Gravel extraction is damaging our fishery!

It is clear for anyone to see. This is a low water picture! It may be too late to reverse this damage but lets hope not!

One thing is for certain we must do something!

Please pledge your support!

POST YOUR COMMENTS NOW!

The 'best months' to fish - these are MY statistics for what they are worth!

These quantities are based on my catch record published earlier on this blog. If you look at the catch record you will see that there are quite a few years missing!



Whilst I have caught more fish in July over these years the total weight of sewin is heavier in August!

So the message is - stay in doors till July, catch your specimen sewin in August? Take up badminton or coarse fishing for the rest of the year!!!

NOT SCIENTIFIC!

Guess what?

I am a grandad - Sofia Marie - 8Lb - 5oz born Wednesday 23rd April 2008 - a good size springer - apparently she fought well too!

A disappointing trip to the River Torridge - Spring 2008

Rod and I arrived at the Half Moon Inn at Sheepwash on the evening of Friday 4th April with lots of anticipation, hoping that the fishing conditions would be conducive to catching a spring salmon or two! The water was about 300mm too high by all accounts but that didn't bother us as we were there for 4 days so maybe we had hit the river just right?

As far as the water was concerned then I think we had arrived at a good time! The water was falling and clearing - just what we wanted! The problem was that there were no salmon to be seen anywhere! We both fished hard, Rod for 3 days and me for 4 days but neither of us saw a salmon let alone caught one!

The expert at work on Sunken Tree Pool at Beam

Saturday was quite warm but Sunday morning we sat eating our breakfast watching the snow falling outside. Early mornings and nights were cold from then on but the days themselves were very pleasant and fairly warm. Its a lovely place to fish and we had a good laugh in the bar at night with Bob and his wife. Charles, the previous owner, still organises the fishing and has hardly changed over the years that I have known him. We were lucky to be put on one of the best beats on the river every day - Beam!

Rod trying his luck in the Weir Pool at Beam

Time for a break!

This is Yew Tree Pool at Beam

We tried sinking lines, sink tips, floating lines the lot! Big flies, small flies and every colour you can think of but to no avail. We didn't even see any sea trout!

Now it's my turn in the Weir Pool

The Torridge, looking down stream from the Bridge and Boulders Pool

By the time I left on Tuesday afternoon the water was at about optimum height and very nearly clear! One good thing is that the Hotel is more like what it used to be when Charles and Benji had it. A nice place to stay and a very pleasant holiday! Rod is off to Sweden next week and hopes to get a few days fishing in - might get some pictures of 'fish' for the blog? Tight lines Rod! Watch this space.

There were 3 of us fishing on this occassion!

The water level was almost perfect but the weather had turned cold

For latest news on the Torridge click on the link below

www.halfmoonsheepwash.co.uk

And some of yours!

I went into the hazel wood
Because a fire was in my head,
I cut & peeled a hazel wand
And hooked a berry on a thread.

And when white moths were on the wing
And moth-like stars came fluttering out
I threw the berry in the stream
And caught a little silver trout.
Anon.

Unknown contributor

My favourite sea trout fishing quotations!

Thought I would share these quotes with you while we are all getting ready for the new season. They are my favourites and can be found along with many more in the sea trout 'bible', Hugh Falkus - Sea Trout Fishing.

'Rivers and the inhabitants of the watery elements are made for wise men to contemplate and for fools to pass by without consideration'

Izaak Walton, The Complete Angler (1653)

'A moon that wades through a sea of clouds need not disturb the angler very much, but one which converts night into day is not loved by the keen fisher who desires some sport with sea trout. In these circumstances he must exercise the greatest care, study his every movement, approach the water quietly and always keep himself concealed from the trout, use the finest tackle and throw the lightest of lines; in short, he must stalk his fish, and in the end his reward, if any, will not be great. It will, however, be highly creditable. A single capture is a triumph; more than that constitutes a glorious night's sport'.

