August seems all set to go out just as it came in.  It's wet and windy here this morning with a very damp low level murk blown along by a stiff westerly breeze.  Much more of a nuisance than a benefit to water levels in the river.

I ruminated yesterday about the role and duties of the keeper and purely by chance had a brief conversation with a member about the state of the Tarn.  Now, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the Tarn, it's fishing pretty well, the water quality this summer has been very good, there is no algae problem.  But, the amount of weed is increasing exponentially year on year with a marked step increase following last summers heatwave.  My predecessor tried to control it with a herbicide which perhaps was not the wisest course of action.  Weed does have significant benefits in keeping the water well oxygenated, but virtually the whole bed is now populated with a pretty luxuriant growth and fishing is getting more than tedious.  Cutting it seems to encourage vigorous regrowth so I think I will need to do some research and find a solution that has the minimum impact on the ecology of the Tarn, especially its crayfish colony, yet opens up the water a bit before the whole 5 acres becomes one large weed infested swamp. 

Ideas and suggestions would be welcome.

Ian

I see from the IFM magazine that Scotland has been chosen to host the 2009 World Fly Fishing Championships.  This prestigious event will see more than 25 countries compete over 7 days and will be broadcast through cable TV, showcasing the fishing sites and surrounding landscapes of Stirling and Perthshire to an international audience.  This will be the first time, surprisingly that these championships have been held in Scotland  and will be the biggest such event ever held in the country.  Look out for more details in the angling press over the coming year.

My reflections on Whitbeck yesterday prompted a very interesting comment from one of my regular correspondents.  David M emailed the following which reminded me that this beck has a relatively short history as a polluted watercourse and its clean up is well overdue.

 Ian
I think I have told you before that when I was a kid Whitbeck or the Monkey Beck, as it was called then, was a crystal clear stream. As you say it always ran and was full of minnows. When I used to stay at "Billy Garth" Walter Pollard, the keeper, used to pay me to trap minnows in this Beck using wine bottles. He would then pickle them in formaldehyde and sell them  on to visiting anglers. As a child it very exciting to cross the plank as it bridged the beck just before  it entered Broken Bridge Pool. Later the quarry sent down saturated lime solution which killed all minnows and the weed. One year the pollution was so bad the deposit  could be seen on the river bed until at least Crag Hill. There was no bottom life, or fish, at Horton Beck outfall nor in Parsons Pool and it was still wrong where the Tay Bridge was. A big claim was made and more importantly the Quarry put in more settling pits etc. before releasing the effluent. As you know it has never been that satisfactory and the last time I walked along the Beck--some years ago now -- there was not a minnow in sight.
David M

David is right.  The beck is completely devoid of any life now whether it be minnows or invertebrates so it will be a real test for the EA to rescue this feeder and restore it to the condition that David so vividly remembers.  We wish them well.

As for pickling minnows, it just goes to show the range of duties that the MAA keepers provided in the past.  My own duties apart from the conservation work we try to do seem less practical and more information based.  Perhaps it's time we had a discussion about the keepers role and what the priorities should be?

It's pretty dull here at present with a light to moderate north westerly breeze which is keeping the temperature very much on the cool side.  The forecast is for the cloud to lift a bit later on so Tarn fishing may be more rewarding as we approach lunch time.

Ian

It's not a bad morning, a bit on the chill side, but we have plenty of sun and a fair bit of high fluffy cloud.  There is no discernible breeze so fishing conditions on the Tarn later should be perfect.

One of the papers in the bundle sent to me for last nights RFC meeting summarised the EA's work schedule for the the Ribble and it is good to see that they are in detailed discussion with Hansons who run Horton quarry about the condition of Whit Beck.  Most members will know this feeder well, it's one of the few becks that enter from the west bank and run all year.  It gets its name from its visual appearance, since time forgotten it has run milky white with lime waste from the quarry.  In fact it's one of the only sites I know of where you can see well formed gour pools above ground.  These calcareous dams are a common feature underground where lime precipitates out of solution to form cascades and pools in flowing water but are rare on the surface.  It would seem that the EA have agreed with Hansons that they will undertake work to prevent lime waste entering the beck.  Once the source of pollution has been dealt with then the EA will work to restore the remainder of the beck to a condition where it becomes suitable for wild trout to spawn.  This will involve dredging out the deposited lime and laying gravel on the bed.

In some ways it will be a shame to lose this unique feature, but it will also be a tremendous bonus to gain a good quality spawning beck on a beat that is a favourite amongst members.  I will try to find out more on this.

