The last day of the trout season and what a miserable one it is.  We have lost the gale that blew yesterday afternoon and most of the night, but it's a dull, dank drizzly sort of morning where everything including the fish is keeping its head down.

The Tarn looked pretty dead first thing.  No sign of cormorants, but not much sign of anything else either.  Time to think about stocking up with fuel for winter and getting the chimneys swept ready for the cold days ahead.

Yesterday I posted up the results from the invertebrate survey we did last week.  As always if you want access to the online spreadsheets just email me.

Ian

It's a wet start to the week and after a dry couple of weeks it looks as though the last couple of days of the 2008 trout season will be wet.  The forecast is for quite autumnal conditions around the middle of this week so those members venturing up to Horton for the Hot Pot supper on Friday and who are planning to stay over and fish for salmon on Saturday may well find some decent water. 

It looks as if the dining room at the Crown will be full on Friday as we have nearly 40 members, guests and landowners confirmed as attending and a few more always turn up unannounced. It should be a convivial evening despite recent sadnesses in the club.  Sandra always does us proud with a meat pie to fill even the most ardent trencherman. I anticipate that belts will need to be loosened a notch on Saturday morning and a bracing walk along the river will be the order for many. 

The Craven Herald last week carried quite a long article reporting an interview with David Hinks, Chairman of the RFCA and a MAA member.  David was explaining why Ribble anglers are seeking assurances from The Settle water turbine company that their proposed power generation plant at Settle weir will have no adverse impact on migratory fish.  Far too many have jumped on this particular allegedly green band wagon and the company concerned seems to regard the proposal a done deal even though the planning application has only just gone in for consideration. There are many issues concerning the ecological impact of the scheme that need to be resolved.  It would be remarkably foolish to permit this development on the grounds of its benefit to lowering carbon emissions only to see it negate all the hard work that many have done over the past few years to turn the Ribble into one of the finest salmon rivers in England.

The Herald perversely accompanied the article with a photo of the weir in full spate as much to infer that there is always plenty of water so what's the problem?.  A full spate is a condition that prevails only infrequently.  Normally the weir flow is low enough to expose the rocks in the pool below and this is far more typical showing why any abstraction here must be offset by an improved fish pass that permits migrating fish to pass the weir in low water acerbated by turbine abstraction.

We will watch these developments with concern and interest.

Ian

I went up to Turn Dub this morning to complete the invertebrate check for September. The weather is perfect with plenty of warm sunshine, a little broken cloud and almost no breeze.  The river needs a flush through.  It's full of filament weed below the Dub which made sampling tricky and not a little tedious extracting the wee beasties from the weed in the net.  The results are very encouraging and much more representative than the samples we took from the first three sites on Thursday.

The predominant family this time is undoubtedly baetis.  Each of the four samples I took came up crawling with them ranging in size from the almost microscopic to some quite decent sized specimens.  The prize of the morning though must be the biggest stonefly I have ever seen. This monster of the deep was nearly an inch and a quarter long and looked as fit as a fiddle.  He/she went back were I found him/her.

Simon has lost his head again I guess removed by a passing cow as I fixed his head on pretty securely last time I was at the Tarn.  I shall have to fettle a new one of something less attractive to passing bovines.  I think it must be the orange plastic bags I have been using that attract the cows as his first head which was white lasted a season without being munched.  The fishing return in the hut shows that catches have been fairly light over the past few days so I will go ahead with the planned stocking on Tuesday despite the fact that there is now only just over 4 weeks to go to the end of the season.  With the river so low it will be good to ensure that the Tarn is fishing well.

Ian

We got the invertebrate check done yesterday at all three survey sites.  The results are a bit low in terms of total number of creatures, but OK when looking at representation of families.  The river is very low now, probably at its lowest since early June so some of the best gravel beds are not accessible which always depletes the number of creatures in the samples.  I shall complete the spreadsheets later today and upload them to the database.

It was a dull sort of day, overcast and still with no sign of life in the river.  There were a few sedge hatching, but nothing to excite the fish and encourage them to rise.  The cloud has melted away this morning and it's bright, sunny and a little chill with hardly a breath of wind.

Many members will be at Sammy's funeral today and I shall be with them in thought if not physically.

Ian

and allow our older members to have a go at sampling as well as sorting and identifying.The plan is to do he autumn invertebrate check today.  A few members are coming up to Horton to help with this so we should get things sorted by lunchtime.  The river is a tad low for good sampling, but at least it should prevent few hazards.  I will post up the results tomorrow.

