needing an early start proved questionable as Chris had caught nine trout before we arrived with ice in the margins.

As Chris had not caught whilst we were present we decided upon a move to a new area.

The boat launching area has been kind to me in the past and it was to here that we moved. Punching a line into the bitter cold wind proved hard work and I soon had an urge to move to an area with a little more shelter where I had enjoyed success on previous trips.

In truth it was good to have a brisk walk and warm up a bit after several hours fishing. I had foolishly tempted fate earlier boasting to Martin and Mike that I had not blanked at Wimbleball since its new era.

After half an hour of searching the water I was delighted to feel a savage pull through the line. A large rainbow trout of perhaps five pounds erupted from the water, a couple of yards to the left there was another swirl as another large trout appeared in a flurry of spray! The result was inevitable as the two trout that had seized two flies on my cast headed in separate directions!

A few minutes later Martin and Mike arrived to hear my tale of woe. Mike had banked a good rainbow of around 2lb whilst Martin remained devoid of any action.

My line zipped tight once more and for a few moments I enjoyed brief connection with what looked and felt to be a good trout. I missed one more trout but by now I was feeling confident and expectantly fished eventually avoiding a blank day with a slim full tailed rainbow of just over 2lb.

I was delighted to look across to Martin fishing fifty yards to my right his rod bent over a fish leaping clear of the water in a flurry of spray. After an exciting tussle a lovely rainbow of well over 3lb graced the net.

I soon added a second rainbow to my bag a chunky fish of perhaps 3lb 8oz and missed a couple of takes.

Once again Martin stood in the icy water his rod in a pleasing curve and his reel singing as a big trout surged to and fro. It was now close to five o clock and the sun was sinking slowly behind us. I stood beside Martin sharing the moments and snapped away trying to capture a few images of fishy drama in the slowly fading light of the day.

After perhaps five minutes a fine blue rainbow trout of close to five pounds was held aloft in triumph. Mike arrived back holding a fine rainbow of close to four pounds along with the tale of a large fish that had taken him to the backing before departing with his fly.

I grabbed a photo of Martin and Mike holding a pair of Wimbleball’s finest. Mike headed for home whilst Martin and I fished on eager for another connection as the chill of evening descended.

As we walked back the car holding a brace of rainbows each we reflected upon the day and how enjoyable it had been. Whilst we have had days with far more fish we both agreed that these days when its hard work are so often more memorable and rewarding.

These days of early season are so full of promise as we look forward to those warmer days when we will drift teams of buzzers in a gentle ripple driven by a warm southerly wind that will surely blow the bait into the fishes’ mouth.

Wind from the West, fish bite the best.
Wind from the East, fish bite the least.
Wind from the North, do not go forth.
Wind from the South blows bait in their mouth.

Below are a few images of open day action sent to me by fellow Snowbee Ambassador Jeff Pearce

5 Mar 2024

RIVERWOOD SCREENING AT HALF MOON – SHEEPWASH

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

The hour long film is a fascinating documentary made by rewilding charity Scotland The Big Picture https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/riverwoods, about the current challenges Atlantic Salmon are facing in Scotland’s rivers, and the project that is trying to solve these issues.

Riverwoods is equally applicable to solving Atlantic Salmon decline in North Devon’s rivers, and the hope is that a community based solution will emerge from the North Devon screenings.

The film will be followed by a short presentation by Wayne Thomas of North Devon Angling News on his experiences of fishing for West Country salmon, and an audience conversation about how to reverse salmon decline in North Devon.

The Riverwoods film tour of North Devon is being run by Adrian Bryant of Earth Collective community interest company, founder of the Caen Catchment Beaver Project at Braunton, who will introduce the film

29 Feb 2024

ROADFORD FLY FAIR

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

South West Lakes Trust hosted their annual Fly Fair at Roadford where Fly anglers from all over the South West converged for this ever popular curtain raiser to a new season. A wide variety of stands represented those involved in the Fly Fishing Community. The events main sponsors were Chevron Hackles, Holmleigh Angling Centre, Catch, Snowbee and Turrall.

