water~lines

Mixed emotions

2011-12-07T17:01:00.005Z

There is no better time to assess external impacts on a watercourse than when it begins to be re-charged after a long period of drought. It is possible to wait in the dry river bed of the upper Lathkill, often aided by a head-torch in the middle of the night, and follow the thread of water as it slowly wets the dry bed like an eel, waiting to fill up holes and gaps under stones before racing on a little more. This is the time when you realise the bed is like a colander, with the water not only leaving, but coming back in an upwelling too. The ground is becoming drenched as the water table rises to meet the river.
The longest we have had to wait for this re-birth is December tenth. Today is the seventh, three days from the sad record and far, far too long for the rivers inhabitants to hold their breath, but the rivers are running again.

There is though, an imbalance.

The Lathkill is sprinting like a train and can be heard from the office window above the howling wind in wood beyond. It is cleaning itself, lifting the autumn leaves from its bed and shifting tons of silt making it run the colour of tea so thick that water shrews might dance upon it.

The Bradford though, is not.

The same rain fell on each rivers catchment. Sweeping out of Buxton across Longnor and Monyash the North West wind brought nearly 4 inches in as many days. Water stands in puddles and ground is drenched from Gratton to Over Haddon but the Bradford does not tell that story. Heading down past the Church and looking over the bridge this morning I expected to see a river returned but was disappointed.

One of the residents from nearby sums up my thoughts as he wanders past. ‘Not much watter Surrie; fit more in me holla tooth’.

The good old reliable stream from New Dam joins the Bradford a little way down. It has kept its flow through the summer and the crayfish are grateful being able still to scurry and scavenge through the night rather than the drought turning their shells to power. It runs with the more water than the main river, and yet all its catchment can be seen in these few fields and this Mitten Wood.

Donor meadow

2011-07-01T23:11:00.003+01:00

What happens when farmers take a crop of hay from a field each year and yet aren’t able to spread manure and replenish the nutrients? Only those flowers and plants that are tolerant of poor soils can exist and it is these that have become synonymous with English country meadows; products of ancient farming practises.
In order for the soil to become poor it needs ridding of its enrichment and this is best achieved by falling back into ancient farming practises; summer hay, winter sheep, no muck. There are some shortcuts that come in the form of short, yellow flowered plants, whose seed heads dry to a crisp. Yellow rattle parasitises on the roots of vigorous grasses that would otherwise take the meadow over.

We are cutting for hay tomorrow and in order for other meadows to benefit from this useful ally the seed harvester is set to work. Brushes underneath the machine liberate the seed from the heads and with only a small amount of winnowing a large amount of seed can be taken. Along with the rattle seeds comes sorrel and plantain seeds as well which are greatly liked by short-tailed voles.

Interlopers

2011-05-03T09:58:00.002+01:00

Very sad that we have to play host, albeit for only a short length of time, to these disgusting creatures. They are stocked upstream by those who dont trust the Wye to produce fish of its own, in the name of people who use their catch to stay friendly with their neighbours. Thanks alot.

Good fishing

2010-08-30T20:56:00.008+01:00

During one of todays patrols a familiar form of a regular visitor was spotted from the road, by the side of the river.

I heaved my bike over the gate into the field and rolled down the hill to see him, making sure to come up on the blind side so as not scare any fish. He gave a report of his day so far detailing his successes and failures, taking time to mention a 'family' of stoats hunting the riverbank and a very nice brown trout netted earlier on.

'I've scared these fish in front of us Warren'

During the course of the conversation, as is usual with this angler, neither of us took our eyes from the water for longer than two seconds, when he declared a subtle rise in a tiny pocket under the far bank. The spot seemed perfect; hidden under a small bush, well fed by a food lane, in-between two brown sticks under the bank. It was not possible to simply cast above and let the river take the fly into the hole, a small branch touching the water made that impossible.

I goaded him to have a go so he unshipped the fly from the keeper to oblige. After a single 'getting out cast', he dropped the fly on the water only a few inches from the previous rise form.

WHAM! A fantastic brown trout, with 'steel eyes' came quickly to the net.

There are five things that make this impressive;

The rise was spotted in the first place
The cast was attempted
The cast was extremely accurate
Trees had to be avoided on the back cast
The leader was 15 foot long!

OK, I admit the angler was warmed up after four hours of fishing, very familiar with his kit, and tuned into the river despite me visiting, but there was no doubt I witnessed an expert piece of dry fly fishing today.

Summers end

2010-08-29T13:40:00.009+01:00

'We're only making plans and arranging things. Talking it over, you know-what route we are taking this year and where we'll stop, and so on. It's half the fun.'

Kenneth Grahames' wayerfarers now line the telephone wire outside the house. I can't look at them without imagining their chattering concerns over this years' route to Africa.

The first elm turned yellow prematurely over 3 weeks ago but now the sycamore is yellowing too and the trout are acting very strangely. Look into any crystal clear pool and you will see a dark, fish with mottled sides lying flat on the bottom. Her eggs are developing rapidly inside her and she has no wish to feed now until spring. Cock fish are all the time gesturing, with tails held high, sometimes breaking the surface, and swimming slowly alongside each other. If well matched in size all hell will break loose with each pair fighting it out every afternoon for a month. The season is changing.

Peacock Fly Fishing Club

2010-08-16T13:23:00.005+01:00

We have been working hard in trying to find a better letting arrangement for the club. Many hours have been spent leaning on gates, working out how we can provide free access to members but still keep our 12 rods/day capacity, enjoyed by our anglers and wildlife and part of the secret of our success.

We've cracked it and I'm really chuffed. The only problem is we have a limited number of places to take the club numbers up to 42.

The Olive Membership is from April 1st through to Jan 1st with the grayling season starting on October 7th. In order to make it more affordable to our fans the 'silly season' is reserved for Mayfly members and day tickets. Those Mayfly Members will be able to fish from April 1st through to Jan 1st.

Olive - £550 inc VAT
Mayfly- £850 inc VAT
and come when you like.

Day tickets will continue as before.

Please ring the Peacock (01629 733518) to reserve your place for next season.

Running out on the tributaries

2010-08-10T01:28:00.007+01:00

It's been November since we had two days together of rain and it really shows. That snow, still foot thick under the walls at the start of March, and melting slowly through the ides, was a God send. Thanks to the cold spring and good early ranunculus, the algae has kept off, helped in no small part to our catchment farmers reducing their dressings of beaded fertiliser.

The to-ing and fro-ing along the bank, usually such an uplifting experience, now gives rise to concern as each day a new half inch of shingle is left high and dry by the receding water. Relief is found in places that have been narrowed and shallowed; here at least can be found flow and fining fish.

There hasn't been a day in the last fourteen summers that I haven't wished for pelting rain against the windows at night, or stepping out into a flooded yard in the morning, but this year seems different. Our traditional October relief date is too far off, too long to wait.

Diaries are made for going back over and I'm sure I'll raise a smile at this short post when we are again in times of plenty, but right now I'll trade anything I own for a day and night together of stir rods.

Trouble on the Test

2010-07-29T21:03:00.017+01:00

http://www.fieldsportschannel.tv/index.php/corporate-site-home/podcast

7th July programme

Mick Lunn and Clive Graham-Ranger talking about what's wrong with the Test and stuff. Mick blames new houses in Andover but calls the problem 'sediment'. CGR thinks very little of the 'nippers' straight out of Uni who are trying to find their own answers.

The Test is the ground fed canary, and those with similar rivers should take note. This river certainly doesn't need its supporting angler base to 'bagga ooofff' and take their fishing pounds with them. The problem needs solving, because the Test is too important and because the same will happen to our rivers soon.

My answer, for what it is worth? Eutrophication via intensive farming, fish farms and treated sewage discharge (CSO's included) is chronic pollution in the form of too much nitrates and phosphates. Algae uses these nutrients, smothering the ranunculus, reducing the flow and the habitat for inverts.

The EA give all of the River Test below the Anton confluence a good ecological status and a good chemical status. However the chemical status for the Test aquifer is poor. There seems to be very few biological monitoring sites on the Test (4) when compared to The Itchen (22).

When working on a paper labelled 'Coarse Fish Decline in the Hampshire Avon' [1991], and living on the largest trout farm in the UK, it was clear to me that the turbidity directly below, and for someway downstream of, the main outlets was having a major effect on the health of the river. I stumbled across a frightening statistic claiming the volume of the summer Test was being used over a dozen times for fish farming. I wouldn't want any of my rivers following through a fish farm 12 times and then expect the resulting 'water' to grow ranunculus and inverts and this without the other major effluents.

I'm hoping to fish the Test before the summer is out, not to gloat at its demise but to see for myself the changes that have taken since I was a 'nipper' on its banks in the late 80's and early 90's.

Doc Cohens' Brown

2010-07-29T10:45:00.003+01:00

While mowing the lawn one evening at home a car came down the lane. I went to see who was calling and met a beaming smile from one of the Lathkill Syndicate members. Doc Cohen had been a member for years and held the river record.

'I've got something to show you Warren' and removed from the boot of his car this massive fish. He agreed to a photograph but at 8lbs the brown was still nearly 3lbs lighter than his record, incidently from the same pool.

