For some days now I have been following reports of a major pollution incident on the Ribble below Clitheroe.  About 26 July a substance identified as kitchen effluent was poured into a storm drain on the A59.  It seems that this was a similar substance to that found at Barrow off the A59 a couple of weeks before.  The second incident caused fish deaths at Swanside and the EA erected a dam to try to contain the spread of the effluent.  Unfortunately the same effluent was poured into the drain a few days later overwhelming the dam and polluting the Ribble as far as Grindleton Bridge.  This incident caused the death of many fish including a number of large sea trout.

By yesterday the plug of pollution had reached Brungerley and there were a large number of dead sea trout and salmon by the bridge.  Fortunately the concentration of the pollutant seems to be lessening but the fear is that the effluent may have gone to the bottom of the deeps with who knows what consequences.  The EA together with the RFCA are monitoring the situation and doing what is necessary to minimise the impact of these incidents and we owe a debt of thanks particularly to David Hinks RFCA Chair and MAA member and his colleagues for all the time they have spent on this.  I have posted up a photo taken by one of Davids colleagues to show the impact of this senseless and selfish act by some idiot tanker driver.

The response to this really does show how vital fishing associations and their co-ordinating bodies are in helping to monitor and preserve the pristine nature of our waterways.  As David Bellamy said, fishermen are vital to the future conservation of our rivers and lakes.  It's surely the most unarguable defence we have against the sustained pressure from PETA and its ilk to ban sport fishing.  It does not get enough publicity.

We had a fair bit of rain last night here at Horton and again it's much fresher (cool even) this morning.  Currently there is quite dense cloud cover well down on the hills so more rain is a distinct possibility.

    Well, well, well; wonders will never cease.  It seems that so many have logged onto this blog over the past month that the permitted bandwidth has almost been exceeded.  I got an email last night from Fasthosts who provide a platform for both this blog and the main website to tell me as much.  So, I have taken another executive decision and upgraded the blog at the princely sum of £23 per annum.  This means that not only is there now vastly increased bandwidth but also enough disk space to post up whole albums of pictures and files of info.  So let me know what you want.  Incidentally, anyone looking for an utterly reliable web hosting service need look no further than Fasthosts.  I can't fault them on service, price, reliability or products.

I took young Steven Millman up to fish the Tarn last evening.  We both had a blank session  but saw plenty of rises to surface fly and enjoyed the tranquillity of this delightful place.  Despite last night's rises I think that the only way to really succeed with the Tarn at present is to fish from the boat with a sinking line.  There is a lot of weed at the margins which I am loath to clear as it helps maintain oxygen levels during the warmth of the day and the fish are predominantly bottom feeding.

We did have one or two showers yesterday and it is noticeably fresher this morning.  In fact it's a smashing day with plenty of high cloud, a little sun breaking through now and then, a pleasant westerly breeze and the atmosphere is much cleaner and clearer.  We need a lot more rain to raise the river but it's surprising how much less parched the pastures and meadows seem today.  It really lifts the spirits.

With all this disc space to play with now I will look out some suitable pictures to post up.  But members are welcome to email me their own photos which they would like to see published here.  It's a lot more convenient than constantly changing the gallery on the website, important though that is.

Ian

    Just before he went on holiday last week, Alan Maden called me as he was concerned that these blogs were becoming more and more suicidal.  I was able to reassure him that, despite some despondency about the dry conditions, I was fairly optimistic about the future of the fishery here at Horton. 

I am not alone, it seems, in having a morbid absorption with the state of our Yorkshire rivers.  The Craven Herald carried an article yesterday by John Sheard lamenting the current state of the Aire and predicting rather gloomily the imminent demise of the native brown trout. 

One hot, dry summer does not necessarily set a pattern for the future but with average temperatures predicted to rise in future it is perhaps pertinent that we as fishermen and fisheries managers begin an urgent enquiry into the actions we might take to preserve the future of all salmonids in our rivers.  What we need is some kind of forum where this issue can be examined by academics, scientists and informed amateurs alike, strategies identified and actions agreed supported by good sound advice disseminated widely.  Perhaps this is already being done but I see no real evidence from bodies such as the EA, the Salmon and Trout Association or the Wild Trout Trust.  These organisations do sterling work in promoting and supporting actions that help to conserve and improve the habitat of our game fish but there seems to me to be a lack of focus around ensuring that all salmonids have a future in a warming world.