Charles Jardine opened the event stressing the need for anglers to get out fishing and support their local fisheries. He also spoke of the benefits of introducing young people into the fascinating world of fly fishing that has many positive benefits for mental health and general well-being.

Discussion flowed freely throughout the day with many plans set for the coming season. The long wet winter has undoubtedly impacted upon winter fishing with those fly anglers seeking sport with grayling and pike having a difficult time with only short periods when conditions were suitable to visit the water’s edge.

There has been considerable change over recent seasons as society has been impacted upon by Brexit, Covid and the cost of living crisis. Angling and fly fishing has of course been affected by all of this but it is perhaps even more important that our pastime thrives to bring much needed sanctuary from this gloom laden world.

Fly fishing has long been seen as a rather elitist branch of angling and when I started casting a fly fifty years ago the art of fly casting was still to some extent seen as a sport for the gentry.

The boom in Stillwater trout fishing during the 1970’s broke down these social barriers to some extent as a wider section of society enjoyed catching rainbow trout stocked into water supply reservoirs.

I remember being thrilled to catch the occasional limit bag of trout when I started out with the fish averaging around 1lb. As fisheries spread competition increased and small still-waters started opening stocking ever larger trout. Into the 1980’s and 1990’s double figure rainbow trout became a regular feature with some fisheries stocking fish to over 20lb.

This increasingly artificial commercial fishing resulted in ever increasing expectations from anglers. Another factor that perhaps influenced stocking was a significant increase in cormorant populations across reservoirs. The stocking of rainbows under 1lb 8oz became unviable as smaller trout were simply mopped up by these predatory birds.

Covid impacted upon us all but there was an initial post covid boom in fishing as anglers escaped to the great outdoors to enjoy a pastime that offered a safe environment. The value of fishing to mental health became much appreciated and for a time it seemed fly fishing was in a good place.

Sadly, the cost of living and angler’s unrealistic levels of expectation has resulted in an unsustainable situation. The spiralling cost of fish food and hot summers has impacted upon the farms that provide stock fish. The result is that fisheries are forced to pass the costs onto customers. In a cost of living crisis, it is very much a case of the survival of the fittest and as a result we are seeing the collapse of some fisheries Draycote Water in the Midlands being a case in question.

So having painted a rather gloomy picture of the fly fishing world in this country I will now look for those proverbial green shoots.

This year’s fly fair brought together a wide dynamic of anglers from the West Country Fly Fishing scene. With a new season ahead, there was undoubtedly a positive and optimistic drive as the leaders of this pastime urged us to get out fishing and support our local fisheries.

*Jeff Pearce and Russ Symons talk flies*

Concern for the environment was evident with fishery associations promoting their waters that are often surprisingly cheap alternatives to the commercial waters.

*Laura Dee Invasive species information stand*

Companies like Catch and Fish Pass are now offering a new way to buy day permits using the latest mobile phone technology.

In contrast to the modern world traditional craftsmen like Luke Bannister were at hand to display magical wands of split cane that add sweet perfection to an angler’s day.

I took pleasure in introducing Michelle Werrett whose new book Song of the Streams is enchanting readers to fellow author Mike Weaver whose writing has delighted West Country anglers for many decades. His book In Pursuit of Wild Trout published in 1991 is a classic tome that is timeless in its validity.

The West Country has a wealth of wild streams that offer exciting fishing for wild brown trout and a sadly diminishing number of salmon and sea trout. Adrian Bryant has been promoting the excellent film Riverwoods across the region and I joined him in presenting a short preview of this film giving my own brief view on the tragic decline of salmon.

Chatting with many at the Fly Fair it was apparent that there is a willingness to adapt and there are signs that new thinking is starting to break down the barriers of tradition. There is a growing desire to fish for varied species across different waters.

Pike from large stillwater’s and canals are an increasingly reported trend. Perch, rudd and carp are also gaining a following with Dominick Garnett columnist for the Angling Times giving a thought provoking talk on fly fishing for coarse fish. There is also an increasing number of anglers targeting sea fish with bass and mullet offering exciting sport during those hot months of summer when the trout are dwelling deep down in the reservoirs.

There are those who taking fly fishing into cross over territory with LRF with talk of using squirmy flies employed to catch blennies and other species from rock pools using 2 wt. rods more often used to target wild brown trout in moorland streams.

