Charters

Fighting for More Fish and Fishing

Submitted by Mandi on September 21, 2011 - 12:49pm

 

The Angling Trust was launched in January 2009 and it is now firmly established as the single unified organisation for all game, coarse and sea anglers in England. If you’re not a member, please support our work by joining, and take advantage of the new membership benefits on offer exclusively to Angling Trust individual members. Adult membership is just £25 a year and under 18s can join for FREE.

What we do – in brief The Angling Trust has a wide range of activities which all contribute to promoting and protecting fish and fishing.

Protecting Angling Access – we campaign about local and national issues affecting angling and fisheries. When angling is banned by a local council on a lake or pier, we use the media and other methods to stop this happening and to open up access again. We also promote the benefits of angling to the government and its agencies so that angling access is encouraged rather than restricted.

Campaigns to protect fish stocks – we campaign to stop commercial fishing, dredging, pollution, over-abstraction, habitat damage, the spread of fish disease, alien species and many other threats to freshwater and marine fish stocks. We employ professional staff to persuade companies, the government and quangos that they should change policy and practice to protect our fish.

Legal Action – our unique in-house team of lawyers take legal action against polluters and others who damage our member clubs and fishery owners’ rivers or lakes. Our aim is to get them to stop the damage and compensate our members for any damage caused so that we can put it right. This action is in addition to any criminal prosecution taken by the Environment Agency, which sees all the money from fines disappear into the Treasury! We are currently fighting more than 60 legal cases throughout the UK. We also advise our member clubs and fisheries about legal issues which helps protect the angling industry.

Promoting Angling – our angling development team works throughout the country to promote participation by people of all ages and to develop the sport of angling. This involves training and licensing angling coaches and encouraging clubs to develop junior sections and to link up with schools. We also promote the many positive contributions that angling makes to society in the media and to government. All this work helps ensure a safe future for the sport we all love.

Angling Competitions – we manage England’s national teams for coarse, game and sea angling and find sponsorship to support the costs of our best anglers competing on the international stage. We also run a wide range of national and regional matches for thousands of Angling Trust members in all disciplines.

Member Benefits – as the largest angling organisation in the country, we can offer our members fantastic special offers and discounts. These include free public liability insurance, discounts on tackle at www.anglingdirect.co.uk and 15% off at Millets and Blacks. We also have a Fish for Free programme which allows members to earn points every time they shop at over 200 web sites, including Amazon, eBay, the Trainline and Majestic Wine. Points can be spent to buy an EA rod licence, fishing permits and tackle.

Highlights We’ve achieved a huge amount since we were set up in 2009. Here are a few highlights: Securing support from all three political parties for our Angling Manifesto on the eve of the General Election; Hosting receptions with the British Association of Shooting and Conservation at all the party political conferences to promote the importance of angling and fisheries conservation; Getting the Fisheries Minister to agree to designating a senior civil servant as a point of contact for the Angling Trust to represent recreational sea anglers’ concerns; Winning six freshwater environmental campaigns ranging from barriers to fish migration to surface water pollution; Objecting to more than 100 damaging hydropower schemes nationwide and fighting for a national voice for anglers on the development of the good practice guidelines for developers of hydropower; Fighting successfully for more than £20,000 in compensation for two angling clubs on the River Wharfe, and another £20,000 for a club on the Derwent after pollution blighted their fishing; Fighting a further 65 legal cases on behalf of our members; Providing legal advice on more than 500 separate matters for member angling clubs, syndicates and individual riparian owners on issues ranging from access to zander; Applying, alongside WWF-UK, for a Judicial Review of Defra for the failure of the Environment Agency’s River Basin Management plans to implement the Water Framework Directive. This led to new funding and commitment to delivery of the Directive by the government and EA; Launching two new national angling competitions and finding £40,000 sponsorship for the unsponsored England coarse angling teams; Successfully delivering a pilot project to address poaching and illegal fishing in the Swindon area through our Building Bridges project and extending this to the East of England; Supporting a nationwide Crimestoppers initiative to protect fish health by providing a confidential helpline for anglers to report illegal fish movements and imports; Launching the Fred J Taylor Award for environmental stewardship to promote the work that anglers do to protect and improve the environment; Successfully campaigning for a review of the licensing for the control of cormorants to enable anglers to take action more easily on waters they own or lease; Setting up regional forums for our members to share their views and news. For more details of these stories and the most recent news, please check out our web site at www.anglingtrust.net Members are eligible to attend our regional meetings which allow you to find out what the organisation has been doing on your behalf, and to provide feedback so that we tackle the issues you are most concerned about. We are doing more and more for the benefit of all angling every week. Now we just need YOU to support us by becoming an individual member.

