It's another rather grey start today, but once again the promise is for the sun to break through later just as it did yesterday.  It feels appreciably warmer so there may well be a worthwhile hatch of fly this afternoon. 

It looks as though the Salmon and Trout Association may well put their considerable campaigning weight behind efforts to control the spread of alien crayfish.  Paul B has written to them outlining the dangers that these creatures pose to salmonid ecosystems and the devastating effect that infestations of red signal crayfish in particular can have on salmon and trout recruitment. 

I have acquired a high definition video camera so with a bit of luck this blog may feature video clips in the near future.  That's if I can master the intricacies of the thing and the art of editing whatever I do manage to record.  They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but I think that the two media need to complement each other so this will not become an extension of YouTube.

I have fixed a cork fly board in the hut so members are invited to put on it any river or Tarn pattern that they would like to share with others.  I will leave a note book on the fly bench for you to record any notes about these patterns that you wish to pass on. 

Ian

It's a misty moisty start to the working week after all the fun of the sun yesterday.  In fact it's very foggy here at present and the river is veiled from my kitchen window.  It does feel a tad warmer though and the sun is forecast to break through later so it should be quite a good day for fishing either the river or the Tarn. 

If you find yourself housebound today why not log on to the Wild Trout Trust website www.wildtrout.org.  This organisation that is dedicated to ensuring that our wild brown trout have a future is running its annual on line and postal auction starting today.  On the front page of the website you will find a link to the ebay site where the auction is hosted.  Here you will see a host of lots to suite most budgets and interests including books, prints, flies and fishing visits both at home and overseas.  Treat yourself, get bidding, grab a bargain and help to ensure that there will always be wild brown trout in our UK rivers.


Ian

What an amazing start to summertime.  I went up to the Tarn first thing to blow away the cobwebs after a 60th birthday bash last night.  The water was a mirror reflecting the hills and azure blue sky.  The margins had a skim of ice which gave the impression of a cracked and frosted frame.  A heron stood on the duck wall and eyed me with deep suspicion. He (or she) will have trouble with our fat trout.  The stone loach and emerging frogs that inhabit the swampy ground at the foot of the Tarn are likely to be the menu.

The swans seem to be starting a nest close in to the cross wall at the far side of the Tarn.  If they do nest here then it may well prove possible to protect the nest this year by throwing a fence out and back to the wall, encircling the nest site, but leaving access to the water.  We shall see.

The air was crystal clear with no hint of haze and Selside stood out in sharp detail across the valley.  Looking north Whernside loomed large with details picked out in clear relief.  There are two Canada geese in residence at Turn Dub,  Whether they too will nest is uncertain.  A few years ago a paid did nest near the Dub and raised a dozen goslings.  I was surprised to learn last night that these wild geese make good eating.  The meat is very gamy with a hint of liver.  It's dark, but apparently very tasty if cooked very slowly.  Not like the recipe for badger where you joint your badger, put it in a pot with veg, add stock and a stone.  Cook for 12 hours then throw away the badger and eat the veg and the stone.

The river is in almost perfect condition having dropped its colour, but retained good flow after the recent rain.  It's a bit too cold to encourage our trout to free feed freely as it needs to be around 10 degrees for optimum feeding and the temperature this morning in the water was nearer 6 degrees.  However, the sun is making its presence felt and without the wind of the past few days the water should warm slowly.  The forecast for the week is for much more settled and warmer conditions so look forward to some ideal fishing conditions.

Ian

It's a grim start again today with a bitingly cold north west wind blowing along some mean showers.  The forecast gives hope that the wind will drop by this afternoon, but the rain may increase by evening so expect the river to be high and coloured tomorrow.  We should consider ourselves lucky that the weather is about the worst threat to safety whist fishing at Horton.  One member has just emailed me some photos which show in graphic detail the risks posed to fishermen in some parts of the world.  Crocodiles are not common at Horton so we are unlikely to suffer the fate of the individuals or individual in these photos.  They show a captured croc together with its stomach contents which include human arms and legs.  Nice!  Keep a eye out when you are next fishing up a Selside you just never know!