It really is sods law isn't it?  All summer we have had high water making fishing a challenge.  Now when we could do with higher water to get the salmon running we have a near drought.  Such is life.  Still It has come good just in time for local farmers who are out getting in a late crop of grass off meadows that have been too wet all summer to cut safely.  By all accounts the grass is in reasonable nick  Another near disaster averted.

It's my sad duty to tell you that Beatrice, Sammy's wife died on Tuesday.  A truly awful business.  Sammy's funeral will still go ahead tomorrow and I know that a good few members will be there to pay respects.  I am stuck in Horton since Sheila is in hospital but Sam will be much in my thoughts throughout the day.

Ian

We picked up a rather blustery north east wind yesterday that made casting a pain, but it remained dry and quite sunny.  The wind has just abated and the cloud that built up over night is now beginning to break up so the day may be quite reasonable.

I was looking out of the kitchen window on Saturday morning and saw an elderly couple wandering about.  They bumped into the Hon Sec who had just turned up to fish the river and seemed to be in deep conversation.  Being nosey I went out to see what was up and found that this couple had lived at the farmhouse next to mine and for a brief time had lived in my house.  The old chap told us about days when Newhouses was full of livestock living in the barns that are now either my garage or converted dwellings.  He talked about the river and remembered Nat Hunt as an old man and Walter Pollard who was keeper here in the 1940's.  He gave me a name for a pool below Newhouses so 'Midge Hole' will be added to the next edition of the map.

Ian

A number of members have asked to be kept informed about arrangements for Sammy's funeral.  I understand that the family have decided to proceed with a cremation this Friday (26 September) at 11.30.am at Wigan Cemetery, Ince. Find it off the A573 between Platt Bridge and Wigan. Cemetery Road leaves the A573 by a large red brick hotel..  I believe that the plan is to follow with a service of remembrance at some time in the future once the prognosis for Bea is clearer.  A good few MAA members will attend the funeral as will a rep from the RAF Association.  A sad day, but not one on which to be morbid.  I'm sure that many tales of his irreverent and impish humour will be recounted and his memory celebrated in a way appropriate to his unique character.

Ian

When you stop to think about it (and I'm sure you do constantly) photosynthesis is a remarkable process.  I sat on the boardwalk round the hut yesterday afternoon watching fish rise to a sedge hatch and soaking up the welcome sun.  The surface of the Tarn was covered in what seemed to be little splatters which looked like rain drops falling on the water.  Strange, I thought.  The Sky was almost cloudless so rain was unlikely as a cause.  I started looking for a fly hatch and there were a few sedges emerging.  Their struggles off the surface were obvious so they were not the cause.  On closer examination I saw that these 'splatters' only occurred over the weed and were absent over the stony bottom areas.  It turned out that what I was seeing were thousands of tiny bubbles (and some larger ones) rising off the weed helping to oxygenate the water.  With this amount of oxygen being given off it's hardly surprising that the water in the Tarn looks so healthy and the fish are so fit.  We may mutter from time to time about the way that the weed interferes when fishing with a weighted line, but on the whole it's presence is entirely beneficial.

We have a marked contrast in the weather here this morning to the sun we enjoyed yesterday.  It's overcast and a bit drizzly with a stiff westerly breeze.  The local forecast is for a return to brighter conditions tomorrow.  We shall see.

Ian

This run of glorious autumn weather continues with another blue sky morning and plenty of warm sunshine.  I stood at New Inn yesterday afternoon and watched a sizable hatch of sedge coming off the water prompting a reasonable number of rises in the pool above the bridge.  I was down there following a visit from the Hon Sec who brought a guest up to Horton to fish.  As he arrived at the Crown he happened to be doing what I did later and stood by the wall watching rises when into his field of view sailed a red float followed by a flotilla of sweet corn.  It seems that a laddo camped on New Inn flats had decided to try his luck and was promptly  'spoken to' and his licence examined.  This turned out to be out of date so a call from my place to the EA followed which revealed that the nearest EA enforcement officer was at Carnforth and no action could be taken.  It must be acutely frustrating for the EA officers on the ground to be so under resourced and one really wonders why we pay such a high (and rising) price for our rod licences only to see enforcement given such a low priority by EA managers.

My further visits to New Inn later on found our friend in his tent presumably having been persuaded that fishing at Horton would be less that rewarding.

