Life of a Chalkstream: Let the chaos begin!

Greetings!

I know some people rather turn their noses up at Mayfly fishing – it is all too easy they opine. Maybe they have a point but for me, once my piscatorial lust is sated, to just sit on a bench to watch Mother Nature put on one of her most amazing entomological displays, whilst greedy trout gorge themselves, is my favourite show of the year bar none.

Will the super wet winter and spring impinge on the Mayfly hatch? I rather doubt it. As early as mid-April we were seeing a few sad singletons who arrived at the party weeks early which is pretty well par for the course. As I write this (Thursday) a few fish are starting to take a few Mayfly. – we are on the cusp.

All I say is ignore the naysayers. Be part of the chaos – Mayfly is an amazing thing.

Check for Last Minute availability

Life of a Chalkstream ten years on

I cannot believe it but this week marks ten years since the publication of Life of a Chalkstream. A lot of water has flowed under a lot of bridges since then both figuratively and metaphorically, but my first book seems still to bring delight.

Every week I have letters or emails with kind words. People have credited the book to reigniting a long lost love of fishing. Others have been inspired to do something to save our chalkstreams. Some, more poignantly, have read the book to a dying relative.

It is a strange thing writing a book, something that once written is here for eternity. I frequently, probably like you, read books written decades or centuries ago, the author long dead or forgotten. It is bizarre to think one day I will be that dead and forgotten author, evoking a tale of happenings long ago.

Publication day 2014

Of the three books I have written Life is the one of which I am most fond. It just gushed out of me, a lifetime love of rivers, colliding into a narrative to trace a chalkstream year. If Life was a book that related what I already knew, The Otters’ Tale opened my eyes to the manifest mendaciousness of government and business that allowed the British otter population (and raptors) to be bought to the edge of extinction through indifference and collusion. However, unlike most British otter books, Tale has a happy ending and, more happily still, the grandchildren of Kuschta, the heroine of The Otters’ Tale are munching their way through the trout population at Nether Wallop Mill as I write.

Mostly recent was Frankel, the subtitle of which, The Greatest Racehorse of All Time gets me into all sorts of disputes with North American racing aficionados who consider him some sort of inferior creature because he never raced in the US or raced further than a mile and a quarter. As I like to point out Usain Bolt can hardly be written off for not competing in the New York marathon. For those of you who do not know my history, a book about a racehorse might seem an odd choice. But my two passions in life have been fishing and horseracing, so squaring that particular circle to take me back to my life in my twenties as a bookmaker was a fun adventure to spend time with the people who made Frankel what he became, a truly amazing equine athlete who defines the standard by which all future racehorses will be judged.

In terms of sales The Otters’ Tale is comfortably the best selling of the three; I guess it encompasses a wider readership pool than the rather more rigid demarcation lines of chalkstreams and racing. Currently, Life is in second place but, appropriately, Frankel is looming up on the rails and will surpass Life of a Chalkstream by the time this year is out.

For now, I do not have any particular plans to write another book. In truth, I never thought I would write one book let alone three and should that be the total extent of my personal literary tally I will be just fine with that.

Buy online

The hardback edition of Life of a Chalkstream is no longer in print. However, I have a stash from which you may order with the paperback still available in shops and from Amazon, as are the other two books.

A personal fishing first

I do not have many fishing firsts to still tick off in my native Hampshire but last week I travelled to the New Forest on the westward edge of the county to try my hand on the Beaulieu River.

The Beaulieu River is no chalkstream rising as it does from the sand, gravel and peat in the middle of the Forest near Lyndhurst. It is really a semi-spate river, its nature, flow and character more akin to a Dartmoor or small Highland stream, with that slight tea-stained colour to the water. In winter it flows full like any normal river but as the flow drops in summer it become a series of pools connected by rivulets cutting through the gravel riverbed.

It is not a long river, no more than 12 miles from source to where it spills into the sea at Beaulieu on Southampton Water where in the estuary sea trout netting, more for tradition than profit, takes place a few times each year. It is also an unusual river in that it is entirely owned by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu whereas with all other UK rivers the riverbed is owned by the Crown, with the riparian rights owned by others.

I have long wanted to fish the Beaulieu which is famous for brown trout with a penchant for going to sea but large sections of it are entirely out of bounds and much of what would be considered ‘public’ water has been poached to death by cattle and horses, too wide, shallow and devoid of vegetation to hold anything much more than, even though we love them dearly, sticklebacks and bullheads. However, there are sections that have avoided this fate by being either fenced or retained for less intensive grazing by cattle or sheep. I was to fish on one such section.

