When bright waters turn grey

 

Greetings!   I seem to be living in a bird battle zone. The swans persecute the geese. The geese persecute the ducks. The ducks persecute the moorhens. And when the ducks get bored with the moorhens, they turn on each other. But last night there was a twist as the otters got into the ring.   Recently I bought a pair of night vision binoculars – they are utterly amazing – I can see our latest otter family, the mother (daughter of The Otters’ Tale Kuschta and her three pups approaching a year old) as they arrive nearly every night in glorious blue tinged black and white.   Now, as you well know any family of otters arrive and remain causing great commotion, but the geese have, until last night, treated them with considerable aplomb. Mrs. Goose had wisely set up her nest on the island; apparently a considerable improvement to the rapeseed field last year which lasted a full two days. Mr. Goose paddles around during the day roosting himself on the bank at night. And when the otters appear, he ignores them and they ignore him. He remains rooted to his roost whilst they run within a foot or two of him, moving in, out and around the lake as they hunt and play. Until last night.   I don’t know why - maybe it is a coming of age thing – but after two weeks of ignoring the island nest the otters performed a pincer movement. At the darkest part of the night around 2am they struck. I was woken by the geese calling out in protest as Mrs. Goose was driven from her nest whilst Mr. Goose vainly flapped up and down the bank. Within a few minutes it was all over. I can’t imagine a clutch of maybe a dozen goose eggs go far between four otters.   This morning the otters are, of course, long gone but I have two disconsolate geese paddling around the lake. I’m sure they will try for another family as they did last year; life in the natural world is rarely easy.

 

 

Goose vs. Otter: the battlefield

 

 

When bright waters turn grey   You will be forgiven if you’d never heard of the Pillhill Brook. It is, after all, one of our shorter chalkstreams at just 6 miles long, a tributary of the River Anton, which is in turn a tributary of the River Test.   In truth, it is not a stream many fly fishers head to though I would hazard that a vast majority of you have driven over it numerous times without ever knowing of its existence; it passes under the A303 near Thruxton race circuit. It is tiny, prone to being reduced to almost a trickle in the height of dry summers. But it has been a feature of north Hampshire life for thousands of years as villages have grown up along the life source that water provides. Indeed, despite its brevity, there used to be four working water mills one of which powered the Tasker Ironworks at the height of the Victorian era which produced the mighty cast iron waterwheel we have here at Nether Wallop Mill.   Today the Pillhill Brook is not really what you would call a working river. It is largely a perfect wildlife corridor, home to a rare colony of native White-Clawed Crayfish, and the defining backdrop to higgledy-piggledy villages where thatch is the predominate roofing material. But this is under threat.

 

 

Pillhill Brook at Fyfield

 

If you watched the recent BBC Panorama programme on 12/April (catch up on iPlayer) you will have seen the investigation by Joe Crowley into the discharge of raw sewage into our rivers nationwide. As you well know 6 out of 7 of British rivers are failing the pollution test and Crowley’s investigation focussed on how the 403,000 separate discharges last year, that accounted for 3.1m hours of sewage pumping time, are contributing to this.   I will not recite the entire programme but the bottom line is that under the guise of permitted emergency sewage pumping water companies are playing fast and loose with the regulations by pumping when they should not be, essentially using our rivers to dump sewage instead of going to the expense of treating it. Independent data analysis proved this with such ease it seems incredible that the Environment Agency (EA) are not all over the water companies like a rash. I can’t offer you an explanation why they are not; they refused to be interviewed for the programme and in 2020 only bought four (!) prosecutions.   I tell you all this because the Pillhill Brook is about to become another water company storm drain. In the past few decades, the population of the Pillhill/Anton catchment, which takes in Andover, has rocketed with tens of thousands of new homes. But the simple truth is that the Southern Water treatment capacity has failed to keep up with demand, so much so that tankers are parked 24/7 by local sewage works to pump the waste to take it elsewhere and in a recent development Southern Water were granted a licence under emergency conditions, to discharge sewage to alleviate tanker use.   The local residents are, understandably, alarmed. Not only was the permitting allowed without any formal application but no local businesses, including a trout fishery, parish councils or villagers were consulted prior, or told afterwards and the EA have subsequently failed (unsurprisingly) to respond to any enquiries. To be fair to Southern Water the outflow does go through a drum filter prior to discharge to remove solids, plus a UV filter but ultimately the tiny Pillhill Brook is being topped up with grey, odorous untreated sewage.   Now, I’m not expert enough to tell you what constitutes an emergency, but it has barely rained here in six weeks; we are on course for a record dry April. So, despite Pillhill Brook being at typical spring levels, Southern Water began pumping into the Pillhill Brook two weeks ago. You can watch the video (just 8 seconds) where the grey sewage water meets bright water.   Notes: if you wish to sign a UK Parliament petition inspired by the Panorama programme click here

 

 

Photo and video courtesy of Monxton & Amport Villages Facebook page

 

 