New Blog

2010-07-27T17:43:00.007+01:00

Although the internet is littered with the remnants of various blogs, here is one that will be around for many years. Those familiar with Derbyshire rivers will already know the name 'Regular Rod'. Those coming to fish town for instance, in the evening, will often be lent an unhooking mat and be asked to hurl it back over RR's garden wall when darkness finally puts an end to proceedings. Anglers coming badly equipped or without the right flies are often fitted out as they pass his garden gate, at no charge of course. Now that generosity has extended to offering up his thoughts and ideas, anecdotes and experiences from 41 years of fishing Derbyshire and Yorkshire rivers. Specialising in surface feeding fish for most of that time surely makes him the http://www.dryflyexpert.blogspot.com/

11lb Wye Brace

2010-07-27T01:27:00.005+01:00

I watched them at 1am from only 10 yards away. The Police were being lined up and I was ready to cut them off when they ran. Then all of a sudden they grabbed their fish and walked off towards some visiting fairground caravans. I stood everyone down but followed them. We had no chance from here as they disppeared into the vans. I sat there listening to the generators as Jan quietly joined me under a hedge. We were both sure they would be back.

We spent the next day building observation hides ready for their return and on the stroke of midnight two men appeared amongst the fuzzy green glow of the nite-site. I clicked the radio twice and recieved the same reply confirming a red 4x4 would be racing to the Police Station to get help.

A third man appeared from town. He ran towards the poachers who already had two large fish on the bank. 'Baliff's getting the Police. Run!'. They had put a watch on the Police Station and now things were moving fast. Fortunately a Police car pulled up to the station and my colleauge followed the plan. Coming from below, at high speed the car tried to cut them off from their vans. They saw the lights, jumped a gate and hid behind a hedge. I followed and yelled at them to stay where they were.

As the racksack was opened a large toothy jaw appeared under the torch-light. I knew this was a big fish, but a brown, with scales later reading 13 years and 7lbs in weight. A fabulous rainbow followed. We searched the camp and found most of the fish from the previous night under a caravan. Our two poachers were Polish, working on the funfair. I understand they left the country soon after, under threat of imprisonment. The fish were compensated for with a large cheque.

Later the brown trout was confirmed as a fish of a lifetime for an angler who caught it last season. I'm sure it gave thousands of people a good deal of pleasure too, as they watched it beneath the bridge.

Mayfly 2010

2010-07-27T00:51:00.005+01:00

The Mayfly period allows the riverkeepers little time for musing. We are busy with full allocations of anglers, night-time patrols and never ending bank maintenance. Corporate fishing offers a chance to really show our rivers off and to enjoy the hatch through anothers perspective when guiding.

May I extend a big thank you all our guests, our guides, our helpers, the Peacock staff, Ruth, Bakewell Police and those who telephoned at 2am to report poachers, but didn't leave their names.

Evolved from the fishes

2010-05-24T09:26:00.002+01:00

It's not hard to see how reptiles evolved from fish when looking at a full finned wild trout, through the perfect clarity of the Lathkil. It isn't hard to imagine it scuttling away.

'Hanging like birds in the air'

2010-05-21T18:29:00.001+01:00

Thiz Lobsters!

2010-05-17T21:24:00.010+01:00

'Thiz lobsters Mr Slaney'

'Pardon', I replied

Mother explains, 'We've been past your house a couple of times lately in the hope of catching you in, he wanted to tell you himself, he says he caught a small lobster in your river'.

The 7 year old boy, wearing wellies and holding Mothers hand insists once again, 'Thiz lobsters!'

'What colour were they?' I ask.

'Red and Pink and this big' as he shows a good 12 inches between his outstretched grubby hands.

His Mother says 'I think he's been watching too much Trawler Men on the tele, say good-bye Tom'.

He looks up at me leaning on the yard gate and he knows I don't believe him, 'and it swimmed off backwards' he says as the two turn and walk off up the hill to the village.

I put the story to the back of my mind, with the other sights and sounds, myths and legends that I hear over this gate and eventually forget it.

Waiting for His Lordship this afternoon I jump into the river and begin to shift stones so that the holding capacity of this length can be increased by one lie and one trout. I move a rock and as the water clears a crayfish claw appears on the river bed. Bear in mind that the white clawed crayfish were wiped out in the early 90's, when I tell you this was a white claw.

Meeting over and I'm off downstream at a lick to a small bridge with a cobbley bottom; a place where if 'thiz lobsters' they will be there. Under the second likely stone I turn a crayfish, as black as your hat, dashes out and I miss with my cupped hands. The next stone is lifted and there on the bottom is the first crayfish I've seen in this river for 20 years. Melissa is called and she captures us both.
I'm not the first to see this welcome relic. Young Tom, giving them the only name he has for them has made them fit that name in his mind; 'Red, pink and foot-long'. It is possible this creatures recent ancestors survived the sweeping outbreak by living in the small side stream a few yards from the little bridge. You can just make out the culvert to the left of centre in the photo below.

Webley

2010-04-29T10:12:00.005+01:00

We suspected a few rats were running the chicken shed. You know what they say; 'You keep chickens...' Melissa heard a squeak from behind a waste bag this morning and a scaley tail was seen disappearing into a crack in the wall. Webley was sent for...

'First understand nature, then copy it'

2010-04-27T20:27:00.006+01:00

'Water in its natural state shows us how it wishes to flow, so we must follow its wishes'- Viktor Schauberger Backed up by the weir in the distance, running straight as an arrow and shaded from any light following the solar zenith, this river was in a sorry state. No ranunculus grew here, no trout swam. Think of a plan, then think of a better one. We finally decided upon a ruthless fell of those hefty shade trees and use that timber to create new banks. Backfill would be the dried out dredgings from a 1991 desilt of an upstream dam and the previous river long tufa removal.

As spring arrived and our newly planted flag rysomes stared to poke their lush green spikes through the backfill, we have a new river. This is no longer a place the keeper, or his rods hurry past. Those rods make special calls to report captures of trout from this place, it amazes me how quickly they respond. Dropping down from spawning and seeking suitable summer quarters; they must like it here. An atmosphere of expectation has returned, lost when those Victorians commanded this river into a walled channel; told it to behave, to get through as quickly as possible. Dippers love it here now, they can bob into the shallow water and collect caddis from the river bed, they squable for the best perches on the corners of those thick ash trees, now put to good use as 'undercut banks'. Encouraged by the new flow, ranunculus shoots promise summer trellises and tiny black flies feeding from the nectar of white buttercup flowers. All this before the end of the first spring olive hatch.

Meandering stimulates water to eddy, rush, twist, slow and sparkle.

Best day of the year

2009-11-14T22:42:00.006Z

Our spring fed rivers drain the aquifer of the results of last winters’ rain. As summer turns to autumn the aquifer is reduced and the rivers flow decreases progressively. In my 20 year association with the Lathkill, 14 of those years living on its south bank, I can only remember the aquifer recharging quickly and the river coming back with a huge rise in levels. We call it ‘coming back in’; an association with its upper reaches being dry for the latter part of the summer and then, over-night, the river reappears.

The latest I can remember for this event is December 12th, a year that had me worried sick. Today the river ‘came back in’ with its usual gusto and caused excitement amongst the rivers inhabitants. Huge weed beds broke free of their roots, were smashed to thousands of smaller rafts and shot through a three mile beat in less than an hour. Trout were taking advantage of this displacement and eating shrimps and invertebrates which were losing their hold on the shifting starwort beds. Little Grebes and other waterfowl were much more active as they too ate from this bounty. In only a few hours I’ve noticed the appearance of shining patches of newly turned stones on the river bed as the hen brown trout, stimulated by the new current, are beginning to investigate places to lay their eggs.

Data beamed to my computer shows our new Mini-Hydro making the most of the new flows too. Its energy production doubles in the length of a day before the turbine seems to become confused by the high water. It settles down to its job quickly enough before steadily churning out enough electricity to feed 20 homes.

Symbiosis

2009-11-11T14:33:00.003Z

The symbiotic relationship between the host lichen which retains water for the photosynthetic algae is visible on this damp, north surfacing bridge. There are at least five separate colours visible including the algae trentepohlia, with contains carotenoid to make it orange, and the lichen Lepraria which is crusty white. The correct site, with good air quality and very little disturbance means these plants have an excellent chance of seeing it through the next hundreds years at least.

Haddon Estate website

2009-10-21T10:47:00.004+01:00

http://www.haddonestate.co.uk/rivers/rivers.php

Finally got a home for an all-in-one fishing site with an occasional blog. Over the past few months I've started an HND and am someway through the book that I always wanted to write.

Mini-Hydro. Final Steps

2009-06-14T22:31:00.007+01:00

The Hydro-Generation Building; finished in local stone and partly buried.

A wide, low velocity inlet and sloping automatic screen is shown here. The debris and weed from the screen drops into a trough of running water and is washed back into the river. The picture shows the mill pond level, right down, with the whole river running through the sluice gate. The mill pond is now filled.

This is the turbine with the roof still to be installed. The generator, sitting in the bottom left of the picture, will be brought over and be belt driven from the fly wheel.

The finished turbine house, with the roof seeded with a wild flower mix.

Mini Hydro- The first steps

2009-02-16T19:40:00.004Z

Although I have primary interest in the rivers I have been involved closely in the planning of the first mini-hydrogeneration scheme in the Peak Park. Situated at Alport Mill the project will make use of 4.5 meters of head-loss to drive a crossflow turbine. The scheme will work around the Grade 1 listed Mill and all of the outbuildings. I was particularly keen to see that no harm would come to the river or it's inhabitants so safeguards have been put in place to protect fish, water voles, brook lamprey, crayfish and the surrounding riparian land.