R. C. Bridgett, Sea Tout Fishing (1929)

Do you know any good ones?

The 'A' Team get stuck in to bank repairs!

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!

Llangadog Angling Limited - latest report

This is a brief extract of a meeting that took place on Monday 10th March 2008. I was unable to attend but Eifion has kindly sent me some minutes.

The Towy Net Buyout has now been completed! A total of £88,000 has been paid for 6 nets, including £42,000 from Sir Edward Dashwood.

Bill Gracie has been appointed as Bailiff although this was inadvertently left out of AGM minutes.

A Licence to shoot Goosanders and Cormorants was circulated. The Chairman said that he would consider filling it in?

Repair work will take place on the river bank on Good Friday 21st March 2008.

The 2008 Season is nearly here!

Well it's been a long wait but the new season is nearly upon us and I can't wait to wet that fly in the water as I am sure many of you can't!

I am pleased that Rod is feeling alot better now! There will be no holding us back this season what with me being bionic and him having had his pipes straightened!

Rod and I are going to spend a few days salmon fishing on the River Torridge again this year. We are fishing from 5th April through to the 8th at the Half Moon Inn and we are both looking forward to it.



The master at work on Beam Weir Pool - the place where Rod caught 2 fresh run salmon in April 2006 and I lost 1 fish - just my luck!

I am pleased that there are new owners at the HMI and hope that they can return the pub back to it's former glory. It was always one of my favourite haunts when Charles and Benji ran it, along with Muriel, Phil and many many more characters! The fishing can be exceptional but it all depends on the water. One thing for certain though is that the area is one of the most beautiful places I know of especially in Spring.



Looking downstream from Beam Weir Pool towards Sunken Tree Pool

I didn't see it myself but Rod tells me that Johnny of 'Johnny's New Kingdom', whose wildlife series is currently running on BBC TV at the moment, was filming otters at Beam weir, in the last programme. Beam is one of the best HMI beats on the river I would say!

I trust that you have all sent off for your Llangadog Angling Limited's permits? If you haven't then you had better pull your finger out before they are all snapped up! John and I have offered to build a couple of fisherman's bench's, one above and one below Crewil Pool. Haven't heard back yet as to whether than want us to!

Rod is threatening to buy a Sage Z Axis rod like mine but hasn't got round to ordering it yet from the States! I'm off to Cardiff on Saturday to buy a new pair of waders from Gary Evans Fishing tackle shop while Gilda goes shopping in the City (I bet my bill will be cheaper than hers though!)

Lets hope that Rod and I get a salmon each on the Torridge this year! It would be a great start to the season!



A couple of hard fighting spring salmon like this one will do - PLEASE!


Tightlines for the 2008 season everyone!

ClustrMap archive

In case you are wondering where the 'busy' cluster map has gone - it's been archived! You can still view it by clicking on the map and then 'Maps Archived'.

Tight lines

Llangadog Angling Association Newsletter for 2007 Season

Llangadog Angling Limited – Supporting Llyn Y Fan Hatchery.

The club has always supported the efforts of Llyn Y Fan Hatchery, and the 15lb 5oz hen sea trout that local angler Cerith Booth caught in July was donated to the Hatchery. The sea trout was stripped this winter and produced approximately 11,500 eggs. The sea trout is to be kept at the hatchery until next winter when hopefully she will produce more eggs, after which she will be released back to the Tywi. On the 26th January seven local and guests of the club visited the hatchery for a look around. It was a fascinating morning and all were encouraged and thankful for the work of the owners, Viv and Olwen.

Information

Anglers are reminded that the fly only rule still applies, with fly fishing only below Crewil pool from the 1st May through too and including 31st August when the white marker at the tail end of Crewil Pool is showing.

Anglers are also reminded to take their litter home, especially fishing nylon, and to leave the fishing bank in the order they found it.