The definition of Fly Fishing on Wikipedia is “ Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish.”

This differs somewhat to my own thoughts where I had always believed fly fishing to be a technique that involves projecting the fly to the fish using a line as the weight. The traditional casting styles were entrenched within my mind set. But I now see an unfurling world of unorthodox presentations as anglers dibble and jig their flies or lures.

This is a world far from those days captured within the classic tomes depicting Fly Fishing on the revered chalk streams of England. Surely though there is room for all as our splendid pastime evolves as it always has?

We are living in times far removed from those of Halford whose doctrine of the Upstream Dry Fly stimulated debate within the world of the wealthy and privileged during Victorian Times.

I returned home from this year’s fly fair full of enthusiasm for the coming season with plans made that this year I really must try to make happen.

Many thanks to Ashley Bunning and all at South West Lakes Trust for hosting a fabulous fair.

22 Feb 2024

SEA TROUT – Midnight Rambler

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

Richard Wilson talks sea trout fishing in his latest blog.

https://fishrise.substack.com/p/sea-trout?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1289122&post_id=139166270&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1uvzdy&open=false&utm_medium=email

Twilight

The river beckons and eyes falter, straining in the fading monochrome half-light. As they weaken, so our ears fine-tune to the emerging clamour of the night: The chattering river, the owls and the scurrying creatures of the bankside. The night time world is waking.

The dictionary has a word for this: it is the hour when the world turns crepuscular. And is there a better time to go fishing? The hour when we crepuscules emerge blinking into the gathering gloom?

So let’s get down to business: My first and most important task is to reach my pool in time to catch the last of the light. Once there I’ll sit on the bank, read the lie of the water and wait for it to get properly dark. This is, of course, an impossible call because no matter how long I sit and stare, the darkness never quite takes over. My widening eyes adapt just enough to keep me merely half-blind: I see the shadow shapes of trees and anything small silhouetted against the sky. But where land and water merge, all detail is lost.

But hey, who’s in a hurry? I’m enjoying the moment and all the while my senses paint a picture of the pool: the chuntering water, the flitting bats I glimpse but no longer hear, and sometimes, most wonderful of all, an otter or even two. And there – did you hear it – a fish churning close to the far bank. Just a moderate cast downstream. Catchable, but still I wait

Inevitably, my mind starts to wander. Big questions press in: Why do I catch nearly all my Sea Trout on Teal, Blue and Silvers? Why don’t I fall in at night – I’m quite good at it during the day. And what the heck is a Sea Trout?

Ah, there’s the thought. What the heck is a Sea Trout? For a great deal of my life this didn’t much bother me. They’re a vague sub-species of brown trout, right? Rather like the relationship between Steelhead and Rainbow Trout. So trout are trout, salmon are not, and sea trout are somewhere in between. Taxonomy? Pah! Who needs it.

I was wrong. Forget Salmon, they’re something else and irrelevant to this article. But Sea Trout and Brown Trout are the same thing. Identical, right down to their last drop of DNA. One’s bigger and the other is usually smaller, because one went to sea and the other didn’t. Or, rather, it hasn’t yet. One is bright silver when it runs back into the river – but soon reverts to its true brown trout colours.

This is important because it puts the lie to a theory I’ve been nurturing for a decade or two. Namely, that with Salmon numbers in free-fall, Sea Trout could save my fishing.

My theory went like this: Most returning Sea Trout are smaller school fish. They run into their rivers in shoals, while their bigger brothers and sisters make their way in their own good time. And over the decades school fish been getting smaller. I have not a shred of evidence to support this, but it seems to me they’ve halved in size from 1.5lbs to 3/4lb. There are plenty of wise river keepers who will say that the reason for this is that 3/4lb Sea Trout can swim through the inshore gill nets, set for bass and that kill uncounted numbers of Salmon (and big Sea Trout).

So, I reasoned, there would always be sea trout returning to river hitting the redds and ensuring the future of the, um, Sea Trout. Long after the last salmon had played the last post, there would still be sea trout slipping through the nets and heading up-river and towards me.

Ah well. Wrong again.