Better news reaches me via Paul B who rang to tell me that all the funding is now agreed for the North Ribblesdale crayfish project and work will start very soon to restore our native crayfish to the river as well as conduct a thorough survey of the Tarn population which has not been done since 2002.  Paul also tells me that a further step has been taken in the battle to control the spread of non native crayfish species so all in all a good week for Austropotamobius pallipes.

Ian

It's been a foul start to the day with strong winds, rain and low temperature.  There is a hint of brightness in the sky as I write this so the day may not be a complete washout. Fishing conditions will be challenging as the heavy overnight rain has raised the river level to just below spate conditions and there is a lot of run off coming from the pastures and meadows colouring the water.

I spent a while yesterday trying to identify my little yellow baetis nymphs, but am still none the wiser.  There seems to be a paucity of information about the colour of riverfly nymphs generally.  I have some pretty comprehensive field guides that should enable identification down to species level, but these rarely mention colour as an identifier so maybe colours vary within species depending on habitat?  I shall persevere.

I forgot to post up a photo sent to me of one of our early season trout (sorry Rob) so here it is just to whet your appetite.



Ian

I did the riverfly check at Turn Dub yesterday and found good representations of all the families included in the monitoring scheme.  Most abundant was baetis with heptagenia a close second.  There were a good number of stoneflies in the sample and just a few gammarus, but this is not an ideal gammarus spot as there is too little detritus present in the river to tempt them.

Once again I found a fair number of sulphur yellow baetis nymphs which I must try to identify.  Two bullhead completed the haul from this site both quite large specimens.

Keeping with things watery, Edward M dropped by yesterday in foul weather on his way to fish the Tarn for the first time this season.  He happened to bring with him a portable water sampling kit complete with data logger.  On his return he reported three good fish caught and sampling results that show just how good the water quality at the Tarn is at present.  The oxygen reading shows super saturation at 110% so our fish will not struggle to breath and decomposition at the bed must be minimal.  The conductivity reading was very low showing that there is little nutrient in the water in the form of phosphates or nitrates.  Again this is good news as algae growth depends on nutrient being present.  pH was 8.2 which tallies well with my own observations and is well within the parameters required by trout for a healthy existence.  Finally, temperature came in at 7.2 again ideal trout conditions.  The plan is to monitor now on a regular basis using this kit so that we can pick up any significant changes and respond to them accordingly.  For example, a low oxygen saturation reading would signify problems for fish breathing and can be countered by mixing the various horizons within in water column so preventing mortality by asphyxiation.  All good stuff.

We had a lot of rain (and wind) in the night so the river is in better water than of late. It's a slightly better day so far with a hint of brightness, but fairly heavy cloud and a pretty stiff west wind.  The forecast is for unsettled conditions over the next few days.

Ian

It was a grim start to the working week with rain driving in on a strong west wind.  It feels much colder than of late.  However, the rain has now stopped, the sun has broken through and it's a tad warmer.  We still have a very strong west wind though.

My musings yesterday about the elusiveness of Ribble trout prompted a correspondent with a lifetimes experience of the river at Horton to confirm my observations - or lack of them.  The fish here really are difficult to see and you need a degree of faith to believe that the river hosts a good population of brown trout.  This does make fishing tricky as unless you can cast to a fish that you see rising (and many do) fly fishing here is very much a matter of seeking out likely lies and covering these with a pattern of casts.  This ability to read the river only can come with experience, trial and error and demands patience. 

It also seems to me as a very infrequent fisher that to keep a good fishing diary complete with diagrams, comment on conditions, fly life seen, artificials used, etc, etc would be of great benefit and these diaries would provide invaluable information about the state of the fishery helping to inform future actions aimed at maintaining and enhancing its viability.