Grape for the river   Us fly fishers are rarely boring. Our lives take different twists and turns. Take wine dealer Pete Goss. Years ago, when he was a Georgian furniture expert at London auction house Christie’s, he went on a fishing trip to Austria and met, by random chance, an Austrian winemaker. Years later, having morphed into the wine department at Christie’s and then struck out on his own, he is the sole UK importer for that self-same winery.   Pete trades under the name of Mayfly Wines, and true to his other passion beyond the grape, he has just launched a special half case range of wines for the river with labels painted by his father-in-law. We are going to be giving away a bottle of the Daddy Longlegs champagne each month for the Feedback Draw.   But if you can’t wait that long, or don’t trust to chance, the Mayfly Fishing Half Case is available direct from Pete. In short, it is a selection of six beautiful wines from artisan growers, presented in a wooden gift case lined with straw, with a hand drawn fly on each label. It makes a magnificent gift or will wow your guests at any fishing lunch.   1. Daddy Longlegs - 1er Cru Carte Blanche, Champagne Benard Pitois 2. Green Machine - Gruner Veltliner 'Fumberg 2019, Weingut Wimmer-Czerny 3. Silver Doctor - Bourgogne Chardonnay 2018, Domaine Alain Chavy 4. Cascade - Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2018, Domaine Hudelot-Baillet 5. Grey Wulff - St. Joseph 'Bergerie' 2019, Domaine de la Roche Paradis 6. Red Francis - Cotes du Bourg Malbec 2014, Château Civrac, Bordeaux wines   The cost is £165, including UK delivery. To order call Pete 07940 404018 or email him pete@mayflywine.co.uk

 

 

That's lunch sorted!

 

 

Graham Mole   I am sad to report that Graham Mole, a long-time friend of mine, Fishing Breaks and all the Wessex rivers, died 27th February aged 83 years.   Graham started in journalism the classic way – as a junior reporter on a local weekly paper, then moving into TV and eventually ending up as a producer on investigative programmes for the national ITV network. He then switched to covering the south of England, freelancing for national papers and magazines, running a local TV station and, along the way, bumped into the Forestry Journal for which he wrote extensively in his retirement years.   However, you will more likely know him as the man who wrote the Wessex Rivers report for Trout & Salmon for a great many years. True to his investigative roots Graham was not afraid of telling it how it was; I suspect the editors’ desk received a few inflamed missives as a result.   I’ll miss exchanging gossip with Graham but if he’s able to catch the next edition of Trout & Salmon I’m sure he will be pleased to see his successor is Tony King, recently retired chairman of GAIA and Fishing Breaks guide, has taken up his pen a person who I suspect will follow in his footsteps in every respect.   Media vita in morte sumus "In the midst of life we are in death"

 

 

What's on your playlist?   Charles Jardine caused a little, but good, stir on Twitter one recent Saturday when he told us which Mozart symphony inspired him most whilst painting. Which got me thinking: do you listen to music whilst fishing?   I’m sure for most, like me, the very thought of earbuds is an abomination. In fact, I ‘m sure it would diminish my success rate – I often hear rises as much as I see them. But if you do fish to music tell me your chosen band, singer or maybe the most appropriate choice! simon@fishingbreaks.co.uk   I’ll publish our Top of the Streamers next time.

 

 

When is a fly not a fly? International edition   In the continuing monthly series of Hero vs. Villain last night Charles and I debated the international truth of when a fly is truly a fly. And at a new day and time which bought in a whole new audience, with over a hundred joining our Zoom call.   Does fly fishing mean different things to different nationalities? Does the term ‘fly’ get lost in translation? Are techniques and practices being exported across borders? And if so, is this always a good thing? Are we remaining true to the founding fathers of fly fishing like Halford & Skues? Is the Fulling Mill fly catalogue a work of great fiction?   We covered all this and more. You can watch or listen at your leisure here

 

 

Quiz This week questions loosely based on today's topics to confound, dismay or delight.   1)     What British coins were first issued on this day in 1968?   2)     Legend has it that in 387 BC an ancient city was saved from invasion when the geese gave the alarm. What was that city? Goose family 2020   3)     The English Premier Football League began in what year?

 

Have a good weekend.     Best wishes,

 

 

Simon Cooper simon@fishingbreaks.co.uk Founder & Managing Directorwww.fishingbreaks.co.uk

 

 

 

Quiz answers:   1)     First decimal coins the 5 and 10 new pence, replacing the shilling and two-shilling pieces. 2)     Rome 3)     1992

1.3m of the River Itchen? Yours for £1.1m

 

Greetings!   Fancy your own river? Well, it is not often that a long stretch of prime chalkstream comes up for sale unencumbered by a house or large estate that sends the sale figure into the stratospheric. But, if your dream is a river to call your own, last week estate agents Savills announced the Abbots Worthy Fishery on the River Itchen as up for sale.   Now, it is still not exactly cheap at £1.1m but you do get 1.3 miles of chalkstream set in 33 acres of divine water meadows. If you are not exactly familiar with the location it is on the north east outskirts of Winchester, so just upstream of the city. I would hazard that you have likely driven within a few yards of it on many occasions and therein lies the slight rub to this particular bit of fishing.