Today we began our excavations on the area where the turbine housing will stand.

Sepia Brownie

2009-02-12T12:44:00.006Z

Sufficient time (27 years) has now passed for a prosecution to be brought against me for use of an illegal instrument under the Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act. Having flown under the radar for so long I feel it's now time to 'fess up to my crimes. A handline was used. There, I hope we can all move on ;-)

Sounds from the river at night

2009-01-10T21:35:00.003Z

Its about 100 paces from the house to the river. Living on the side of the valley means the sounds from below are often magnified, so a heron calling in the middle of the night can sound like its under the bed. When two are squabbling over the best fishing places they often wake us up. Every so often a ‘wild rumpus’ starts along the river bank with every bird causing a din, encouraged by their neighbours. They will remain jumpy all night, never really settling down, especially the moorhens.

A moonlit night like this is perfect for tawny owls. They talk amongst themselves in the wood opposite and really get going in the early evening. You can lie in bed and listen to the progress of the fox along the river bank as each water bird gives a shriek of alarm when he pokes his nose into the river margin for a sniff. In a few weeks we will hear the vixens calling their single bark or their eerie scream.

On muggy, short summer nights with the windows flung open for air, fish jumping to dislodge a parasite can be heard slapping their sides on re-entry. But the best sound of all is made by the dippers soon after dawn in the spring. Their song rises above the dawn chorus and suddenly the river seems to be in the bedroom with you.

Brace

2008-11-06T14:39:00.004Z

These two interlopers are recent visitors to the watershed. Six years ago we saw our first Cormorant and the Mink have been here for about three. The Mink were brought to England and then released and the Cormorants have adapted to fishing inland rivers and lakes thanks to the over fishing and depletion of their preferred sea fish diet.

We are ready for the next invasion of opportunistic mammals, birds or plants that will undoubtedly find there way here thanks to Mans unbelievable and thoughtless blundering, what ever they may be.

It certainly isn't the fault of these creatures, that found themselves in completely the wrong place and are only trying to survive. That said this useful brace is again the product of Jans attention to detail and hard work. He's been after that female mink for some time now. As the clays have 'gone quiet' we think what remains of our Water Voles might be safe for the winter.

First frost

2008-10-29T09:27:00.003Z

From the bedroom window, looking down the valley to the river in the bottom and away to the village of Alport.

What's your favourite post?

2008-10-26T15:11:00.003Z

As we climb towards the 10,000 views marker I was wondering, in an attempt to make this blog more bi-directional, if you readers had a favourite post? I liked this one; http://141207.blogspot.com/2008/04/mopping-up.html and the silly swark from the Jackdaw as the first fly is eaten :-)

Natural, seasonal narrowing

2008-10-26T15:03:00.004Z

By excluding livestock from the left hand bank this large bed of watercress has been able to grow out. The bed was established as a direct result of the installation of a willow branch which acts as a toe. As a result the late season flow has almost doubled across a much narrower channel width. This has meant much more ranunculus through this quicker section and better holding water for the inject breathing resident brown trout.
When the really high water comes in a week or two and the frosts knock back the watercress, it will be ripped out as the river claims back its full channel width, but for now the peppery cress is present in almost every sandwich I make.

Tolerance?

2008-10-23T12:51:00.005+01:00

We are completely intolerant of Mink. They are a non native, mammal predator who specialise in feeding on our native Water Vole population. The choice needs to be made between either Mink or Water Voles because the female Mink can easily bypass futile protection measures, put in place by ’Ratty’. Film exists of a female Mink slipping into a Water Vole family burrow while they slept and taking one each day until non survived. It made an impression on me; I like to see a fair fight. Jan caught this massive dog Mink this morning measuring 2 feet long. He is sure another, much smaller, is living on the same short stretch having marked his clay earlier in the week. When he catches it (as he surely will) that will make 9 in three weeks from 800 yards of river bank, smack in the middle of our fishing.
Otter’s somehow bring about the opposite feelings. We chatter away about the chances of seeing our resident and feel very proud that it has chosen the Wye as a place to live. There is no doubt that it will eat what it chooses and amongst that diet will invariably be Water Voles but Voles and Otters can exist together, as part of the balance of nature on a British river bank- haven't you read The Wind in the Willows...

More Otter prints

2008-10-20T12:34:00.005+01:00

It looks like our Otter, having made impressions in a trap last month, is still around. Lets hope it stays for the winter and rears young here. We are taking advice on the construction of an artificial Otter holt to be built near by.

School visit

2008-10-20T12:18:00.004+01:00

We were pleased to host a day grayling fishing for this group of children, keen to learn how to catch fish on a blustery October day. After a lesson on how to target grayling and not the trout they were shown how to handle the fish properly. It's nice to be able to throw open our doors and provide free river fishing to these boys.

Standards and understanding

2008-10-19T17:48:00.008+01:00

Taking out another of the weirs, holding back the flow, has shown yet again the craftsmanship, and deep understanding of water that existed 100 years ago. A bolster run along the top face couldn’t reveal the joins between the gritstone lintels, they were so perfectly joined. Under these huge stones we found a wider, but no less thick base of flat slabs, lying exactly level. Downstream were diamond/cone shaped limestone wedges, fitted so their most part was underground by at least 20 inches and only their tops showed. Sloping away from the base they were set so tightly it took an hour with a bar to get the first one out. Then they could be taken out by hand. Above the weir were huge limestone slabs on a bed of very thick clay. This weir could easily withstand erosion from the falling water coming off the weir boards and the head of water upstream. Apart from a layer of tufa and moss, it could have been built yesterday and would have resisted the forces of nature for the next hundred year without the slightest problem.

Last week we rescued some coarse fish from a pond. It had been built 19 years ago by damming a valley stream with clay. This glacial valley is almost entirely clay so it should have remained water tight. Unfortunately no safeguards were installed to guard against the large amounts of silt, eroded from the valley sides, so it acted as a very efficient silt trap, filling it’s eight foot depths in as many years. These modern day constructers built a concrete spillway onto the clay, but the water soon cut from behind creating leaks. We found the level down and the fish huddled together in a puddle towards the centre, in water no deeper than a welly.

Why is it that the men who built their weir 100 years ago understood so much more than the men who built this dam wall and why also was the standard so much higher?

Page 5

2008-10-09T14:02:00.002+01:00

Paid for by Anglers...

Front Page

2008-10-09T13:52:00.004+01:00

I see that STW are blaming the building contractor. The building contractor is clear that when they cut into the pipe to feed in their sewage, the join was sound. They said the leak is coming from an area further up the main, which it is. I believe they have disturbed the main, causing a leak a few metres away. So who is right, STW or the contractors and who is going to get it mended and when? It's still leaking into my river..!

Pass the problem

2008-10-03T22:43:00.014+01:00

Damaged live sewer main leaking sewage. Continual flows of sewage and female sanitary products with a nasty chemical smell form a sludge on the footpath. People and their dogs are walking through this wetted, stinking area. The sludge runs away into the River Wye, 100 metres upstream of the main, five arched bridge in town.

I called The Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60. A very professional chap took the location and all the details of the pollution. He asked all the right questions and listened for the answers. I asked for the National Incident Recording System number and was given 00626065. I asked for a call back.
A lady walked towards the sludge, which had developed a tell tale white fungus, so had been running for some time. She saw and smelt the mess and asked;
“ What on earth is it?”
I replied:
“It’s sewage, please don’t come any nearer”
“Well get it cleaned up then!” she replied and turned around muttering to her self.
All the time dogs and people were walking through this sewage without knowing what it was. This lady was right of course. They shouldn’t have to walk through other peoples toilet waste. Should they?

I rang the District Council and spoke to the Environmental department. The women who answered my call said;
“Yes we know about the leak. Its been leaking for some time“.
I replied” Do you know people are walking through it?
She said “The sewage is coming from a building development who have been given 28 days to sort it out. Its not our responsibility, you need to talk to the town council”

My friend called the building development. Apparently, ‘the old pipe is fractured and needs replacing‘. It wasn’t the building development who were responsible at all, rather Severn Trent Water for not mending their leaking sewer.
We walked around to the Town hall and although it was 3.30 on Friday afternoon, no one answered our knock at their door. On the notice board next to the office was a sign saying ‘general enquiries could be made at a drop in clinic over at the Agricultural Business Centre. My colleague and I went to report it.

On entering the drop in clinic I introduced myself and began explaining the problem.

"People are walking through this foul smelling me…".She stopped me.

"It not our problem. Have you called the Environment Agency?"

I replied that I had and went on to say that we must fence off the sewage before 5pm, with the weekend ahead of us. She called the same lady I spoke to initially while I sat at her desk. It was clear the way the conversation was going that nothing was going to be done. I stood up and said I was going to the Police.
“Mr. Slaney has stood up and is now walking out of the office saying he is going to go to the Police!", she said to her very unhelpful boss.

The Environment Agency called me back. Jan took the call. He passed on the message that the EA would come out if there was any fish were seen in distress, otherwise it would be Monday morning before an inspector would visit.