The time for this would seem to be now  whilst there is still time to act.

As for current conditions it's much cloudier here today, but still very warm.  Rain is promised later so let's just hope.

Ian

    Well, the President reported that he had a fairly rewarding few hours at the Tarn on Wednesday evening so it looks as if all has settled down following re-stocking on Tuesday.  He also told me that he walked the river towards Selside and each step on the gravel put up any number of fish in the pools upstream of Dale Mire.  Apparently they shot off with a considerable bow wave indicating fish of some size.  These will all be natives.  Either large brownies or maybe sea trout that came up in the spates we had in May (they must be wondering why the hell they did). 

So, the native stock seem to be holding up fairly well in this drought, indicators are good and when we get some rain life should, hopefully, return to near normal.

A very shaken Mike Howarth stopped by on his way to the Tarn last evening having been run off the road by a quarry waggon.  Can I remind members that here at Horton we have an agreement with both Hansons and Lefarge who own the three Horton quarries that any waggon driver reported as driving without due care will be denied a load at their next return to the quarry. You need to ring and report location of incident, waggon registration, operators name (ie Miles Fox, Hanson, Lefarge, Robinsons, etc, etc) and time of incident.  A lot, I know, when trying to avoid impact with a stone wall but it's worth it.

Mike dropped off a leaflet published by Scottish Natural Heritage about American signal cray fish.  This illustrates the uncompromising approach that the Scots take to these alien pests despite the fact that they have no white claws in Scotland.  An approach we would do well to emulate here in England before it's too late for our native species.

It's a bright, warm, sunny day here again with mares tails of cloud that possibly promise some rain tomorrow.  There is a weak Atlantic low approaching so we might get something more that a thundery shower.

Ian

    I met the club's oldest fishing member and his friend Ron up by the Tarn yesterday.  We spent a happy half hour putting the world to rights and discussing this and that.  Roy related to me the strange tale of his pipe.  Some good few years ago he was fishing the Tarn one October by the far cross wall when he dropped his pipe into the water.  Despite searching all round the bed he found no trace of it.  The following season he happened to be casting near the same spot, looked down and there was his pipe lying on the gravel bed.  After a clean up it was good as new.

I had a thorough check of the Tarn yesterday to see how Tuesday's stockies had settled in.  No sign of them apart from one fish floating belly up just out from the boathouse (no certainty that this is one of the new fish) so I trust that they will be fine.

I took the president to the Hatchery site yesterday evening.  He seemed favourably impressed and is keen to do some judicious pruning along the river today to improve the fishing on some of the lower sea trout pools.  He should have a good day for it.  It's not too hot, there is good cloud cover and little breeze.

Ian

    Well, the deed is done.  We put into the Tarn yesterday 200 of the finest rainbow trout I have ever seen.  These were stunning fish; iridescent, plump, lively, no ragged fins and in superb condition.  The water temperature was very much on the warm side but after spending half an hour equalising the temperatures of the water in the tank and the Tarn all fish swam off well when introduced. 

The Tuesday boys arrived just as we were leaving Tarn pasture and a conversation with them later in the day revealed that they saw no fish all afternoon (they did get a 4inch tiddler down at the marker pool in the morning that was safely returned).  So I suspect that our stockies headed for deep water and took the residents with them.  I will go up to the |Tarn this morning & check on progress.

It's a funny sort of morning, cloudy but bright and warm with a mist down over the hills.  There is absolutely no breeze and not much sign of rain, but who knows?

Ian

    It's always a great pleasure when members stop by at Newhouses for a chat and yesterday was one of those occasions.  David Marsden who has been involved with the club virtually all his life paid a visit with his wife and we spent the morning discussing everything from tanning to the history of the MAA.  Not only extremely pleasurable but also highly enlightening.