Please report any suspicious activity to a committee member or contact the Environment Agency direct on free phone 0800807060. Any member who holds a Llangadog Angling Limited permit has the right to ask any other fisherman/woman fishing club waters to see their permit.

Llangadog Angling Limited Contact Details -

President Eric Jones Contact Details
Vice President Dylan Roberts
Chairman Roger Howell
Secretary Eifion Jones 01550777296
Treasurer Eric Jones 01550777645
Club Bailiff Cerith Booth 017891817204
Committee Tony Byard
Jeff Davies
B Gracie
Sub - Committee Andrew Holmes





If you would like to contribute to the next issue of the news letter or have any information regarding catches etc, please contact Cerith Booth on 017891817204, or alternatively at cerithbooth@hotmail.co.uk



Introduction

We the committee of Llangadog Angling Limited would like to welcome you all to the first club news letter, spring 2008. We hope you find this news letter of interest and wish you all tight lines for the coming season.

Llangadog Angling Limited was formed in 1963 as Llangadog Angling Association. The inaugural meeting was held on the 14th October 1963 at the Castle Hotel. Six local parishioners attended the first meeting with the objective of providing recreation in the form of angling to the residents of the Llangadog County Council Ward. Mr Owen Jenkins was nominated as the first Chairman and Mr W Butler Jenkins as the first secretary. The first president was Mr Leslie Thomas. Also present at the first meeting were Mr Dewi Hall, Mr J Rees and Mr D T Evans. At the first meeting it was proposed by Mr Leslie Thomas that all present at the inaugural meeting be made founder members of Llangadog Angling Association. The fee for Llangadog parishioners for the coming season was priced at a £1.

During its time Llangadog Angling Limited has mainly relied on leasing its fishing waters from various sources. In the early years the club leased not only fishing rights on the Tywi, but also on the River Bran, Sawdde and Dulais. In more recent years the club strengthened its cause with the purchase of two exclusive fishing rights on the river Tywi. On the 18th February 1987 the club purchased the fishing rights from the Car Park Pool down to the Cattle Drink Pool below the railway Bridge. And on the 23rd June 1992 the club purchased the fishing rights at the Road Bridge. There are also records showing that the club made enquires regarding buying and leasing fishing on the Teifi at Lampeter and on the Lake at Talley.

A more recent change was the renaming of the club to Llangadog Angling Limited from Llangadog Angling Assosiation in 2007.

Catch Statistics 2000 - 2007

Season Salmon Total Sea Trout Total
2007 7 145
2006 2 155
2005 6 256
2004 5 106
2003 7 346
2002 2 345
2001 Foot and Mouth Year - No Fishing
2000 18 529

These figures are not accurate, because not all catch returns are returned to the club. Anglers are kindly asked to report all catches at the end of the season so a true reflection of the numbers of fish caught on Llangadog Angling Limited waters can be obtained.


Llangadog Angling Limited

Founded 1963

News Letter - Spring 2008

A look back at the 2007 season.

April – Opening day was Sunday the 1st, and although not many anglers fish the Tywi at Llangadog this early, one local angler was rewarded for his early activity with a salmon on the opening day at the Road Bridge Pool. April on the whole was a dry month with settled conditions and although there were a few fish seen in Crewil Pool and down the Groins during the month, I have no reports of catches.

May – This weather for May was very unsettled, with fluctuating river levels making night time fly fishing difficult. There were reports of fish being caught on all methods, with the worm in particular proving its worth during the small spates.

June – This is the month that usually produces sea trout in good numbers, but because of the unsettled weather, catching the sea trout proved to be difficult on all methods especially at night on the fly. There were reports of fish showing at the Car Park Pool, Crewil Pool and down the Groins, and I also have a report of a double figure sea trout lost on the 9th down the Groins.

