The 2010 'get together' !

On Saturday 29th November the 4 of us with our wives had lunch at the Swan at Bibury! This is a ritual and I must admit we all enjoy meeting up and meeting the other halves too! These are just a few pictures from the day.

Another season ends!

Well that's it for another season! For me it has been my worst season possibly ever! Just 2 sewin despite a great deal of time and effort. As I am soon to retire I will have think hard and long in order to decide whether it is viable for me to travel the 100 miles to fish the Towy. It will be a difficult decision to make as it currently costs me the best part of £35 in fuel alone for each trip I make! I do love the river and its inhabitants (that is the wildlife) and in particular this year I have managed to get some wonderful images of the birds which is compensation for such poor fishing I suppose.

What saddens me most is the lack of passion and willingness of many anglers on the river to get off their arses and do something about the problem! Just look at the Sea-Trout Forum for instance - what a waste of time that is? Many members of my own angling club will rarely be seen on the river despite living close by to it and as for supporting conservation initiatives or political lobbying then I don't think there is much of that going on. Just the other day I was talking to Colin the farmer where I camp out and he was telling me that he has hardly seen any cars parked up at the end of his lane this year! So it just shows how desperate the fishing is. Despite managing the LAL Blog I have not had a single fishing report that I can think of from any members other than my good friends Rodney, John, Chris and Tim! Nobody else seems to care! Such a shame!

I have to say I have met some strange visitors this year! I was talking to a new member (allegedly so) by where I camp out this summer as I was tackling up. Whilst we were talking I heard the otter coming up river and alerted him to this. His response was 'if I had my shotgun with me I would take the bast..d out, accusing the otter of taking all the fish out of the river'! Nut case or what? Very weird! I have even had another knob, actually a 'posh knob' who fishes Crewel Pool, threaten to sort me out if he catches me fishing his pool. This was a reaction he gave to a joke I made whilst chatting with him and his fellow anglers one evening whilst they were sat outside their hut. I said something like 'make sure you leave me some sewin for when I come back up from the bottom in the early hours of the morning'. Sad!

On a more positive note the wildlife seems to be holding its own pretty well. A lovely pair of kingfishers have been around every day and I managed to get some nice shots of them. Also plenty of Red Kites and Buzzards have been seen. Only last week I got shots of Cormorants gallore (too many probably), Gooseanders, Grey Wagtails, Common Sandpiper, Wren, Sparrowhawk, Dipper not to mention our treasured Otters and of course a 'not so treasured' Mink! Worryingly I noticed a Cormorant catch at least 4 fish in a couple of hours! Multiply that out and you will see that Cormorants could be part of our problem! Interestingly I have observed all our silly juvenile Gooseanders on many occasions for many hours and I can honestly say that I have not seen any of them catch a single fish! Don't know what they live on but I can't see it being fish!!

Oh well better get back to my fly tying vice as its the only vice I have these days! Looking forward to better fishing days perhaps!

Tight lines!

kingfisher

Spent a couple of days on the river with Rod, John and Gadget Man. The water conditions were perfect - about 1ft 9in on the gauge and running clear! Gadget Man was the first to hit a salmon but unfortunately he lost it! He then went on to do exactly the same again in the same pool, probably the same fish? Rod was the one who came good though with a magnificent 8lb cock salmon! Well done Rod.

Here is a photo from my phone of the 8lb 2oz cock salmon (28ins long) caught round the corner on a Ally shrimp and floating line and 10ft leader. Not sure how I would have got it out if John hadn't been there to tail it. It looked much bigger than it actually is. We both thought it double figures when we first got it out, until John weighed it. The two other guys that went down same time as us came later to the log. One had lost a salmon round by the cattle drink above the tin hut but then caught an 8lb sewin (bar of silver but returned) also on a small Ally shrimp with fast ink tip and 3ft leader. Interesting. Rod!

Looks like I will be salmon less again this season!!!

2 nights fishing - no fish to be seen or heard!

Having just returned from a 2 night session on the river I have to say it was extremely disappointing. I spent 48 hours in, on or close by the river and failed to see or hear a single fish let alone catch anything! The only success I had was with the camera! It just goes to show that it is easier to capture this than it is to catch a sewin at the moment!!