Ian

There is a meeting of the Ribble Fisheries Consultative this evening for which I got all the papers yesterday.  It looks like a full agenda with a number of interesting items up for discussion.  I see that the Preston barrage saga rumbles on and its good to note the very robust attitude that the RFC have taken with Preston Council over this issue.  The Council's Chief Exec has been left in no doubt about the strength of feeling amongst anglers that the barrage will be hugely detrimental to the river environment and that RFC will take legal action should the council proceed with its plans.  As things stand at present the plan is to conduct a feasibility study to determine cost and environmental impact and any decision about building the barrage will be taken in the light of the findings of this study.  The problem is that we don't know the criteria on which the council will base their decision such as what is acceptable cost and what environmental damage will be tolerated.  If this project goes ahead it could have disastrous consequences for Ribble salmon and sea trout as well as affecting course fish below Settle.  Anyone with concerns about the scheme should write to the Chief Exec of Preston Council.

It's always nice to get some positive feedback about the state of the fishery here at Horton and an email I got yesterday from Gavin P left me feeling that we must be doing something right.


Hi Ian
Today's fishing was a little on the difficult side on both river and tarn with firstly the stiff breeze that sprung up on the tarn and secondly with the river at bare bones conditions. However the fish did put in an appearance at the tarn where we finished with 8 very spirited fish, as you will note by the returns. The river whilst very low was dotted every where with rising fish and we fished the foot bridge pools and up the following rills where we found fish feeding all along this length at Parker's wood.

On thing I thought might interest you was that In the faster water we found that nearly all the fish caught appeared to be young salmon parr up to 8ins long with a very deeply forked tail. They would snap at any offering that passed over them, and I caught around 8 of these returning them very carefully. It was a shame the Neil had left by this time, as I would have liked him to have seen these young salmon.
 I did end the afternoon with 5 stunning brownies up to around 12" in length from all along Parker's wood. This once again was most enjoyable day with only my knees feeling the pace as most of the fishing was done by kneeling down on the gravel, and as convinced me that applying for membership was one of the better things I have done in the last 12 months. I think kneepads in future will be the next purchase

I only hope that other new members are enjoying this fishery as much as myself, and whilst the river as been hard to fish this makes the results even more worth while.

Regards

Gavin

I had noticed a lot of salmon fry earlier in the year and it would seem that a lot of these have survived in the good water we have had most of the summer.  This bodes well for the long term future of salmon stocks on the upper river and it will be interesting to see if this large population of parr translates into more sizable runs in the coming years.  The fish counters lower down should tell some of the story.

Ian

It looks as though the fight to preserve our remaining stocks of native crayfish is about to go mainstream.  Professor David Rogers of the University of Derby who has spent his career studying Austropotomobius pallipes has been commissioned to make two TV documentaries to be broadcast in the next few weeks.  One of these charts how he has reintroduced the white-clawed crayfish into the river Lathkill in Derbyshire.  Kingfisher Productions filmed Professor Rogers last year at various stages of the conservation project; at the river, at holding tanks for the crayfish and at laboratories at the University's Kedleston Road site.  The programme will be hosted by cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew and will be broadcast as part of Saving Planet Earth theme.  A second documentary for the BBC Nature in Britain programme will go out in September.  Given our own involvement with Neil Handy's similar project here on the Ribble these two programmes should make essential viewing.

Turning to things less aquatic my eye was caught by an article in Saturday's Telegraph magazine.  I have said it before many times but nature has a way of slapping you round the face with a fact that seems so bizarre it can only be true.  In a beautifully written piece about the forgotten wild places of Britain which is abstracted from his new book, Robert Macfarlane recounts a conversation he had with a friend about squirrels.  Robert was having difficulty phoning his friend at Walnut Tree Farm in Suffolk. Squirrels, his friend said.  Squirrels had been the problem.  His phone line had at first gone crackly, then dead, and he had called in the engineers.  The engineers had found that squirrels had been nibbling the phone line.  Apparently this was becoming a common occurrence.  Squirrels are highly intelligent, agile enough to tightrope-walk along telephone wires, and poor conductors of electricity.  Somehow they have realised that by biting through to the bare wires and short circuiting the 50 volts that run through them into their own bodies, they can  heat themselves up.  In this way each squirrel becomes a sort of low-voltage electric blanket - and will sit up on the wires with a stoned smile for hours.

As they say, don't try this at home.

We have another bright and sunny day here at Horton with little breeze and just a thin smear of cloud.  It's chilly though with just a hint of the coming autumn in the air.  The river is bare bones now so Tarn fishing is the best bet until we get some rain.

