Wild Trout Trust Newsletter Summer 2011

The Wild Trout Trust is dedicated to the conservation of wildtrout in Britain and Ireland through protection and

restoration of habitat

The day dawned warm and bright at The Park Hotel in Pandy nearAbergavenny. Members arrived early after some long drives to sip

coffee and share stories on the broad patio in the warm morning sun.

Proceedings kicked off promptly at 10 AM with a warm welcome fromthe Trust’s Chairman Edward Twiddy. The Director, Shaun Leonard,

covered the housekeeping – agenda for the day and the arrangementsfor the afternoon river walk.

continued on page 5

KRIS KENT REPORTS ON THE

ANNUAL GET-TOGETHER

2011

↑ Dr Paul Gaskell and members on the River Walk

Wild Trout Trust

ANNUALRAFFLE 2011We have some splendidprizes again this year –

dinner, B&B andfishing at The

Peacock, a Sage rod,an Orvis rod, WTTLife Membershipand a day’s fishing

with the WTTChairman on therivers Loddon and

Lyde.

Full details are on page 2 and an orderform is enclosed –

please buy a ticket ortwo or more... and

persuade your friendsand colleagues to do

likewise.

Tickets cost £1 and thedraw will take place inDecember this year.To purchase tickets,please use the order

form or go to the shopon our website,

www.wildtrout.org

In this issue...NEWS AND NOTICES PAGES 2–4ANNUAL GET-TOGETHER PAGES 5–9CONSERVATION NEWS PAGES 10–14MERCHANDISE PAGE 15

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News and Notices

AUCTION BREAKSRECORDS – AGAIN ! In spite of the recession and much to our delight,the auction again broke all previous records, raisinga little over £50,000 on eBay (last year’s total was£47,000) with a further £7000 raised at the auctionevent at the Flyfishers’ Club. This is a tremendousboost to our funds and our thanks go to the verygenerous donors and bidders who made it sosuccessful.

The eBay auction bidding was fast and furious inthe closing few hours, but many postal bidders wontheir lots so it is not all down to technology! Havingthe auction on eBay means that we can reach awider audience; this year we had winning bidders

“LOST” MEMBERSWe have lost touch with a few members. Can youhelp please?M Mr G S Bell – Lower BockhamptonM Mr Michael Albon – ThatchamM Mr M R D Yates – WallingfordM Mr Ian Treaowell – ChichesterM Mr J Vater – OxfordM Mr Roger James – HorshamM Mr Stephen Grove – BarcelonaM Mr D S W Lee – SheffieldM Mr Mark Hancox – LondonM Mrs P A Stevens – BodminM Mr R J Smith – CamberleyM Mr Trevor Fagg – WickfordM Mr Jamie Stewart – MatfenM Dr Robert Ainsworth – KillearnM Mr Kenneth A J Norcross – WarringtonM Mr Hugo Swann – LondonM Mr Paul W Ledger – PetersfieldM Mr R Mabon – CirencesterM Mr J Walton – Newcastle upon TyneM Mr Thomas Goddard – South AfricaM Mr Graham Wilkinson – HuddersfieldM Mr Alastair Clarke – TanworthM Mr John Murray – AlburyM Ms C Jorgensen – London

from Japan, USA, Switzerland and Norway. The Flyfishers’ Club auction was made all the

more enjoyable by the entertaining auctioneering ofNeil Freeman, whose professional skills teasedthose extra few pounds from the audience for our“worthy 4” wild trout”!

The auction epitomises the ethos of the WildTrout Trust. Lots were donated by a wide range ofpeople who gave what they could and generouslyshared their love of wild trout with the successfulbidders. The money is spent in the same spirit, on awide range of projects that may not always attractfunding in any other way – enabling the WTT tofunction as an ‘advice and help open to all’organisation.

DETAILS OF THEANNUAL RAFFLE 2011To be drawn at 7pm, Wednesday 7 December atThe Thomas Lord, West Meon, Hampshire.M 1st Prize kindly donated by The Peacock at

Rowsley & Haddon Fisheries, worth £575. TwoDay Tickets on the River Wye plus one night’sB&B and dinner for two (double or twin) atThe Peacock, Rowsley in high season or fourDay Tickets plus one night’s B&B and dinner inlow season.

M 2nd Prize kindly donated by Sage, worth £549.A Sage TXL-F 7ft 10in, 3-weight, 4-piece fly rod.

M 3rd Prize kindly donated by Orvis, worth£425. An Orvis Superfine Touch 9ft, 4-weight, 4-piece full flex fly rod.

M 4th Prize kindly donated by the Wild TroutTrust, worth £300. Life Membership of the WildTrout Trust.

M 5th Prize kindly donated by Gresham AnglingSociety & Edward Twiddy Esq, worth £100. Aday with WTT Chairman Edward Twiddy oneight miles of the rivers Loddon and Lyde innorth Hampshire. Intimate chalkstream fishingwith heavy hatches of fly, strong stocks of wildtrout and the chance of a specimen. Date to beagreed in 2012 season (includes mayfly).

