No dogs in heaven

 

Greetings!   I saw an old, and sadly departed, friend of Fishing Breaks and the One Fly last weekend as I watched To Olivia, the story of Roald Dahl’s troubled marriage to Oscar winning actress Patricia Neal and the death of their daughter whilst he was writing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.   If you are looking for an uplifting tale of escapism that piggybacks on Dahl’s literary humour this is not the film for you. Dahl was a victim of what they called back then the black dog; depression often medicated with alcohol. However, the only truly laugh out loud moments are supplied by Geoffrey Palmer, acting in what I think must be his last ever role, as Dahl’s cleric housemaster from his schooldays to whom he turns for comfort in the wake of daughter Olivia’s death at the age of eleven from measles; this was the early 1960’s.   However, the scene descends into farce as Palmer playing the aging, insensitive, dotty and opinionated cleric refuses to countenance a heaven in which Olivia could play with her dog for eternity. Dogs are, apparently, absolutely forbidden in heaven. Who knew? It is very funny but one of those sad moments when you realise someone is gone forever

 

 

Geoffrey Dyson Palmer as the father in Butterflies. Born 4 June 1927; died 5 November 2020

 

 

Free to fish   I am not sure I could have asked for more from Boris’ road map on Monday. Yes, we are slightly hamstrung by the limited opening of places to stay April 12-May 17 and if you are planning to travel from overseas for the Mayfly best to enquire about 2022 dates, but otherwise we are largely home and free.   We can travel as far as we like. We can fish with our friends. We can take a guide. We can organise a group. Courses, camps and special days are all going ahead as planned. We can even hoof it up to the pub for lunch and a pint. To repurpose Gordon Gecko in Wall Street: lunch inside is for wimps.   Of course, this will all be dependent on Covid receding and Boris’ four ‘tests’ perhaps being as flexible as Gordon Brown’s five for joining the Euro. But all in all, things look good.

 

 

Get your fishing fix   Dammit, I miss fishing. In the winter I get my fix by walking rivers. I love rivers. I love fishing. Which do I love more? Well, rivers. But sometimes a man just has to fish. And about now I should be packing for a bone fishing trip to Grand Bahamas with my mate Doug.   I had come to terms with that until the 2021 F3T STOKE REEL (translation: 2021 Fly Fishing Film Tour trailer) dropped into my Inbox. Now I am considerably annoyed. OK, it is not entirely the fault of Covid; if you recall the Grand Bahamas was wiped out by the hurricane of 2019. Island rebuilding is hard at the best of times. The past 18 months have not been kind for the team at East End Lodge, but God Bless they are on track to reopen in late March. I wish I could be there.   But I will not be. So I’m living my fishing life for now through the power of Vimeo. Watch the Stoke Reel. Check out the other trailers. Support the many, mostly young, filmmakers by buying a Virtual Ticket at $20. I would say enjoy, but that is hardly necessary.

 

 

Click here to watch the F3T trailers

 

 

Institutional recidivism   The government have concluded that invasive species threaten our native biodiversity and that something should be done about them. No, not beavers who are fast becoming the pin up poster animals of the wilding mania, but grey squirrels.   To be fair to the current minister Lord (Zac) Goldsmith it has only taken the combined brilliance of the 30 plus governments since the grey squirrel arrived in Britain since the late 1800’s for the penny to finally drop: inserting an adaptable, resourceful creature with few predators into any otherwise settled landscape is nearly always an ecological timebomb. Muntjac, American signal crayfish, coypu and mink all immediately come to mind before you even get into plants and insects.   The plan is for grey squirrels to be fed oral contraceptive; a trial with feeding stations indicated that 90% of squirrels would ‘take the bait’ but none are yet to be fed the contraceptive. I’m not sure it is a slam dunk that the trial will translate into a full-blown policy. Reading around the topic some worry about the contraceptives working into the wider food chain and to quote one ecologist, “the physiological and psychological effects an inability to breed will have on the welfare of grey squirrels.” Yes, really …..   There was a trial 4-5 years ago in the Midlands to sterilise American signal crayfish. It transpires that male signals are true alpha males, killing any juvenile males they come across whilst impregnating all and any females. The trial was slightly different to that of the squirrels with trapped signal males being sterilised before being returned to their home water to continue purposefully killing but pointlessly procreating. I haven’t heard of this being rolled out. Has anyone?   I know I bang on about beavers too much but the institutional recidivism when it comes to managing our countryside makes me despair. Our ability to repeat the same mistakes again and again is a lunacy of which I do not know the cure.