Ian

The latest edition of Fish, the magazine of the Institute of Fisheries Management landed on my doorstep yesterday.  As usual this is packed with interesting stuff, much of it relevant to game fishery management so I will come back to a few of the items over the next couple of days.  One article immediately caught my eye and consists of a letter from DEFRA outlining proposals to modernise salmon and freshwater fisheries legislation.  DEFRA have been trying to get Parliamentary time to revise legislation for some time now and a specific fisheries Bill fell foul of the Parliamentary time table earlier in the year.  The problem is that some of the proposed changes require primary legislation which is difficult to slot in because of the sheer volume of new legislation that the Government believes we need.  The aim now is to include the necessary clauses in the Marine Bill which has an agreed slot.  The full scope of the proposals are well worth studying as they will impinge in one way or another on how we manage our fishery and how we fish for both migratory and non migratory salmonids.  There is some good stuff such as clearer definitions of freshwater fish and their protection, a clause on the need for fish to have free access to feeding, breeding and nursery sites and ways of addressing the growing problem of theft of fish.  Also included is a major revision of the current licensing system which, put simply, will repeal the deeming provisions whereby a salmon license is deemed to allow fishing for trout etc and replace them with a power for the Environment Agency to specify which type of fish the holder may target.  The aim here is to give the Agency the flexibility to introduce licenses that reflect the kind of fish that angler's are interested in and assist the more focused management and conservation of fish stocks.  The Agency is currently considering issuing a whole raft of separate licenses. 

Other proposals include Provisions on Illegal Instruments, Power for the EA to make emergency measures, reform of law on close time by-laws, reform of law on introduction of live fish, and the extension of Net Limitation Orders to cover eel fisheries!

Lastly there is a proposal to ban the sale of rod caught salmon and sea trout and introduce a "Wild Salmon Dealer Licensing  Scheme".

All this will go out to consultation shortly and we should ensure that our views are known to our various representative bodies.

Leaving all that stuff aside for the moment, the Tarn was looking great this morning now that we have a return to bright warm weather after yesterday's dull, cold interlude.  There is a light south westerly stirring the surface and sufficient cloud to diffuse the light.  The river is now pretty low and well past its best so wild fishing will be a challenge until we get some rain.

Ian

It's cooler and cloudier this morning, but is showing signs that it may clear to give us another warm, bright day.  Water levels have held up surprisingly well showing just how wet the high ground is in the river catchment.  There was still a good flow coming over Settle weir yesterday afternoon much to the delight of the large group of children who were swimming in the fish pass.  There was also a good fly hatch at New Inn judging by the feeding activity of the resident trout.  This long pool was peppered with rises at about 3.30 especially under the trees by the football field.  There is little sign of rain until after the bank holiday so river fishing will become increasingly difficult as the level drops.

Gavin P emailed me yesterday to report how well the Tarn is fishing.  Plenty of bites from fish as well as midges!

I've not been down to the hatchery for some days so may take a wander down for a look this evening just to see if I can spot any of our young fry.  With only 40 very small fish in such a very large pond it's a long shot, but who knows?

Ian

This really is too much of a good thing.  Three glorious days on the trot, a record for this summer and it's even better this morning as the north wind has backed to the west and fallen to a gentle breeze.  The river is a bit low after a dry week, but the pools are still full and should offer good trout fishing.  The Tarn should be on top form as this warm weather will encourage surface feeding so dry fly should be well worth trying.

Some fishermen, of course need, no fancy gear to land the most spectacular Scottish salmon.  They simply hang around in the estuaries chatting and playing tag, waiting for the fish to run and then move in quickly to snatch the fish as they pass up river.  There has been much just recently in the papers and on TV about bottle nosed dolphins and their taste for fresh Scottish salmon with many pictures of their skill in catching big fish.  I'm not sure what impact they have on overall salmon stocks, but compared to other challenges that the salmon face including coastal and marine netsmen I guess not much.  They really are a delight to watch and seem to know that they are being filmed so put on a display for the camera.  Perhaps a pet dolphin would make catching Ribble salmon a bit easier.  You could use them like the Chinese use cormorants although I guess that getting the fish off them would be a bit more of a battle.  A three meter dolphin is a bit more of a handfull than a cormorant.

Ian

This must be some sort of record.  Two decent days on the trot, in fact this morning is rather better than yesterday as the strong north wind has abated to a light breeze.  Water levels in the river have dropped a fair bit, but there should still be good trout fishing on most pools and deeper runs.

For the past few months I have been suffering a surfeit of cockerels.  One of my broody hens disappeared into the undergrowth and returned with 12 chicks, 4 of which grew into cock birds.  Three of these were like dad, multi coloured jobs with bright orange capes, bottle green flanks and black tail feathers.  The fourth had a higher percentage of black rock genes and was very dark, very large and very aggressive.  He has spent the past couple of months living in the small greenhouse to prevent him from killing the other cocks.  I am pleased to report that all is now much quieter at Newhouses this morning as Satan and two of his brothers went to market yesterday and are now probably part of a chicken tikka somewhere in Bradford.