News and Notices

PHOTOGRAPHICCOMPETITIONIn an unashamed desire to acquire a good numberof really excellent quality photographs, we plan torun a photographic competition. The winningentrant will have their photograph used as the frontcover of Salmo Trutta 2012 and be treated to a dayof wild trout fishing by one of the staff or executivecommittee members.

We are always looking for really good qualityphotographs of wild trout, rivers, lochs and peopleworking in and around the water for a whole rangeof uses in publications, promotional material and forthe website (we hope to launch a new website laterthis year). We know that many of our memberstake superb photographs and donating your bestimages is one way that you can help the WTT, andhave the satisfaction of having your photos, creditedto you, reach a much wider audience.

To keep it simple, we are imposing very few rules:M Anyone can enterM No more than 10 images per entrantM Photos must be taken in the UK or Ireland M Photos of fish must be of live fish with no

hands or only with very sensitive handling. M Photos may be of anything you judge to be

relevant to the WTT’s conservation objectives. M The photo’s must be your own and by entering

the competition you allow the WTT to use theimage(s) freely.

Send the images as high resolution files on a CDto the WTT office, and write your name and emailaddress on the CD. The closing date is 31 October2011.

All entries will be made anonymous before judg-ing and judges will be led by Charles-Rangeley Wil-son, WTT President and expert photographer (hetook the photo for the 2011 Salmo Trutta cover).

↑ Photo by Charles-Rangeley Wilson – 2011 Salmo Trutta cover

←The WWT conservation gnomes hard at work.Left-to-right – Tim Jacklin, Andy Thomas and PaulGaskell

FUTUREFUNDINGIt is excellent news that theEnvironment Agency have agreedto continue for another threeyears the funding that supportsthe work of our team ofConservation Officers: PaulGaskell, Tim Jacklin and AndyThomas. So, these three wisemen can be out there pushingwild trout conservation andgetting others involved with thatmission right through to 2014.

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WORKING INPARTNERSHIP – DORSETWILD RIVERS PROJECT

The Wild Trout Trust is a major source of in-depth expert knowledge of trout and trout habitat.By providing this expertise to other groups and in-dividuals we disseminate that knowledge and wecan help to get more miles of habitat improved thanwe could ever achieve solely with our own team ofConservation Officers. Increasingly, we are able tosupport the completion of habitat-improvementprojects through both fishing clubs and other chari-ties such as the Wildlife Trusts and Rivers Trusts.

A recent example of this is our successive part-nerships with the Dorset Wildlife Trust and theDorset Wild Rivers Project. In 2008 we provided aseries of Advisory Visits, facilitated with landownersby Sarah Williams of the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Shetook the reports and turned them into projects.Sarah is now the co-ordinator of the ‘Dorset WildRivers’ project, funded primarily by Wessex Water.We are supporting the project both at a SteeringCommittee level through Allan Frake and by provid-ing partnership funding to enhance the DorchesterMill Stream project.

Like many mill streams, the Dorchester MillStream has excellent water quality but the habitat ispoor; it has a silty, over-wide channel with straight,hard sides and little cover for fish or vegetation tosupport invertebrates, birds and other wildlife.

The plan of the enhancement scheme is to softenthe shape of the stream and provide bankside vege-tation on marginal shelves (berms) in the hope thatthe water voles (present in a nearby ditch) willcolonise the millstream. The vegetation also willprovide habitat for invertebrates and trap the siltthat currently covers the gravels. Flow patterns inthe stream will be manipulated to provide betterhabitat for trout and bullhead. This work is plannedfor August 2011; it is the culmination of many yearsof discussion and negotiation with Local Govern-ment, community groups and the EnvironmentAgency.

Whilst the primary objective of this project maynot be trout, the effect of the planned habitat im-provement will be to add more good trout habitatto the elements that constitute a thriving river. Byworking in partnership, we can add many morepieces to the huge network of rivers in the UK.

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There is an excellent video by the award winning film maker, High Miles, about the River Allen,

on the Dorset Wild Rivers website.http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/dorsetwildrivers.html

THREE FLYCOMPETITION RAISESOVER £1600

Meon Springs Fishery in Hampshire again was thevenue for the ‘3 Fly’ competition, run by Neil Mundy,to raise money for the Wild Trout Trust. Twentyanglers gathered on the banks of the lake for a verysociable day catching rainbow trout with one ofthree designated flies. A scoring system based onfish weight and fly used determined the points – andwe know that points mean prizes! WTT members,Meon Springs regulars and members of the JohnLewis Partnership Flyfishing Club were amongst theanglers competing to win a Sage Z-Axis rod. Thewinner was Steve Robinson.

Encouragingly, there was a number of youngerparticipants, including 15 year-old Jake Curry whobagged a creditable points tally to claim a new flybox and flies.