 

 

Fish in the Reads & the Hero vs. Villain debate   Later this morning join Charles and myself with guests Marina Gibson and Phillippa Hake, two of the best young guides in the business, for the latest in the Hero vs. Villain debate.   What are the relative merits of fishing in the north vs. south. Which side of the divide are you on? Who has the better fishing? Is the divide real or imagined? Is it all about snobbery or even inverted snobbery? How do the greats of each region stack up against each other? What can we learn from each other? Is it really that different?   The Zoom debate starts at 11am this morning (26/Feb). Login in to join us, add your comments/questions live via the Chat function or if you can’t make it email me for links to the podcast/You Tube recordings.   Click here to join the Zoom meeting   Meeting ID: 832 3202 8504 Passcode: 063415   And if you still haven’t heard enough from me Orvis are hosting Fish in the Reads at 7pm on Thursday (4/March) when I will be reading four short extracts from Life of a Chalkstream and answering your questions. Tickets are free so register here.

 

 

Quiz This week questions loosely based on anything at all to confound, dismay or delight.   1)    Which is the largest lake (pictured) in the British Isles?   2)    Eldrick is the first name of which famous sportsman?   3)    What was the name of the factory in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

 

Have a good weekend.     Best wishes,

 

 

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

 

 

 

Quiz answers:   1)    Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland 2)    Eldrick Tont Woods aka Tiger Woods 3)    The Wonka Factory

You did it. Thank you

 

Greetings!   Late last year many of you very kindly supported my entreaty to lobby your MP in respect of the Environment Bill; at that moment we were specifically concerned about sewage treatment but out of that has come great progress to halt another great scourge to our rivers: over abstraction.   The Environment Bill is still winding its way through parliament but thanks to an amendment by Sir Charles Walker MP new powers will come into being that should be used to protect all rivers, including chalkstreams, at times of greatest threat. In a letter to Sir Charles, Environment minister Rebecca Pow wrote last month,   “I strongly agree that it is important for the Secretary of State’s new powers to be as effective as possible in protecting the water environment from the broadest range of damage. To this end, the powers have been drafted in such a way that the reference to ‘damage’ includes damage caused by low flow levels in a river due to unsustainable abstraction. I will be pleased to clarify this in the Explanatory Notes for the Bill and to confirm this at the Dispatch Box.”

 

Much though many of us don’t like any abstraction we have to be realistic. Rivers, and the water they provide, is a national resource that has to be shared. We can’t simply say no and, actually, that would be unreasonable. Speaking specifically about chalkstreams, for 8 months out of 12 abstraction makes not a penny difference to flow or habitat. Looking out my window the Wallop Brook it is pushing through as much water on this single February day as it will in the whole of August.    And that’s the point. Boreholes are fine when used in time of plenty. But when your borehole damages my river you have to stop. For sharing is a two way street and nobody, be it an organisation, corporation or government appointed body should ever have any right to deplete a scarce resource to the detriment of others.

 

 

Britain's Hidden Fishes   My experience of CHALK taught me just how hard it is to make a feature length film, so hats off to Jack Perks who has launched his project Britain’s Hidden Fishes.   You may have seen Jack on Countryfile a couple of weeks ago in which he talked with passion about the many amazing wildlife spectacles on our doorsteps, all unfolding beneath the waterline. His film aims to showcase hidden, untold stories about British fish.   He has pulled in many talented helpers for the project including Jeremy Wade of River Monsters fame who is going to narrate the film. However, the magic ingredient is always money. Jack needs to raise £30,000 and I suggested the crowd funding route through which you all so generously supported CHALK.   Britain’s Hidden Fishes is already on its way with nearly £9,000 pledged. You may pledge anything from a few pounds to a few thousand with a graduated range of rewards, including a day for two on a chalkstream at £600 which is waiting to be snapped up. Read more about Britain’s Hidden Fishes and join the crowd funding here....