July – The month started as June ended with the river in flood and this pattern continued throughout the month with the river not settling to summer level due to all the rain. July turned out to be a complete washout for night time fly fishing, with the best chances of catching a fish on a spinner or on a worm. The rain at the beginning of the month did bring a lot of fish up river from the lower beats, unfortunately due to the continued high water the fish moved through as quickly as they arrived. However there were reports of a number of fish caught during the month including a 15lb 5oz sea trout for local angler Cerith Booth on the 2nd to the worm, one of ten he caught during the week. Guest member Wyn Richards also reported good catches on a spinner during the first week.

August – The month of August was much more settled with the river running at summer level or just above for most of the month. The night time fly fisherman welcomed this settled period at good catches were reported throughout the month. Guest member Andrew Holmes and his brother in law John caught 4 sea trout of 2lb, 4lb, 5lb and 7lb between them on the 11th down the Groins, and Andrew followed this up with another 2 sea trout of 4lb 8oz and 6lb 8oz the following week. There was also a report of a run of grilse during a small spate on the 15th with local angler Cerith Booth catching one of 7lb 8oz on the worm at the tail end of Crewil Pool.

September – As the summer came to a close and the river Tywi welcomed in the autumn, reports of fish being caught slowly dried up. There were still sea trout around, and in between the coloured fish the odd nice fish was caught. Guest member Chris Morris catching a 5lb sea trout on the 21st on a spinner at the Churns.

October – With the season ending on the 7th,October gives you little time to try and catch a salmon, and with no floods during the last week of September to push the salmon up-river it did indeed prove to be a disappointing end to the season. The season was extended to the 17th of October strictly catch and release, but I do not know how many anglers used this extension period and I have no reports of fish caught.

Llyn-Y-Fan Hatchery, Towy News Letter, January 2008

Llangadog Angling Association AGM

The AGM was held at the village hall and about 15 adults and 2 juniors attended.

A full report of proceedings can be obtained from the club secretary.

It was decided to hold guest permit fees fixed for the 2008 season without increase. I am pleased to announce that I have been voted on to the committee as the first ever guest member! I will endeavour to assist the committee members to the best of my ability!

Presentations took place at the Goose and Cuckoo.

Llyn-Y-Fan Hatchery visit - January 2008

What a fantastic morning we had! Me, Rod, Chris, Cerith and Gwenan!

These are young salmon only weeks old!

Sewin eggs are lighter in colour than those of salmon!

We were very privileged to be allowed to visit the Llyn-Y-Fan Hatchery! Thank you Cerith for arranging this for us. It was a memorable morning and one that I am sure we all enjoyed without exception!



Most of these trays contain salmon eggs but the lighter coloured ones are sewin! What ever the case they must not be disturbed or they may die!

When we finally arrived at the hatchery (its somewhere up in the mountains miles from anywhere and the closer we got to it the worse the condition of the road was!). Anyway, when we arrived at Llyn-Y-Fan we were welcomed by Viv and Olwen and invited into their farmhouse for a cup of tea and a chat first before the tour began. As soon as they started to tell the story of how they came to get involved in this project one could see the passion that they both had for the preservation of migratory fish. Their knowledge of the subject was without doubt exceptional and their enthusiasm was amazing!



They showed us around the egg trays and the various tanks that contained parr and of course their brood stock. They showed us Cerith's 15 1/2 lb hen sewin who had already donated her eggs to the hatchery. They hope to get her to feed so that she can be released maybe in the future! I have to say that if any of you reading this blog get the chance to go and see this for yourselves you will not be disappointed, it is fascinating.



Just in case Viv and Olwen ever see this blog then I would like to thank them for being such excellent hosts and an inspiration to us all! May their work continue for many years to come!

Why was 1994 such a lucky year for me?

I know Rod has caught one much bigger but this fish will stay in my memory for ever. It was magnificent and fought like hell I think - can't remember to be honest! I definitely caught at night on the fly on the River Towy, that is for sure!



Not only did I catch my biggest salmon but also my biggest sewin!