It was a real eye opener to see the sheer range of birds up for auction, from tiny bantams through to massive light Sussex and some buff coloured jobs with fluffy feet that I didn't recognise, but make my hens look like midgets.  I was quite taken with the quail and might get some of these from a reputable breeder as their eggs are supposed to be a delicacy.  Still, the real priority is to replace my runner ducks which the fox took back in April.  The problem has been finding a supply as they seem to be pretty scarce here in Yorkshire.  If anyone finds some I need four ducks and a drake.

Ian

It's a lovely bright sunny morning here at Horton with only a stiff north wind to take the edge of perfect summer conditions.  After what seems like weeks of grey sky the are virtually no clouds so tempting a wary wild brownie out of the river today will be a challenge of stealth and patience.

Gavin P emailed me yesterday to say that he pricked a large salmon down on the marker pool.  This, in his own words, "shot off towards the sea".  Water levels are now rather low for good salmon fishing and likely to remain so until Saturday when a return to more inclement conditions are forecast.

Ray B brought a young guest up to fish the Tarn yesterday evening and I see from the ticket that he took two fish so presumably they had a successful time.  Fred B is also bringing a youngster up today and these introductions to fly fishing at an early age especially when effort is rewarded with a good catch are really important to the future of the art of angling and the conservation of our rivers and wild fish.

It's odd, but the number of guests this season is down on last year despite good water all summer compared to the drought we had last year. Still, we do seem to have converted more guests into full members this year so the long term benefit to the club is greater.

Ian

I'm very tight for time this morning so here is a quick update on conditions at Horton.  It's bright, breezy and SUNNY! The westerly wind will make casting a challenge, but at least the weather has warmed a bit and the heavy cloud of the past few days has broken. We still have a fair bit of cloud cover which seems to be drifting east contra to the low level breeze and water levels in the river are still pretty good.  All in all not a bad day to tempt trout if you can find a sheltered spot.

Ian

The Hon Sec dropped in to see me last evening bringing news of a good afternoons fishing above New Inn and up at Selside despite the brisk wind that made casting a challenge.  He and Ray B had a fish each at New Inn and then fishing alone he got a few more up by Cam Beck.  All these fish were wild brownies in good condition and of a range of sizes showing once again that our wild stock is breeding and replenishing the river.  The biggest fish of the afternoon was about a pound and three quarters which is a tidy wild fish for this river.

The weather here this morning looks a bit uncertain.  We had some sun first thing, but now the cloud is thickening again and it looks showery.  If the sun does break through later then conditions on the river will be near perfect as it's still and fairly warm with plenty of water on a falling river.  We just need a bit of sun to encourage a hatch for a few rising trout.

Ian

There is a very good short article in yesterday's Telegraph about Geoffrey Trotman who is keeper on the Craven club waters on the river Kennet.  This is a relatively small club water on one of the finest chalk streams in the south of England and members pay a shocking amount for the privilege of fishing for the brown trout which inhabit its pristine water.  Like many southern streams the Kennet has plenty of weed which needs to be kept under control if the fish are to find room to live and the fishermen space to fish for them.  But unlike many keepers down there Geoffrey has kept to very labour intensive and traditional ways of cutting the weed.  He uses a scythe to clear runs and gaps in the weed rather than more aggressive  means of control and he believes that this coupled with the encouragement he gives to lush bankside cover has created a habitat that not only encourages his trout to thrive, but also results in an abundance of native creatures such as water vole and a wide variety of bird life including raptors.

He also conserves the coarse fish that inhabit the river believing that these add to the rich diversity of the wildlife and play an important part in helping to keep the river healthy.  Many of these fish are bottom feeders and they contribute significantly to the natural processes of keeping the spawning gravels clean and mud free by constantly churning over the river substrate.  What is really interesting is that the trout here spawn in September whereas our Ribble trout are at their spawning peak about three months later.  The Craven do stock the river, but do so with fingerlings which they hold in stew ponds until they are two years old.  All in all an intriguing article about a river and its care which is very different from this turbulent and rocky upland beck, but shows clear parallels in terms of its conservation.

Looking a little closer to home I had an email from a member of the Burnsall club who own 7 miles of the Wharfe from Bolton Abbey to Grassington.  It seems that they are considering a move to a non stocking policy and are very interested in talking to us about how we made the decision not to stock, what we have done to encourage our wild trout and our plans for the future.  I have invited Rob who wrote to me over to Horton to see what we have done so far and to chat over a pint about how we went about doing it.  It's good to see other northern clubs beginning to think about more natural and sustainable ways of managing their waters which will help the survival of our wild brown trout.

Finally, the weather looks to be taking a turn for the better.  Yesterday was miserable.  We had a very heavy drizzle all day that got you soaked within seconds of venturing out doors.  The river is quite high, but falling and the colour is dropping out so fishing later this morning should be very good.