Although the river is dropping off quickly now there is still sufficient water for good trout fishing.  It's far to low for salmon although one was seen jumping in the Marker Pool yesterday.

Ian

By strange coincidence our efforts to persuade Natural England that we need to take measures to control predation of fish on our waters by cormorants seems to have coincided with a pan Europe push to address this issue.  The latest RFCA newsletter landed in my inbox this morning and you may be interested to see the Stop Press item that was included

Cormorants

 

Information is being sent to clubs and owners about a paper/report by Dr Heinz Kindermann that is being presented to the the EU Committee on Fisheries, all about the problems created by the excess numbers of cormorants.  We are urging everyone clubs and individual members to write to their MEP’s seeking their support for the implementation of a European-wide action plan to tackle these issues.  The report will be voted on by the Committee on Fisheries on November 5^th and by the European Parliament’s plenary on December 4th.

 

It would be a significant improvement if so many letters could be sent in that made our elected representatives think seriously about the damage done by the excessive numbers of these birds. 

It seems to me that the best way of tackling the increasing threat to fish, course as well as game, posed by the changing lifestyle habits of cormorants is for us all to co ordinate our efforts rather than pursue individual initiatives.  I get no sense that NE are taking an holistic approach to their cormorant policy and it strikes me that they are overly swayed by pressures applied by RSPB and the bird lobby.  They need work to a position where the achievement of natural balance is the objective rather than seeking to protect one species to the detriment of another species or permit damage to the local ecosystem.  This longer term strategy should go in concert with local initiatives to target specific threats and I will be putting a proposal to Council setting out the measures we can take within the constraints imposed by NE.

I would urge you to put pen to paper.

It's rather more overcast here this morning after the glorious autumn day we had yesterday.  Despite my optimistic predictions of good fishing I know of two members who blanked on the river, but they were after salmon rather than trout and the water is now rather too low for salmo salar.

It's very much a Keats morning, one of 'mists and mellow fruitfulness'.  We have blue sky for the first time in months and the sun is breaking through the veil of mist hanging in the valley.  All in all a perfect autumn morning.  The river has now fallen back to just above normal levels.  It's still a little dark, but trout are taking well (even salmon flies) and the run up to the end of the trouting season on 30 September looks good.  There is still also time for sea trout before their season ends on 15 October and of course salmon are still fair game until the end of next month. 

I plan to stock the Tarn next Wednesday so long as the S30 permit arrives in time. A check of the status of the application shows that it is with Natural England for consultation at the moment.  This is due to the need to be absolutely sure that the source water is free of non native crayfish. So far the source at Washburn has been fine so I am hoping that this check is a mere formality.

It really is one of those mornings when you should be out on the river so my advice is to bunk off work and get up here.

Ian

Well, it's one members lucky day today.  On Monday evening I took a call from a rather distraught Edward who lamented the loss of a favourite landing net, one which had travelled all the way from New Zealand only to be lost on Friday on the banks of the Ribble.  Edward was after salmon just below Rowe End and put the net on a rock whilst he fished the first pool down stream of the bend.  On turning to collect the net he discovered that it had gone, presumably washed away by the current which is quite strong just here.  I promised that I would keep an eye out just in case the net had caught up in the river downstream from where it was lost.  I have just returned from a stroll down to the sewage works and lo and behold I have the net!  It was bobbing in the current just below the place it was lost.  So Edward, if you read this do give me a ring and I will arrange to reunite you with your net.

The meeting with Natural England went slightly less well than I had hoped in terms of achieving everything that we wanted.  It was clear from the outset that we will have to demonstrate that we have taken every available step to deterring our cormorant problem before NE will contemplate a more permanent deterrent.  But we have made a useful contact who seems genuinely interested in the way in which we manage the Tarn and its wildlife and who will work with us to ensure that our fishing interests and the needs of the many creatures that home by or in the Tarn can coexist happily.  I now have a much clearer idea about how to devise and implement a strategy that will minimise the adverse impact of the cormorants that over winter here and will make arrangements to put these in place before the end of the fishing season.  The plan is to leave these in place until the end of March next year when the birds usually leave to raise a brood.  We will monitor the effectiveness of the measures we take, see how things go and talk again to NE in the spring.. 

It's a dry day so far, quite warm with almost no breeze.  The river level is about 2 inches above the norm and is flowing quite strongly.  Almost perfect for trout and not impossible for salmon.  I did see a couple of fish taking fly on the bend at Rowe End, but could not get close enough to the hatch to see what was being taken.