My theory fails at that moment when part of a river’s Brown Trout population decides it’s going to up sticks and go to sea. It may be because there are too many competing trout in the river. Or not so many trout, but even less food. Why one fish decides to go and another doesn’t we can’t say. Some do, some don’t.

Maybe they just fancy a change of scene. When New Zealand’s rivers were stocked with Loch Leven’s trout all those years ago, there were rivers where the entire population of new fish upped sticks and left for the sea and a new river. They’d had look at their new home, didn’t like it and without so much as a thanks or goodbye, left never to return

However, the stakes on going to sea are high. Migrating smolts face many more dangers than had they stayed in the river. There are more predators, for example. And like salmon, climate change and warmer water is shrinking smolt size, and the smaller a smolt, the less chance it has of surviving the journey. So the decision to head to sea is getting more dangerous.

The reward for the ones that make it is food. They grow faster and bigger, and that pays off when they return to the river to breed. Big fish can dominate the redds.

So for this stage in their lives, the decision to go to sea is about the survival of all brown trout. They’re a species hedging its bets. Some stay, some go. Some will win, some lose. Hindsight is everything.

Unfortunately, that hedged bet is getting more dangerous. A recent Norwegian report surveyed 10,000 miles of Sea Trout rivers and lakes ranging from the Arctic to the south of the country. In only 25% were Sea Trout populations considered healthy. They had disappeared altogether in some rivers, and in 40% populations were in either a poor or very poor condition.

And their biggest threat? It’s sea lice, the major by-product of salmon farming. 83% of all the water surveyed was impacted by farmed sea lice. Amongst salmonids, Sea Trout are hardest hit by lice because they stay in coastal waters where open-net cage salmon farms are found.

The bad news doesn’t end with the fish farms. Globally, the fishing effort at sea has industrialised. At the same time, rising sea temperatures collapse ocean food chains and stop some fish breeding (fry are a major source of Sea Trout food). The laval soup at the base of the ocean food chain thins out, and the bait fish that depend on it get smaller and carry less body fat – in part because warmer water raises their metabolic rate so they have to eat more just to keep going. That metabolic trap works its way up the food chain – bigger fish also need to eat more just to maintain body weight, but there’s less food. This is the world Sea Trout migrate to feed in.

Unfortunately, staying in the river is also difficult. So much so that if I allow myself to get properly gloomy about this I have to say the trout rivers in my part of the world are becoming hostile environments for fish,

Trout redds are usually further into the headwaters than a Salmon’s. These smaller streams are warming faster as our climate changes, and they’re more vulnerable to farm pollution. The brutal truth is that the survival rate for smolts shrinks by as much as 70% if they start their return journey short of peak fitness and weight.

There’s more. The increasingly heavy rainstorms driven by our warming atmosphere wash redds downstream, leaving behind beds of small stones where once there was gravel. And, in my part of the world, rivers are a cheap way for water companies to move human sewage to the sea and boost dividends for shareholders. Meanwhile, dairy farmers have massively increased stocking density so slurry mixes with chicken and human shit to turn the water phosphate green and coat river beds with algal slime. Insects and fry don’t stand a chance. Clean rivers are increasingly hard to find.

Despite all this, I’m still fishing, still crepuscular and always thrilled to be part of the gloaming. Is there anything to beat the excitement of the wallop administered by turbocharged 2lb Sea Trout take at midnight?

And the weirdest thing about night fishing? It’s that I so rarely catch the opposite bank. I like to think this because I cast really well. I’m so good I could hit a dimpled rise with my eyes closed. Hmmm. A more likely explanation is that I always cast short. But I’m not changing anything now.

Finally, did I tell you about the time 2 otters thrashed and trashed my pool as I watched darkness close in – and how, as soon as they left, I caught an 8lb Sea Trout with my first cast and 6lber with my third?

There’s nothing on earth to beat crepuscular fishing. Although maybe I should experiment with some new fly patterns. It’s possible that Teal, Blue and Silver may not be the only fly that catches Sea Trout.

