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Dorchester Fishing Club - Newsletter July 2002
News
It has been a very good start to the season and especially good
to enjoy the first day of April along the banks of the Frome. The weather
on the 1st was not at all kind for the brave few that ventured out, but
fish were caught and a fleeting glimpse of an otter made it a very special
day.
The river was suffering from the lack of rain over the winter months and
was looking decidedly miserable during April and the early part of May.
Luckily (for the river) the heavens opened two days before my annual
mayfly outing and flooded the river! Since then the weather and river have
been anything but summer like, although the mayfly hatches were excellent
and at least two 3 1/2 lb fish have been caught. As
I write (end of June) it is still raining and blowing a gale, thoughts of
balmy summer evenings fishing seem a long way away.
Stocking took place on the 7th May on both the Upper and Lower
water, with 250 11” to 12” fish, all marked with two blue spots. Many
thanks to Rod Crane & Jo Tallents for their help and Major Hill for
supplying excellent feisty fish.
The River Keeper and the Honorary Secretary attended a one day course on
“Bailiffing for Angling Clubs & Private Fisheries” run by the
Institute of Fisheries Management. We covered a whole range of subjects
from bailiff’s duties and responsibilities, the law and finally ending
up with a practical workshop & discussion. The workshop was more aimed
at coarse fishing syndicates and clubs. but we came away feeling it had
been a very interesting and worthwhile day. I have arranged for the course
tutor to attend the AGM. He will advise members on the best course of
action when confronting a poacher, because it appears that man traps &
shooting are now prohibited by law!!!!!!!
For those who fish the River Cerne regularly will have noticed the
wonderful car park that has appeared opposite our entrance gate. This has
been put there by the Dorset Wild Life Trust, for the use of their members
during visits to the nature reserve on Haydon Hill. You will glad to hear
that we have gained permission to park one car in there. (so please be
considerate to other users) This will avoid the dangers of parking in the
small pull-in and put a halt to all those lost wing mirrors! A guest
speaker from the trust will be giving a talk at our AGM, telling us about
their work and discuss the soon to be published “Dorset Biodiversity
Strategy”.
There are still repercussions from the Foot & Mouth outbreak last
year, the farmer on the Upper Water is understandably now stocking cattle
instead of sheep. To help stop these bovine bank and habitat destroyers,
he kindly erected a temporary fence at the start of the season. The Club
is now in negotiation with the authorities to see if we can erect a
permanent fence along the main river. This will be expensive and money
raised from rod raffle (see enclosed form) is ear marked for this project.
The new fence will mean more work for the River Keeper and his mower, but
a better habitat for flora, fauna and of course salmo trutta!
Diary Date :- The AGM has been booked for Saturday 7th
December, we will be having guest speaker(s) and a buffet lunch, details
in the October letter.
Obituary
Ron Meyers - 5th July 2002 - Ron died peacefully at
Dorset County Hospital aged 87 years. Ron had been a Member since 1976,
serving the Club as Honorary Treasurer 1983-1994 and was still a regular
on the Managing Committee. He loved fishing the Frome and even with a
dodgy hip or two, still managed (thanks to John Aplin) the occasional
fishing trip. Ron was one of our long term stalwarts & he will be
greatly missed by us all
Mark
Vials - 7th July 2002 - Mark died suddenly while tench
fishing. Although this was Mark’s first year as a Member, he had fished
and cared for the Club’s water for many years. He was Trev Stroud’s
inseparable other half, an excellent and inquisitive angler, who’s
friendly smile & hot coffee will be sadly missed during future
grayling fishing trips.
Keepers Corner
By John E. Aplin
A
pleasant start to the season, to be out on time was a treat in its self.
The River Cerne has proved a welcome asset for the club, not only does it
look superb, the members who like this style of classic chalk stream
fishing have been reporting that the fishing is challenging but very
definitely rewarding.
The main river, in particular the lower and upper water, is lacking in
Ranunculus as a result of the extreme long term flooding two winters ago.
This in turn, I feel has had a damaging effect on the life cycle of the
Grannom. I expect you have noticed that the hatches on these particular
beats were a little disappointing this year, a different story on the
middle reaches, the Cerne, and the Stinsford Side stream where weed growth
is considerably better.
The Mayfly started towards the beginning of the second week in May, and
already we have seen some very good hatches, on all beats. One fisherman I
spoke to had taken 14 fish upto about 3lb, including a number of our
stockfish all on the lower water, and all in the afternoon before breaking
for tea.
The hatchery was again a great success with every inspection showing up
hundreds of fry. The fish from the first hatchery should now be of a very
catchable size.
The gravel washing last autumn proved to be a success with a number of
pairs of Salmon sitting on large Redds over the winter months.
Unfortunately, with low water levels very few Salmon made it over the weir
at Louds Mill. A few years ago you lost count of the amount of fish going
over the weir, confirming an alarming reduction of adult fish returning to
our beloved River Frome. We must do what ever it takes to preserve this
king of fish.
Have any of you seen any Water Voles this year, if so can you let me know.
I feel that their numbers have dwindled, again this could be due to the
flooding and possibly drowning them in great numbers. Or could it be the
Cormorants eating them ??????????.
Those of you who had the booklets from the Environment Agency regarding
their Grayling Survey, could you please return them even if you have not
used them, they keep chasing me for them.
The river on the whole this season looks very pleasant, due to a warm
spring everything grew like mad in fact on the lower water by the time we
started on April the first I was on the third cut.
I hope you all enjoy your season on the banks of this fine Chalk Stream,
get out there even if it’s for a stroll and a breath of fresh air.