He left with me a pamphlet written and published in 1879 by Able Heywood the club's inspiration and first secretary which includes the substance of an address read by him at the conclusion of the Association's first year.  It describes in detail the rapid growth of the MAA and sets out the underpinning philosophy of active participation by all members in the Association's affairs.  He puts forward two proposals for investing the clubs growing funds. Firstly the acquisition of fishing waters and secondly the establishment of a library.  Sadly the library was sold some years ago but all current members benefit greatly from the first since we probably enjoy some of the most extensive privately owned waters in Yorkshire.  Raise a glass to Able Heywood and his six founding partners next time you fish at Horton.

I have made an executive decision and will go ahead with the re-stocking of the Tarn today.  I had a long discussion with the supplier yesterday and we concluded that, in balance, it is a risk worth taking.  The forecast is for rain later this week and already it's starting to cloud over here.  If we defer then there is no guarantee that conditions will be ideal  in August.  Presently the water looks good.  It's a bit warm at the surface but cool enough at depth and the pH is tolerable.  The most significant plus is that despite all this hot weather there is still no sign of an algae problem.

Ian

    My musings yesterday about dab-chicks prompted an email from a correspondent reminiscing about the bird life at the Tarn in times past.  He recalled seeing tufted duck, pochard, teal and mallard, but was particularly delighted by the drumming of the snipe which could be heard regularly on still evenings.

Well, the good news is that the snipe are still there.  I took a group of locals up to the proposed site of the pennine bridleway crossing (just up-river from the Tarn) a couple of months ago and we were entertained on our walk by a percussion orchestra of snipe.

We don't seem to get the variety of duck now but we do have a semi resident population of golden eye that seems to be growing year by year and Canada geese regularly fight the resident swans for squatters rights.  The year before last a pair of bewick swans took up residence for a few weeks, presumably treating the Tarn as a transit camp on their migration. 

It goes to show that you don't have to fish the Tarn to get immense enjoyment and satisfaction from it.

I almost forgot, It's a bright sunny morning here with light, fluffy cloud and not to warm as yet.  Although with no real breeze it already feels quite warm.

Ian

    There is a marked change in the weather here this morning.  It's dull and overcast, cooler with a light westerly breeze.  The cloud cover is high, just touching the top of Pen y ghent but its thick enough to bring a little rain perhaps.

A couple of days ago I was up at the Tarn fixing the boathouse door to a background accompaniment of high pitched whinnying.  As some members will know I write a piece for each issue of the Horton Parish News under the title Tales From The River Bank.  These articles have covered such diverse topics as the migrations of salmon and sea trout, the Horton hatchery, mink and most recently the mayfly.  One was a musing on this whinnying phenomena at the Tarn and set a few people recalling their own sightings of the little grebe or dab-chick which produces this sound.  It beats me how you can spend so long by the water where this bird is known to exist, hear it but very rarely see it.

They seem to have an uncanny knack for secrecy.  The reed bed at the top end of the Tarn is not large and only grows a couple of feet high but it's enough to conceal both the animal itself and its nest.

They have clearly been at the Tarn a long time since there is a record in a 19th century nature journal of a dab-chick population at Newhouses Tarn.

Keep doing the rain dance!

Ian

    It's back to dry, sunny and very warm this morning.  I really do think that I am beginning to dislike this weather.  It's too hot to do anything useful outside, trying to work in the office is tedious and sleep seems to have become a thing of the past.  I look at the river and all I see is a dry, rock strewn ditch linking shrinking pools.  What the trout make of it Lord knows but it's deeply depressing.

It's amazing by how much structures move as they dry out.  Doors that have stuck for years open at a touch.  Other doors refuse to close as the heat warps the frame.  I have adjusted the hasp on the boathouse door to make it easier to lock, but it's still a bit of a sod.

I suppose there is a brighter side.  Haytiming this year should produce a heavy crop but quality must be suspect as there hasn't been the rain to grow much bottom.  A few days of steady rain and all will seem different.

I will try to find something more positive to say tomorrow.

Ian

 

    Well, the rain yesterday did not amount to much.  Just a heavy shower for about an hour and a half so it's made very little difference to conditions on the Tarn or the river.

This morning its much fresher with a pleasant westerly breeze, plenty of cloud cover and just the possibility of some rain.