The women at the desk in the Police Station began to brush me off. I had to stare straight into her eyes and say:

“People, children and their dogs are walking through raw sewage next to the river. I think we have a duty of care to protect them from it, don’t you!”
At once she saw my side and went to find someone in the station who could help. I heard a gentleman say from behind the screen “ Its nothing to do with us”. He appeared at the counter and began to pass responsibility to the town council. Again, I had to get him to understand the problem. When he did understand he offered to call the Mayor and went back behind the screen.
Returning a few minutes later he said that the Mayor said that they own the land, but do not own the pipe and would not be doing anything about it. It was now 4pm. After a brief, heated one sided exchange from me he agreed to ask the Peak National Park Authority to close the footpath. I thanked him and left the office. It seemed that the PNPA had declined to get involved either, though they are contributing to the sewer in a big way, so him and another PC were seen stretching barrier tape across the entrance to the field, affectively closing the footpath at 4.45pm.

If I wasn’t so persistent and determined, nothing would have been done and people would have to tramp through human shit and rags until the job reached the top of some priority list. No one, other than the Police could give a monkies. Its simply astonishing how, in an affluent area such as Bakewell paying huge rates and council taxes, the services do not exist to keep us safe. There wasn’t the will in any of the council or government agencies I spoke to, for anyone to stand up and act in a decent, public spirited way. As the conversation begins I hear them waiting for an chance to send me somewhere else and as soon as they have the slightest angle to get rid of the problem elsewhere, they grasp that chance with great enthusiasm.

Copy to Patrick Mcloughlin MP

Scott-Our Friday Help

2008-10-03T10:07:00.005+01:00

Scott is a 1st year student at Rodbaston College, Staffordshire. He lives in Derby and makes the 25 mile, 100 minute journey every Friday to fulfil a work placement. We enjoy having him and he fits into our team very well. The placement will last for ten weeks with an option to have him for a further ten Fridays. Scott has an overwhelming affinity for water and fish, no question about that. His job last week was to remove the surface of a redd, compacted and useless, below a hen brownie. These gravels were broken up and kept separate because they may have a special smell. The solid bedrock of tufa was then taken out, making sure not to disturb any local stones on the river bed that might at as homing beacons to the fish, waiting out in the deep water downstream.

Scott was able to collect a couple of bucketfuls of gravel from downstream and pour them into the scrape he created. Then the original surface stone was blinded over the top to give the impression that nothing had been disturbed. We left her to it, hoping she would return.

Text to Scott the following Saturday morning;

She’s back! Well done…

He knows I'm watching

2008-10-02T23:22:00.009+01:00

Very few birds inspire so much hate as the Sparrow Hawk. Pigeon fanciers stand at their lofts and watch helplessly as the local ‘awk takes daily from their flock. The men seem incredulous that the audacious thief shows no respect and takes even the best birds. Those Fan Tails in the farm yard at home can be saved if you are quick. Dashing in, before the sparrow hawk mantles, it is possible to fend it off with a wellington boot although it often stands its ground for a few seconds, not willing to give up all that tasty breast meat without a fight. Taking the stunned dove and setting it between two bales just delays the inevitable. He is watching from the thorn tree and as soon as you turn your back, clumps of white feathers are being torn out.

Earlier generations of gamekeepers would exploit this ownership. Carrying a pouch from which a small amount of white powder would be dusted onto the corpse, turning these fantastic birds into stumbling, useless dizzy things, fighting desperately for a few more seconds of life, before they are dispatched with a kick. As a ten year old boy, impressionable and so keen to please my gamekeeper guide, I was shocked and ashamed to see the death of a hen sparrow hawk in this way, acutely aware that this wasn’t a fair fight.

These birds deserve respect. Respect that they can take down prey species of the same size or bigger and that they are so well adapted to human encroachment by simply hedge hopping through suburban gardens. Most of all they never kill more than they can eat and that kill is never wasted, even if they are initially scared off. Having worked hard in the chase, that pigeon is theirs.

Now they are tolerated and our birds, having fledged from a nest only yards from a release pen holding 900 poult pheasants, would prove themselves to be blameless if they were ever charged with trying to address such a ridiculous imbalance.

One of the boys from that nest makes a return to his home valley for a fat woody, its crop full of wheat from the hoppers. He knows he is being watched even though only the lense is showing from the window. Sorry about the camera shake, after waiting for quite a while and confident he would return, it was still exciting to see him back.

STW: Your Water Safe in Our Hands

2008-10-01T22:42:00.011+01:00

Written on the back doors of our local water authority vans, this is a claim that just doesn't stack up. They have been jetting slit from the main sewer under this road. This debris has been left in our countryside following their lunch today.

I wrote to them a year ago after they left this lot in exactly the

same place...

If their duty of care over our water extends to the same standard as our grass verges, I wouldn't drink that water...and don't.

Have we got a Price?

2008-09-30T17:41:00.004+01:00

At the cost of over £1,000 our Irish Caravan Club were evicted. Soon after a chain fence was erected to stop them getting to the same area of ground again. Less than one week later the same group arrived back in Bakewell Showground and although initially put out that they couldn’t set up camp in the same spot they quickly found another patch, on a private car park and on the banks of the river.

Out came their rods and lines. During the following couple of days we had reports of them fishing along the river in town. On Sunday 28th September, Jan, in the presence of a Police Officer caught two pony tailed men fishing with a handline. When questioned, the eighteen year old said to his accomplice‘.. they cant do any thing anyway’.

We are arranging a summons for the two men to appear at Chesterfield Magistrates Court to answer charges of Fishing with an illegal instrument (Salmon and Fisheries Act 1975) and unlawfully fishing without permits. These summons will be served personally by us in the presence of Police Officers. If they do not attend the Court hearing which is listed, the court will order a warrant for their arrest. Upon arrest the Police will give them a second hearing to attend. If they fail to attend then, the court may find in their absence or may issue a warrant, not backed by bail, to ensure that on the second arrest the can be retained in custody before appearing in court.

Otter id

2008-09-30T12:20:00.003+01:00

No one alive can remember seeing otters on this estate. We aren’t ideally suited, having no eels or coarse fish but this pad mark seems to indicate an otter putting its head and front paw into both ends of the clay raft. The smaller tracks are the fifth member of a family group of mink, the previous four having been already trapped in the area. What do you think?

Weir Removal

2008-09-17T23:09:00.007+01:00

It’s a full year since the EA survey team electro fished a short length of river. Among their recommendations were the import of small stones so the young fish would have something to sit amongst.
Going one step further we finally decide to remove the 100 year old weir sill, rear pitchings and front flag stones. This had a number of advantages;

Remove the weir sill across two sections of the weir whist keeping the furthest bay fully boarded up. This would create a sharp turn in the river, increase its flow through the section and reduce the amount the river is held back

The stone freed up will go into the river channel above as habitat for the young fish through this perfect yearling water.

Use the large stone to widen the footpath so we can get the tractor through and to narrow the river channel, quickening the flow.

20mm gravel will be added to the newly created lift, so fish can now spawn here.
On the left hand bank, below the weir, a nursery area of shallow water and brash cover will be built, so the babies have somewhere safe to go.

Only 30 more weirs left...

Hens sitting up

2008-09-17T22:27:00.003+01:00

A few frames showing a number of hen fish beginning to mottle into their spawning garb.

An Irish Travellers promise

2008-09-15T22:00:00.001+01:00

“No Sir, you’ll have no trouble from the like of us. We promise we wont pinch your fishes Sir, and if we see anyone else after ‘em, we will tell you straight away“.

Later that morning Jan caught one of these temporary, Irish accented males spinning for our trout at the back of his caravan. We were advised by our Solicitors that it would take so long to serve the summons on a Gentleman ‘I now know as Mr. Cunningham‘, that he would quite likely have moved on. Far better for the Police, being not satisfied with the address he produces, to take him to the cells where the Custody Sergeant can release him under a bond, to appear later. Everyone thought this a great idea expect Mr. Cunningham… and the Custody Sergeant. And so Mr. Cunningham was free to go.

Caught it!

2008-09-13T22:32:00.004+01:00

Tuesday September 9th 1900hrs

Following a shower of rain I rushed down to the CSO to catch the discharge on film. No rags this time but plenty of foul smelling pollution; all legal and above board. Surely there is a modern alternative to this...

Flood

2008-09-07T17:24:00.004+01:00

100mm of rain in a few hours on Friday night.

Spot the rising fish at 2:32 and 2:40

September discharge

2008-09-03T10:25:00.004+01:00

Nirs 00617780

If you are told by the EA that an automatic screen cleaning device on a CSO will reduce the amount of rags entering the river...it doesn't. Ours hasn't worked since 2005 but nothing is being done to rectify it.

Death in the afternooon

2008-08-18T13:13:00.006+01:00

For the last few months the sparrow hawk nest has become progressively noisier. When the two young began to sit out on the branches they would call out for their mother, who always seemed to be on the hunt. As their breakfast thrush became a distant memory around noon, the two would become desperately hungry and call out incessantly. Then mother would arrive, low over the hedgerows, with an attendant ball of fluff in her undercarriage.

More recently, as the chicks became fully fledged and difficult to tell apart from mother in anything but colour and of course airborne alacrity, she would feed them by calling to them as she approached. Their fledging wood stands on the far side of the valley from home, they would wake us each morning. By listening out for her it would be possible to witness many of these ariel handovers. They took place over the hay meadow, her swooping right up in the sky, them coming out to meet her. When they were nearly upon her she would cast the dead bird, allowing it to tumble to the earth, unless either young would be quick enough to catch it. Win or lose the young were always disciplined to return to the sycamore canopy to wait for the next chance.