With thanks to: Paul Coulson FIFM, Director of Operations, Institute of Fisheries Management

14 Feb 2024

SOUTH MOLTON & DISTRICT ANGLING CLUB 55th AGM

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

Twenty five or more club members assembled at the Coaching Inn in South Molton for the clubs 55^th AGM. Members chatted in a convivial atmosphere as glasses were filled and anglers swapped tales.

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ed Rands and proceeding duly followed as they have on this February night on the second Tuesday for many years. Ed welcomed guests that included Sam Fenner the new North Devon Fisheries officer and Gordon Murray Chairman of the Taw Fishing Club.

https://www.tawfishingclub.org

Secretary Roger Bray delivered his report on the 2023 season that brought some good news from the clubs fishing on the River Bray. The forty seven members had recorded close to 270 wild brown trout and 3 sea trout. There were no salmon recorded which is a reflection on fishing across the region.

Riverside walks during the salmon spawning season had revealed very little information as the rivers were bank high as a result of an exceptionally wet Autumn.

River-fly monitoring had been carried out by members with encouraging results that indicated generally good quality water. There was discussion around the potential around gravel washing, gravel raking and limited bank clearing.

Chairman Ed Rands discussed forthcoming club events that would be put in the diary’s during the next meeting.

The club’s officers were elected en-bloc with Roger Bray continuing as Secretary and Treasurer and Ed Rands as Chairman.

Trophies were awarded with Danny Boyles winning the Mac Trophy for a rainbow trout of 3lb 10oz caught at Blakewell during the clubs Christmas competition. The sea Angling trophies were presented to Wayne Thomas for bass and tope caught during the year.

The Chair then introduced Environment Agency Fisheries Officer Sam Fenner to give a talk to members about his work and the broad picture across the region.

Sam talked about his background in fishery and environmental regulation. He has gained considerable experience in an Agricultural advisory role and will be focussing on the Taw catchment. His role also involves fishery enforcement work with rod licence checking and byelaw enforcement. He will also be working with the D & S IFCA fishery officers on areas of dual interest.

Sam highlighted the dramatic decline in salmon numbers across the region with Rivers such as the Taw producing close to 800 salmon in the 1980’s and less than forty in 2023!

Virtually all of Devon and Cornwall’s rivers are at risk in regards to salmon populations. Catch and release is now practiced by virtually all anglers but could soon be made mandatory.

There are glimmers of hope with some Exmoor Rivers showing some reasonable fry counts.

Water quality, Low flows, High water temperature and predation are all factors in salmon decline though general concensus is the that survival at sea is the biggest threat with just 5% of salmon returning to the rivers of their origin.

I will be meeting with Sam in the near future and will discuss the issues with him in greater detail.

The main message from Sam is to report any incidents or pollutions to the Environment Agency via their hotline :-

0800 807060 its on your rod licence!

30 Jan 2024

The Impact of Pollution – Ask The experts

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

This event at the end of February offers a unique opportunity to learn about water pollution across North Devon with representatives from across the region. I will be on the panel representing anglers though I do not profess to be an expert, just someone with a passion for angling within a healthy eco-system.

20 Jan 2024

A Meandering Winter Stream

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

I joined Dulverton Anglers Association in 2023 intending to explore the waters of the Exe and Barle that wind their way through the wooded valleys around Dulverton. As is often the case ambitions are not always met and I failed to make a single trip to their waters in 2023. We do however visit Dulverton on a regular basis and generally call into Lance Nicholson’s Tackle and Gun Shop to talk of the river or buy a few flies.

Having already sorted my 2024 subscription I was determined to start exploring their waters and pledged to pursue the grayling of the Exe and its tributaries as soon as conditions allowed.

Grayling are true fish of the winter months and give a great excuse to visit the water. The South West is not known for its prolific grayling fishing with just a handful of rivers supporting stocks of these enigmatic fish often referred to as the ladies of the stream.

The grayling of these Exmoor streams have been lingering in my mind for many years. Several decades ago, my wife and I attended a fishing event at the Carnarvon Arms. The Carnarvon Arms was a renowned Country Hotel that hosted many visiting anglers and country sports enthusiasts. A stand at the event was hosted by an elderly gentlemen who talked of grayling enthusiastically and fondly. Sadly, the Carnarvon Arms has now been converted into flats its legacy now just a distant and fading memory.