Why YOU should join the Angling Trust

Angling faces a wide range of threats. We can protect ourselves from these threats by urging politicians and other decision-makers to take decisions which respect our interests as anglers and stop damage to our rivers, lakes and seas. To achieve this, we need funds to run media campaigns, commission expert reports and take legal action. We also need more members so that we have more political influence with government. The more members that join, the more we will be able to do to fight for the future of your fishing. Wear the Three Fishes badge with Pride, and join the Angling Trust today.

What YOU get for individual membership

  Individual membership of the Angling Trust costs just £25, less than 50p a week. Members receive free public liability insurance for all their angling activities worldwide (excluding USA & Canada) and monthly e-mail updates, along with two paper magazines each year reporting on all the activities of the Angling Trust and its legal arm, Fish Legal. 18 – 21 year olds can join for £10 and under-18s can join free of charge and enjoy all our membership benefits. Thank you! We think all anglers should join us to support the work we do, which is important for the future of our fish and fishing. If you want the next generation to enjoy the fishing you enjoy, then please join us now. As well as supporting our work, and being part of the single national organisation for all anglers, you also get the benefit of massive savings on the fishing tackle and clothing you need (and the stuff you don’t really need but will buy anyway!).

Thank you for your support.

www.anglingtrust.net

Tel: 0844 7700616

[email protected]

Tinker and His mum


A Golden Age Of Fly Tackle

Submitted by Mandi on September 21, 2011 - 11:33am

Throughout the ages old codgers have always been ready to tell the world just how tough things were when they were young – and how easy things are for the new generation. Perhaps that view is wearing a bit thin, especially in the present economic climate, but there is one area where we have never had it so good – modern fly fishing tackle These thoughts came to the surface as I was sorting out some old tackle that had been cluttering up the house and getting it ready to go to auction. One rod in particular made me realise how far we had come. It was a greenheart salmon fly rod made by Hardy around 1900 that was 23 ft long and weighed in at 2 lb 12 oz – I can only assume that most of the salmon anglers of that period had a ghillie to carry the rod down to the river.

Fast forward half a century to the 1950s when I started fly fishing and the split cane rod that I used to fish at Chew Valley and Blagdon just topped 8 oz and had only a fraction of the power of the 4 oz carbon fibre rod that I now use on the lakes. And the rods that I use on the trout streams are only around 2 oz. Today we take for granted fly lines that both shoot smoothly and float well but my first line, like that of other anglers at the time, was made of silk and quickly absorbed water. The first task of the day was greasing the line, which was fine until casting removed the grease. 

Then – and this was often just when the trout started rising – the line began to sink and it was necessary to strip it off the reel, hang it out to dry and then grease it all over again. By that time, of course, the rise had come to a stop. Fortunately, I did not have to wait too long before the first synthetic floating lines came along and today we enjoy a wonderful range of fly lines from the highest-riding floater to the fast sinking lines that get us right down to the depths. One of the items that went to auction was a damper tin in which the brittle gut casts of the first half of the 20th century had to be soaked before they became supple

enough to use. By the time I became a fly fisher, monofilament nylon had arrived and in much-improved form remains with us as a leader material, though now joined by fluorocarbon and copolymer. These developments – and others like ever lighter fly reels, breathable waders, an infinite range of fly hooks – provide the fly fisher with the means of being more effective than ever in angling history. Fortunately, the very best tackle can only support our efforts to fool the fish and we still need as much skill, river craft and experience as ever to be successful.