This morning she arrived as normal but without a talonful of feathers and warm meat that meant another dead starling. Her call was instantly recognisable but very different in tone. This family nest here every year but I have never been lucky enough to see this moment before. She was calling them to come out hunting with her and I knew the valley would become quiet for another year. With these three now on the wing, no small bird is safe.

Heron damage for the forum

2008-08-01T14:05:00.006+01:00

For every fish I see on the bank I see five more that have been speared and left wounded. If you look carefully, the fish swimming off the redd has a heron hole in its back.

NIRS 00608776

2008-07-29T15:53:00.006+01:00

Environment Agency:

"Regarding the more general water quality issue which you raised, the overflow does not have any significant impact on water quality, chemical or biological, of the Lathkill. "

Native crayfish amongst the sewage

2008-07-29T12:07:00.005+01:00

After trapping for a couple of days with 5 traps, this little native crayfish turned up. The female sanitary products were from a recent discharge from the Bower Hall CSO, approximately 50 meters upstream from here.

The countryside is a treasury we all can share

2008-07-04T00:02:00.006+01:00

My Father told me the other day that when he was a boy out playing, Partridges were very common. The Grey Partridge is an indicator of balance between farming and nature. Since then the balance has swung towards an intensive style of farming, at the cost of our natural history. I am 39. Although I grew up on a lowland farm I have never seen barn owls. I began work on a country estate 20 years ago and have never seen them here either. Until two years ago when I caught one in the head lights late at night, they might as well have been as extinct as the Dodo.

Since then these fantastic creatures have been making a remarkable comeback. The most significant thing we have done to help is to provide boxes in barns and out-buildings. Of course the land needs to be right. Silage has a lot to answer for. The grass isn’t dried out like hay (which is turned at least three times). Hay is made by killing the grass under the heat of the sun. The constant turning and drying causes the seeds to fall and be left behind providing food for the short tailed vole. Barn Owls feed almost entirely on these small mammals and their numbers are directly linked. Thick, dark green rye grass, waving in the wind spells starvation for Barn Owls. Artificial fertiliser is spread onto the land to enable three and four cuts of silage during the growing season. All excess nutrients find their way into the water table and to our rivers.

Having spent a couple of fascinating hours with a licensed bird expert one thing became apparent. He must have handled hundreds of birds but couldn’t fail to be impressed by the colours and the markings on the face and head of this female. The Barn Owl is dressed in the most superb livery and seeing them bouncing along in the lessening light of dusk, dropping down occasionally into standing hay, is a spiritual reward of the highest order.

My friend put her back on her eggs and let her settle before we made our way off to check the other boxes.

Longest Day

2008-06-21T22:52:00.006+01:00

The day started for me by the side of a reservoir, where I was night fishing for carp, when the sky began to turn grey in the east around 3.20am . It has just ended with a real treat; a Barn Owl quartering the meadow below the house in the half light of dusk after an absence of at least 25 years. All the work has paid off and another personal ambition has been achieved.

The little innocents

2008-06-21T12:40:00.007+01:00

This is broad daylight, one late afternoon in the middle of town. A friend snapped these three as they tried to steal from the shoal below. To their left is a sign saying;
'PRIVATE FISHING - WE ALWAYS PROSECUTE FISH POACHING

I would prosecute for fishing private waters without permission. He would be asked to produce an EA rod License. If he couldn't produce, a statement would be passed to the EA who would draw up papers for us to prosecute on their behalf. The tackle and fish would be seized as evidence. We would request compensation for the fish at £15/each.

Treat those two impostors just the same

2008-06-21T08:48:00.004+01:00

Those of us who create a product that is purchased by the public will have had that product criticised and exulted. I learnt along time ago to trust my own judgement and nod politely at the praise while humouring the unfavourable comments. One person says the river should be concreted over, the other makes plans to spend every waking minute on its banks. Standing with each, it is evident why. The optimist and hunter is looking, looking where his experience tells him fish should be. All the time we are talking his eyes never leave the river and why should they? That fish under the far bush may only reveal itself with a small dimple at the surface a few times each day. It’s important to gather as much information as you can about it and its choice of food. In this way all the main hotspots in view can be scanned every few seconds. You can find that day ticket the Keeper is asking for by going in every ‘westcut’ pocket until it reveals itself in the last one.
The moaner will have his back to the river and wont have seen a fish rise all day. He will try to infect others. I remember two brothers ruining the whole weekend for anyone daft enough to listen to them. Negativity spread like cancer turning the river bank into a morgue. These people had been given freshly stocked fish in the past without having to think or work at it. When it comes to wild trout, that aren’t going to rise when they stand in full view and aren’t going to splash at a clumsy cast, it’s the river that’s at fault not them. Gareth and I met the two brothers and offered to spend our time and give up a few river secrets that we had taken the time to find out. They wouldn’t have it and left, never to return.
There is a short stretch of river that is almost empty of fish and I don’t know why. It is a tributary with all the characteristics appropriate to wild trout living. There are many tasty looking spots that should hold trout but don’t. It's below a Combined Sewage Outfall so we are having tests carried out to see if that is responsible before looking further into the problem. One thing is for certain, it will be sorted out and fish will rise there again in good numbers.

Bio- diversity

2008-06-20T10:39:00.005+01:00

Diverse-biology. Different species of plants and animals.On this protected, small, rocky outcrop the following plants exist:

Monkey Flower Mimulus guttatus
Water Cress Nasturtium microphyllum
Water Speedwell Veronica anagallis
Rosebay Willowherb Chamerion angustifolium
Water Mint Mentha Aquatica
Water forget-me-not Myosotis Scorpio ides
Marsh-marigold Caltha palustris

The Mimulus is a naturalised import from the States. All the others are native. Insects will prefer one plant to another so this area of river bank has a diverse range of both plants and animals.

Sit up straight

2008-06-18T11:04:00.007+01:00

This is a really funny photograph. OK it has local interest because the scene is set at Batemans House in Lathkill Dale but it’s the body language that is interesting. The two on the left are in service as fishing guides. They have been offered a cup of tea and gratefully accepted. They are clearly not be used to having their photographs taken. Those three, including the man in the hat are responsible for the fish, the others in the photo are family . The lady sitting on the ground looks like a dragon! Seventeen fish killed and laid out on the grass. I want to sit down and talk to them about sustainable fishing practises…
I’ve got 1901 in my head as a date for the picture. George Bartram’s grave is so worn away over time his name is hard to pick out. Even Batemans House is a ruin but the photo remains in excellent condition.
Far left Headley Slaney. Buried in Youlgrave Cemetery
Second from left George Bartram. Buried in Over Haddon Cemetery

Hard work/attention to detail

2008-06-17T10:31:00.005+01:00

After many hours trying Jan succeeded in catching his first mink this morning. The quality of his trapping has certainly improved and his tunnels are now some of the best I’ve seen set. I can confidently predict that very few mink will find a happy home for long on his patch. I like to think that this dog was caught right on our top boundary because he wwas working his way down the river. Lets hope we caught him quickly before too many water voles were killed.

Our Mink raft/trapping scheme is co-funded by The EA and The Derbyshire Wildlife Trust. Haddon Keepers run the trap line on a day to day basis and are reponsible for dispatching the mink. Ultimately it's all paid for by anglers.

3 of my favourite anglers

2008-06-17T00:45:00.000+01:00

One spring morning I was asked to meet a guest at the hotel. He arrived on a motorbike with his fishing tackle in a rucksack on his back. He introduced himself and explained that he was deaf and couldn’t speak very well. This was back in the days when I would fish occasionally and we arranged to go out together onto my favourite section of my favourite river. He immediately surprised me by stripped off an enormous length of tippet to add to an already long leader. It was clear that he knew what he was doing and built quite a complex leader to match the type of weather, now quite blustery and wet. It ended up 16 feet long, almost twice as long as my usual one. Although we were fishing pocket water and runs between weed beds, he outfished me. It really was a new approach that I have carried with me as much as possible.

Clive used to visit the area from his home in California. His wife was from nearby Chesterfield and his only chance of keeping sane whist visiting the in-laws was to spend almost his entire visit on my rivers. He would fish and fish and fish and end the day with as much enthusiasm as he started. I fondly remember walking him off the mid summer river at mid-night after I’ve searched the banks for him, considering him drowned. He was back on the river at eight in the morning.

The Major was a long term visitor and a great friend. We would chat much more than fish and his long stays at the local holiday cottage always meant some fascinating stories from his life, like the time he went round Aintree in the National.

I’ve never liked those who try and catch a hundred fish and over do things. Anyone with a basic understanding of the river and a couple of good patterns can easily hook a hundred fish in a day. The only reason they catch that many is so they can tell people. This type of angler has some way to come. I admire anyone who can enjoy themselves fishing, not those who need it or take it for granted.

Odd one out?

2008-06-15T23:00:00.004+01:00

This is a very significant photograph. It shows how wild trout can become extinct in a river. We came very close to just that about five years ago.

A bag and size limit encourages mature fish to be killed. Stock trout are introduced and taken as part of the bag, but look what else gets killed too. The top fish was a 3lb wild hen rainbow trout, worth 3,000 eggs on the redds in the spring and every year after. All of the other four together were worth less than a fiver. There were huge discrepancies between the two types of fish, yet they were treated the same and dispatched to fill a bag limit. The stockies were easily replaced but this wild fish could have taken seven years to grow, brown trout even longer. Our wild trout were being killed much faster than they could regenerate naturally.

Fortunately our brownies especially have made a great come back, under the protection of catch & release and careful handling from our anglers.