Fortunately, time has been kind to these rivers and whilst the salmon are in steep decline there is an everlasting and deep character that still flows. Negley Farson waxed lyrical about the Exmoor waters in his classic tome ‘ Going Fishing’.

“ I think the best thing to call it is a certain quiet decency. This almost unchanging English scene, with its red and green rolling hills, holds a romance that wild rocks, and wild flowers, or snow capped volcanoes could never give you. It has a gentleness, a rich rustic worth, and an unostentatiousness that is like the English character. An imperturbable scene which fills you with contentment.”

These streams are still inspiring authors to this day with Michelle Werrett’s latest book ‘ Song Of The Streams’, maintaining a rich literary vein that links the past to the present.

It was -5 degrees when I left home to drive across Exmoor. There was no hurry as I left home at around 9:30 hoping that the worst of the ice would have melted. The sun was well up in the sky as I drove across Winsford Hill yet the road glistened with white frost.

I arrived at Dulverton at around 10:30 and called into Lance Nicholson’s to get detailed instruction where to park to access my chosen beat on the River Haddeo. I purchased a hot pasty in Tantivy’s; a shop and café that I assume gained its name from the late Captain Tantivy an old English squire who rode with the hunt as mentioned in Farson’s “Gone Fishing’.

At the fishing hut I assembled my tackle whilst munching on a Cornish pasty and hot sweet coffee from my flask. I set off to the river unsure of the route to take. The Haddeo starts its journey high on the Brendon Hills its route punctuated by Wimbleball Reservoir that has become a mecca for Stillwater trout fishers.

The beat I was to fish runs through a Private Country estate and walking across the frosty field to the water I heard the volleys of shots from the shoot. The convoy of guns vehicles were parked up in the field across the valley. The pickers and their dogs worked away further up the valley and a team of beaters were undoubtedly working the woods and cover beyond.

The river was running fairly low and clear. I descended into the cold water carefully negotiating the barbed wire that will rip waders whatever the price tag!

And so, the search began with two gold headed nymphs carefully flicked into the rushing stream. It is a delight to explore a new water especially if it is wild and characterful as this beat is.

As I waded upstream a gamekeeper attired in traditional tweeds wandered across the field and made a friendly enquiry as to my success. I explained that it was my first visit to the water and that I hoped to catch a grayling. I don’t know if he was a fisher but he gave me encouragement telling me that there were some lovely looking pools up through the river valley.

I waded on clambering through the arch made by an ivy clad fallen tree. Icicles gripped the branches as they caressed the clear and icy water.

The river tumbled over a stony bed meandering through the valley. The signs of pheasant rearing were all around and I caught the occasional whiff of cordite from the shoot drifting in the cold frosty air.

I carefully made my way upriver searching each likely looking pool methodically. I was using a long rod adopting Euro Nymphing tactics. I focused intently upon the bright orange leader as it entered the water tightening the line each time it twitched as the flies bounced the rocky riverbed.

Luck was certainly on my side for the flies came free each time they snagged the bottom. And even the trees failed to rob me of the expensive nymphs that were tied to gossamer thin 3.5 b.s fluorocarbon that tested my ability to focus through lens of recently prescribed varifocals.

As I wandered the river bank I observed the occasional wren flitting through the branches and the ever present red breasted robin.

A buzzard mewed above the trees and cock pheasants strutted arrogantly in the frosty fields safe for a few days now and with just a week of the shooting season left likely to survive into the warmer days of Spring.

I peered into the flowing water hoping to glimpse my quarry but the river seemed devoid of fish. I knew that grayling were present yet connection seemed less probable as the number of fruitless casts mounted.

I flicked my flies into another likely spot struggling to see the leader as strong sunshine shone into my face. I perceived the pausing of the line and lifted the rod to feel the magical and delightful pulse of life. The grayling gyrated strongly in the water and I took a step downstream releasing the net from my back in anticipation. The prize was just a few inches from the nets frame when the hook hold gave, the silver fish disappearing back into the clear tumbling water.

Would this be my only chance? Grayling are shoal fish so I figured that there could be more in this small pool. I retraced my steps dropping the flies into the pool again. After a couple of casts, the line tightened and after a short tussle I netted a grayling of perhaps 8oz.