 

 

Jack Perks tells more about his film

 

 

Our Finest Dour   I am often looking for illustration of what the term ‘chalkstream’ means. Over the years I have had all sorts of odd remarks; the client who complained in indignant terms that the riverbed was gravel not chalk. The person who wondered why the water was clear as opposed to chalky white.   Laughable as these observations might be I guess we have to temper apparent ignorance against our baseline knowledge but occasionally, even with that benefit, something comes along that makes you think, wow, is our unique geology really that simple?   To see what I mean check out the 18 second video from the Kent based group Our Finest Dour, who are dedicated to preserving one of our shorter chalkstreams at 4 miles in length, the River Dour which flows bang through the centre of Dover entering the sea at Dover Harbour. Remarkably for such a short river the Dour used to power eight corn mills and five paper mills dating all the way back to Roman times.

 

 

Our Finest Dour volunteers at work 'picking' litter on Bridge Street, Dover

 

 

Fish in the Reads   As part of the Orvis Company effort to keep us sane through yet another bloody lockdown I am delighted to be taking part in their Fish in the Reads when a famous author (their words not mine!) reads an extract from a book they have written.   It is no bad place to be, sandwiched as I am between similar events with David Profumo and Charles Rangeley-Wilson, but it does create a problem for me. I have absolutely no idea which section to read from Life of a Chalkstream. Can you help me? If you have a particular favourite part of the book, do drop me an email with your nomination.   You will need to register in advance with Orvis via the Eventbrite ticket site (it is free) to join me for Fish in the Reads at 7pm on March 4. Click here....

 

 

Hero or Villain? The series continues   This was certainly our most lively debate to date though, thanks to an unexpectedly dodgy internet connection, I was unable to participate in the first half. However, kudos to my co-conspirator Charles Jardine who rescued the entire hour with a magnificently adjudicated extended Q&A.   I think the summary of the discussion, if you exclude the extreme outliers on either side of the debate, is that we regard stocking as a necessary component of managed rivers. However, you can judge the mood for yourself by watching on You Tube or listen to the podcast.   Next up is Hero or Villain? The north/south divide. In inviting comparisons between the relative merits of each are we doing our sport a disservice? Is there an angling red wall? Are we culturally different breeds? Is it all about cost? What can we teach each other? Where do/did the famous anglers live? Or is there really no difference?   As ever we will be live at 11am on the last Friday in the month, February 26th. And joining us this time on the panel from ‘the north’ will be accomplished fishing guides Marina Gibson and Phillippa Hake. If you have registered previously you will automatically receive a Zoom link 24 hours prior. Otherwise, register here to take part.   PS In post-debate correspondence Paul Kenyon from Devon sent me this interesting video he made that usefully illustrates the inverted pyramid of brown trout sizes in an all-wild river.

 

 

World Fly Fishing Day   World Fly Fishing Day is coming on 21st June! It is the creation of Italian fly fisher Osvaldo Galizia who says, “WFF Day aims to be a special day for fly fishermen (sic) all around the world, celebrating the art of fly fishing.”   I am sure something has been lost in translation (surely, he means fly fishers?) but otherwise this has to be an initiative to be applauded especially when launched in the depth of a pandemic crisis. Details of the events are yet to be finalised but register your support by joining the WFF Day Facebook page which already has over 1,000 members.   I’ll keep you posted as well. Here is the Facebook link....

 

 

Quiz This week questions loosely based on topics mentioned in the Newsletter to confound, dismay or delight.   1) The robin has an orange breast but is called a red breast. Why?   2) When was the first series River Monsters broadcast?   3) Which famous painting was stolen from the National Gallery of Norway on this day in 1994?

 

Have a good weekend.     Best wishes,

 

 

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

 

 

 

Quiz answers:   1) In the 14th century, when the robin was first named, there was no word for orange in the English language. 2) 2009. Since then there have been 10 series and 103 episodes, all presented by Jeremy Wade. 3) Edvard Munch's ‘The Scream’