Plover success

2008-06-14T22:30:00.006+01:00

The project is in its 5th season and has been a terrific success. Our neighbouring farmer has instructed his farm hands to keep off the land between April 1st and June 1st. Sometimes this has meant him not harrowing and rolling because the ground was too wet before the cut off date. These little plover are clearly able to avoid the mower and will now move off the meadow into the headland and the shallow scrape ponds around the field perimeter.

Honesty

2008-06-14T15:35:00.007+01:00

To finally get to a position where there is no need to lie or be misleading in my profession has taken some time. Dishonesty is endemic in fishery management. When we were stocking the rivers we did so at night or at least in the half light of dawn so no one could see. Of course we left our tell tale vehicle track in the mowing grass but anglers wouldn’t put two and two together. ‘Do you stock the rivers Warren?’ ‘We dribble a few in from time to time to freshen things up’ was my standard answer. We stocked over 2,000 3+ fish each summer. It's easy to tell people what they want to hear and it was important to maintain the illusion of wildness; that those four 2lb brown trout each of our fishermen killed were special and their angling skills must have been worthy of the capture of these ‘5 year old’ trout, where all others had failed. The anglers paid, felt good about themselves and came back. They thought the world of us keepers. Business was booming so agents and owners were happy, everybody was pleased, except the river.

Then we started to feed the rivers. During one late winter period over ½ a ton of pelleted food was hoofed in. Those fish really grew, but when an early season rod bent into one, many others in the pool would think it feeding time and come splashing around the rod tip. What’s happening Warren ? ‘Territorial behaviour’ came my answer. I didn’t tell the truth and have my fattening up campaign rumbled. Again, everyone remained happy… except the river.

Up on the bookcase here is an old booking diary showing how we regularly sold 30 rods on many mayfly days. This was followed by a pat on the head from an agent who knew no better. I was bleating about the over fishing but didn’t make a stand until my early 30’s. Until then it was all about ‘making hay while the sun shined’, at the expense of the river.

We now have a strict twelve rod limit on our day ticket water. There’s plenty of room for them at 7 ½ miles but even our owner will not fish when all twelve rods have gone out. We don’t feed the river and haven’t for five years. The public are being asked to stop their urban feeeing too. Our fish farms are all closed and we don’t stock any adults, yearlings, babies or eggs in boxes and haven’t done for five years.

The River now comes first, at the expense of the anglers, agents, farmers, owners and keepers.

One less Barn Owl

2008-06-12T18:07:00.007+01:00

My guess is a Goshawk killed this Barn Owl. That perennial villain of the edge of woodland must have carried off its kill to feed it's young. Those Barn Owl chicks nearby will be having a lean time of it with just one parent working overtime to bring voles and mice.

EA Fish Rescue

2008-06-12T14:54:00.005+01:00

The upper river bed dries up in the summer. Sometimes it holds on until mid summer but it always goes. The Lathkill still flows underground, through a coffin shaped subterranean ‘sough’, draining access to the rich lead veins and any hope of annual flow. Until the sough can be blocked the EA come and take the ex-brood fish, having run the winter river to spawn and their offspring, safely downstream. The method used is labour intensive for safety sake and requires a team of five. Before they can begin the sluice is opened to let off the pool, An electric current stuns the fish so they can be netted. Alec, the keeper on this patch, transports them to safer, summer quarters after a count and health check. Before the EA came to help, all these fish would just die in the mud. They catch as many as two thousand fish over their two visits.

Bank repair/habitat creation

2008-06-12T09:34:00.003+01:00

Living willow, that is willow wands twisted around willow posts driven into the river bed, provides protection against severe erosion threatening to create an ox-bow. It also give cover to water voles and water birds as well as all sizes of trout. We are learning that it must not be installed on a fishing bank as it grows up and prohibits access but on infrequently fished banks, there is nothing better.

Mayfly 08

2008-06-12T07:59:00.004+01:00

A great refusal at 3:36 and the cast only a second before was just about perfect.

5th June vid

2008-06-11T20:07:00.005+01:00

After cutting the tape with a saw Jan declined my offer to catch the first fish in a generation from Ogden Island. A two summer wild rainbow soon came up to a mayfly and was slipped back. We watched one very big brown living behind one of our croys and a shoal of large grayling would often bump into our legs whist we waded up and down. There are a couple of Club members who have their eyes on them this winter.

Enlightenment

2008-06-11T19:40:00.004+01:00

We sell wild trout fishing with as much interaction with the local wild life as you wish. Some anglers don’t lift their eyes from their floating fly, such is their concentration, whilst others tumble into the Hotel in the evening with stories of dippers, kingfishers, close encounters with water voles and special moments of their own. Others just have a contented look on their faces and say nowt.

Earlier in the week I was helping a guest towards understanding wild trout and how to catch them. His white trousers were grass stained with their knees an earthy mix of nature. We had spotted a trout up in the water, finning, sipping flies from the film and a good prospect on a tough day. He had learnt to turn that long leader over and drop the fly like thistledown. He was getting the hang of side casting to keep the wavy stick off the skyline but, just as you can be frightened by the closing double at darts, this chap was dropping his fly short. Off came a couple of yards from the reel and his tiny beetle landed perfectly. The fish…never moved. What came next surprised me. I was ready to go into my comforting, optimistic, encouraging mode when my guest turned to me with a huge smile on his face and said…”Now this is real fishing!”

He got it. This wasn’t the time to blame the line, or the fly or the rod, or me. He simply gave credit to the fish in front of us. It made all the forelock tugging and fussing about with corporate guests worth while.

Ogden Day

2008-06-05T23:02:00.001+01:00

Ogden Day
James Ogden. 5th June 1865. Fished the Wye in Bakewell. Used a artificial dry fly. Watched by the Head Keeper and the Estate Agent. Made law the day after. Dry fly Only rule: 143 years old today.

Ogden Island
160 yards of main river cut off from fishing by carrier. No wading here and the island is like a jungle. Not been fished for a very long time. Jan and me studied, watched, planned and grafted. Made accessible and fun for fly fishing. Bridge built over to it, which was opened today. One fish caught to close the project. Door left open for the rest of you to enjoy it.
Next…

Least favourite work

2008-06-02T21:59:00.002+01:00

If you shake his hand and say Good Morning Mr Jones…and he doesn’t say. “call me Alan” you know it’s going to be a long day. John Gierach summarises guiding beautifully and writes wonderful explanations as to why he doesn’t guide and why I should stop straight away! Unfortunately we have two corporate days, starting tomorrow and I can’t wriggle out of them this year. That said I’ve just spent a couple of very happy hours stalking trout on the mayfly spinner with quite a competent fly fisherman. The sport was good and for the first time I’ve seen this newly renovated section of river earning it‘s keep. Not only is it holding many more fish, but it’s much more interesting fishing. Well worth the effort (and it was hard work!). Vid to follow.

Poetry Please

2008-06-02T08:13:00.002+01:00

Sunday June 1st Radio 4
4:40

There’s many a proud Wizard
In Araby or Egypt
Can read the silver writing
Of the stars as they run

And many a dark Gypsy
With a pheasant in his knapsack
Has gathered more by moonshine
Than wiser men have won

But I know a Wizardry
Can take a buried acorn
And whisper forests out of it
To tower against the sun

There’s many a magician
In Baghdad and Banaras
Can read you for a penny
What your future is to be

And a flock of crazy prophets
That by staring at the crystal
Can fill it with more fancies
Than there’s herring in the sea

But I know wizardry
Can break a freckled eggshell
And shake a throstel out of it
In every hawthorn tree

There’s many a crafty Alchemist
In Mecca and Jerusalem
And Michael Scott and Merlin
Were reckoned very wise

But I know Wizardry
Can take a wisp of sun fire
And round it to a planet
And roll it through the skies

With cities and seaports
And little shining windows
And hedgerows and gardens
And loving human eyes

Heron wound

2008-05-31T21:15:00.003+01:00

This fish has wriggled free from a heron’s strike. Herons use their lower bill to pierce and their upper bill to hold. The fish darkens from the entry wound forward towards and including the head, but only on one side as can be seen here. Without becoming too scientific, freshwater fish are constantly trying to get rid of water and retain salt. This osmo-regulation is reversed in marine fish. A wound like this will lead to fresh water flooding the body, meaning the fish has to constantly urinate until the wound heals. The melanism is already beginning to fade in this Brownie. He will be as right as rain by the end of the summer.

Bowers Hall CSO again

2008-05-31T13:30:00.003+01:00

NIRS 591981

Severn Trent Water have breached their consent yet again. The screen cleaning device has failed allowing sanitary towels, toilet paper, condoms and waste nappies into the River Lathkill.

Walk-about

2008-05-31T06:43:00.004+01:00

No car or bike today. A stiff walk down the rivers to meet the anglers at the hotel for an hour, then up the Wye to Bakewell. The walk will take in all three rivers and provide an opportunity to have a good close look at the summer rivers. It will also blow away some of yesterdays cob webs.

Dill

2008-05-30T11:42:00.003+01:00

I buried her this morning under the apple trees. She was 16.

How to fish

2008-05-28T18:06:00.003+01:00

When fishing for chub the approach should be a very stealthy one or we risk scaring the fish. Why is it that a similar approach isn’t popular with trout anglers? They prefer to stand rather than crouch or sit and march up to the river, putting a long coloured line over the fish.

This stealthy angler gets a few chances at those wild trout under his nose.