As I walked the beat with the owner it was apparent nobody had fished here for many, many years – this had been a farm not a fishery. However, it is not like these rivers need intensive management. They bend to the landscape with the prevailing rain dwindling to a trickle in high summer and flooding, as was apparent by the detritus, into the fields in winter. The banks, shoulder height when wading, are cut into the sandy soil and the bed is firm, bright gravel with plenty of ranunculus on the cusp of flowering. As I say, the water carries some colour but is clear enough to spot fish down to about two feet in depth but beyond that you are fishing blind, especially in the pools some of which are above wader deep.

Left to my own devices to fish I began at the midpoint, just above a ford and no sooner had I stepped in than a tiny trout threw itself clean out the water and then repeated the same act. This is going to be easy I thought but it ignored my Parachute Adams numerously. I made my way upstream, getting in and out for various pools until I briefly hooked a small fish on a beaded nymph two thirds of the way up. At the top, in the boundary pool, a rising fish nosed my fly once and then decided to play no longer.

I then returned to the ford to fish the pool immediately below, where a good size fish rose to my fly. This is the deepest pool on the beat, prime territory for evening sea trout I logged away in my memory bank as I gave up on the riser who would not rise again. Standing there, drying my fly trying to decide what to do next I looked upstream above the ford to where I had seen the leaping fish at the outset which, in a change of tactic, subtly rose just the once. Changing to a regular Adams, I forded the ford, made my first cast my best cast and this tiny guy took my fly.

All in all it was a hugely pleasurable way to add a new river to my list, in the beauty of the New Forest, with a fantastic variety of hatches: corixa, small midges, olives, sedges, Daddy long legs plus even a lonely Mayfly!

Copper Lodge on the River Taw, Devon

Copper Lodge at Chawleigh Week Mill Farm may be one of the most amazing places you will ever stay at. This newly built lodge, handcrafted from huge spruce logs stands with elevated views across the water meadows to your private fishing on the River Taw famous for wild brown trout, sea trout and even the occasional salmon.

The Lodge comprises of the main living section with a modern kitchen, dining area, seating area with TV and log burning stove. The is a magnificent double bedroom with a luxury bathroom. Enjoy the double shower with monsoon heads or soak in the copper Japanese Tub. The furnishings are to the highest standard and as you lie in the king size bed you will be able to gaze at the stars through the specially positioned window in the roof. Outside there is a huge wraparound deck with BBQ, log fired hot tub and outdoor shower. The main living section is suitable for a couple or family if using the two sofa beds or you may add the extension wing for two couples or larger groups. Dogs are welcome.

The lodge may be booked for 7 nights arriving on a Friday or 3 nights arriving on a Friday or Tuesday. More details here ….

That was the month that was ..... April

Goodness, is it that time of year already? The first feedback draw of the chalkstream season. It has been one hell of a month, after many hellish months. If you rely on the rain to feed your rivers you have no right to ever complain if you get too much since, after all, we bitch like crazy if we do not have enough.

But goodness, this winter and spring has been hard yakka as a native Australian would say. Rain record after rain record has fallen from the skies. We never raised a spade in anger to begin restoration projects slated for October. Opening days in April came and went without a fisher in sight. Some beats have delayed opening until 15/May. I did hear of one who has given up until June. The irony of this is that, for the most part, the rivers are in fine fettle. It is just the flooded banks or access which has snookered a timely start to the season.

As I write* it does seem that the worst is past. The floods are receding. The banks are drying. We are finding work arounds and fixes. However, the overarching message if you are heading out this month is, at the very least, to make sure you have waterproof wellingtons, but better still take waders especially on headwaters which sit in a floodplain that is still flooded. Likewise, take it cautiously where the banks are soggy or flooded and take care when approaching the edge to net a fish. A long handled net is a huge help.

Despite all that many people did make it out in April. I cannot pretend it was ever easy, but there were still some definite good days plus the delight of winning, or at least just holding your own, against adversity. One such was Tony Walker and his family who had a day here at Nether Wallop Mill who will collect of the first of the monthly fly selection of the season from our vice master, Nigel Nunn.

*HEALTH WARNING: I have written these words on more than one occasion in the past four weeks.

Quiz

The normal random collection of questions inspired by the date, events or topics in the Newsletter. It is just for fun with answers at the bottom of the page.

1) The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu opened in what year? A) 1952 B) 1972 C) 1992

2) Which country has won Eurovision most times?

3) Until Lando Norris won in Miami at the weekend who was the last British driver to win a Grand Prix?