News

The Leat is important an important fishery and has the potential to be fantastic habitat for wildlife, both in the river and on the banks. A project is being developed & planned by the WTT to carry out some improvements to the habitat to help the Leat achieve its potential as a place for wildlife and for people to enjoy.

This project uses tried and tested techniques and closely involves both Devon Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency. The project is also supported by Exeter City Council

The WTT has appointed Ben Tyser to the post of Research & Engagement Officer. Ben will be responsible for developing the education programme for the WTT, including Mayfly in the Classroom, and collating and disseminating the science based research that guides the WTT's work. Ben is an ecology post graduate from the university of East Anglia with fisheries management experience in Africa & the UK where he previously worked for the River Forth Fisheries Trust on invasive species catchment management.

The Wild Trout Trust has for many years supported the Lincolnshire Chalk Streams Project (LCSP), so we are delighted to see that project has recently won the Bowland Award.

Presenting the award, National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (NAAONB) Chairman, Cllr Peter Stevens said “The LCSP is a very worthy winner of the Bowland Award and it is fitting that this year’s  recipient is a project that has contributed an outstanding environmental contribution to the well-being of the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB actively promoting and delivering landscape-scale conservation through partnership working. I congratulate them on their achievements”.

Click here for the Press Release.

Ruth Snelson, LCSP Project Officer, receives the Bowland Award

As a special experiment, the well-known Ladybower reservoir fisheries will open up special day ticket access to WTT members to fish their two “wild” waters (Derwent and Howden reservoirs) during the remainder of the 2012 trout season. These waters have never been stocked and contain a very healthy head of self-sustaining wild brown trout that breed in a network of inlet streams.  Fish of around half a pound are abundant – with much larger specimens seen spawning each year! Imitative fishing close to the shoreline with both dry flies and subsurface patterns is highly effective – offering a wild upland stillwater experience close to the centre of England that is more usually associated with mountainous areas of Scotland, Ireland, Wales or the Lake District. The fishing will be 100% catch and release using barbless hooks with fish handling (wetted hands only) kept to a minimum.

The initial trial will offer day tickets (maximum of 10 per week to guarantee solitude and light angling pressure) to WTT supporters who present their membership details at the fishery office. Prices are £10 for WTT members and £15 for non-members. In addition, it is hoped that a small and dedicated syndicate will be developed in future to augment the day ticket opportunities offered to travelling members of the WTT.  With a combined shoreline length of almost 14 km there is plenty of opportunity to get away from it all and find your own pod of feeding trout in glorious surroundings.  Anyone wishing to be considered for the syndicate should register their interest in one of two ways:

• When purchasing a day ticket
• By direct contact to the Ladybower Fisheries staff by phone 01433 659712 or email Ladybowerfishing@aol.com

The WTT enjoyed a successful British Fly Fair International at Staffordshire County Showground over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th June.  Some new members joined the Trust and old acqauintances were renewed, plus it was a great chance to stock up on all those bits of fly-tying and fishing equipment.  We had a joint stand with the Riverfly Partnership, manned by the irrepressible Stuart Crofts, whose infectious enthusiasm for aquatic bugs kept a steady stream of people enthralled.

Mike Blackmore will be joining the Wild trout Trust on June 25th as a Conservation Officer.  He will be working alongside Andy Thomas providing expert practical advice to fishing clubs, landowners, Rivers Trusts and Wildlife Trusts in southern England and Wales, including the delivery of the South Coast Sea Trout Action plan. His role is supported by the Environment Agency in South East Region as part of their commitment to the South Coast Sea Trout Project.

Mike joins the Wild Trout Trust from Cain Bio-Engineering Ltd, where he managed large scale river restoration projects.  He has a BSc in Environmental Science and has undertaken fieldwork from Dartmoor to the Malaysian rainforest, and voluntary work with endangered White-clawed crayfish. Mike is a big believer in ‘wild rivers for wild fish’. He is passionate about re-wilding the UK's long over industrialised rivers.