Ian

This has absolutely nothing to do with fishing, but I suppose that it's symptomatic of advancing years when the icons of ones youth (and advancing middle age) suddenly drop off the perch.  One of my passions is music.  In many forms it has featured in my life providing a sound track to many ups and downs and it's rare that I never have some tune playing in my head whatever I happen to be doing.  My tastes are broad, from Beethoven to the Pink Floyd via roots blues such as that played by Robert Johnson.  It's the Floyd that sparked this little sidetrack as the sad news has emerged that their keyboard played Richard Wright died suddenly yesterday.  He was the gentle quiet one with a demeanour (and appearance) somewhat reminiscent of a cross between John Major and John le Mesurier.  He was self taught and achieved a sound that became instantly recognisable ranging from full on rock to almost spiritual and ethereal pieces that I often find playing in my head as I stand by the Tarn.  The vision I carry with me is of him playing at Knebworth in the mid1970's as the sun set on a glorious summer day and the Floyd's great anthem to their former leader Syd Barrett swelled out across 50 thousand people.  Indeed Richard I 'Wish You were Here'.

Turning to the point of this blog we have seen little rain over the past few days.  I fact it's the driest it has been for weeks.  As a result the river is falling away now and is well past its best for salmon fishing.  The final weeks of the trout season should be OK as the water is not down on its bones and there are plenty of fish about which are still rising to late hatching flies when the east wind drops.

I'm off now to meet a young lady from Natural England to discuss our cormorant problem.  More on this later.

Ian

It's a fairly nondescript sort of morning with a lot of cloud and a bit of damp in the air.  We have a fairly stiff easterly breeze blowing across the dale so it feels colder than the weekend.  The prospect is for a surprisingly dry week ahead so the river will drop quite quickly.

I am meeting a rep from Natural England up at the Tarn tomorrow to discuss the control of cormorants.  Since Simon went back on duty there have been fewer sightings, but my guess is that it will not take long for hungry cormorants to get used to the presence of the scarecrow and when they start arriving in numbers in October we will have a repeat of the scale of predation that we saw last winter.  Rainbow trout are an expensive way of feeding cormorants.

I was up at the Tarn first thing yesterday morning finishing off a bit of a tidy up in the boathouse.  It's now easier to get into the boat off the gangway and over the closed season I will remove the last of the redundant gear in the boathouse.

Ian

As I arrived at the top of Tarn Pasture yesterday afternoon and looked down across the Tarn I was surprised to see that Simon had lost his head.  I walked down to the cross wall where Simon is perched expecting to find that his head had dropped off and would be lying down at the foot of the wall.  No such thing.  There was no sign of the head either in the grass or floating on the Tarn.  I stood pondering this conundrum and, no nearer an answer, repaired to the hut to fettle a new head.  Whilst I searched around for materials to restore his cranial appendage I suddenly struck me.  The original head was a bag stuffed with straw.  Standing nonchalantly chewing the cud a few yards from where Simon was perched were 25 of Geoffrey's cows and sucklers.  The answer was obvious.  Simon had been decapitated by a bovine in search of a snack.  The evidence was around the foot of the wall in the form of a few shreds of straw which comprise Simon's grey matter.  His new head is inedible!

It faired up nicely yesterday and we had some autumn sun, the first bit of 'sol' for weeks.  This morning is very misty and atmospheric, but there is a distinct blue tinge to the sky through the mist so we may well have another fine day.  The river is in good shape for late season trouting, but a bit low now for good salmon fishing.  No doubt rain will return before long and restore good salmon water.

Ian

I'm a much happier bunny this morning.  Despite the weather which is wet, grey, dank and gloomy my mood is quite chipper.  The reason for this is quite simple, I had a phone call yesterday afternoon from my hay merchant which means that my goats will not starve over the coming months.  There is quite a bit of anxiety standing looking at a near empty hay loft knowing that a wet summer will have had a severe impact on the amount of hay cut and looking ahead to months when caprine gnashers will be busy converting large amounts of dried grass into milk and small black pellets.  Anyway, a waggon load of bales should turn up this later morning and another worry can be crossed off the list.  On to the next one.

And the next concern looms immediately into view.  It's September and I really should have planned the autumn riverfly check before now if we are to complete it by the end of the month.  With Sheila going into hospital mid month I am now restricted to week days so plan to email the riverfly group suggesting a morning during the week of 21 September.  If any other member would like to help out and can spare a weekday morning just ring or email me.