It's a pity that the club web site is so static otherwise it would be quite possible to utilise this as a way of maintaining an on-line composite diary that all could contribute to.  I do know of a way of achieving this, but it would mean rebuilding the existing website using a content management system as the base program.  Not difficult, but potentially time consuming and only worth doing if it's likely to be used.

Your thoughts are welcome.

Ian

The weather has gone a little pear shaped this morning.  There is a nasty cold north west wind blowing down the valley and the cloud has increased as a precursor to more unsettled conditions forecast for this coming week which should see a drop of rain which will be welcome as the river is now looking quite depleted.

I have often been puzzled by my failure to spot fish lurking in likely lies especially when on visits to other rivers trout can easily be seen holding station behind suitable rocks and debris.  I thought maybe that I was just not tuned in to penetrating the camouflage that our wild trout adopt, but an email yesterday tells me that others have equal difficulty spotting fish lying where they should be.  One member sat for a long while eating his lunch down by the Pipe Pool and failed to spot a single fish yet this is a pool that regularly provides very good fishing.  They do say that if you can't see them you can't catch them and fishing becomes a lottery based on chuck it in and hope.  Perhaps it's just a bit too early in the season and our fish are low down and tucked away under the banks.  It would be good if regular fishers of our waters could share their observations by posting comments on this blog.  I fact my correspondent suggests just that.  He would find it helpful if the river experts could share knowledge with newbies about flies used, places fished, technique used etc. which will build to a body of knowledge about fishing here at Horton.

We have pondered the idea of restarting the old Anglers' Evenings so how about picking an evening in early summer and having as a theme 'good practice fishing at Horton'.  We could start with a brief look at the river then adjourn to the Crown for supper and a series of talks or presentations by the club's master fishermen.  We could even video the session as part of the club archive.

We put 160 really bonny fish into the Tarn yesterday.  I am mightily impressed with the stock from our new supplier.  These are fit, full bodied fish with perfect fins and tails.  All are around the 2lb mark with some up to 3lb.  You will find a few blue trout amongst the rainbows.  These fight well and make superb eating having a firmer flesh than the rainbows.  Do let me have your thoughts and views on your experience with these fish.

Ian

The first day of spring and this glorious weather continues to light up the dales.  I drove up to Ribblehead yesterday and despite the haze the scenery was stunning lit with a golden diffused light under an azure sky.  It's a frosty start here this morning, but the sun is now burning through and warming everything nicely.  Perfect conditions for stocking the Tarn later today and good fishing weather if a little bright.

I connected the water pump in the hut yesterday morning. This will supply water for washing hands, mugs, teapot, etc, but should not be used for drinking as it comes straight out the Tarn and I can't guarantee that the pump will not impart a slight trace of oil.  Ther is a non return valve between the pump and the inlet so no water can siphon back to contaminate the Tarn.  If you use the sink do please remember to empty the waste bucket sensibly after each use - NOT in the Tarn.

The book shelves in the hut are still empty so if members have any suitable volumes surplus to need do please bring them up.

The geese I mentioned the other day were clearly in passage because they had gone by first thing yesterday.  Looking at my bird book suggests to me that these were probably greylag en route to summer quarters.

Despite the very low water the river seemed to fish well yesterday.  Alan M got two below Horton so we now know that there are wild fish present and feeding all the way down the fishery.  I will post up a couple of pictures of the the seasons first fish later today.

Ian

Sorry to those of you logging on yesterday who got an error message about lack of bandwidth.  It seems that so many are now reading this stuff that the traffic exceeded the limit imposed by the hosting company.  With the agreement of the Hon Sec I have now upgraded to a higher level package and all should be working again.

I have just done the invertebrate check at New Inn this morning and what a surprise.  The river is now very low after a couple of weeks without rain so I was expecting a fairly meagre result.  This certainly proved true for heptagenia (yellow May dun), but the results for baetis was quite spectacular with well over 200 specimens covering a range of sizes and colours coming into the net.  This is a marked contrast to January when in high water I got mostly heptagenia and lots of them.