11lb - 4 oz Sewin caught on the River Towy in 1994

I suppose this fish has to my best catch! Sewin are difficult to catch at the best of times so I am particularly proud of this one! Thank you Rod for taking such a good picture in the early hours of the morning and with an old type SLR camera too! I don't think digital had been invented then? I scanned this to get it up on my blog and it does'nt look bad does it?

Rod - have you got a picture of your 14lb sewin?

Llangadog Angling Association - AGM

The AGM is being held at the Llangadog Community Centre (Green Room) on Friday 25th January 2008 at 7.00pm. I urge all members to attend. I will be attending and intend to upload a report soon afterwards with details of any points of interest so watch this space!

Tight Lines!

A true Winter Story!

You will be pleased to know that I have started scanning some of my old fishing pictures (as Father Christmas brought me an 'all singing and dancing' Scanner/ Printer / tea maker etc) and intend to put them on my blog in due course!

This is one that I found in my album the other day! It brought back fond memories to me so I thought I might share them with you!

Proud of my catch 15th April 1994

A 14lb Torridge salmon, me stood outside the entrance of the Half Moon Inn at Sheepwash in Devon!

This is the salmon that I refer to in my Catch To Date report for 1994. It weighed 14lb and is my largest salmon to date. I caught it on the Holsdon Beat of the River Torridge, the Half Moon Inn used to rent it from the National Trust but as far as I know no fishing is allowed there any more! I remember the circumstances very well!

It was a lovely spring day, sunny and quite hot. Access to the river was down a very steep, long bank and through some woods! It was dead easy going down the bank, the thought of returning back up though was far from my thoughts. I was on a mission!

The beat was split into 2 sections and you had to fish one in the morning and the other in the afternoon, sharing the beat with the syndicate who fished the opposite bank. The change over had to be a 12.00 noon!. The bottom beat had a weir on it at the far end and I had just started fishing the weir pool at about 11.30 am so I had 1/2 hour before I had to pack up! The water conditions were good for spinning, as there had been rain earlier in the week and the water was at a good height but falling (this was before the Fly Only rule came into force at the HMI after April 1st or whenever it is!)

I was fishing a silver toby and had just started chucking right over to the far side into the fast water below the weir. It swung round quite quickly in the fast current. I did this 2 or 3 times and then felt a knock! Must have been a rock or something I thought! Just at this moment a Range Rover came down the field on the far side and an elderly guy got out with his rods and gear ready to start fishing at 12.00 noon! 'Morning' I shouted. 'Morning' he replied, 'had any luck'? 'Not a touch' I replied. 'I've been fishing all morning and haven't even seen a fish'!

I continued fishing as time was running out and this pool looked like my last chance of the morning! Another cast landed right in the white water just below the weir. It swung round again. 2 knocks this time! Weird, must be a snag in the river! I cast again, this time, to my complete surprise, the knock turned into a savage and solid pull, the line tightened and I was in to what seemed like a decent salmon!

The fish fought like hell! It must be double figures, I was thinking! All the time I was being watched by the guy on the far side who kept looking at his watch! It was a powerful fish and this combined with the fast current at this point made the job of playing the fish that much harder! Then I realised that I had left my landing net further upstream! Bollocks! Now what shall I do?

There was no choice but to dive in after the fish or even, dare I say, tail it? I had seen it done but had never tried it myself! The trouble was I had trees all around me so I couldn't raise the rod high in order to control the fish and the current seemed too fast to tail the fish very easily! I decided that there was only one thing for it! I must get in the river and try to get the fish between me and the bank, however, this wasn't easy as the flow was strong and the water deep (about up to my thighs). My plan was this! As soon as I could get the fish close in and holding position in the stream, between me and the bank, I would chuck my rod as far as I could up the bank and then lunge at the fish with both arms and heave it out of the water and up the bank as far as I could manage! This was a cracking fish and I had no intention of losing it, especially with the opposition guy over the other side watching every move I was making!