Over £1600 was raised on the day, and themoney will go into the Pasco James Fund,established in 2010 following the untimely death of22 year-old Pasco James. Pasco had a passion fortrout and the River Meon. His mother, HarrietPoland, brother Caspian and girlfriend, HollyBarrow, joined anglers and WTT staff for theafternoon, and received an update on the plans tospend some of the fund on a project at Meonstoke.The project is in the early stages, but the proposalis to take a short stretch of wide, shallow channelbounded by concrete banks and transform it intohabitat for trout, plants and insects which visitorsand villagers alike can enjoy. It is a publicly accessiblesite within the new South Downs National Park, sowe hope it will inspire others to undertake similarprojects and will be a fitting memorial to Pasco.

You can find Pasco’s tribute page onwww.pacsojames.com. To make a donation to thefund, please contact the WTT office. Further detailson the planned project are available from DeniseAshton.

Huge thanks to Neil Mundy for organizing thisday, to the John Lewis Partnership Fishing Club fortheir support and to Sage for the superb Z-Axisfirst prize.

If you would like to run a fundraising event basedon the ‘3 Fly’ formula, Neil has very kindly written a‘how to’ guide which is available on the website orfrom Denise Ashton.

News and Notices

5

Annual get-together

Annual get-together continued

Shaun went on to review the Trust’s work over thelast twelve months:M Advisory and Practical Visits have covered the

whole of the UK from the Moray Firth in thenorth to Cornwall in the south, Ireland in theWest to Norfolk in the east.

M Customers are extremely satisfied with theservices provided and the various projects aremaking great progress.

M Trout in the Town continues to go fromstrength to strength with new chapters startingup, or planning to start up all over the country.

M Dr Paul Gaskell has published the UrbanRestoration Guide to supplement the existingWild Trout Trust habitat guides.

M The process of updating the existing range ofpublications continues.

M Filming has started on the river restorationvideo starring Jon Beer.

M Mayfly in the Classroom continues to engageschoolchildren in entomology and riverhabitats.

M The Trust has attended and presented at anumber of conferences and events influencing ↓ Shaun reviews the Trust’s work and points the way forward

Mike Weaver asks a questions ↓

the sustainable-fisheries management agenda.M Tim Jacklin has once again produced an

excellent edition of Salmo Trutta.M Denise Ashton and Christina Bryant delivered

very successful Auctions raising over £57,000.M A series of articles by Dr Paul Gaskell on

fisheries management has started in Trout &Salmon.

M Progress is being made on updating the existingwebsite and utilising new media such asFacebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

M Funding partners, such as the EnvironmentAgency and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation,continue to support the Trust’s efforts. TheTrust has received several large donationswhich have allowed the Trust to makeinvestments in a new trailer and two boats foruse in practical project work.

M Bursaries have been given to many projectpartners.

LOOKING FORWARD:M Trout in the Town is intending to establish a

footprint in Scotland.

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Annual get-together

M The Trust continues to be supported by theEnvironment Agency; this funding will allow theTrust to undertake Advisory and Practical Visits,continue the Trout in the Town project and torecruit an additional Conservation Officer.

M Partnerships will continue to be a key part ofthe Trust’s approach, working closely withgovernment agencies, clubs, community groups,non-governmental organisations and riverstrusts – to mention just a few.

FUNDING CHALLENGE WILL CONTINUE.Shaun invited questions from the floor. Mike

Weaver started the debate on the challengepresented by invasive signal crayfish.

The EA intends to work more closely with localcommunities and other parties, such as the WTT.“We can do more work, better together”: the bigsociety in practice. £75k will be going to the Trustalongside £10m being spent on trout habitatimprovements.

Questions from the floor covered funding on fishkills; stocking policies in relation to the 58% offailing fisheries; impact of flow levels on troutpopulations; licence evasion; diffuse pollution; floodplain planning permissions.

Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith (Wye & UskFoundation) – Thinking Outside TheBeat, a whole catchment approach towild trout management

Stephen started with an overview of the Wye &Usk Foundation, its past and the current catchment-wide approach. Particular focus was given to theremoval of impediments to salmon and troutmigration; the eradication of invasive plant species;gravel and water abstraction.

Stephen encouraged the Trust to take a wholecatchment approach.

Dylan Roberts (Game & Wildlife Conser-vation Trust) – Trout Stocking Research

After coffee Dylan presented the background andthe key findings of the GWCT’s research on troutstocking. Stocking is a reality for many fisheries,creating viable stocks to meet fishing demand.Stocking is of concern in terms of its effect onnative wild trout but there has been little researchundertaken in the UK to understand this effect.What is the impact of stocking?

↓ Ian Johnson – Environment Agency

↑ Dr Stephen Marsh-Smith – Wye & Usk Foundation

GUEST SPEAKERSIan Johnson (Environment Agency) –EA Fisheries: The Future Landscape

Ian emphasised the important role of theEnvironment Agency’s (EA) partnership with theWild Trout Trust in sustainable fisheriesmanagement. He went on to explain the role of, andfunding for, the Fisheries Team within the EA. Thevast majority of the £34m budget goes into fisheriesimprovement but he also highlighted their influenceon the overall £1.27 billion budget.