Thankfully there will always be days when the fish make complete fools of us all.

Gloves Off: Scientists Chart Chinese Mitten Crab Invasion

Submitted by Mandi on September 19, 2011 - 12:03pm

Press release 19 September 2011


Gloves off: Scientists Chart Chinese Mitten Crab Invasion

Become a nature detective and record the invasion of the alien Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) in rivers of England and Wales. Scientists from a number of UK research institutes, including London's Natural History Museum are calling for the public to become nature detectives this autumn to better understand the full extent of the Chinese mitten crab invasion and the threat these crustaceans pose to our rivers and waterways. Anglers, waterway workers, boating enthusiasts and other nature lovers to identify and record any sightings of the alien species via an online survey. The recordings will be used by scientists to clarify the full distribution of the exotic crabs in English and Welsh rivers.

Mitten Crab

 

 

 

 

 

Chinese mitten crabs are now one of the most notorious aquatic invasive species featuring in the international list of the world’s 100 worst invasive species. They are regarded as a pest because they cause damage to fishing gear and unprotected river banks, block water systems as well as compete with native species for food and habitat. Current records show that mitten crabs have established populations in the Thames, Medway, Ouse Washes, Humber and the Dee Estuary. Sightings from all rivers and watersheds will be useful but researchers are particularly interested in any from:

• The Thames west of Windsor to beyond Reading

• Tyne, Tees and Wear in the North East

• Dee and Merseyside and the

• Severn Estuary to the Isle of Wight in the South West.

Nature lovers can report their finds by phone, email or online and upload their photographs by visiting www.mittencrabs.org.uk. For more information please contact the following:

London and the South East:

Claire Gilby, Natural History Museum Press Office, 0207 942 5654, [email protected] Sophia Haque, Royal Holloway University London Press Office, 01784 44 3552, [email protected]
Tyneside and the North East:

Louella Houldcroft, Newcastle University Press Office, 0191 222 5108, [email protected]

North West England and Wales:

Bran Devey, Countryside Council for Wales Press Office, 02920 77 2403, [email protected]

South West England: Guy Baker, Marine Biological Association Press Office, 01752 633 244, [email protected]

• For more information about mitten crabs and the survey visit www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/other-invertebrates/chinese-mitten-crabs/ and www.marlin.ac.uk/marine_aliens

• The consortium of UK research institutes working on the project are:

• The Natural History Museum, London • Newcastle University

• Royal Holloway University of London

• The Countryside Council for Wales

• Marine Biological Association

• All records will be archived by DASSH, the UK archive for marine biodiversity data and will be available online via the project website www.mittencrabs.org.uk and the National Biodiversity Network (www.searchnbn.net ).

• Nature detectives can report their records by telephone or email in the following way:

• Sightings from the Isle of Wight to the Humber estuary can be logged with the Natural History Museum, 0207 942 6170, [email protected]

• Sightings from the Humber estuary to the Scottish border on the east coast and Scottish border to Blackpool on the West coast can be logged with Newcastle University, 0191 222 5345, [email protected]

• Sightings from NW England from the Mersey to the Dee Estuary and the whole of Wales to the Severn estuary, can be logged with the Countryside Council for Wales, 0845 1306 229, [email protected]

• Sightings from the Severn Estuary, Cornwall to Isle of Wight can be logged with the Marine Biological Association, 01752 633291, [email protected]

• The Chinese mitten crab, (Eriocheir sinensis) originates from the Far East, with a native distribution from the Province of Fukien, China. It spread throughout northern Europe following its accidental introduction into Germany in 1912 from ships’ ballast water.

• Chinese mitten crabs are currently found throughout Europe from Kemi, Finland in the north, through Sweden, Russia, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic (Prague), Netherlands, Belgium and England to France and the Atlantic coast Portugal and Spain.

• Mitten crabs feature in the IUCN-ISGG database of the world’s 100 worst invasive species.