Kingfisher gets 1 night in and then abandons the river for another week!

I spent Wednesday night on the river in good conditions but didn't see or hear any fish! I spent all day until 3 pm on Thursday with my camera and got some good kingfisher, gooseander and heron shots but then the rain came! The wind got up and the heavens opened and I was forced to abandon my trip completely! Shame but that's the way it sometimes goes!

John spends a couple of nights on the river but fails to connect!

John spent 2 nights on the river this week but didn't catch. He told me that there were a few fish showing but unfortunately they wouldn't play ball. The conditions were generally quite good especially in terms of temperature and water level and clarity. It is getting late in the season now for sewin however I do hope to get a couple of nights in myself next week that's if the weather holds up! I will keep you posted!

Tight lines

kingfisher

Calling ALL GAME ANGLERS!

Rodney - it is long time overdue in my opinion that sea trout and salmon fishermen alike not only voice their concerns about dwindling fish runs but actually start doing something about it! In fact I personally think that its time to take ACTION NOW!

The EA have been pratting about for too long with clearing feeder streams, 'improving' habitat, doing things that don't cost much money but it ain't working and it won't. There are things that can be done now that will have a major impact on fish stocks, the environment and the ecology! They might not be well received in some quarters but neither are the measures being taken by our Government currently to rectify the credit crunch. So what can be done?

Ask any game fisherman in the UK and he or she will tell you!!!

How can we do it?

By joining together in a united force with one aim in mind - to RESTORE OUR GAME RIVERS BACK TO THEIR FORMER GLORY SO THAT FISHERMEN FROM ALL OVER THE UK AND THE WORLD WILL WANT TO COME AND FISH HERE. We all know what effect that would have!

If we don't ACT NOW then frankly I can't see me bothering to fish the Towy in the next 2 or 3 years and as far as my kids or grand kids fishing prospects are concerned - forget it!

Rodney Byles voices his concerns about the state of our river!

I can understand the interest and excitement roused by Spence’s fish of a lifetime and wonder if he took scale samples and its length for the Celtic Sea Trout Project. However, I have been fishing the Towy near Bethlehem for about 25 years and in that time I have noticed a steady and very worrying drop in sewin, especially in recent years.

From my limited knowledge the leading authority Environment Agency Wales (EAW) and the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) don’t appear to be doing anything positive to stem this decline. I recently spent five nights on the river, which looked in perfect condition and was at an ideal level and clear. The previous week’s spate should have encouraged plenty of fish to the middle reaches. However, during my visit I fished every night from about 22:30 until 05:00, clocking up over 30 hours and only managed one sewin and a few offers. I saw very few fish move. One night there were 13 anglers on this stretch and none had a fish. However, what was even more worrying were the concerns of the more and very experienced local anglers I met, some with 40-50 years on the river, all discussing and complaining about the decline and considerable lack of fish and especially this season. I can only wonder at what it must have been like to fish the Towy in the late 1950s with annual rod catches of around 20,000 sewin.I, and pretty sure many other concerned anglers, would like to know what the EAW and CWW have been doing or are doing to stem this dramatic drop in sewin. Do these authorities know or indeed have any idea of the cause or causes of this decline? If not why not? If so what are the causes and what are these authorities doing about them? What do we pay our exorbitant game fishing rod licence fee for and how much of it actually goes towards sewin conservation? It’s not as though the EAW and CCW have been unaware of the decline and strongly believe that if nothing is done very soon it may not be too long before there are no sewin in the Towy left to catch.