Bullfinch

2008-05-28T17:34:00.003+01:00

He is foraging for two. The female is sitting eggs in the garden hedge and relies on his regular bill full of dandelion seed.

Hatching

2008-05-28T16:58:00.005+01:00

During an afternoons weed cutting, above Conksbury Bridge one year, I had time to take a break and watch the mayflies hatching. It was possible to see the nymphs swimming to the surface from the river bed, breaking their thorax through the film and hatch clean off through a split where our shoulder blades would be. When the weather is chilly or misty (as it was today) the duns take longer to hatch, lying still in the nymph below the surface, like a tiny thin stick. On sunny days I challenge anyone to catch it on film because it all happens so quickly. I plucked the trapped mayfly from its shuck and let it walk from my fingers for it to join the rest of the big floppy ‘S’ shapes, disappearing into the woods.

Spinner

2008-05-27T22:15:00.005+01:00

Forecast is saying the air is going to warm up tomorrow. Every leaf in the wood must have a big green drake dun underneath it, waiting to finish it’s short airborne life. The spinner is a transformation not just in colour and size but in aerial prowess. The males are able to dance up and down in the tree high columns whilst finding the lea of the wind. The females fly up underneath, copulate and back to the river. They then head upstream, sometimes up to half a mile. I followed one once, running alongside as she made a b-line for the weir. At first they dilly and dally but soon the indecision ends and they fly with absolute purpose. It’s possible to see their yellow egg sacks underneath the end of their abdomen waiting to be dipped onto the surface. They sink like stones and are soon gone from view. Her energy or her will leave her and she dies, wings flat out, her little body drifting with the flow.

The mayfly to me is the spinner. Many anglers miss the fall of imago, their appetite for catching long since sated by the hatch of duns, they turn in for dinner. They miss not only another chance to get amongst the trout but also a remarkable natural spectacle that occurs on only a few evenings each year.

Can I help you?

2008-05-27T08:58:00.003+01:00

Weed cutting. Standing in the middle of the river, up to the waist of the chest waders and wielding a scythe gets the most attention. Any riverside job though, carried out in view of a footpath, can lead to those walkers 200 yards away stopping and lifting up their binoculars to take a look. I remember walking through a small village with a pole scythe (6m long wooden pole with scythe blade on the end) on my shoulder when a walker started taking photographs of me, paparazzi style.

Imagine being asked on a daily basis; ‘What are you doing?’ , by complete strangers as you go about your business.

I don’t like it one bit. My usual reply to those with such terrible manners is to call across and ask if I can help them, but to be honest single finger gestures are just as effective. This doesn’t give a very good impression though and I can only guess the conversation back in suburbia coffee mornings, when the incident is played out and the man in the river ‘just stuck his finger up at me’, doesn’t show us in the best of light.

A previous under keeper didn’t mind being stared at, the current one feels the same as me. Melissa was throwing balls for her dog, Webley, in our back garden yesterday. The garden has high walls around its perimeter with a footpath running down one side. A family of six, including two small children who were helped up to see, stopped and watched her while she and Webley played. So the townie coming into the country and staring at it human occupants isn’t restricted to riverside activities.

What if the shoe was on the other foot and the country people started to watch the Scaffolders and Construction Workers through binoculars? What if they approached people in the street and asked them what they were doing? The cells in the Police station would be full before the day was out.

Townies think the countryside and those in it exist for their pleasure and entertainment. Perhaps it does and we do.

Statement

2008-05-25T23:59:00.002+01:00

Statement of Warren Slaney
Head River Keeper, Haddon Estate

I am employed by Haddon Estate to look after and bailiff waters their fishery interests. These waters include 7 miles of the River Wye including the river running through Bakewell. The fishing is let on a yearly and daily basis with day tickets costing £65/day to fish with artificial floating flies only, to give the trout a sporting chance. All fish are returned alive to the river and no fish are ever killed by our paying guests. The river in Bakewell is fortunate to hold a large number of fish that are enjoyed by hundreds of people each day.
At approximately 22:20hrs on Sunday 25 May 2008 I was patrolling the North Bank of the river through Bakewell as part of my duties. Four adults could be seen leaning over the handrail on the single span bridge over the river, opposite the Co-op. It was dark at this time but the were easily seen as they stood almost directly under a street lamp which lit up the area. As I watched a man cast a handline into the river. This man is now known to me as:

xxxx xxxxxxxx of
xx xxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxx
Sheffield
D.O.B. xx/xx/xx

Satisfied that an illegal act was taking place I telephoned my assistant Jan Hobot and asked him to drive to Bakewell Police Station where he was to ask a Police Officer to attend the scene. After a few moments I saw xxxxxxxx catch a fish and lift it from the river. At 22:40 my assistant appeared from the South Bank/Bakewell side with two Police Officers. I watched xxxxxxxx throw something into the river as the Police came into view.
In the presence of PC xxxx xxxxxxxxx I cautioned xxxxxxxx and asked if he had permission to fish the water. He said he had not. PC xxxxxxxxx then searched xxxxxxxx and discovered the handline he was using and a spool of nylon line. The handline had a barbed hook attached. By this time my assistant had found the fish they had throw in and was trying to revive it by standing in the river. Unfortunately it could not be saved and a decision was made to kill the moribund trout.

I told xxxxxxxx that he would be reported for fish poaching offences and that the line, spool and fish would be seized as evidence. He said that he was sorry for the trouble he had caused.

W. G. M. Slaney
23:56
25 May 2008

Police Intelligence

2008-05-24T21:46:00.006+01:00

Any idea what 22,500 dead fish look like? Four generations of wild strain Brown Trout, wiped out during one night in 1997, covered the bottom of the ponds in our fish farm. They turned the water white and still. The mind takes a few seconds to register the change from the twisting and splashing of hungry fish to the sight of them upside down with their gills flared, totally dead.
It wasn’t hard to find the cause; white powder sprinkled through a grid covering our ten year old brood fish could be seen caught between the grid joints and making small piles on some leafy debris. The deadly water had left the tank, joined the river and back through the rest of the farm inlets where it finished its killing.

The Police were called as we realised this was something all together different to the trouble we were used to. Our EA Officer turned up in double quick time and ordered that the river water, thirty miles downstream, was stopped from being pumped into the public water reservoir, supplying the city of Derby.

When our Police Sergeant was shown the powder he bent down to take a closer look and with a sage expression on his face, took a finger full and began to lift it to his nose! The EA Officer saved the Sergeants life by quickly stopping him sniffing the lethal cyanide powder.

A Wakener

2008-05-22T12:35:00.005+01:00

I know it as a ball in cricket that isn't as bad as a beamer but has you alert to the possibility that your life is in danger out there at the crease. The videos going down here at blogger has highlighted the fact that this blog and the technology behind it is someone elses hands, so we have made the decision to move the blog and upgrade the movies, to the new Haddon Estate website. Those of you who look in from time to time will get plenty of notice and a redirection address will be left behind here.

Make the most of it

2008-05-21T23:13:00.003+01:00

Yes yes, they live for a day... Those who believe their eyes rather than a wives tale passed on down the line, will know Mayflies can live for a day but regularly live for longer. It is possible to experience a number of afternoon’s where mayflies hatch but at no time do they return, that is until the third or forth late afternoon when they all seem to climb and fall above your head in huge columns. The appearance of spinner in numbers usually means the hatch is coming to an end. I’ll stick my neck out and say the hatch is going to be a short one judging by what I am seeing and what I know.

Where are the water~lines videos?

2008-05-20T18:31:00.003+01:00

All the videos have disappeared following a bug at blogger. I'm told they are going to return so will upload some mayfly stuff when they do.

The Wye

2008-05-20T18:20:00.004+01:00

From the seat of the tractor, looking down into the river this afternoon I have never seen the river look so clear. Being spring fed it has the potential to be very clear indeed but the summer river always has a algal tint. Not now. Caddis can be seen moving about on the river bed in six feet of water and the grayling…there are some really big grayling in this river and plenty of them. I reckon the algae has been checked by the night time frost and very cool east wind of recent days. It’s got to do wonders for our weed growth.

WTT membership

2008-05-20T12:19:00.002+01:00

When you buy a day ticket at the Peacock from today onwards you will be given a small card with the details of the WTT on it. Please consider joining the Trust, they are better than ever with the recent appointment of three excellent people.

Rodbaston visit

2008-05-20T08:51:00.001+01:00

Staffordshires Rodbaston College run ND course in Fishery Management and Fish Farming. A mini bus full of their 2nd years arrived in Alport yesterday to be shown around by Jan and me, to find out how we have changed things here. I remember these field visits from my time at Sparsholt in Hampshire; a similar agricultural college, where I qualified. The hosts were always badly prepared and would show us around with all the charisma of an outlet screen mortality. This wasn’t going to be the same so we prepped for our guests like we would for a Duke. A handout was drawn-up and given to each student, so they wouldn’t miss any important points. The walk was direct and designed to take in as many interesting points as possible. This all culminated when Jan ran ahead and lit the stove in the fishing hut. They were served teas and chocolate biscuits as we sat back in the sun on deck chairs.

We hope to build a special relationship with this local college, taking students for work experience and hosting regular visits. A grayling fishing event is to be planned for the winter also.