The Fisheries Team’s priority is the delivery of theWater Framework Directive (WFD); in particulardealing with pollution, flow, fish passage and habitatissues. Fish, including brown trout, are at the heartof the WFD. Their statistics show that 58% of waterbodies are failing in terms of fish. WFDimprovements represent improvements for trout.

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Annual get-together

A 2003/2004 study of diploid stocking at lowmedium and high levels on lowland and upland riversystems, showed that there was no impact on wildbrown trout density, growth rates or displacement.

A further 2004/2007 study, part funded by theEA, the Test & Itchen Association and the Wild TroutTrust, again on lowland and upland river systemslooked at both diploid and triploid stocking. Againthere was no discernable impact on wild browntrout density, condition, growth rates anddisplacement. Another part of this study looked atdiet and found no major differences in diet or issuesin terms of competition for food. Tagging of stockedand wild brown trout found that during spawningtriploids did not interfere with wild brown troutspawning and that they overwinter better thandiploids. In terms of fishing performance the studyfound no significant differences in fishing qualityalthough this requires further validation.

Stocking as fry has many benefits over maturestocking – lower cost, easier set-up and morenatural fish behaviour. But at which stage in terms oflifecycle and timing should fry be stocked? A studyon southern rivers found that native fry inincubator boxes performed best and that fed-fry didbetter than swim-up fry. However general retentionrates were very low, less than 0.5%, and therefore isineffective way to stock. Lots of questions are stillunanswered and further research is required.

Good habitat and water quality remain key togood trout populations.

Questions from the floor covered the use ofrainbows as an alternative to diploid/triploid browntrout stocking; is stocking really needed at all; therole of predation in retention; smolt predation by

triploids; the ban on diploid stocking in 2015;densities and retention; stocking impact on geneticdiversity.

Simon Evans (Wye & Usk Foundation) –0+ Trout: The Canaries of the River

Simon gave an impassioned insight into the EULife+ Funder Project on the River Irfon, one of thebest parts of the Wye & Usk catchment. Baselineelectro fishing found that trout fry prosper in thesmaller channels and tributaries. There are majorhindrances to fish utilising these spawning channelsand fry surviving, in particular impediments tomigration, gravel impaction/silting and acidification.

Soil loss on farmland, creating siltation in waterbodies, is increasing significantly and it is notsustainable. It also brings in pesticides and othertoxins. Reducing farm pollution is a major challengeon the Wye & Usk catchment. Whilst guidelineshave been published compliance and enforcementwill be key. This requires the EA and Defra toenforce the guidelines and will require assistancefrom the third sector. Good practice works and it ispossible to address this issue.

Questions from the floor covered farmingpractice; EA regulation; impact of climate change;biomass contribution to diffuse pollution; who canprovide assistance where there is no river trust orsimilar organisation in place.

↓ Dylan Roberts – Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

↓ Simon Evans – Wye and Usk Foundation

Rob Denny (Monnow Rivers Association)– Going Native: An MRA Project toControl Invasive Non-native Species

Going Native is a catchment-wide project to ridthe Monnow system of invasive non-native species(INNS) including Himalayan Balsam, JapaneseKnotweed, Mink and Signal Crayfish. Going Native is

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Annual get-together

a partnership project working with the EA and theWild Trout Trust. It also works to promote nativespecies such as Water Voles, Ranunculus and WhiteClaw Crayfish.

A major challenge has been Himalayan Balsamwith over 60km of riverbank infested. Several meth-ods of control have been trialled with spraying com-bined with hand-pulling being the most successful.The project’s goal is eradication within 3 years.

RIVER WALKAfter lunch minibuses whisked attendees off to theRiver Monnow at Alltyrynys. Tim, Andy and Paulprovided an insight into the use of large woodydebris to create features within the river, improvetrout habitat, and reduce rates of bank erosion. TheMonnow Rivers Association has undertakenconsiderable habitat improvement on this stretch ofthe Monnow.

↑ River Monnow at Alltyrynys

→ Dr Paul Gaskell demostrates practical river work

↑ River walk on the Monnow

→ Enjoying lunch

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Annual get-together

DINNERThe day ended with a dinner back at The ParkHotel. After a wonderful meal, a few drinks andmany interesting conversations Gwilym Hughesentertained the assembled audience with tales offishing, a few hilarious jokes and an interestingmime. Gwilym also read from his new book TheAngle of The Cast.

Rob Denny stepped up to the plate and hostedan impromptu auction. Copies of Gwilym’s bookand rods and fishing donated by the audiencehelped to raise much needed funds for the Trust.

SUNDAY FISHINGSunday morning saw 30 or so members gather inthe car park at The Park Hotel. The MonnowRivers Association had arranged fishing on localbeats and it’s members took WTT members in handguiding them for the day. Conditions were difficultwith bright sun and low river levels but reportssuggest that fish were caught with Andy Thomashooking a lovely 2lb fish.