I suspect there may be several factors contributing to the decline. These could be over fishing in the Irish Sea, and if so who is policing this, and do the authorities have any idea of the number of sewin caught. The estuary and coracle nets are probably taking far too many sewin at present as a percentage of the total run. Perhaps they should be more closely monitored and even considerably restricted or perhaps their licences temporarily revoked until sewin numbers hopefully recover. A rod caught sewin is worth considerably more to the local Towy valley economy than those from the nets or coracles. Although the dam water acidity problem may have been solved with liming, is the cold water discharge now affecting the sewin run? I suspect it is and there is the possibility that cold water flows could further considerably increase if the dam and reservoir are extended to generate the need for more hydro-electricity. Have the authorities been monitoring coordinated dam discharge and water temperature downstream and its possible affect on the behaviour of radio tagged sewin? Are toxins from sheep dips and the chemicals in cow shit getting into the spawning headwater streams and into the main river after floods? Is there or has there been a regime of water sampling in these areas to check and possibly rectify water quality? If not why not. What impact is the effluent discharge in Carmarthen having on the sewin and why haven’t the authorities apparently done anything to stop it? The increase in predators, such as Goosanders, Cormorants and Otters, is also bound to be contributing to the decline. There are two large broods of Goosanders just on the Bethlehem stretch this year.

Enough is enough, but I know the EAW and CWW won’t take any notice of individual complaints and concerns. However, I’m told that money talks, so before it’s too late I would suggest that perhaps all Towy anglers and clubs somehow unite and refuse on mass to renew their rod licences and demand the authorities act now with one overriding objective: Stop the dramatic decline in sewin and take the appropriate actions to restore stocks to those of years gone by.

Rodney Byles

Now I know why they call it 'fishing' not 'catching'!

I have just returned from a concentrated 3 night fishing expedition with Rodney Byles. Disappointingly we only caught one fish each. Rod's fish was 4 lb and mine 3 lb. Conditions were absolutely perfect. Good river height, clear water, warm temperature and largely cloudy skies. Very few other anglers caught from what we could see. We fished from about 10.30 pm until 5.00 am each night. Despite only getting one fish we both enjoyed it. There is evidence of the odd 'huge' fish but otherwise fish are few and far between. Maybe conditions will improve over the next week or two! Nice to see Shane and Tim on the river. Tim - thanks once again for sponsoring my BHF bike ride! Cheers mate!

Rod's 4 lb sewin!

Tight lines

kingfisher

Latest prospects!

Well things are looking much better now after the welcome rain of late. With 8 in on the guage I would imagine that the water will be perfect for the fly at night! Rod is going down today for 1 week and I will be joining him from Tuesday evening onwards. I will keep you posted as to how we get on!

Tight lines

kingfisher

My total so far for the BHF!

Having completed a 30 mile bike ride for the British Heart Foundation on the 4th July 2010 I am pleased to have raised, so far, £615.00!!!!! Thank you to all my friends who have contributed I really do appreciate your support. For those of you who have forgotton to sponsor me it is not too late just go to:-

http://original.justgiving.com/andrewholmes2

To make things even better it looks as though the good Lord is blessing us with a drop of very welcome rain! Tight lines all and look after your heart if you have one!

Latest news from Llangadog!

Spent Friday night on the river with my brother-in-law john. It was a dark, warm night with small amounts of drizzle from time to time. I managed to move 2 fish in total but neither of them would take solidly. It became quite windy later on. John had one good pull. Crewel Pool had a good head of fish in it from what I could see. Most of the fish I saw were smallish though! Needless to say we need rain badly!

Tightlines!

First fish of the season!

Well I have always said that July is the best month for sewin on the Towy and at 1.00am on July 1st I did at last connect with a good solid sewin of 4 lb. It is already cut into steaks and in my freezer! Brilliant!

No water - very few fish!

After a 2 day session on the river this week I am alarmed at the lack of water and fish for this time of year! I fished for 2 nights and didn't see a single fish. There is little flow in most of the pools which makes fishing the fly very difficult. There is no doubt the odd fish about but they are very few and far between. Strangely algae is not an issue! The only fish I saw was a lamprey as I crossed over the river below the railway bridge. It had made a hole about 300mm deep wich I fell into. When I looked back it was about to return to its nest! I spotted a Goosander with 8 chicks so there must be some fish around somewhere. The only successful fisherman that I could see was this guy!

The Goosander family taking a break in Crewel Pool. It is very difficult to get within range of them which is why the image is rubbish!

June 2010!