I know that one member spent a fair bit of yesterday in pursuit of salmon, but I know not yet how he got on.  The river was a bit low for ideal conditions although the fish should have been lying up in the pools below Horton.

I'm off now to clear the rubbish out of the hay loft.

Ian

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours up at the Tarn yesterday morning having a general tidy up and a more specific clear out of the hut.  Most of the tot has now been relegated to the cupboard in the boathouse which makes the place look a good deal more respectable.  There is still some junk to go such as broken chairs etc which I will hopefully remove today and I want to tidy up the plethora of notices, pictures and posters, but it now looks less like a rats nest.  I think that the hut is a club asset that is currently sadly under used and I have a few ideas that I will work on and discuss with Council over the coming weeks which will add to members enjoyment of the place.

I also had a call from Craven College asking if we had any fencing work that they could undertake for us over the winter so I will get back to thinking about habitat projects on the river and see if I can find some grant funding as well as a willing landowner.  The Hot Pot supper on 3 October will be a good occasion to tackle landowners about this.  The College also asked if I would be willing to lecture their students on river management as part of their wetlands management module.  So I may well do this in the new year.

It was a dry day yesterday with just light showers overnight so the river has fallen from its best for salmon fishing.  The fresh run fish should now be lying up in the pools below Horton and I know of at least one member who intends trying his luck with them today.  It's not too bad here this morning, overcast, but little wind and no rain so far.  There is even a suggestion of brightness to come over in the west.

Ian

Some while ago I was contacted by the fisheries scientist recruited by the Ribble Catchment Conservation Trust and asked if the MAA would be interested in participating in the electrofishing survey of the Ribble that the Trust were planning.  My response after consultation was yes.  We have done very little survey work up here at the top end of the river to establish population levels for our wild brown trout other than a netting exercise a few years ago which gave some encouraging results.

All has been quiet since that early contact, but yesterday I had another phone call from Jack and it looks as though the survey may now take place here over the next couple of weeks.  Of course, the weather will determine if we actually get into the river since we need water no more than six inches above the norm and that's been fairly rare this summer.  If the survey does get done it should give us some information about the way in which our trout are recruiting and if there are any appreciable numbers of sea trout present.  This will be the last opportunity we have to get this data this year as within a few weeks the salmon will be spawning in numbers and should not be disturbed.

I will report back on our findings.

It just shows how wet it's been here.  Last evening I was getting ready to go out and wandered into the utility room to find a very large sedge gasping its last in the sink.  We are about 200 yards from the river so this fly had travelled a fair distance looking for either a mate or somewhere to lay eggs.  The sink was not an ideal choice.

It's clearing now after a wet night and the forecast is for a dry day with a light breeze so conditions on river and Tarn should be fairly good.  Yesterday got very windy which kept the Tarn fish down and caused a few blanks for members.  Better luck today, but the sadness is that one regular Thursday fisher will not be here to enjoy it.  Things will not be quite the same again.

On a brighter note, I have put up in the hut a literary contribution from a member which for me captures the pure essence of fishing this magical place.  The Club's roots are dug deep in a literary heritage and it would be good to see some more literary contemplations. that could be shared with members.  I pass the thought on.

Ian

It's not a bad morning here in the valley.  We have some sunshine and a light westerly breeze with high white cloud for a change rather than the low grey stuff that has persisted all summer.

I'm just back from a walk up to the Tarn which looked inviting under the early sun, the surface rippled by the breeze and a fair number of water fowl feeding along the margins.  As I stood by the hut a cormorant flew slowly over clearly on a recce.  It decided that discretion was in order and flew off down river.  I had a look through the wildlife book and It's encouraging to see how many members have recorded sightings of the pterodactyls over the past couple of years. I am meeting a rep from Natural England at the Tarn on Tuesday to discuss the cormorant problem and this evidence will be valuable in persuading her that we need to do something to protect our fishery from continued predation.

I walked back along cow pasture looking for mushrooms and got enough for breakfast.  As I got to the field gate above Newhouses I put up a hare that scuttled off along the road in the direction of the hamlet.  This is the first one I have seen for months and it's good to know that at least one is still around.

The news about Sammy's wife Bea is still not good.  She is in an induced coma in intensive care whilst the medics try to re-inflate her collapsed lung.  She remains very much in my thoughts.