So the main information you need from this is that if you plan to fish around New Inn over the next few days small baetis patterns are likely to tempt most fish.  It would be worth trying something very small and bright yellow as a good number of nymphs in the sample were sulphur yellow about an eighth of an inch long.

I came upon a flock of about 20 geese up by the Tarn early yesterday.  Too far away for a positive identification, but they looked too white to be Canadas.  I plan to wander up there shortly for a more considered look if they are still there so more on this tomorrow.

Finally, it's another cracking day here with plenty of sun, but a rather chilly south east breeze blowing up the valley.  As I have said above the river is now pretty low so fishing some of the shallower runs will be difficult and the pools are the best bet until we get some rain.

Ian

We had a mini summer yesterday.  A cloudless blue sky with just a hint of haze over the hills and fells, almost no breeze and warm sunshine made it feel more like June than March.  It looks like a repeat performance today.  Such a contrast to the cold snowy winter we have had this year and a real boost to early season fishing.

Work has begun on the new passing places in the lane up to the Tarn.  My guess is that these will be of limited use when attempting to pass timber waggons as they are being constructed within the curtilage of the lane and are probably far too narrow to give adequate clearance between anything larger than a mini and a truck.  We shall see.  There is still no news about a definite start date for timber extraction.  It sems that Tillhill are waiting for the waggon to be prepared and the road works in the forrest to be finished before commencing extraction.  I will take a look today to see if work has begun on the parking area at the Tarn which has been agreed in principle with North Yorkshire Highways.  The plan was for Tillhill to attend to this at the same time as they constructed the new passing places.

The swans on te Tarn should begin nesting soon.  It's heartnening to see how they persist year after year to raise a brood of cygnets despite frequent predation.  You will recall that last year was aparticular disaster so let's hope that 2009 is a more successful year for them.

The curlew are now here in abundance and whist working in the garden yesterday their plaintive call was a constant soundtract to the rather agreeable work of clearing winter debris and generally tidying up.  Signs of spring are everywhere.  Crocuses seem to be having a good year and their delicate blooms have survived very well in the absence of heavy rain and strong winds.  The snow drops are now going over, but have given us a splendid display for weeks now.  Daffs are in bud with full bloom on the minitures that blanket the verge coming into Newhouses.

It all helps to lift the spirits in these times of economic gloom. 

Ian

Let's start this morning with a couple of encouraging reports from early season fishers.  First up is Ian W who fished the Tarn yesterday.

Happy new season to you.Just to let you know that Geoff W & myself visited the tarn for the first visit of the season today, and, between us met with a modicum of success,Geoff catching three fish (one returned)and myself just the one. All,I might add, good examples of over-wintered fish, being bright in appearance and well finned.Also displaying no signs of "Pterodactyl" damage.

Second is an earlier report from a new member and records his first ever foray to the river.

Past you outside the Crown on Sunday, I had a great first day out around the back of the Tarn up to Dales Mire. Caught 2 nice trout (see attachment) and missed about 4. There were a few L.D.O. coming off the water but no fish rising, no doubt due to the cool breeze. Looking forward to upping my catch rates when I get used to the water and I find all the good pools.

I should explain that I was not partaking of Sandra's excellent ale on Sunday morning, but waiting for a prospective member who was at the time waiting for me about 5 yards away sitting in his car.  Carnations and buttonholes may be useful next time!

It's a glorious start to the day here with an almost unbroken blue vault, a slight smear of cloud and no wind.  There is a bit of a nip in the air, but as the day progresses and the sun rises it should warm up nicely and encourage a few fly to hatch.

The Section 30 permission to stock the Tarn on Saturday has arrived at long last.  It now takes over 6 weeks to get these permissions as each one has to be referred to Natural England for comment because of our native crayfish population.  I have managed to get approval for all our planned stockings this year between given dates rather than on specified dates so that if problems arise I can simply change the arrangements without needing to seek amendment to the S30 approval.  Fingers crossed that all goes well on Saturday.