Ian

It seems to have been a good year for swallows.  I suppose that this cool wet summer has meant plenty of food and good breeding conditions as there are a lot of youngsters about now.  I was out at the front of the house yesterday afternoon and the overhead wires were crowded with swallows all chattering and waiting for that imperceptible signal that will send them on their annual journey to southern Africa.  It's a sign of the waning year and it certainly looks and feels autumnal this morning with a stiff north west wind, heavy grey cloud and a nip in the air.  We don't yet have the rain that was forecast, but we did have a fair drop in the night so the river continues to run at fishable levels. 

The Tarn fished very well yesterday and one of our guests caught up to the limit on what was a pretty blustery day.  I understand that this was his first fly fishing outing for some considerable time so  hopefully the positive experience he had yesterday will  fire his enthusiasm to do more.

I plan to attend the Ribble Fisheries meeting on 28 August so look out for issues raised there in the days following.  I am sure that there is much going on further down the Ribble that we hear little about up here in the hills.

There may be a few blank days in this diary over the coming 10 days.  It's a significant birthday for Mrs F on 29 August and her brothers and I have plans!

Ian

It's a much better morning so far with a fair bit of cloud but much less wind than yesterday.  The river is quite high after a fair bit of rain in the night.  However, it looks perfectly fishable and will improve quickly as the colour drops out during the morning.  I think that there is a strong chance of showers during the day as the cloud is tending to thicken as it drifts in from the west.

It looks as if we have sufficient numbers to make up a riverfly monitoring party on 8 September and the plan is to sample each of the three sites we identified as providing good data for the fishery as a whole.  The aim is to involve some who were unable to attend the training day back in May so that the skills involved can be disseminated across a good number of club members.  If any member reading this would like to be involved then do please contact me.  If space is available then we will certainly try to involve you.  Do remember that I have the training CD ROM that you can borrow to familiarise yourself with the techniques involved in this fascinating adjunct to fly fishing and dressing.

We have a couple of guests fishing today including one junior so fingers crossed for suitable weather and water conditions.  It really does make a difference when they can fish the waters in optimum conditions.

Ian

We had an email yesterday evening from Warren Slaney the Head river keeper on the Haddon Hall estate in Derbyshire.  Warren is the inspirational keeper who originally set us thinking about the way in which we manage, stock and maintain the fishery and was instrumental in causing a seismic shift in our approach.  Readers may remember how impressed the Hon Sec and me were when we visited Haddon Hall a couple of years ago and saw the results that Warren had achieved in a short time by ceasing to stock with farm bred fish and concentrating on habitat restoration and improvement to raise the stock of native fish present.  Warren wrote to ask how we were getting on and it was a great pleasure to be able to tell him just how much progress the club has made over the past 18 months.  He has a contact on the Wharfe who is planning to do similar work to us and I think it would be sensible if we all got together to share ideas and experiences, so I have invited Warren up to Horton to set things moving.

Because we work in fairly remote rural communities there isn't often chance to meet with fisheries managers from other waters so these opportunities are rare nuggets.

It's a bright, but very blustery morning with a stiff north westerly breeze shifting the clouds at a rate of knots.  Not ideal conditions which is a pity as the river is in good water at present.  I saw Peter M and the venerable member on their way to the Tarn early on so I guess that they found the wind just too much of a pest on the river.

Ian

We had a lot of rain yesterday that persisted most of the night.  It seems to have eased off now, but it's still overcast and the lack of any appreciable wind means that the cloud will hang around for a while.  The river is well up now and still seems to be rising so fishing here will be better in a few hours as it begins to fall again.

I sat down yesterday and put together a summer MAA Newsletter which I have emailed to the Secretary for comment, approval and subsequent distribution to members.  Regular readers of this diary will find much of the content familiar, but we do have many members for whom computers are the devils devices and welcome the occasional update on what has been happening on their fishery.  When you come to write it up it's a surprising amount all hopefully aimed at producing a healthy, sustainable and viable fishery that promotes the well being of all native species that make this river such an ecologically rich environment.

I am more than ever convinced that if it were not for the presence of the MAA at Horton the upper Ribble would be a much poorer environment.  The club has nurtured the river for nearly 130 years as attitudes, approaches and values have changed, but one constant has been to promote the well being and breeding of native trout which are such a crucial element in the ecology of the river corridor.  This season has seen that work reach new levels with the re-opening of the hatchery and the start of a comprehensive riverfly monitoring programme.  The club has much to be proud of.

Ian

Oh good! it's a wet (very), grey and gloomy morning here in the valley.  Fortunately I just finished milking and seeing to the livestock before it started chucking it down which it's doing with a vengeance just now.  Far from ideal fishing conditions, but at least the rain will bring the river level up again.

