Just 4 of us showed up to do bank repairs on Good Friday! There wasn't a great deal to do but it was good to get out on the river and get a bit of physical exercise!
So what did we achieve?
Well, we re-cut all the steps over By-Pass Hill (formally known as Heart Attack Hill), we repaired both bench's top and bottom of Crewil and we also repaired and improved some of the handrail over BPH. We were lucky to get the assistance of Collins quad bike to take everything down to Crewil and, I must admit, the help of a very competent driver (Eifions son).
The weather started off very cold but soon warmed up as we got started.
The river was up but by no means over the bank! I would guess that it was up about 1 metre above summer level? Maybe even less than that!
After we had finished our work the others went back up river but I went for a walk down the bottom!
I was shocked when I got down to the lower beat! There were 3 rivers! The last time I saw this was when we had very high water! But the water wasn't what you would call high now! The river wasn't in flood! The farmer has been extracting gravel for years now and I have been concerned before but this is serious! I could not get to the main river or the tree that we use as our base camp! I could see the tree but there were 2 rivers preventing me from getting to it!
In my view there has been serious damage to our fishing caused by the action of this farmer! We must not only make sure it stops but we must also force the farmer to replace the gravel that's been taken! I will speak with Eifion soon to see what he thinks. I have tried to get some pictures that show the extent of the damage but its not easy! I fear that this could be a deliberate attempt to change the course of the river? I hope it won't effect our summer fishing too much but take it from me lads, don't hold your breath! If this irresponsible behaviour is allowed to continue then my best fishing beat and that of most of my friends is finished!
WE NEED TO ACT NOW BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!
hi andrew
ReplyDeletei am also a member of llangadog angling, with a mate of mine i we also fish, the lower beat @llangadog, we also are not very happy too see in your photos the diffrence in the way that the river has changed of the last few months,(since last season),i had noticed last season that the farmer had been removing gravel from the area ,but going from your photo , he,s removed a lot of gravel during the closed season .
and like you andrew we are not happy to see the changes he is makeing to the river +the direction she flows ??, is he allowed to remove gravel ? as you stated in this blog ,
surely he can not remove gravel from the river? or the land close to the river without concent?.are the E.A. aware of his actions? would it help in enyway for us to bring this matter to the attention of our comittee? . i must say andrew this blog is a credit to you ,very well done ,we are very impressed with your blog ,keep up the good work andrew. will keep an eye on this blog for futher updates, best regardes, llwchwrman .
p.s. my name is also ANDREW .
Hi Andrew
ReplyDeleteJust found your blog tonight (via Hoppy's sea trout forum). I've just joined LAL this season and hope to be getting to know the water this season(or at least starting to get to know the water ;-)I'm a bit of a novice to sea trouting, as I started last year (nothing caught mind)and I wondered if you could give me some advice on the LAL waters. I live in Stourport,so could meet up for a chat if you're willing. My email is timcwilkinson@btinternet.com Look forward to hearing from you - ps great photos and stories on your blog.
Cheers
Tim