Ian

My predictions about the weather yesterday proved a little over confident and slightly wide of the mark.  By lunchtime we had a return of the stiff cold breeze that has plagued us over the early part of the week end, the sky had turned grey and it felt (was) cold.  This morning we still have the breeze from the east, but it's brightening up, the cloud is melting away and if the wind drops it may warm up a touch.

My visitor to the river on Sunday has responded very positively with some enthusiastic comments about the fishery and its management.  He has formally applied for membership so his fate now rests with Council.  A worthwhile mornings work.

Crayfish Paul dropped by during yesterday afternoon after visiting the site where we plan to eradicate the last pocket of crayfish plague on the river. It seems that all is progressing well with planning the project and despite not yet having final confirmation of the funding needed this should merely be a formality so work will begin next month.  This is an exiting project, unique in its aims and projected outcomes. No one has tried before to eliminate crayfish plague from a catchment and subsequently reintroduce native crayfish so there will be much attention on the work and a great deal of professional interest if it succeeds.  Maybe in a few years it will be possible once again to lift a rock in the Ribble and find white clawed crayfish.  If so then Paul and Neil should receive much praise.  I shall report progress.

Ian

It was a real pleasure to be out on the river yesterday.  Everywhere there were signs of emerging spring with green shoots beginning to show along the river margins, trees in bud and wildlife busy with preparations for nesting and breeding.  My guest seemed impressed with the fishery despite the fact that we saw no fish.  The sun sparkling on the water really lifted the spirits after such a cold grey winter and the warmth brought on a hatch of sedge towards mid day. Hopefully we have another enthusiastic new member as a result of his visit.

The big surprise was how few members we saw despite visiting all the most popular beats from Helwith Bridge up to Selside.  As I reported yesterday morning, conditions were near perfect yet only one member was found up by the Tarn.  Perhaps it will take a while to build momentum after the months of enforced idleness.

It's rather duller today with much more thick grey cloud although it's still quite warm with just a hint of a westerly breeze.  The river is in good water which carries just a hint of colour and there are definite signs of hatching fly life so fishing with adult representations rather than nymphs should prove rewarding.

Now there's a shock. As I write this two swallows have just swooped past my office window.  I did a double take as I just caught sight of them as I glanced from the keyboard (I don't touch-type), but I'm now sure they are swallows as they have just passed by again. Spring is definitely here at least for this week.

Ian

It really could not be a better start to the new trouting season.  We awake to a fine spring morning with sun, broken cloud and a warm feel to the air.  We have even lost the stiff north west wind that has plagued us for the past few days.  All in all it's perfect fishing weather and with the river in good water after a wet week the omens are good.  Let's hope this is a portend of a great season ahead.

The hut is virtually finished and certainly looks tidier, feels warmer and seems more inviting.  The only job remaining is to cover the bench with a durable finish which will be attended to this week.  The wind was so strong yesterday that I could feel the hut shaking as it was hit by the six inch waves that were being driven down the water.  Here too conditions this morning look good.  The water is crystal clear with just enough ripple on the surface to offer some cover for a bankside angler.

I'm off later this morning to show a prospective member round the fishery.  We will do the usual "Cook's Tour", down to Helwith Bridge first then up to New Inn, down to Cragghill, a visit to Selside and finally a stop at the Tarn.  In these conditions the chance of seeing a few fish are pretty high so fingers crossed.

Do remember that the Tarn will not be stocked until next week so expect fishing at the Tarn to be a little challenging.  I have seen plenty of fish rising this week so I know that they are there to be caught, but many of  these fish will have had 12 months or more to learn the art of survival and may need a little patience to tempt them to the fly.

More tomorrow.