When the time was right I put my plan into action! It was all over in a few seconds but it seemed like a life time! My plan worked perfectly and the salmon landed safely half way up the bank with me safely lead on top of it! It was an absolute cracker of a salmon!

I had by now overrun my time on the beat so I had to walk back along the river for about a mile so that I could start fishing the next beat. This fish was hell of a weight and at some point I would have to carry it back up the hill to the car! Not a pleasant prospect I thought!

I fished for a couple of hours more to no avail and decided to call it a day and go back to the Half Moon for a pint! Now then, how am I going to carry this fish up that steep long bank back to the car with all my other gear I thought? It didn't look easy at all. Ah, I know! I took the sling from my landing net and threaded it through the gills of the salmon. I then heaved the fish on to my back and secured the sling over my shoulder! Job done! I would have to carry the net in my hand with my rod but so what! God was it hot! Spring? It was more like high summer! The bank got steeper and steeper and I was sweating like a pig! The climb was murder! Will I ever reach the top I wondered. I kept stopping and wiping my brow and looking back down into the beautiful valley with the river meandering through it. What a sight!

I was puffing, panting, sweating and other things when I came out of the trees at the very top of the hill (mountain more like). In front of me was the style and beyond that I could see my car. To my surprise though a young, quite attractive girl was standing on the step of the style with a camera admiring the 'breathtaking' view (literally). 'High' I said. 'High, have you been fishing' she asked. I was not looking my best after this epic journey and didn't have much breath left so I just turned around to show her the salmon hanging down my back. All I heard was a loud scream! Then another! And another! When I turned around she had run off! Christ I thought, has she never seen a fish before?

I lit a cigarette and looked back at the amazing view while I leant against the style. Then I looked down at the salmon lying on the grass. It was a magnificent prize! What a fantastic day? It was certainly one that I have never forgot!

The Great Trout Escape!

Rod alerted me to this picture and story in the Telegraph newspaper recently. These brown trout worked out how to escape from their fish pond into the river and gain freedom! Remarkable? Well not really to us fishermen but a miracle no doubt to the non fishing public!

Freedom is the River Itchen in Hampshire!

The owners of a trout farm were left baffled when fish were going missing. But then a wildlife photographer caught their extraordinary escape route on camera.

He pictured the trout making giant leaps out of their pond straight into the metal feed pipe three feet above the water level.

They then fought against the current for 30 feet until they reached the end of the eight inch wide pipe, which emerges underwater in a tributary of the River Itchen near Alresford, Hants.
The wildlife photographer Dennis Bright, 59, captured the amazing aerobatic fish earlier this week at the trout farm.

He said: "It was an incredible sight. Swimming against the current is instinctive for trout as they head up stream to spawn but they are doing a remarkable job getting through that pipe.
"They are jumping for freedom in large volumes but sadly I think their fate will be less than happy - there are otter, herons and many other predators feeding from the stream.
"I imagine the trout are quite stressed in the ponds because it is a free-for-all for predators. When birds come along the fish don't stand a chance."
David Riley, owner of Hampshire Trout Farms, said he would be extremely surprised if more than one or two fish were making it through.
He said: "I have been a farmer here for about 30 years and have never seen a fish make it to the other side but I know Dennis and if he says he has seen it I believe him."
"November and December is the mating season in the river and it is natural for them to jump at waterflows. It is not entirely impossible that they are getting through the pipe but if they do it would just be one or two.
"The pipe leads to the watercress fields which are only 150 yards long. If they were getting there in large quantities we would certainly see them.
"We already lose quite a lot of our fish to natural predators and I wouldn't like to think we are losing any more through the pipe.
"We do have a grill and deflectors that we can put on the pipe. Those that are not taken by otter or birds are used to restock rivers for sport."
The Brown Trout belongs to the same family as the Atlantic salmon. It is a medium sized fish, growing to 20 kg or more in some localities although in many smaller rivers a mature weight of 1 kg (2 lb) or less is common.
They prefer cold (15.5-18.3ºC), well-oxygenated upland waters, especially large streams in mountainous areas. Their diet includes invertebrates from the streambed, small fish, frogs, and insects flying near the water's surface.