I admired silver flanks and crimson dorsal fin, grabbing its portrait before letting it flip away into its home water.

I fished on contentedly a blank averted and confidence restored so that I fished with belief and conviction. Covering some promising lie’s, I strolled until I came close to the top of the beat.

Woodsmoke drifted up from the chimneys of cottages across the valley. I savoured the rural scene as I worked my way back downstream revisiting promising pools. In a deep slowly moving pool the leader stabbed down and once again I connected to another grayling. This one was bigger than the first a fish of perhaps 12oz that was once again admired before slipping back into the Haddeo.

As the sun began to sink lower into the sky I fished on down with no further action. I reached the bottom of the beat and clambered over a style that allowed access to the river beside an old stone bridge. I descended into the river and waded beneath the old bridge contemplating the cars above racing around the troubled modern world.

I arrived back at the car poured hot coffee from my flask and reflected upon another perfect day beside a meandering stream.

17 Jan 2024

Cold Comfort in a Polar Vortex And the climate deniers reducing global warming.

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

Many thanks once again to Richard Wilson for sharing his thoughts with North Devon Angling news for more of Fishrise click the link below :-

Cold Comfort in a Polar Vortex

And the climate deniers reducing global warming.

*Real Men, Real Cold, Real Fishing and Fake Global Warming?*

Extreme weather in the form of a Polar Vortex is hitting the USA, Canada and Northern Europe. I see that while most sensible people are staying indoors, the climate deniers are out in force declaring the death of global warming. One moment it was all thaw and uninsurable ice-fishing tournaments, now they say it’s too cold for the delicate greenies to go outside.

So are they right? On the one hand, they insist climate change is all bull-feathers while on the other it’s ‘Do you remember the good old days when we had real winters’? To try and steer a path through the confusion, here’s a handy little cartoon strip that explains what’s happening:

So nostalgia wins. Winters really aren’t what they were back in the day.

Which begs a question: If the climate is getting warmer, and it is, then what does the future hold? After all, these same climate deniers are both stridently pro- their nostalgic old-cold winters and pro-coal, which is where a lot of the warming CO2 pollution come from.

Well, the good news is that our prospects for containing the worst excesses of climate change are improving. We are fast approaching peak carbon (maybe this year, maybe next) and coal is looking a bit, well, limp.

The world’s green energy generation increased by an astonishing 50% last year (IEA). Solar accounted for three-quarters of this. In the US, utility solar power is expected to grow by 75% in the next two years while coal is in steep decline.

Consider also that the amount of energy each of us consumes has fallen sharply. Everything from fridge-freezers and washing machines to TVs, cars and keeping our houses warm is more efficient. We might have more gadgets, but they consume a fraction of the power of what went before.

They may not know it, but the carbon footprint of climate change deniers is shrinking – so give them a pat on the back. Well done! They’re doing their bit (non-consensual wokesterism – whatever next?).

The global flight of investment capital out of coal and fossil fuels and into renewable energy is becoming a stampede. This is not about greenie sentiment. Renewables have plummeted in price while their technologies have become more and more efficient. Simultaneously, the huge and long-term investment needed for new coal mines and oil refineries is very risky. Would you sink $5-15 billion into an oil refinery with increasingly uncompetitive pricing and diminishing demand? How will you get your money back?

The IEA expects a 250% growth in global green power production over the next 4 years. The COP target is 300% by 2030, so it’s starting to look doable.

And while we are now certain to overshoot the 1.5C warming set at the Paris COP, 2C or thereabouts is looking achievable. This is better than many expected, and will still be disruptive. But, even so, we can do a lot to adapt to 2C, whereas the 5C+ we were heading for would have been calamitous.

We’re getting there. To be sure there’s a lot of work to do – but I’ll back us to get it done. The direction of travel is set, King Coal is fading and the denialists are coming along for the ride (shh…). Just follow the money.

With thanks to ‘Not the End of the World’ by the brilliant Hannah Ritchie. A great read about positive outcomes. Thanks also to Andrew Kessler for using the cartoon before me – which is how I found it.