• The first record from the Thames catchment was captured on the intake screens of Lots Road Power Station at Chelsea in 1935 with a second from Southfields Reservoir, near Castleford, Yorkshire, 1948. Three male crabs were found in 1976 at the West Thurrock power station, located approximately 36 km downstream of the City of London. An ovigerous (egg carrying) crab was collected at Southend-on-Sea in 1979 and a further 20 specimens were noted again from West Thurrock in 1982.

• During the late eighties the mitten crab population increased dramatically in the Thames as demonstrated by a survey conducted by the Museum funded by the Environment Agency in 1996. The most westerly sighting being the River Colne at Staines with reports of mitten crabs from almost every Thames tributary eastwards of this point. In October 2007 a mitten crab was caught on rod and line near Boveney Loch, Windsor Racecourse which suggests mitten crab are gradually spreading westward.

• Project sponsors include the Welsh Government; Environment Agency; Countryside Council for Wales; Non-Native Species Secretariat; Fishmongers’ Hall, London Bridge; and Tyne Rivers Trust.

• Winner of Visit London’s 2010 Evening Standard’s Peoples Choice Best London for Free Experience Award and Best Family Fun Award the Natural History Museum is also a world-leading science research centre. Through its collections and scientific expertise, the Museum is helping to conserve the extraordinary richness and diversity of the natural world with groundbreaking projects in more than 70 countries.

• Royal Holloway, University of London is one of the UK’s leading teaching and research university institutions, ranked in the top 20 for research in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise. One of the larger colleges of the University of London, Royal Holloway has a strong profile across the sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. Its 8,000 students work with internationally-renowned scholars in 18 academic departments. Over 20% of students are postgraduates and 22% come from 130 different countries. Renowned for its iconic Founder’s Building, Royal Holloway is situated on an extensive parkland campus in Egham, Surrey, only 40 minutes from central London.

• The Marine Biological Association (MBA) is a professional body for marine scientists with some 1200 members world-wide. Since 1884 the MBA has established itself as a leading marine biological research organization contributing to the work of several Nobel Laureates and over 170 Fellows of the Royal Society. The MBA is a founder member of the Plymouth Marine Sciences Partnership.

Fishing At Siblyback With South West Fishing For Life

Submitted by Mandi on August 26, 2011 - 10:08am

 

 

 

 

 

South West Fishing For Life launched their 3rd group in Cornwall in April The group has just 4 members at the moment but will grow as people hear about what fun and therapy fishing can be, in a beautiful location.

   As one member said “a soul healing experience”

We have lovely qualified coaches who run the days and ladies who meet and greet and provide refreshments.

Fishing at Siblyback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This group meets on the 3rd Sunday of the month from 2 pm – 4pm

 To find out more information about SWFFL please look at our web site www.southwestfishingforlife.org.uk

If you would like to see what we do on our days please contact:

Gillian
Holworhthy Farm
Brompton Regis
Dulverton
Somerset
TA22 9NY
Tel: 01398 371244

or email [email protected]

Chew Valley Lake wins 2011 Alan Faulkner Memorial Award

Submitted by Mandi on August 17, 2011 - 10:24am

 

 

 Suzuki way of life logo

 

 

*Press Release* Press Release* Press Release* Press Release*

Chew Valley Lake wins 2011 Alan Faulkner Memorial Award

On behalf of The Wheelyboat Trust, veteran actor and passionate angler Bernard Cribbins presented Steve Taylor from Bristol Water’s Chew Valley Lake with this year’s Alan Faulkner Memorial Award. The presentation took place on Friday, 22nd July at the CLA Game Fair. The main prize was a 4hp outboard motor provided by the award’s sponsors, Suzuki GB. Created in memory of the Trust’s Founder President, the award is presented annually to the game fishery that provides disabled anglers with the most outstanding service, facilities, opportunities and access. Previous winners include Eyebrook Trout Fishery, Grafham Water, Lake of Menteith and Toft Newton. Chew Valley Lake is Bristol Water’s largest reservoir at over 1,000 acres and was built in the 1950s. It is one of the country’s finest trout fisheries and is renowned for its ‘top of the water’ sport owing to its relatively shallow depth, fertile water and abundant fly life. It is a fly only water and is stocked annually with 50,000 brown and rainbow trout. It also has a healthy population of pike that are of increasing interest to game anglers, many of whom are turning their attention to this large predator – fly fishing for pike is now a well-established and popular activity on the lake. Chew was the first UK water to acquire the then new Mk III Wheelyboat model in 2006 to help it celebrate the 50th anniversary of its opening by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