Driven by instinct

It is instinct rather than cunning that drives the brown trout to make their leap for freedom.
The fish will be trying to get upstream to spawn.
David Bassett, of the British Trout Association, said: "They will be thinking that water falling from the pipe is a waterfall leading upstream. Then they will follow their natural life cycle to get upstream."
Paul Knight, of the Salmon and Trout Association, said the fish would also be attracted to the pipe because it would be bringing in water full of oxygen.
Mr Knight said: "They will follow instinct. I don't think they would be looking up at the pipe and thinking, 'Come on lads, let's go for it.'"

The Great 2007 get together!

Well we all met up this year at the Swan Hotel, Bibury and we all enjoyed it. The girls got on very well together and us blokes just carried on as normal taking the p..s out of each other! It was great! Lovely Hotel and surroundings.

Rod really enjoyed the meal and absolutely stuffed himself!

Cerith tells us his story for 2007 and a bit about the past!

Here is a summary of my catch statistics for 2007.

Total sewin caught is 21 all between 1lb and 4.5lb and of course the 15.5oz sewin that was donated to the hatchery. Of these I returned 12 to fight another day. I also caught one grilse at 7.5lb. Kept. All fish were caught on either worm or spinner, none on the fly this year.

Since I began fishing I have kept records of all sewin and salmon caught, that's more than 20 years worth, which includes methods, dates and where. I also have a number of records of the fish my grandfather caught. This winter I will log them all on the computer and send you a copy. My best year on the Tywi was 1999 (the year I left university and had nothing to do but fish), that year I caught over 50, the worst year was 1991 with only one sewin. 50 fish in a year isn't bad but my grandfather once caught 24 in a day in the 60's.

Hopefully i'll see you all in the AGM in January.

Rodney Byles Reports on his 2007 Season and a bit more!

Andy

Your catch return is interesting so enclose my little contribution in response.

Would have been interesting for you to include the flies you used to catch this lot!! My best season was about 12 if my memory is correct as don’t keep a diary like you. This season not that good as only managed 5 small sewin up to 2lb and only one of those on the fly. Very disappointing, although with Cerith’s advice I did manage a couple on the worm. The running worm is a difficult technique to master properly and depending on water conditions etc I will give it a try again next year.

Although the season has only just finished I’m already suffering from withdrawal symptoms. As a substitute I thought I'd try a bit of grayling fishing yesterday (Thursday) on a 1.5 mile double bank stretch of the Itchen near Winchester. Lovely sunny day and was quite expectant of a lot of grayling as had the stretch all to myself and river was perfect - gin clear and a good depth and flow. Started at 10.30 and finished about 3.30 in the afternoon and sad to say I only had one very small grayling and none rising either. Very disappointing as this stretch has produced big catches of grayling for me in the past with fish up to 1.5lb. The river keeper reckons the cormorants are to blame and take at lot of grayling during the winter months, however, my grayling disappointment was made up for with one of the best days I have had in years for trout!

I actually lost count of the number I caught. I think it was about 10 Rainbows and a couple of Brownies all between about 3lb and 6lb and fought like hell on 4lb line with my small 8ft rod that I made over 20 years ago. Plenty of long runs with the reel screaming!! Very enjoyable. Took me ages to get them out in the fast current and lost quite a few more. All were in cracking condition and of course all returned. I also saw an Eagret and a couple of Roe deer so it was quite a good nature day all in all. Wouldn't it be great to catch that number of sewin in a night!!! Now that would be special. We live in hope!!

Rod