Despite the arid conditions the Tarn continues to fish well.  Fish are a little slow to the take but they are taking and seem to be in very good condition when landed.  The consensus is that you have to be patient and work at it but effort will be rewarded.  The pity is that so few members are fishing the Tarn.  Visits have dropped to 4 or 5 a week and since most of the takes are being returned there is still a healthy population despite not re-stocking in June.

I shall continue to monitor conditions and make a decision over the weekend about re-stocking next Tuesday.

Ian

    The good news this morning is - ITS RAINING.  So far we have had steady rain since 7 am, but it's now virtually stopped.  There is heavy cloud cover so the prospects for more rain seem good.  What difference this will make to a parched river remains to be seen but it's certainly cooler and less oppressive.  If the river does rise it will be interesting to see how quickly trout return to the lies that are denied to them at the moment and what condition they are in.  They must be suffering some stress at present with so much of the river dewatered.

I now have S30 approval to stock the Tarn on 25th July so let's hope conditions improve a bit to enable this to go ahead without compromising the welfare of the fish.

Ian

    Conditions here are as they have been all week.  Let's see if we get the promised change tomorrow.

The crayfish put up a good display last night.  Mostly youngsters as I suspect that the older creatures were further out in cooler water.  We saw about 50 or 60, feeding and doing what young crayfish seem to spend most of their time dining, just sculling about.  Everyone seemed impressed.

Monitoring the water late last night showed only a marginal variation on the readings taken during the day.  pH and ORP were fairly static, but the temperature had dropped a couple of degrees.

I have posted a couple of pictures of Paul Bradley demonstrating the correct way to handle crayfish under licence.  These show a pair of good sized males but not the largest we found yesterday.

Ian

    Ye Gods it's hot! Before the students arrived this morning I took the opportunity to get the boat out and monitor conditions on the Tarn.  Visually it looks fine, Very low but very clear with little algae other than some bloom in deep water.  pH hovers on the acceptable at 9.95 at the top (boat house end) and 9.82 down near the duck wall. Temperature is high.  22.5 at both ends.  The real concern is ORP which gives a reading of minus 125 at the top and minus 118 near the wall.  So despite plenty of healthy weed the oxygen absorption is struggling.  Let's see how it is when we take the students up there at midnight tonight.  Despite the warm water there were a good few rises this morning, mostly slashing at surface fly but surface feeding none the less.

Paul has a really enthusiastic group.   A real mix of backgrounds, some English Nature, some EA, one from British Waterways and some freelance.  They spent a relaxed but highly instructive morning measuring and recording about 30 crayfish trapped over night.  It was good to see a good distribution of ages and sizes but predominantly males.  Some evidence of porcelain disease but Paul assures me that this is not serious for the general health of the population.

The hope is that there will be a good display tonight with plenty of active crayfish.  I will post up pictures tomorrow.

Ian

    Conditions here are unchanging .  If anything it's hotter than ever this morning.  Off to the Tarn now to play with crayfish so I will post an update later today.

Ian

    Yet another blistering day in prospect today, but I see that some rain may be with us by Thursday.  Let's hope so as I have never seen the river so low as this and the Tarn is beginning to look a little frayed at the edges.  The pH at the margins is certainly rather high for comfort and unless we get at least some rain by next Monday the planned stocking for 25th will be decidedly dodgy.  I have no wish to end up with 400lb of very expensive fertiliser.  One solution may be to transfer them in batches to water filled plastic dustbins and row them out to deeper water.  Any thoughts?

One positive outcome from this prolonged drought is the confirmation that Brantsgyll keeps flowing with a reasonable volume of good quality water.  This is vital for the future health of the hatchery and suggests that an adequate supply of water will not be an issue.

There will be quite a few students up at the Tarn tomorrow on the crayfish course and I will post up anything interesting on Wednesday,  possibly with one or two pictures.

Ian

    Being up early on a Sunday does have distinct advantages.  Firstly it's another glorious morning with the hills looking at their very best, lit by that soft morning sunlight.  Secondly you have time for an impromptu chat.  As many members will know, the Tarn is host to one of the most important populations of native crayfish in the Dales and for a number of years they have been monitored by one of the countries leading crayfish experts known to most as Crayfish Paul.  He is running his annual crayfish course this week based at Malham Tarn Field Study Centre and will bring his students over to Horton on Tuesday to give them experience of trapping and handling our crayfish. 