 

Alan Faulkner Memorial Award Picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo caption (left to right): Steven Foy (Sales Manager Suzuki GB), Steve Taylor (Assistant Fishery Manager, Chew Valley Lake), Bernard Cribbins, Andy Beadsley (Director, The Wheelyboat Trust)

The award’s judges were very impressed with Chew’s commitment to disabled anglers: the facilities there are first class, all are wheelchair accessible and the staff are helpful and courteous – essential requirements for a hassle-free day’s fishing in the Wheelyboat. As well as being a fitting memorial to The Wheelyboat Trust’s Founder President who conceived the idea of the wheelchair accessible boat, the ‘Wheelyboat’, the award is intended to highlight the needs of disabled anglers and encourage fisheries to ensure those needs are accommodated. The Trust is delighted that Suzuki GB sponsored the award again this year with the main prize of a 4hp 4-stroke outboard. Without their support and appreciation of the award’s aims, it would not be the sought after title it has now become. The Suzuki small outboard range, from 4 to 15 horsepower, has attracted a strong following amongst anglers, due to the quiet running, low emissions and 4-stroke fuel economy. In common with the rest of the 2hp to 300hp range, they offer excellent value for money. Background The Wheelyboat Trust is a registered charity that promotes and provides the wheelchair accessible Wheelyboat to fisheries and other waters open to the public all over the UK. It has now supplied 147 Wheelyboats since the Trust began work in 1985. It offers four different types of Wheelyboat to suit different activities - two of these have been designed specifically for fishing. This is the eighth year that Suzuki GB have sponsored the Alan Faulkner Memorial Award. The Wheelyboat Trust (reg charity no 292216) - Andy Beadsley, Director North Lodge, Burton Park, Petworth, West Sussex, GU28 0JT Telephone 01798 342222, 07860 650023 [email protected], www.wheelyboats.org

Wheelyboat Press Release Summer 2011

Submitted by Mandi on August 3, 2011 - 2:40pm

THE WHEELYBOAT Trust’s 25th anniversary
year in 2010 proved an especially busy one
with projects getting under way and
Wheelyboats being launched all over the UK
and Ireland. A particular highlight was the
development and launch of a new model, the
Mk IV, in partnership with Bristol Sailability.
Other notable achievements were the six
Coulam 16 Wheelyboats and five Mk III
Wheelyboats launched along with five older
Wheelyboats that were refurbished and
found new homes.
The momentum has carried on into 2011 and new
projects continue to develop, including two new Mk IVs.
One of these will be operated by Thorney Island’s Army
Welfare Service in and around Chichester Harbour and
will directly benefit injured and
disabled service personnel.
Currently under construction is a
Mk III for the Tees Wheelyboats Club—
a club set up specifically to operate
their own Wheelyboat on the River
Tees at Stockton. We have been able
to help them raise the funds to acquire
their much needed boat.
None of what we have achieved
would have been possible without the
support and generosity of our donors,
either for individual projects or for help
with our day to day running costs. Our
tremendous thanks go to you all!
SINCE THE last issue of Waterwheels the following
Wheelyboats have been supplied:
Mk IVs
Bristol Sailability, Bristol Docks—P, 0117 968 8244
Mk IIIs
Tamar Lakes, Bude—C P N, 01288 321712
Rudyard Lake, Leek—C P N, 01538 306280
Leitrim APD, Co Leitrim—C T S P N, 00 353 719 651000
East Park Lake, Hull—P N, 01482 331966
The Waterside, Rollesby Broad—C P N, 01493 740531
Coulam 16 Wheelyboats
Blithfield Reservoir, Rugeley—T, 01283 840284
Grafham Water, St Neots—T, 01480 810531
Hanningfield Reservoir, Wickford—T C, 01268 712815
Bewl Water, Tunbridge Wells—T, 01892 890352
Farmoor Reservoir, Oxford—T, 07747 640707
Kielder Water—T, 0845 155 0236
Refurbished Wheelyboats
Elinor Trout Fishery, Kettering (Mk I)—T, 01832 720786
Butterstone Loch, Dunkeld (Mk I)—T, 01350 724238
Upton Warren OEC, Bromsgrove (Mk II)—P N, 01527 861426
Norwich Pike Anglers, River Yare (Mk II)—C, 07776 221959
Craufurd Trout Fishery, Fenwick (Mk I)—T, 01560 600569
Key: Fishing T (trout), S (salmon), St (sea-trout), C (coarse),
Sea (sea), P - pleasure boating, N - bird/nature watching
Wheelyboats Supplied 2010/11