Paul Bradley dropped by on Sunday on his way up to Ling Gill to populate the canary box which may tell us if crayfish plague is still present in the river.  His Labrador bitch has just had 6 pups (4 dogs and 2 bitches) and he seems delighted as all seven are doing well. We were going over to look at the hatchery on Sunday evening, but the recent floods have damaged the cage which holds the monitoring crayfish so Paul spent rather longer in Ling Gill than he planned and came out fairly wet and dishevelled so the hatchery can wait for another time.

There is still a good stock of native crayfish above the waterfalls at Ling Gill and these creatures are surviving at about the highest altitude of any population in the country.  What is unclear is why they are not naturally repopulating the river as they wash over the falls.  The fear is that there is still a plague hot-spot at the foot of the falls which is wiping out any creatures that come over.  It's very difficult to prove this one way or the other and the test that Paul is doing he fears will be inconclusive.  We shall see.

Since it's not a day for outdoor work I think I will put together a summer MAA Newsletter.  We usually have one in August and there is plenty to report to those members who don't have Internet access and can't read this blog.

Ian

It's a morning of blustery showers with brighter interludes.  Not ideal conditions for fishing although the rain is bringing the river level back up to a reasonable flow.

Up at the Tarn this morning the swans and cygnets were sitting tight on the nest clearly not impressed with the weather.  It's good to see the cygnets putting on fast growth despite being so late in hatching.  They will still be rather on the small side at the onset of winter and their survival will depend on how the autumn shapes up.  We will just have to wait and see.

I did my good deed for the day by releasing a young swallow that had somehow managed to become trapped in the hut.  It's the first time I have ever handled one of these avian athletes and it really is a wonder that something so small and seemingly so fragile is able to make repeated journeys to southern Africa throughout its life.  The colours when you see them close to are almost iridescent with vibrant blues and a rich chestnut.  The little thing sat in my hand literally vibrating with energy, it's tiny black eyes windows into a mind both wary and intelligent.  As I released it outside the hut it soared above Tarn pasture and immediately began hawking flies above the water.  A good start to the week.

Ian

It's a rather dank and dismal start to the Glorious 12th although the grouse shooting season really kicks off tomorrow to avoid a Sunday start.  It rained a fair bit in the night, enough to put the kibosh on grass cutting and varnishing the window frames which was planned for today, but not enough to raise the river level to good fishing levels.  It's stopped now and is just grey and gloomy with a lot of low cloud.  The forecast is for more persistent heavy rain here by Tuesday so we might get good water later in the week.

I was working at the Crown Hotel on Wednesday providing access to our wireless broadband network for the hotel staff.  This involved routing a cable across the yard past a hutch full of young ferrets.  This proved irresistible entertainment for these delightful little creatures who proceeded to form pyramids to get a better view of just what I was up to.  Every move I made was followed with rapt attention and I got the distinct impression that they all thought that they could have done the job faster and better than I did.  I half expected a round of applause as I finished the job or at least a token speech of thanks. I can well understand why ferrets are so popular here.  Their insatiable curiosity coupled with a sharp intelligence and sheer delight in life make them hugely endearing.  I must be careful, I'm getting hooked!

Great news.  The sun has just broken through the murk.

Ian

I'll return briefly this morning to a theme I touched on a few days ago.  I awoke this morning as usual to the Today programme and as I slowly surfaced I caught the beginning of an item about the decline of freshwater fish stocks in the UK.  It seems that NAFAC are becoming increasingly worried that we are on the brink of a catastrophic collapse in coarse fish stocks in our lakes, rivers and canals.  There are a number of factors involved all of which can also impact game fisheries.  The drought last summer followed by this summer's floods have severely disrupted spawning of many fresh water fish.  OK, so salmonids spawn in winter but the problem with salmonids is a bit further up the chain with the impact falling on fry which are vulnerable to water depletion and flooding.  The real killer though is the effect that eastern European migrants are having on carp, chub and perch stocks and the inability of our rather arcane fishery by-laws to deal with what is a new phenomenon, the piscatorial hunter-gatherer. 

There are moves afoot to include in the Marine Wildlife Bill that will come before Parliament next year a section that will rationalise the myriad of local by-laws to tighten up protection for private and public fisheries and water courses.  Martin Salter who chairs the Parliament angling group is co-ordinating angling interests and we should ensure that whatever clauses are drafted to protect fresh water fish stocks pay due regard to the protection of wild salmonid stocks.

We are fairly lucky here at Horton as the location and geography of upper Ribblesdale provides a degree of protection from organised poaching, but we shouldn't be complacent.  As it becomes increasingly difficult to gather fish close to urban centres there will be a temptation to move further afield to pursue what has become a lucrative business for some migrants and our trout stocks are vulnerable.  Keep a look out for discarded nets or other evidence of poaching as you fish the river and either tell me or report what you see or find to the EA on 0800 807060.