I met him this morning as I finished milking and we had a long chat about the general prospects for these fascinating crustaceans.  The news is pretty grim.  There is now only one viable population of natives left in the whole of the Derbyshire White Peak and plague has wiped out the population on the Dove. Our  large and healthy population in the Tarn becomes ever more important nationally

On Tuesday we will set the traps about mid day so that captives can be checked for health and egg density.  The real fun part comes later when we take the students up to the Tarn around mid-night to observe the nocturnal antics.  Last year was incredible.  The water margins were literally crawling with crayfish of all sizes busy feeding and sculling too and fro.  The weather looks set to offer the same spectacle this year.  Fingers crossed.

The catastrophic decline in native crayfish has really been the incentive for the work on the hatchery.  Being able to breed natives in a controlled environment is vital for their survival and potential re-introduction to their former habitats.  Without this facility the prospects are not good.  Plague is decimating the native populations and the resultant vacuum is being filled by American Red Signal crayfish which carry plague but are resistant to it.  Once Red Signals are present the natives will never return.  So far the Ribble throughout our fishery is free of Red Signals so the prospects for re-introducing natives is quite good.  We must keep it that way. 

I have often speculated on what impact the loss of White Clawed crayfish has had on our native trout.  When one considers that just a few years ago the river was teeming with crayfish, the sudden loss of so abundant a food source must have had some impact on the fish but it's not clear to me what.

Ideas would be welcome.

Ian

    Another stunning day to add to this never ending summer here at Horton.  Fishing on the Tarn yesterday was a slow business with conditions far too bright and warm during the afternoon to encourage the fish to rise.  It will be the same today.

The President (GB not GWB) rang me yesterday to check on the next stocking date.  He experienced one of those strange evenings last week on the Tarn when everything seems dead and life almost holds its breath.  No fish rising, no breath of wind, no birds calling - nothing.  I have been up there once or twice when that has happened and it's weird, almost as if you have stepped through to another dimension where time stands still.

My reference to Parker's Wood prompted a flurry of emails about the names of features on and around the river.  There seems to be a lack of continuity of names, perhaps because farming families move on and club members also and names do not always get passed down.  A task for a Horton winter could be a map showing the names of pools, runs and other features on the fishery which I am sure new members would find useful.  That could generate much debate and argument as the various names of particular features come to light.  It would provide a never ending topic for discussion in the hut, even eclipsing the manic pied wagtail!

Ian

    This long dry summer may be tiresome from a fishing perspective but at least it's helped to clear up a concern I have wrestled with since last autumn.  Back then we were fortunate enough to benefit from an advisory visit to our waters carried out by Alistair Maltby on behalf of the Wild Trout Trust.  This visit resulted in a report on the key habitat work that we should undertake to maximise the potential of the river to nurture and hold native brown trout.  During the visit we focused our attention on the side becks since these provide vital spawning habitat for our trout.  One of the becks we studied on the lower river just below Parker's wood  gave us real cause for concern since we found almost no invertebrates or other species in the substrate.  We suspected some form of pollution.

Throughout the winter & spring I could find no reason why this particular beck should be polluted and it never showed any physical evidence of being so.  I think that now all is explained.  The beck has been bone dry since the end of May and this is bound to have an impact on the type of biodiversity it supports.  It has shown me just how important is a thorough knowledge of our waters at all times of the year and in all the variable conditions we experience.  Otherwise we risk making wrong assumptions and attempt to treat the wrong problems.

What we need to do is hold more water back in the side becks to improve the range of fry habitat and that of the food they rely on.  This will feature strongly in the habitat work we do this autumn.

The summer continues here with a glorious sunny day.  Not too warm,  mares tails of cloud and a light easterly breeze.  Evening fishing at the Tarn should be very pleasant.

Ian

    What a contrast in the weather here this morning.  After a lot of mizzle yesterday evening that did the garden a power of good but little to raise the river it's dawned fine, sunny and warm with a light westerly blowing a few fluffy clouds over Pen y Ghent.  The Thursday crew have arrived to try their luck at the Tarn and should get a good days sport.