TROUT STOCKINGA springtime meeting in London betweenWTT, the Angling Trust, the Salmon & TroutAssociation and the Game & WildlifeConservation Trust agreed to support theprecautionary principle behind theEnvironment Agency’s National Trout &Grayling Fisheries Strategy. Fundamental tothis principle is that stocking of fertile(diploid) farmed brown trout poses a real riskto wild trout stocks through interbreeding –this is what a huge number of scientificstudies tell us. It is such good news that themajor fishery and conservation Non-Governmental Organisations have united onthis really important issue. However, thegroup also recognises that more research isneeded and we have asked regulatoryauthorities to apply the same rigour across alltheir spheres of influence, for example inrelation to hydropower and abstraction.

NEW CONSERVATIONOFFICER FOR WTTIn an exciting collaboration with theEden Rivers Trust, WTT will be takingon a new Conservation Officer to jointhe team, funded by the EnvironmentAgency. The post will have a dual role,pursuing WTT interests across theNorth of England and implementing theRiver Eden River Restoration Strategy, acatchment-wide river enhancementinitiative, the first of its kind in thecountry. The WTT and ERT websiteswill carry more detail on our newappointment.

← Rob Denny acts as auctioneer

↓ Gwilym Hughes reads from his book

Conservation news

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The last six months has seen a bit of a shift fromthe usual demand for Advisory Visits (AVs) to morerequests for written up Project Proposals (PPs).These project opportunities often fall out of aprevious AV but in the last six months I have drawnup 8 PPs ranging from plans to restore a smallspawning tributary on the Wey North, through toproviding ‘trout friendly’ solutions to excessive bankerosion problems. I have also had the honour ofwalking in the footsteps of the legendary FrankSawyer with Martin Browne, the current keeper of

production of a Western Rother Tributaries Projectwhich has attracted positive interest and financialsupport from the EA. Currently the Rother is oneof those rivers that falls outside of a Rivers Trustumbrella but hopefully not for long. An inauguralmeeting of the proposed Rother & Arun RiversTrust (RAAT) is due to take place in June and it ishoped that a core group can be formed to take onthe responsibility for looking after these veryinteresting and unusual rivers. WTT is closelyinvolved and we will be working with them to help

take the tributaries projectforward.

Advisory Visits have againintroduced me to some absolutegems from the Little Avon inGloucestershire to the DevilsBrook (Piddle tributary) inDorset. Classic chalk streamcarriers like the Segar Stream onthe Itchen through to wild andunmanaged little trout streamslike Combe Water, a littletributary of the Exe. All different,all with their fair share of issuesand problems but all with lots ofpotential for improvement.

Providing support to RiversTrusts, fishing clubs and land-owners can take various forms.

The AV, PP and Practical Visit (PV) approach arewell trodden paths to trout heaven, but increasinglywe are looking at how we can up our game and getour messages out about improving trout habitat.Work has started on producing an instructionalDVD which we hope will be an entertainingpractical guide to trout habitat management. I’msure Shaun will be informing you all on progress butI spent a long day filming with Jon Beer, who ishelping us to get our messages across in aprofessional manner. It certainly was an educationfor me; eight hours of filming for about eightminutes worth of useable footage but great fun allthe same!

Another approach is the interactive workshop. Afew months ago we teamed up with the Test &Itchen Association to help them run a ‘River Man-agement’ workshop aimed at providing owners andkeepers with an opportunity to debate how thesetwo famous chalk streams could and should be

Conservation update from the South and West

the Services Fly Fishing Club. Frank was obviouslyvery keen on the idea of boosting wild stocks in themain Hampshire Avon through the creation anddevelopment of small nursery carriers, and Martin isvery keen to follow on the tradition. Hopefully theProject Proposal we have drawn up will turn intoreal improvements for Avon wild trout very soon.

Work to raise awareness of South Coast seatrout will begin with the official launch of the SouthCoast Sea Trout Action Plan in late June. In themeantime plans to improve habitat for sea trout aregathering momentum and two new easements areto be built this summer in the Adur Catchment.John Whiting is ‘Mr Adu’ and is the local Ouse AdurRivers Trust (OART) man and a passionate advocatefor Sussex Adur sea trout and a WTT member toboot. We will be working closely with OART to helpthem deliver their programme of riverimprovements.

Another exciting development has been the

A N D Y T H O M A S

↑The fruits of a PP. Ten tonnes of newly installed gravel providing a new spawning habitat on the RiverLen in Kent (November 2010)

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Conservation news

‘Trout in the Town’ has struck a chord with anglersand community groups all over the UK. In February,a group of Trout in the Town project leadersgathered in London for the weekend to share theirknowledge and experience, and also to get down tosome practical work carrying out habitatimprovement on the River Wandle.