Ian

I was away all day yesterday so had little time to spend on the fishery.  Consequently there is little to report this morning apart from observations on the weather which is warm, dry and sunny and river levels which are too low for good fishing.  We may get some rain over the weekend, but the bulk of this seems to be further north so the river may continue low for some time.

Given the settled conditions I may well get up to the Tarn later and try mapping the profile of the bed. We shall see.

Ian

Despite a light shower last night this run of dry, settled weather continues and it's warm and sunny this morning with very little breeze.

The venerable member stopped by on his way to the Tarn this morning as I was milking and thought that a day spent sunbathing in the boat would be preferable to any serious fishing.  That's the problem with the leisured classes - no commitment!

I went out on  a History group walk last night to look round the old slate mill at Helwith Bridge.  This is a fascinating site with much of the original infrastructure still intact.  The mill building is now a house, but its original purpose can still easily be discerned with the wheel pit clearly visible and the mill race traceable on the ground.  What is interesting is that there was a substantial weir just upstream from the site below the railway bridge which must have raised the river by a good 3 to 4 feet.  This was dynamited away in the 1950's after a particularly heavy flood washed away part of the railway embankment.  The weir is likely to have had a considerable effect on water levels in the river for a considerable distance upstream and removing it must have had an impact on fishing at the lower end of the fishery.  I must try to find reference to this in the club archive.

Ian

It's another glorious morning here in the valley with warm sunshine, a few fluffy clouds and almost no breeze.  It's a little too bright for good fishing and the river has dropped from its best overnight.

I went out later last evening to shut in the hen and was stopped in my tracks by the cacophony that was coming from the large hawthorn on the green outside the house.  This sounded like something from Hitchcock's "Birds" with an almost deafening roar of fluttering wings and tweeting.  On shining a light into the tree I could see what must have been hundreds of starlings all settling down to roost.  Many of these seemed to be pale coloured youngsters which, disturbed by the light, took wing and flew in a cloud above my head before returning to the tree and resuming their chattering.  I have never seen so many starlings roosting so close to the house before and judging by the large number of young present starlings in this area at least seem to have done well this summer. 

Perhaps this is another creature that has benefited from the wet weather of the past couple of months.  Since they feed mainly on invertebrates such as leather jackets it's possible that the wet conditions have forced these closer to the surface of the pastures round here resulting in a greater supply of food and an increased success in brooding young starlings.

The noise would have been unnerving for anyone unfamiliar with the social habits of starlings.

Ian

It's a stunning morning with high white fluffy cloud, plenty of sun and a light westerly breeze.  I went up to the Tarn first thing to have a check on the water, fishing and the cygnets.  The latter are growing well, but still under close control of both parents.  Fingers crossed that they continue to thrive.  The water is in very good shape for August, cool on the alkaline side of neutral and well oxygenated.  The real evidence of this is the fishing returns for last week which tell me that this was the best week since back in May.  From 13 visits 55 fish were caught of which 41 were returned.  This is a very good ratio of just over 4 fish per visit.  The returns also show that a handful of big (4lb +) rainbows were caught, some of which were returned.  This is in stark contrast to August last year when fishing was pretty dismal and is one benefit of this wet summer.

Of course, circumstances conspired to prevent me doing any survey work on the Tarn yesterday.  I got sidetracked by other priorities and the wind stiffened sufficient to make trolling the punt up and down the Tarn a labour rather than a pleasure.  So Friday looks the best bet now for this task.

The hatchery is the next item on today's agenda and a check to see how the channel has settled down after I cleaned the gravel last week.

Ian

We had some rain in the night.  Not a lot, but just enough to keep water levels up for at least another day.  It's dawned rather overcast this morning with a light westerly breeze and occasional brighter patches.  The cloud looks set in for the day though so I doubt if we will see much sun although having just written that the sun has broken through and the cloud base is lifting.

I am planning to try plotting the profile of the bed of the Tarn later today.  This is something I have been meaning to do for months, but either the weather or other commitments have got in the way.  It will be interesting to see just where the holes are in the bed and what the profile looks like at.  The satellite image of the Tarn on Google maps does show a lighter, shallow margin, but there is not enough penetration of the water to reveal any info about the bed.  The results may tell us where the giant brownie(s) are lurking as I'm sure that they are mostly bottom dwellers and probably frequent the deeper pockets of water.  We shall see.

I will report back tomorrow.

Ian

News on the FMD front is a little better this morning.  It seems that the outbreak may be isolated and was probably caused by an escape from the research centre at Pirbright where, during July, they manufactured a batch of vaccination using live cultures of the identical strain of the virus found on the farm at Guildford a couple of miles away.  Let's hope the outbreak is contained.