Not strictly fishing related I know, but for the past 6 weeks as I sit here looking out of my office window which faces north, two families of swallows have built nests under the eaves, raised young and are now performing a complex aerial display right before my eyes.  Occasionally one miscues and flutters up against the window and this gives a good opportunity to see the stunning colours of these most attractive of birds.  A wonderful way to start the day.

Off to the hatchery this morning to check water samples and catch up on progress.  So maybe I will post up some pictures later.

Ian

    Well. The weather may be rather gloomy here this morning but with fish safely ordered for the Tarn and due for delivery week after next I feel a good deal happier.  I now await S30 approval from the EA to use this particular stock , but hopefully this will be a formality.

These fish  are allegedly top quality but since they will come from Dumfries they will probably have a lowland Scots accent and prefer the whiskey fly.

My reference to Skues  triggered a train of thought for one of my regular correspondents who emailed me about William Senior (Red Spinner) who was editor of the Field and an Honorary member of the MAA.  The gist of this exchange was that you can read all the fishing books you like but, unfortunately, the fish have not always read the same books.

There is a long piece of doggerel in the back of "The Way of a Trout With a Fly" which contains a wonderful stanza which I wish I had found before finishing the latest MAA newsletter (due to hit a door mat near you very shortly).  It goes:

      Back in the land of the living after the rather doubtful delights of Bradford yesterday.  The good news is that I am on the list to have my cataracts removed in the next three months so by the end of this season I should be able to see a floating fly and might even be able to fish with some degree of competence next season.

I have been reading a really thought provoking book by Skues.  The way of a trout with a fly.  It raises a whole raft of questions about the way trout interact with the world around them and how they respond to stimuli but, rather disappointingly, it falls rather short of answering many of the conundrums posed.  I can't help feeling that for someone with the right skills, knowledge and experience there is another book out there waiting to be written - An answer to Skues.  But, as they say, the only reliable theory about fish is that there is no reliable theory.

As for conditions here today, it's cool with a brisk westerly breeze which is keeping the broken cloud moving at a good pace.  We are not due any rain but a shower or two would not come as a surprise.  Water levels on the river are dropping back quite quickly but the pools have been freshened and should be worth trying.

Ian

    Here is some good news for all members frustrated at the recent lack of river fishing.  It's been raining steadily all day and levels are starting to rise to fishable conditions.  Of course, it will take more to produce sustained good water but provided that other conditions are favourable it should be worth casting a fly on Monday or Tuesday.

By the way.  There will be no posting tomorrow as I am off to Bradford first thing to have my cataracts checked.  What could be more appropriate for a river keeper?  Answers by email please.

Ian

    Well, what a contrast in conditions here.  Although the river has not risen much yet there is hope.  At the moment it's cool, overcast, windy and damp.  We had a fair bit of rain over night that has already greened up the cut hay meadows and should begin to freshen the river if not raise a good flow.  More rain is forecast today.  Fingers crossed.

I had a very constructive meeting on Friday with Craven College who are now raring to get started on practical projects on the river once we get landowners permission and funding in place.  I came away with a copy of their syllabus and course schedule for next academic year into which I can write day long fencing, walling, hard landscaping, tree planting and conservation projects between September and February.

They all seem very sensible and enthusiastic.

I also have Council's authorisation to re-stock the Tarn using a supplier in Dumfries so this will be done as soon as I get S30 permission from the Environment Agency.

This damp weather will have called a halt to haytiming so work should get back underway on the Hatchery this week.  More on this later.

Ian

    Just a quick update on conditions for now.  I will post up more later.  It's cool, overcast and breezy here this morning and we had a little rain over night with the promise of more during today.  It will take several days of persistent rain to make a real difference to the river but conditions are not as harsh as they have been.

    A short posting this morning as I am just off to Skipton to talk to Craven College about habitat conservation fencing on the river this autumn.

A dramatic change in conditions here this morning.  It's cool and cloudy with a brisk westerly breeze.  No rain as yet but it looks promising although as I write this the re is some sun breaking through.

I have secured a supply of rainbows for the Tarn but at a higher price than we have been paying.  Provided that Council agree and there are no problems with the S30 we should be stocking in the next fortnight.  These fish are from Dumfries so they will probably prefer Scottish flies.