Salmon Farming and Wild Fish 2011

Submitted by Mandi on July 13, 2011 - 12:11pm

Salmon farming and
wild fish just don't mix!
What is the problem?
There is overwhelming scientific consensus that salmon farms pose a threat to wild salmon and sea trout. Parasitic sea-lice from salmon farms can kill wild fish, particularly juveniles migrating to sea, while
farm escapees breed with wild adults, diluting natural gene pools.
Fish farms are struggling to control sea-lice problems. In Norway,
farm-origin fish can constitute up to 20% of salmon found on the spawning grounds.Salmon are currently farmed in open-net cages, allowing parasites,disease, waste products and pesticides to flow freely into the wild and
impact wild fish. And many fish farms are located close to estuaries important for wild salmon and sea trout, making interaction between farmed and wild fish inevitable.

Rare 'Kipper' Makes Welcome Return To The Tamar

Submitted by Mandi on July 13, 2011 - 11:13am

 

 

 

 

 

 

       Rare ‘Kipper’ Makes Welcome Return To The Tamar     

One of the UK’s rarest fish, the Allis Shad, is returning to the Tamar estuary in good numbers. Like the salmon, this relative of the herring spends most of its time at sea and only returns to freshwater to breed. Barriers to migration including weirs or dams and pollution are thought to be the main reasons for a severe decline in its numbers. Over-fishing is also believed to be a contributory factor. The Tamar estuary and the Solway Firth are currently the only known sites in the UK where allis shad regularly spawn. Environment Agency officers have noticed an increase in the number of allis shad on the Tamar this year. Not only are they more numerous, the fish are larger – in some cases up to 5 lbs.The population is strongly cyclical with boom and bust years. ‘We’ve caught some fine Allis Shad in our fish trap at Gunnislake – many of them above average size. We’ve also identified at least three spawning areas on the Tamar. Rare Kipper Makes a Welcome Return To The Tamar

 

2011 will certainly be remembered as a year when this species was present in abundance. It is excellent news because it is evidence of the high water quality and favourable river conditions in the Tamar,’ said Paul Elsmere for the Environment Agency. With its streamlined body and deeply forked tail, the allis shad closely resembles the more common twaite shad. Both species are members of the herring family. Being very bony fish, they are not especially valued for their culinary qualities. The allis shad is referred to by some as the ‘Bony Horseman.’ Outside the breeding season, the fish are mainly found in shallow coastal waters. Around April - June they enter large rivers with strong currents and stony or sandy beds to spawn.

 

Adults spawn at night with a great deal of noisy splashing Young fish remain in the river or estuary of their birth for up to two years before migrating to sea. A genetic study carried out by the Environment Agency, Bristol University and Marine Biological Association showed that the allis shad in the Tamar have a different genetic make-up to fish using the Solway Firth suggesting they are a distinct population. The allis shad is protected under the EC Habitats Directive and Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 which makes it an offence to intentionally kill them or damage or destroy their spawning grounds. In Europe, the species is targeted by fly fishermen who value its hard-fighting qualities. Singing its praises, one angler on his return from a fishing trip to France, described the allis shad as a ‘turbo-charged kipper.’

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