The Wild Trout Trust’s Trout in the Townprogramme was inspired by the Wandle Trust’swork to return this London chalkstream from arubbish dump to a fishable river. So it was fittingthat this second ‘Urban Conclave’ of Trout in theTown chapters should take place here. TheConclave was attended by members of Trout in theTown projects in Huddersfield, Sheffield,Nottinghamshire, Wigan, Birmingham, Manchester,Derbyshire and London (with apologies from

managed. Tom Davis, the T&I Executive Director, iskeen on persuading his members to look for oppor-tunities to improve trout habitat, in the knowledgethat a more sensitively-managed system will help toboost wild trout numbers, which currently onlytend to thrive where there is good habitat to sup-port them (no surprises there). Nobody was tryingto suggest that these rivers will be ‘wild’ trout fish-eries from top to bottom but there does seem tobe an appetite for change so that both of theseiconic rivers can support thriving wild trout stocks.

In the last six months the emphasis of my workhas changed from simply advice and some projectwork with fishing clubs, to much more project workwith a wider range of partners and communicatingthe habitat message to a broader audience. There islittle time to dwell on successes as there is alwaysso much to do. However, I believe we are makinggreat steps forward and maintaining our reputationas an organisation focused on delivering real im-provements for wild trout. It’s great to be part ofthe WTT.

Trout in the Town

↑Trout in the Town practical work – carrying out habitat improvement on the River Wandle

Lancashire Colne, Glazert nearGlasgow and London's RiverCray).

Following a rousing introduc-tion by Wild Trout Trust directorShaun Leonard, the Saturday pro-gramme was kicked off by an in-spirational and personalperspective from Wild Trout TrustPresident, author, photographer,film-maker and (accidental) anglerCharles Rangeley Wilson – who,by greatly auspicious coincidence,had caught his first (and to dateonly) Wandle trout not 50 yardsfrom the conference venue aftermany years of trying. So began aday of accounts from representa-tives of each local branch – bothgiving background to their ownaspirations as well as sharing les-

sons learned the hard way.A great many discussions and friendships were

forged across all groups throughout the day. Thesediscussions and cross-group problem solvingactivities continued well into the night over dinnerand drinks (even finding time to take in the Rugbygame at 5pm). A great day.

Sunday saw the whole thing stepped up a notchwith the combining of local volunteers withconference delegates to make a workforce group49-strong to be trained by Andy Thomas and myselfwith Bella Davies and Theo Pike (Wandle Trust) andWTT Director Shaun Leonard marshalling thevolunteers. Amongst the people getting their handsand waders dirty was local MP Tom Brake whoturned out to be remarkably handy with a bow saw.

P A U L G A S K E L L

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Conservation news

Trout in the Town continuedParticularly gratifying for me

was the sight of volunteers (whohalf an hour prior to our guidedriver walk and training talk knewnothing of trout habitatrequirements and only a littleabout stream ecology) expertlyand correctly fielding questionsfrom passing dog walkers andlocal residents. At least half of thetrue value of a Wild Trout TrustPractical Visit is its educationalvalue – not just the physicalhabitat restoration itself.

The habitat works that wecompleted used a combination oflogs, brash and metal pins toproduce scoured spawning gravels, holding lies foradult trout and cover suitable for juvenile life stagesof trout. Doing the work in the river is the tip of aniceberg, as making any changes in an urban riverneeds careful thought and consultation with allinterested parties. This work was the culminationof months of consultation, planning and gainingpermission as well as funding, so it was reallyexciting to see it all finally coming to fruition.

A hugely important aspect of these works is alsothe simple monitoring techniques used to track thephysical effect of each structure. The Monday fol-lowing the practical works saw formal surveying andmeasurements carried out to complement thoseundertaken during the works and was followed upby an assessment and discussion with regional EArepresentatives of Flood Risk Management, Devel-opment Control and Fisheries who approved theworks (there was still a chance that we would haveto remove any structures that caused undue con-cern in this heavily urbanised environment).

When combined with the removal of five keybarriers (three already tackled, a fish pass imminenton a fourth and a project this year to tackle thefifth) these works pave the way for the seeding ofthe river with wild trout parr from a suitable donorriver. This will tie in with the shift from using fertilehatchery fish in the ‘Trout in the Classroom’projects to sterile fish in the near future – a movethat will ensure the greatest possible geneticdiversity (and hence adaptability) of the self-sustaining trout within the Wandle.

One word was used repeatedly (and withoutprompts from me!) over the course of the Conclaveand the Practical Visit: ‘inspirational’ – and I wouldlike to add my own use of that word when appliedto all Conclave participants and volunteers fromeach and every Trout in the Town project. I am inawe of all your undertakings and it is a privilege forme to work on your behalf.

↑Trout in the Town practical work – carrying out habitat improvement on the River Wandle

Conservation update from the North and EastT I M J A C K L I N

ETWALL BROOK PROJECTThe Etwall Brook is a small tributary in the

middle reaches of the River Trent in SouthDerbyshire. About 18 months ago pollutionresulting from an accident at a Severn Trent Watersewage treatment plant killed numerous fish in thebrook, including a number of wild brown trout.Following the incident, the local EnvironmentAgency (EA) fisheries officer, Alex Lumsdon,contacted the Wild Trout Trust for advice on howhabitat within the brook might be improved to

speed the recovery of the fish stocks and toprovide a lasting improvement. The brook is notfished and this approach was an alternative tostocking the brook with hatchery fish, which havemuch poorer prospects for re-colonising a waterthan wild fish.