It rained all day yesterday and by mid afternoon the river was bank full and heavily coloured.  It's now falling and clearing so anyone planning to fish here later today should find ideal water.  The weather seems to be lifting and brightening with just a light westerly breeze so conditions currently look very good.

News reaches me of a record breaking brown trout from the Aire at Skipton.  It seems that a record that has lasted for 49 years was smashed by an 18 year old fisherman when he landed a 5lb brownie on an orange spinner last week. He was fishing just below Carleton Beck when the trout took and in his own words "all hell broke loose" and it took 5 minutes to bring the fish to the bank.  This fish was 21 inches in length with a girth of 12.5 inches and in superb condition.  The previous record was 3.9lb set in 1956 again at Carleton.

I wonder what the record is for the upper Ribble?

Ian

It's a rather wet and gloomy morning here in the valley and the atmosphere is certainly not enlivened by the news that Foot and Mouth has returned to England.  We are currently under a nationwide livestock movement ban except under license.  Let's hope that the Government has learned from the devastating mistakes it made 6 years ago and handles this outbreak in a much more controlled and systematic way.  All we can do is watch and wait over the next few days to see how the disease develops.  There is some hope since this is a time of year when most livestock farmers are busy haytiming and there are relatively few animal movements or major markets taking place certainly here in the north.

I took a walk up river yesterday from the Tarn to Cam Beck and have identified a suitable project for the autumn if all the necessary plans can be made. Above Drain Mires there are two large meadows on the east bank that are currently unfenced and border a fine stretch of river.  This extends to the footbridge at Coppy Gill where the wall starts that runs up to the start of the new fence we put up in the spring.  The ground is easy here compared to Cam Beck and the only real challenge is the rather sinuous nature of the river which will mean a number of direction changes rather than one long  straight run.  I will work up a more detailed plan together with costs before talking to the landowner.

If we can get this project completed we will have a very long run of fenced bank from just below the stepping stones at Selside all the way down to Drain Mires Barn.  All that will then remain is a 300 yard length to the top of the fence that the RCCT put in a few years ago.  If a subsequent project can fill this gap the river will be protected from Selside to Horton, about 3 miles.

The posts for the watergate at Cam Beck have withstood the summer floods and seem set firm, but the wall downstream of the new fence has fallen admitting stock to the buffer strip and I will need to replace a few tree stakes which have obviously been used as handy scratching posts and broken off.  I plan to spend a day next week repairing the damage and will have a go at gapping the wall to keep the sheep out.

Ian

I spent all day yesterday in Halifax so I didn't manage to get to the river, Tarn or hatchery at all.  It's started off overcast this morning and looks as if it will rain before the day is out, but from the forecast this will be light and patchy.  The river is surprisingly low after an unprecedented dry week, but the condition of the water is still fine and there is reasonable water on the deeper pools.

I had planned to walk up to Cam Beck from the Tarn sometime to day to begin planning what work we might do over the autumn and winter.  A high priority is a buffer fence at Drain Mires (Dale Mire) above where the new bridle way fence will leave the river.  I gather from the farmer that the land for the trail has been bought and work is planned to start here next year with the construction of the new bridge crossing from Low Moor and an all weather trail from the crossing point to the track at Drain Mires.  We have an agreement that the trail will be well away from the river bank with a fence between the trail and the river to stop riders from using the river here as a watering point and poaching the banks. 

I have noticed the National Park ranger for this area up and down my lane a lot just recently so it's just possible that they are beginning to lay out the line of the bridle way.  I must go and look.

If it does get too wet for a wander then I will probably go down to the hatchery and check on the riverfly.  Whichever, I will report back tomorrow.

Ian

It's sobering to think as you sit by the river watching a trout lazily waiting for food to drift within reach that fish are one of the oldest life forms on the planet.  I a sense we are descended from fish and one only has to compare a fish embryo with hat of a human to see the link.  Many years ago off the east coast of Africa a unique window into the distant past was opened when a fisherman brought in a "living fossil".  This large blue fish turned out to be a coelacanth which science had assumed died out 70 million years ago and whose fossil record dates back 350 million years.  Now a fisherman in Indonesia has brought in a 4.3ft specimen which is only the second to have been caught in Asia.  This raises the possibility that there are more distinct populations of this strange lobe finned fish.

What is puzzling scientists is the fact that the two populations so far found are genetically different which suggests that they separated some four to five million years ago, however, if you look at the geology of the oceans, it suggests that they should have separated about 30 million years ago.  Research, as they say, continues, but be careful when you next hook that big fish that lurks in the Tarn, it could walk out and give you a good slapping!

It turned showery late last evening.  Not enough to lift the river which is now lower than it has been for weeks.  The day has dawned a bit cloudy, but there are some brighter patches and little or no breeze so Tarn fishing should be OK for the usual Thursday contingent.

Ian