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