Ian

It seems that spring may be just round the corner now with plenty of signs of new life just beginning to show.  In the pastures below Horton early lambs are frisking in the occasional glimpses of sunlight and buds are showing on twig and branch.  Up at the Tarn we have a large flock of oyster catchers whose piping call provides a welcome on my daily visits to the hut.  A curlew has taken up residence on the hill behind the Tarn bringing back the true voice of the Dales after the long cold winter.  It's hardly spring weather this morning.  We had a wild wet night and although the wind is decreasing it's still very wet with an icy feel on the blustery north west wind.

It's been a busy few days for the club. The AGM seemed to go well although the number of members attending was well down on recent years.  Revised rules of the club were adopted with no dissent, reports were read, council was elected and Mike H is President for the year.  We finished business with an excellent buffet supper and a chance for a chat and catch up on activities over the closed season.

Yesterday 9 members gathered at the Tarn and spent a long morning removing junk from the hut and boathouse, carting it up to a trailer at the roadside and generally clearing the decks for next Sunday's start to the season.  The boat has been re-varnished (thanks Brian) and at long last we have managed to dismantle the old bent metal stile at the top of the hill.  This has also been carted away and the area looks all the better for its absence.  The refurbishment work was generally approved and with luck this will be finished by next weekend.  I just have some finishing touches to do generally and the bench to upholster and that's pretty much it.  We finished off with bacon butties all round departing rather greasier than we arrived.

From next week I will gradually wind up to a daily report giving an indication of weather and fishing conditions.  For those planning an early season foray to the Tarn please be aware that I shan't be stocking until 21 March.  This is deliberate to see what sort of returns are produced by over wintering fish.  I know tat they are in there as I have seen plenty of rises and with no appreciable cormorant presence so far this year existing stock levels may be reasonable.

Ian

The BBC comes in for some justifiable criticism for its editorial policies, it's warped sense of political correctness and a less than level balance of judgement from time to time.  But there is one area of programme making in which it still excels and is unsurpassed anywhere in the TV world.  The BBC natural history programmes (excluding anything involving that bearded twit  Bill Oddy and those which assume we have the attention span of goldfish)are by and large stunning and a classic example was the programme a couple of weeks ago about Pacific salmon.  The photography was spectacular and the scenes captured must have taken long hours of planning to set up and even longer to record on film.  I learnt much that I didn't know that I didn't know (if you follow me) and the shots of bears catching salmon in mid leap (the salmon, not the bears) will stay with me a long time.

Quite why the bears chose to hibernate so far from the river and so high in the mountains is a puzzle, but it clearly makes sense to the bears.  The next time I go looking for salmon jumping at Stainforth I will have this vision of sharing the rocky ledge with a fishing bear.  I feel disinclined to ask to see his rod license.

All is now moving apace towards the new season that starts on 15 March.  First we have the AGM on 6 March which is a chance for members to gather together after the long closed season, reflect on seasons past and make plans for the summer ahead.  There will be a few new members fishing at Horton this season and the hope is that they get some good water and plenty of wild fish coming to the net.

The hut refurbishment is nearing completion so all should be ready by 15 March when the Tarn reopens.  I have seen fish rising in the warmer, calm weather we have had this week so there should be sport for those hardy souls who like to fish in early season.

At the Council meeting last weekend the Hon Sec put forward an idea to restart the Anglers' Evenings that were such a feature of the early years of the club.  The idea is that once or twice a year members would be invited to come along to some convivial venue where good food and drink can be had and listen to a talk given by a member, invited guest or some other on an angling related topic.  If one looks at the talks that were given back in the early years it's clear that these were very much to do with individuals' areas of interest and were in no way restricted to fishing at Horton.  We still have members who fish in far flung corners of the world (and the UK) and it would be fascinating to compare these modern experiences with those of nearly a century and a half ago when much of the world map was still coloured red and the only way to get to foreign parts was by sea.  Get your thinking caps on let's have some ideas at the AGM on Friday.

Ian