Ian

    One of the (many) things that intrigues me is the way advertisers use the most unlikely connections between images and product.  There was a good example last night.  I wandered into the sitting room to find the TV playing to itself and an ad just starting featuring a mayfly.  The theme seemed to be that no matter how short life is you can always live it to the full.  Despite the graphics being Disneyfied they seemed to capture the allure of this handsome ephemerid rather well.

And the product being advertised?  Vodaphone!

Work on the Hatchery has slowed in this wonderful haytiming weather.  The whole of Horton is a hive of haytiming activity with one of my neighbours still cutting and baling at 11pm last night.  It's good to see farmers enjoying a bit of good fortune for once.

However, that means that fishing conditions are still dour and the forecast rain for Friday seems to be less certain now.  All we can do is wait and hope.

Ian

    The more observant among you will have noticed that there was no posting yesterday morning.  This was nothing to do with a day of respect in honour of the passing of the world's finest Yorkshireman although the death of Freddy Trueman might be reason enough.  It's much more prosaic.  Up here in this far flung outpost of the West Riding we can only access the modern world through a wireless network.  Most of the time it works remarkably well and gives a broadband connection that surpasses many urban systems.  But not yesterday.  The whole system went sulky on Monday evening and only came back on line yesterday afternoon.

Still, there is not much to report.  No news on VHS.  Only slow progress on re-stocking and it's hot, bright and sunny here again.  The forecast offers the hope of heavy rain on Friday so fingers crossed for the river.

I was up in Yockenthwaite on the Wharfe yesterday and water levels there are even worse than the Ribble.  On some of the remaining pools there was a good hatch in progress but the trout, if present, were too torpid to rise to the feast.

Ian

    Not much to report this morning.  It's still warm, dry and sunny with little or no breeze.  We had a heavy shower or two last evening but nowhere near enough to make any appreciable difference to the river conditions. 

There was an article in the local paper (Craven Herald) on Friday about VHS but this simply rehearsed the history of the outbreak and the efforts of our local MP to get testing completed with due speed.  Again that article estimated the lock down to be in place for two to four years so confusion is still rife.

Ian

    For conditions here at Horton this morning please see yesterday's posting!

I'm going to risk a bit of science.  For the past couple of years I have been regularly sampling the pH at given locations on the river and at the Tarn.  This has been low tech using a test kit supplied for garden ponds but it seemed to give reliable results.  The main river never falls below 7.5 and the highest reading was 9 at Newhouses during prolonged drought and hot weather last July.  The lowest readings are always obtained from the Turn Dub inlet (always at least 1 to 1.5 below the main river) suggesting that the flow from Alum Pot is unimpeded and very quick since peaty run off is not dissipated by contact with the limestone aquifer.  The Tarn always shows up as 8.

I have recently switched to using a much more high tech meter which is giving readings about 1 to 1.5 above the old chemical method.  So we probably have even better salmonid water than I thought.  This meter also measures nutrient levels and this indicates that our supply to the Hatchery is very low in nutrient.  Very promising as it means that algae is unlikely to be a problem but that we will need to monitor food supply closely.  The water here is also fairly alkaline giving a reading of 9.03 at a temperature of 58.6c.  The river just above the Brantsgyll inlet is 8.5 with higher nutrient and temperature values.

It will be interesting to see what the variation is in different weather and water conditions.  I welcome comments from  those of you with a knowledge of water chemistry.

Ian

     Conditions here this morning are pretty much as they have been all week.  It's warm with increasing high cloud cover but no real sign of rain and no appreciable air movement.

Rachael from RCCT seemed fairly impressed by the Hatchery when we went up to look at the work yesterday.  We talked a lot about the educational value of the site and the possibility of arranging the occasional school visit to explain the purpose and importance of the project.  This would help to promote a wider understanding of the importance of caring for our rivers and the life they support.  I have it in mind to talk to the head teacher at our village school about adopting Douk Ghyll (Horton Beck) which runs past the school door and perhaps raising trout fry in the classroom.

The more we encourage our children to appreciate and understand nature on their doorstep the easier it becomes to care for and preserve it in future.

Ian