Low water levels have limited our success on the river so far this season I think. I have had a 2 day trip during the first week of June but I have to admit I found it very difficult to fish the fly with any enthusiasm. My brother-in-law John too has had no success despite fishing hard on a number of occasions and Rodney Byles as reported earlier. There have been a few fish reported caught including some in the 5lb class and a monster 11lb but these have not been confirmed to me. The river is looking good this season and I can't wait to get my first sewin. I hope to get on the river this forthcoming week probably Thursday and Friday so who knows what might happen?

2 fishers on Crewel Pool - one looking decidedly dejected I think?

Tight lines everyone!

Rodney Byles casts off for the 2010 season!

Rod has reported about his first trip to the river this year.

Called into Llangadog on the way back and fished all night till 4am. Tony, Dan and Dave were also out and river very low. Despite that quite a lot of good fish moving nearly all night from 9ish to 2am. Dan had a pull and so did I, but nothing on the bank. They weren't having it. Maybe the full moon, but great to be back on the river. Turned a bit cooler later on with a light breeze (10 degrees when I got back to the car) but I stuck it out and really enjoyed it. The others all went at 12.30. I think I'll wait for water now before trying again, unless Tony starts catching!

Contemplating my first cast of the season?

Weather prospects next week are looking up so I am contemplating a trip down to the River Towy with the hope of getting some night fishing in without freezing to death! I hope to fish next Wednesday night subject to things warming up as forecast?

It will be a short trip though because I am taking my two lads for a long weekend at the Ty'n y Cornel Hotel to fish the Tal-y-Llyn Lake for brown trout. Should be exciting as I haven't done any lake fishing for many years and my lads haven't ever fished before very much! My brother-in-law John is coming too so we should have some fun in an area of what looks like 'outstanding natural beauty'.

I will report on what happens on both trips on my return for those who may be interested!

Tight lines!

The 2010 season has started!

If you are like me you have just spent the last 6 months longing to get back on the river! Well now you can. The 2010 season is here at last. Get those waders out of the garage and check them out for leaks, tidy up that tackle bag and sort out your flies cos the time has come to put them to good use!

I probably won't bother going down the river for a few weeks yet, maybe the first week of May if the weather improves but I can't wait to cast my fly and I can't wait to catch my first sewin of the season too. This year will be very busy for me because not only will I be fishing all night but I will probably be hiding away with my camera in hand in search of that amazing wildlife shot during the day! This winter has been very productive for me in terms of wildlife photography and I have learnt so much. Now that I am equipped with some decent gear I am sure I will get some amazing pictures. In particular I will be stalking kingfishers and otters so look out - if you see a portable hide on the river bank and a big lens sticking out of it and no sign of Simon King then it will probably be me, but don't disturb me - I could be just about to snap that once in a lifetime picture!

Beware of this little bugger though - they are everywhere!




Keep up to date with my achievements by logging on to www.kingfisherimages.co.uk

Tight lines everyone but stay out of the frame!!

3 months to go!

I usually take my first trip to the river during early May so I calculate that it is only 3 months or thereabouts to go! I have to say this winter has been long and hard and I cannot wait to cast that fly over my favourite pool on a warm still evening, dressed only in shirt sleeves (and my waders obviously) while I watch the odd monster sewin jumping and splashing further downstream! It can in my book only be described as 'majical'!

I must start thinking about getting all my fishing gear out and giving it a good clean and a drop of oil where required. Also I need to get all my camping gear out, give it a good washing and a scrub and put it back in its containers in some sort of order rather than how it is currently which is thrown in all together!

I wonder what sort of season we will have? I have to say, if last July had been a normal July instead of the relentless downpours that we had then I think the 2009 season as a whole would probably have been exceptional!

Anyway, lets just hope that those sewin decide to visit us in great numbers this season, that the weather is moderate and that the river and its wildlife inhabitants are as prolific as ever! This season will see me concentrating on both sewin fishing and wildlife photography so my nights will be taken with the fly and my days, after sleeping that is, will be spent lurking around in the bushes trying to capture that illusive wildlife shot to beat all others! I have already made a bit of a start with my photography as many of you will have seen on my new website at:-

http://www.kingfisherimages.co.uk