Tim Jacklin carried out an Advisory Visit andprepared a project proposal for works on thebrook to improve a section where the channel hadbeen straightened twenty years previously. Inconjunction with the EA, the plans were discussed

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Conservation news

with the landowner who agreed to the works andwith Severn Trent Water (who agreed to fund theworks) as mitigation for the pollution. The relevantconsent applications were prepared and submittedto the EA and soon everything was in place for thehabitat improvements to go ahead.

The work took place in early March and involvedcreating pool habitat, introducing spawning gravels,placing large woody debris (root wads) in thechannel, re-profiling the banks of the brook, plantingtrees and fencing the brook from livestock. It was areal team effort with WTT supervising theearthwork contractors, EA staff helping with thepool habitat creation and tree planting and thelandowner providing assistance with his farmmachinery. On subsequent visits to the site it hasbeen gratifying to see some trout have taken upresidence on the improved section and shoals ofminnows and the odd chub have also been seen;these should form the basis of a speedy recoveryfor the fish stocks.

ADVISORY VISITS AND PROJECT WORKThe Advisory Visit programme has been

progressing apace this year with visits to the AfonCain (Powys), Gwash (Rutland), Churnet and Blithe(Staffordshire), Worfe (Shropshire) and Leven(North Yorkshire). Project proposals have beenprepared for the Afon Ceiriog (north Wales), Dove(Derbyshire) and Peffrey (Ross and Cromarty).

One problem that has cropped up regularly onthese visits is that of excessive fine sediment (siltand sand) entering the river from soil erosion. Thishas been apparent in rivers as widely spaced asShropshire, Yorkshire and NE Scotland and was alsovery apparent on the River Monnow during theWild Trout Trust’s Annual Meeting (reportedelsewhere). Simon Evans of the Wye & UskFoundation gave an excellent presentation at thismeeting on the subject of sediment pollution. This isa major problem facing our rivers and one thatneeds to be addressed before we will seeimprovements in fish stocks.

The Water Framework Directive is a major pieceof legislation that provides an impetus to tacklesuch problems where watercourses are designatedas having less than ‘good ecological status’. Recently,ten catchments were named as being pilots forimplementing the measures necessary to achievegood status; included in these is the Welland whichis one of the rivers covered by the WTT’s AnglianSea Trout Project. This is good news as it providesan opportunity to fund and carry out some of theprojects that have been identified during a recentwalkover survey of the catchment. Work also

↑ Before – a straightened, open section of the Etwall Brook

↑ Placing root wads in the channel and re-profiling the banks

↑The River Worfe, Shropshire. Fine sediment in rivers is a major problemaffecting watercourses across the British Isles

continues on other rivers under the Anglian SeaTrout Project including the Nar, Glaven and Stiffkeyin Norfolk where improvements to fish passage andhabitat are in the pipeline.

14

Conservation news

An important part of my role asprogramme manager for Trout inthe Town is to help develop asense of custodianship withinlocal communities for their urbanriver corridors, ‘Mayfly in theClassroom’ is an important wayof doing just that. The idea wasclearly inspired by ‘Trout in theClassroom’ but I was reallylooking for something cheaperand simpler that did not requireexpert support or specialistequipment. Something thatteachers, mums and dads, andfishing club volunteers could setup and run easily, and that neededphysical visits to a local river –first of all to collect the mayfly larvae; and thensubsequently to carefully release the emergent adultflies back to their natal home.

The idea has been thoroughly tested in schoolsup and down the country and has developed amomentum of its own in urban and rural areas alike,having been picked up by other organisations fromthe Eden Rivers Trust in the north to the MeonValley Partnership on the South Coast.

There is now a dedicated websitewww.mayflyintheclassroom.org which gives veryclear and simple ‘how to do it’ instructions anddownloadable resources for teachers, includingideas for lesson content and linked themes such aswater quality/quantity and the interlinked nature ofriparian and aquatic foodwebs. The cost ofequipment is less than £20: a very small investmentto reveal the wonders of river to a new generation.

Becky Helm, Education Officer with the EdenRivers Trust, tells the following story from one herMayfly in the Classroom schools:

“One brilliant example of a lesson learned wasstanding on the bank of a river with the children andparents from the Home Education Group. On releasingan adult mayfly (a Large Brook Dun to be precise) theadult fly decided to fly skywards instead of crawling ontothe underside of the leaf it had been offered. All eyeswere gazing in wonder at the mayfly as it was promptlysnapped up by an eagle-eyed swallow. As we all lookedon in horror as the life of this carefully nurtured mayflyslipped away, one little boy in the group piped up ‘ohwell, it’s nature after all’ – fantastic!”