 

 

Abbots Worthy Fishery

 

Abbots Worthy is in a triangle of land with one side the A34 and another the M3; the traffic noise does intrude. It will not be a dealbreaker for many but it is something to be aware of. Similarly, Winchester lies beneath the flight path for aircraft landing at Southampton Airport. Currently a controversial planning application to extend the runway is under consideration that will increase the frequency and size of planes that use the airport.   You can see full sale particulars on the Savills web site.

 

 

Enough to make you a monarchist   One the Fishing Breaks guides, Bob Preston, is our sort of unofficial archivist; every so often he pops up with a magazine or some similar publication from years past that reports of places we know or the people we used to be. Mrs Bob must despair as Mr Bob has literally thousands of magazines dating back half a century or more.   One such magazine is a 1979 edition of International Fly Fisher which features on its cover Prince Charles. Now, that is so long ago that Margaret Thatcher was still yet to win her first general election and Princess Diana was a few months short of her eighteenth birthday. Bob brought me the magazine for an article about Nether Wallop Mill but that was not what caught my eye.   Firstly, it was the adverts – full page colour for the likes of Dunhill cigarettes. Hard to believe these days that such a thing ever existed. Then there were the Uniroyal waders with, what remains one of my still favourite tag lines for a fishing advert: The difference between poached salmon and fish fingers. And from rod maker Fibatube a carbon fly rod for £38.40, which in today’s money is a shade under £200 so suggests tackle has more-or-less kept pace with inflation. However, all that aside what really caught my eye was the interview with Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace where he discusses his flyfishing philosophy.

 

 

Uniroyal waders

 

So, what did we learn about Prince Charles who would have been 31 years old (half his current age) at the time? Well, he prefers to fish alone rather than with a gillie and at that moment in his life his largest salmon was a 25lb fish from, and this surprised me, the River Frome in Dorset. He is not that keen on any other methods for salmon than the fly, ties his own, taught by none other than John Veniard which is a privilege probably only accorded to heirs to thrones. As regards gear he was not a fan of carbon-fibre rods (too light), preferring to fish with a 16ft greenheart rod. I cannot believe he has not given up that particular belief in the intervening years. His favourite reel is the Hardy Perfect, which in words that could only come from a member of the Royal Family, he has, ‘people scouring the country for me for Perfects’. He doesn’t much like big game fishing – I’m afraid I’m with him on that. But, and this is enough to confirm my monarchist tendencies, he is a fan of dry fly fishing having a few days each year on the River Test. His favourite book is Salar the Salmon.   However, around this time not all was well in the world of public opinion for Prince Charles. His conservationist tendencies, so utterly mainstream these days, put him and his father in a group that might, if we are being kind, be termed as eccentric. Let me quote a section of the article in full:   “As a keen field sportsman, who shoots and stalks and hunts as well as fishes, Prince Charles, like most field sportsmen, is a conservationist. His public speeches on the subject are usually forthright. The boom year for salmon in many rivers in the United Kingdom last season [1978], he thought should not encourage complacency. Such years tended to run in cycles.   “People say ‘You are playing the alarmist and you just want to go fishing’. I reply to them that the salmon is a very important resource, and the fact that it spawns in our rivers makes it a different fish. The breeding grounds of the salmon must be recognized as important.”   He felt that those in whose rivers salmon spawned should be recognized as having a major claim on the salmon – a right to expect fish to run. While there was a need to control netting at sea, rod fishermen also had to play their part and show they could be sensible about methods of fishing and numbers of people allowed to fish the beats.”   Not so much eccentric but rather more prescient.

 

 

Botham batting for us?   A few years back I spent two days fishing with Eric Clapton and Ian Botham for a TV show. Eric was gentle and laid back. Ian hard wired and hard work.   I will be honest. I did not care for the latter one little bit and when people have recently suggested that we co-opt Ian Botham to promote the cause of river protection I have demurred. Yes, there is a bit of my personal experience in there but also Botham’s writings, though supportive to the cause, tend to be antagonistic and his Brexit enthusiasm does not warm him to everyone.   However, his article in Thursday’s Daily Telegraph totally nails the issue for river protection by trying to encourage an umbrella alliance of anglers, wild swimmers and greens. In that he has made an important contribution to the debate though in slamming ‘eco-luvvies’ he might just have turned off one third of the audience he sought to co-opt.   If you are a Daily Telegraph reader you will be able to read the full article here ….. Otherwise, I've done my best with a cut and paste.

 

 

 

Video of the Week   This is only relevant to rivers in a passing way but it is fun because a) you feel sure it is going to end in disaster b) but it doesn’t and c) it is something of a tribute to the guy and the machine he is driving.   Watch it here .......

 

 

 

Quiz This week questions loosely based on anything at all to confound, dismay or delight.   1)     How many letters in the standard Irish alphabet?   2)     Which ex British prime Minister became the first honorary US citizen on this day in 1963?   3)     The Headingley Ashes Test match against Australia, arguably Ian Botham’s finest cricketing moment, took place in what year?

 

Have a good weekend.     Best wishes,

 

 

Simon Cooper simon@fishingbreaks.co.uk Founder & Managing Directorwww.fishingbreaks.co.uk

 

 

 

Quiz answers:   1)     18 letters 2)     Winston Churchill 3)     1981