Ian

There is a distinctly autumnal feel to the weather today.  We have a stiff north east breeze that's blowing leaves off the willow trees in the garden, it's a tad chilly and there is the hint of damp in the air.  Yesterday was fairly dry so the river has dropped and cleared appreciably since the spate on Saturday.  The forecast here is for rain later and a wet day tomorrow so water levels are likely to rise again. 

The swallows are now beginning to group up and prepare for the long flight south.  The past couple of dry days has seen them feeding continuously around the big sycamore in the bottom garden, fattening up for the journey.  There do seem to be a lot of youngsters about this year perhaps because the wet weather encouraged a greater number of flies than usual.  I really have never seen the dale looking so green at this time of year.  Normally by September the meadows, pastures and fell sides are burn brown and look distinctly shrivelled.  Not this year.  Everywhere is verdant, even the grass on the thin soils on the slopes of the hills still has a spring like lush greenness.

I now need to wrestle with the challenge of getting enough hay brought in to keep my goats fed over winter.  This is not going to be easy as hardly anyone round here has managed to cut all their meadows, almost no one now makes hay and there will be a shortage of winter fodder.  We will just have to see what my friendly hay merchant can magic up.

Ian

As news of Sammy's tragic death spread within the club a number of members rang me over the weekend stunned and saddened by the passing of this fine fisherman and true friend of many.  Despite his advancing years Sammy was always ready to volunteer for working groups and events and I have lasting memories of the way he put me to shame with his vigour when we last put barley straw into the Tarn and of his wonderful pirouette before taking an early bath in the river at Horton duck race eighteen months ago.

A few who have contacted me have expressed the desire for some fitting tribute that will offer a tangible connexion with his memory.  We are sated with benches at the Tarn so my own thought is that since Sammy spent every Thursday at or in the Hut we might consider the practicalities of bringing the comforts offered by this fine club asset up to a more modern spec.  I open this up for debate and consideration.

We had very little rain yesterday and on a falling river considerable success was had with our Ribble salmon.  A number of fine fish were caught on Sutcliffes reach below the Pipe Pool and one member caught his first ever salmon this was a clean hen fish fresh from the sea weighing about 5lb, not big but in perfect condition.

Do remember that I have a good supply of salmon tags and even if you don't intend taking a fish it would be as well to have your quota (two) ready to hand in case a damaged fish needs to be killed.

It's a fairly decent start to the week with high broken cloud, a light north east breeze and no sign of rain.  The river has fallen back to offer good trouting prospects as well as fine salmon fishing and if we get a bit of sun later and a decent hatch then fishing conditions should be near perfect.

Ian

You will forgive me if this is brief this morning, but I had some very sad news last evening that has left me shaken.  Sammy, the venerable member, was killed in a car accident in Dumfries on Friday.  A long standing member of the MAA he was a true character, irreplaceable, irrepressible and I will miss his humour and kindness dreadfully.  He was a truly brave man having survived a theatre of war which claimed the lives of so many of his comrades.  As a proud Lancaster pilot he was one of Harris's heroes who deserved far better than their country gave them.  My thoughts go out to his widow who is critically ill in hospital and to his family.  He will remain dear to me.

Ian

Its a thoroughly miserable morning here in the valley with a strong east wind blowing yet more rain across the fells.  It's cold and very wintry.  A stark contrast to last evening when the rain gave over for a time, we had a dead calm and even a display of stars.  The Tarn looked perfect and put on a display for the Craven Conservation Group that made me very happy.  Fish were rising to a sedge hatch, waterfowl were scudding about, the swans were feeding and showing off and to cap it all the crayfish came out as it was getting dark, feeding and socialising in the shallows around the margins.

It proved nearly impossible to drag the group away and they spent the best part of an hour watching Austrapotamobius of all sizes going about their nightly business.

Just in case the crayfish failed to turn up I went down to a very swollen river earlier on and did a quick (and careful) kick sample the results of which I put in the hut.  This too prompted a fair bit of discussion and opened quite a few eyes to the diversity of invertebrate life in the river.  So, a very successful evening and a few more people who are now aware of the efforts that the MAA takes to conserve and enhance the wildlife on its fishery.

Fishing conditions here at present are really not good. As I said above, it's cold wet and windy with a river in full flood and a far from promising forecast.

Maybe I will see some of you at Horton Show tomorrow.  Look out for a white umbrella and a sign saying 'Guess the Weight of the Fish'.  If this wind does not drop the umbrella may be up on Ingleborough!