↑ Mayfly in theClassroom projectswith the MonnowRivers Association andlocal schools

Mayfly in the Classroom updateP A U L G A S K E L L

SAVE US A FEW QUID!We accept direct debits, cheques and debitcards for payments be it for membershipsubscriptions, goodies from our shop, eventtickets, and auction lots etc. Each of thesemethods cost just a few pennies in charges.However we also accept credit cards onwhich we are charged between 2.4% and 4.5%and that adds up to a large amount over theyear. For example, if everyone had paid fortheir 2011 auction lots by credit card thecharges would have been well over £1000 butif everyone had paid by debit card the chargeswould have been under £100. So please,whenever possible, on our website or to theoffice, use a debit card in preference to acredit card and ensure that more of yourmoney goes on conservation. Thankyou.

15

WTT BADGESCLOTH

£4PIN BADGES

£3.50CAR STICKER

£1 – all free p&pLife member badges free with £300

life membership

ORVIS SHIRTColour Indigo and

Light Blue (not shown) £39 + £2 p&psizes M, L, XL, XXL

SNOWBEE SHIRTColour Putty £30 + £2 p&p

sizes M, L, XL, XXL

SUPER WARM FLEECEWITH WTT LOGO

in dark green or black£20 + £3 p&p

sizes L, XL, XXL

FULLING MILLEVENING RISESELECTION£9 + £1 p&p

MATCHING THEHATCH by Peter Lapsley &Cyril Bennett£7.99 + £1.20 p&p

WHEATLEY FLY BOXESWITH WTT LOGO12 compartments and a foam lid at£30 and the Double ripple foam inner at £19 +£1.25 p&p

FINE BONECHINA MUG£9 + £1 p&p

BASEBALLCAP£15 plus £1.50 p&p

WILD TROUT TRUST SHOPAll WTT merchandise can be ordered via the Shop on our website at www.wildtrout.org; by

sending an appropriate cheque to the WTT Office; or by debit/credit card over the phone – callthe WTT Office on 023 9257 0985. All postage prices are for the UK, please enquire for overseas.

WTT Merchandise

WTT GUIDES AND MANUALSThe Wild Trout Survival Guide (softback) – £10 + £1 p&pThe Uplands River Habitat Manual (CD) – £10 + £1 p&pThe Chalkstream Habitat Manual (CD) – £10 + £1 p&pUrban Rivers Restoration Guidelines (CD) – £10 + £1p&p

BLENHEIM PALACEWOODSTOCK, OXFORDSHIRE

FRIDAY 22 - SUNDAY 24 JULY 2011

The CLA Game Fair in association with

The World of Fishing at The World’s Greatest Game Fair

www.gamefair.co.uk FIND OUT MORE AND SAVE MONEY ON YOUR TICKETS:

OR TELEPHONE 0844 581 4903 (Ticket line closes Friday 15th July)

Stay connected to the Game Fair!

twitter.com/thegamefair

facebook.com/gamefairbear facebook.com/gamefairbear

FRIDAY 22 - SUNDAY 24 JULY 2011to the Game Fair!

twitter.com/thegamefair

Stay connected

BLENHEIM PALACE

FRIDAY 22 - SUNDAY 24 JULY 2011

Exhibition & Entertainment

for all

The CLA Game Fair in association with

facebook.com/gamefairbear

Exhibition & Entertainment

for all

PresidentCharles Rangeley–Wilson

Vice–Presidents Jon Beer, Professor David Bellamy, Brian Clarke,

Gareth Edwards, Oliver Edwards, Dr Malcolm Greenhalgh, Pat O’Reilly,

Peter O’Reilly, Jeremy Paxman, Paul Procter, The Rt Hon Lord (David) Steel of Aikwood

ChairmanEdward Twiddy

Director and Conservation for Scotland & Ireland

Shaun Leonarddirector@wildtrout.org

tel 023 8027 6037

NewsletterEditor: John Williams

Layout: Richard Handleyoffice@wildtrout.org

Sponsorship & Communications Denise Ashton

sponsorship@wildtrout.org 07802 454157

Conservation Officers Tim Jacklin

North East; North West; Midlands, Anglian; NorthWales

tjacklin@wildtrout.org 07876 525457 Andy Thomas

Southern, Thames, South West, South & Mid Wales athomas@wildtrout.org 07876 525499

Paul Gaskell Trout in the Town

pgaskell@wildtrout.org 07919 157267

Wild Trout Trust Office The Wild Trout Trust

PO Box 120, Waterlooville PO8 0WZ Tel / Fax: 023 9257 0985 email: office@wildtrout.org Christina Bryant is the Trust Administrator and is

normally at her desk 10:00–15:00, Monday to Thursday.When this is not possible and at all other times, please

leave a message on the answerphone and Christinawill respond as soon as she is able.

WILD TROUT TRUST Reg Charity No 1077041

www.wildtrout.org

WE WILL BE IN FISHERMAN’S VILLAGE, COME TO SEE US THERE!