Here is the weather

2008-05-18T09:03:00.004+01:00

Fine and dry until Thursday. I do this a lot; whittle about how dry it is and the lack of prospect for rain. With the weather set fair and May turning out to be a very dry month, those growing gardens or crops and those keeping rivers are getting nervous. How can the silly women announcing the weather on the tele use terms like better, great and improving when she describes high pressure? Only when the country is browned to a crisp with drought does she concede that we may need rain.

Our local Natural England office has a farm visit advisory service. They are able to calculate how much nutrient has been spread on fields during the winter and persude the farmer that he doesn’t need 20/40 artificial fertiliser as well. This keeps the nitrates down in the ground water. Thanks.

Dry weather and extensively farmed catchments are OK. Drought and euthrophication leads to algae; that’s bad news. It smothers the ranunculus which leaves more nutrients available for even more algae. Fewer flies, less fish food, no braiding of the channels; rubbish. There is still time to turn it around though and a good flush through will save the season on the small streams.

Rescue

2008-05-17T19:23:00.007+01:00

“Help! Help!”
“What does she want?”
“[Hysterical] HELP!”

We were gapping a wall at the top end of Bradford Dale, in the frost. She is 200 yards upstream and frantically pulling at her clothes whilst watching something splashing in a deep water dam.
“Someone’s fallen in” says my mate.

We cover the muddy ground and up the footpath towards her in record time, even in wellies and overalls. I’m first to reach her and quickly notice slight rings dispersing from something resembling a black button, 10 yards out.

“What is it?!”
“It’s my dog!”

It makes sense. A black terrier is treading water but is so tired it is vertical and the last part of it is disappearing below the surface over 8 feet. The black button is its nose.

I jump straight in, swim out, lift up the dog, swim back and lift it up onto the bank. It rights itself, shakes, has a wee and goes off up the bank…rabbiting. Climbing out I remember the electronics in my pockets while my mate reassures the lady who is thoroughly fretting.

We walk back down to the wall and he persuades me to spend the next five minutes copping the wall so the job is finished. I’ve stopped dripping; icicles are forming on the drips. Finally back at home it’s straight in the bath to warm up.

Ogden Island update

2008-05-17T14:43:00.006+01:00

First of all that sycamore from the top had to come out due to it blocking light out from the whole stretch downstream. It was trailing branches in the water but over dead, shallow water and so had no real benefit. We used the trunk of the tree to put in a high water upstream croy to turn the water back into the main channel to stop the island margin being eroded anymore. The new bankline was defined with willow branches with flag iris rysomes planted at the back. More upstream croys were installed all the way down to continue the turning of the water from the outside of the bend.

Click on the picture to read the labels.

Lapwings in the wheat

2008-05-15T18:00:00.003+01:00

It’s been a fine year so far for our Green Plover with record numbers of nests on the Estate. Our farmers know them as ‘Puewits’ and climb down from their lofty tractor cabs to move the nests to safety.

Three ways of measuring flow

2008-05-14T17:42:00.004+01:00

Q= 2.8 x h3

The v-notch weir has to be a right angle and h is the height of water. We were able to get the entire river running through the v-notch here and found a flow of 750m3/day during one late summer period. 60% of the flow is going underground to the next valley and coming out here:

2) Q=VA which can be measured with an orange or 'beer can in the Narayani' in the case of my Father! The Lathkill and Bradford are easy to measure because their cross section is so square.

3) Timed filling of a known area such as a dustbin. We used this method when monitoring the through flow at the fish farms.

Worth the wait

2008-05-12T23:58:00.003+01:00

We had been getting some nasty poaching taking place up and down the river. Our night time uninvited guests were emptying the river and leaving their calling cards all over the place for those bothered to look. They were no respecters of boundaries so we decided that we wouldn’t be either, teaming up and providing a seven night a week watch over the whole river, paying particular attention to the hot spots. I’d borrowed an image intensifying monocular, lighting up the night in a pixelated green. The first weeks watch came to an end, then the second and then the third. Thursdays and Sundays were my nights and I was beginning to become jaded and bored with the endless touring round… when a panel van could be seen turning round in the road some way off in front.
At 2am, everyone knows where they are going, so this was strange. As the van came past me I noticed it was three up in front. There’s no rush, you have to give these things time to mature in cases like this but when I trundled back down the road my suspicions were confirmed with the van parked on the verge across the road from a well stocked trout farm. The lights were off and the van was still as I passed by and this meant we had trouble. Down the road and through a gate I parked the vehicle behind a thorn bush, grabbed the image intensifier and the phone and began to run back up the middle of the road, in the pitch black with the monocular to my eye. I’d made a rough count of the corners in the road from where I pulled off into the field, back to the scene. Unfortunately for me I missed counted because as I turned a corner I was upon them, eight men, out of the van and trying to break into the fish farm right in front of me. I ducked into some cover on the road verge and threw myself flat. I’d got myself far to close and was literally amongst them.
It pays to know your kit. I hadn’t taken the time to investigate the functions of this new mobile phone and I needed to turn off the back light and be sure the ringing volume was at nil, or below. I rang the keeper for this beat, as one of the men came to take a leak about ten feet away. It was important that he picked up and didn’t ring back, I wasn’t sure I had disabled the ring on the phone and the Nokia tone was the last thing I wanted as he returned the missed call. He picked up. I told him what was going off and instructed him not to call back, I gave him half an hour to organise the Police and I would call him.
During the next half hour I watched as the men trashed the place! The site was miles from anywhere and they had no need to be quiet. All the time I was making mental notes for my statement; seeing who was smashing down doors to steal equipment and who was fishing out the trout. The time came round to make the call and everyone was ready; Police, Keepers, Dogs were waiting a mile down the road. My instruction was to call when they moved off. During my vigil one of the group had moved the van further down the road so as not to attract attention from the occasional passing car. Now he went to fetch it and as the group finished their rampage they jumped back into the van and made off in the opposite direction to the Police. I called and about 30 seconds later two Police cars screamed past under blue lights in pursuit.
The van was stopped, searched and following information from my statement, the men got 250 hours community service each, were ordered to pay compensation for the many trout and the damage caused plus some stiff fines. It turned out they had made a 200 mile round trip to steal what they could that night.

Whispering death ;-)

2008-05-10T23:16:00.004+01:00

The experiment with the bikes has proved to be a great success. An estimated 50% of my work can and will be carried out on a bike, saving £1250 on diesel each year alone. A benifit of all this peddling is getting to know the countryside far better than driving and seeing much more than when walking. Biking over the last week has help me find two pheasant nests, a black caps nest, a seat of young hares and a poacher called Dave from Clay Cross.

Good news

2008-05-10T22:46:00.006+01:00

While watching a likely site with a history of nesting owls earlier this evening a barn owl flew from a barn to my left and entered a hole in a gable end of a deserted farm house. The video shows it leaving the hole after a few minutes.

Two things could be happening here:

The adult is a male, visiting a female sitting eggs and reaffirming the bonds before going off hunting.

The owl is the female, visiting a young brood after resting up for the day in a near by barn. The parents don't spend the lay up period of daylight being mithered by the ever demanding young owls. They need their rest and will sit out near by. When dusk arrives they are keen to check that all is well before going off hunting.

I'm really pleased with the low light settings on my camera when I could only just spot the owl myself. Canon XH-A1 with CS3 Premier Pro are the hard and soft ware of choice here.

Familiarity

2008-05-09T17:36:00.005+01:00

Dressed in my dpm and using all available cover I’ve been trying to get footage of a particularly stunning brown trout, native to one of our streams. But even the sight of my lens over the margin or in between the branches of a riverside willow tree sees him flick that tail and disappear into deeper water. The fish seems so familiar with the bank side vegetation that any change in that field of view is enough for him to know something is wrong. If you were to walk into your living room, you would instantly notice if something was out of place too. Tawny Owls become incredibly aware of the woodland floor and see any changes under their perch as a potential feeding opportunity in the form of a rat or vole. When keeping an eye out an old keeper I knew called Bill used to remove a copping stone from a wall and stick his head there instead. It really is some fish so I’ll take a leaf out of Old Bill’s book and make that film.

'Too good to be caught only once’

2008-05-09T14:22:00.005+01:00

Telephone conversation with fisherman on the river:

“ Warren, I’ve caught that big old black bugger under the bridge. Do you want me to knock it on the head?”

No! Put it back carefully please. The video shows this dark fish back on station after its return only 36 hours ago.

During a riverside conversation with Gareth we likened the killing of old fish for the sake of it with entering an old folks home with a Kalashnikov. Same with the old fish turned ‘cannibal’. All trout are cannibal but if a big male was ever caught during our mayfly it would always be dispatched as a 'service to the fishery'. However those big males are extremely welcome on the redds in December and like the old fish, they are part of the river…they should always go back.

Bikes

2008-05-05T23:02:00.005+01:00

Well the bank holiday weekend is over. We’ve covered the three rivers day and night since Friday evening and have been very lucky with the poachers. Not many fish have been nicked and we’ve got a couple of statements to write so that those poachers we have caught can appear before the magistrates. My mountain bike patrols have been hugely successful. On one occasion I rode past a family on a busy footpath, noticed they weren’t behaving quite right, pulled over to ‘fix my chain’ and they started fishing with a hand line right in front of me!

Over the next seven days we aren’t going to use the vehicles at all while we experiment futher with the use of bikes for patrolling. I have some jobs planned for the Kubota tractor but the Landy’s will be in the garages all next week.

Wild Black Fallow

2008-05-02T18:17:00.001+01:00

We have a herd of about 25 at the moment.