Ian

After yet another wet 24 hours (and it's still raining) the river is in flood with little sign of trout feeding although in this water the salmon must be on the move and temptable.

I have put Simon back on duty to deter the early cormorants and measures are being put in place to contain this problem over the winter months.  I have scheduled a final Tarn stocking for 24 September which should ensure good fishing through to the close of season.  Evidence suggests that there is currently plenty of stock remaining, but the water is still being fished fairly hard and it's better to be pro active than re active.

I am taking a group up to the Tarn tonight at about 7.30 to look at the botany and fungi of the area as well as the river invertebrates and perhaps a sight of our crayfish if they start to move about early.  The latter will be very much a look but don't touch exercise so whether they see any or not really depends on how dark it is by 8.30 or so and whether the crayfish decide to cooperate.

Don't forget Horton show on Saturday where from lunchtime I will be running the ever popular @guess the Weight of the Fish' competition.

Ian

As you can see the final crayfish course of the year took place at the Tarn yesterday under some welcome sunshine and the results of the check that the students did surpassed all expectations with over 90 creatures in just one trap and in excess of 300 animals measured and recorded overall.  so we go into the autumn season confident that our native crayfish are healthy and continuing to breed well.

Whilst Paul was giving his usual lecture on handling and monitoring crayfish I watched a large hatch of sedge begin which prompted the resident rainbows to put on a display of noisy feeding and porpoise jumps.  This sedge hatch has been going on for some days now when we get a bit of sunshine which must indicate that the bed of the Tarn is crawling with caddis worms.  No wonder the fish are sometimes reluctant to surface feed when they have a crunchy snack coating almost every rock and stone on the bed.

For those of you who have not seen one here is a large (and slightly pissed off) male crayfish.



It rained hard from mid afternoon yesterday and persisted most of the night so the river is in flood at present.  More showers are promised today so levels will remain up and colour will be in the water for some time yet.  It's just about fishable for trout and almost ideal for salmon and sea trout which will be running on the strong water.

Ian

I downloaded emails this morning and found a dozen from the Secretary of the Ribble Fisheries Consultative all with multiple attachments so clearly someone has been busy and so will I be reading through all this, no doubt, highly enlightening, bumpf.  I will of course tell you about anything that I think merits wider distribution or is of particular interest.

The traps are in for the crayfish course that takes place at the Tarn later this morning and we shall have to wait and see if the catch is as overwhelming as last month.  The weather looks a bit iffy with heavy showers forecast (and in evidence), but there is some sunshine mixed in so fingers crossed that we get the sun whilst the course is in progress rather than the wet.

The river is still in good water with just a touch of colour and there are some sporadic hatches of fly when the sun breaks through.  It's very much a matter of luck being on the bank at the right time.  Over the past week there have been long periods when the river looked dead.  At other times fish can be seen feeding freely at the surface so I am confident that the fish are there, they just prefer taking worms that come down on the flood when the hatches are not prolific enough to tempt them to the surface.

Time now to settle down and wade through all the stuff from the RF CA before setting off for the Tarn.

Ian

The first day of September and autumn is upon us already.  The change of month has brought a welcome change in the weather too with some sun and blue sky this morning. There is a hint of autumn chill in the air and a fair bit of cloud, but we have the first sight of Ingleborough across the valley that I have seen for weeks.

I have commented before on the kindness of those who I have met in the course of the years that I have been involved with the MAA and yesterday brought yet another example of the kind thoughtfulness of anglers.  I was musing in yesterday's blog about the size of stoneflies and whether this indicated different species or ages of creature.  Low and behold a ring at the door brings Mike H and three very welcome Freshwater Biological Association volumes on riverfly larvae which will help me to take identification down to species level and so unravel the conundrum.

Members should be aware that the last crayfish course of the season takes place at the Tarn tomorrow lunchtime so be prepared to find a few folk busy with traps if you come up to fish.

Finally it looks as if the very wet weather forecast for tomorrow will now miss us so river levels for trout fishing should remain good to the middle of the week.  The ground here is saturated so expect the river to maintain a reasonable level for a good few days even if we get little rain.  What we do need is some sun to bring on a decent fly hatch and tempt the trout up to the surface.  With all the flood water we have had over the past few weeks I suspect that our wild fish are stuffed with worms and ambivalent about a few paltry flies.

Ian.