Plan Ahead And Protect Our Fish

Each summer we hear of fish deaths, oxygen crashes, barbel casualties and the same old tales are spread about whether it is safe to fish or not.

Do you know that funds are available to clubs wishing to monitor the facts? I’m betting you’ve not even heard about the Fisheries Improvement Fund. Well, perhaps it is time to investigate?

The East Midlands Fisheries Team recently handed over a brand-new dissolved oxygen meter to one of our clubs in Nottingham, funded through the Fisheries Improvement programme (Sept 2024). Just in time too as the club is currently experiencing an oxygen crash and so this equipment will enable them to monitor recovery.

Aimed mainly at clubs the Fisheries Improvement Programme, funded through rod licence income, is an annual fund which helps projects aiming to improve angling access and fishery resilience. For example, previously we have been able to help fund the purchase of water quality meters, floating islands and aquatic plants, angling platforms and the construction of new paths.

Interested in applying? Please discuss any potential projects your local fisheries officer, but also you can get lots of information here:

Angling Trust Fisheries Improvement Scheme

#teamEA

Armed with monitoring equipment like this you can work with real evidence, not just speculation, and take steps if and when it may become necessary to act.

Bob’s Latest Book – The Mighty Trent

Was Available from Little Egret Press

Currently SOLD OUT. Watch this space for updates. Thank you for making my project a runaway success.

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Bob Roberts1 month ago

I thoroughly enjoyed my final outing of the river season yesterday on the mighty Trent targeting and catching chub on maggot feeder (WH Lane’s top quality maggots from Independent FishingTackle and Bait shop, Doncaster). It was far from an easy day with not so much as a touch in the first couple of hours but a change of swim found a few fish. When I say a change, I mean moving to the next swim upstream. Sometimes it’s a simple as that. Location, location, location.

Not that I caught monsters, the biggest were fours and I failed to get a picture of the best fish of the day as the rain was coming down horizontally like stair rods when I netted it. That one was a big four that looked as if it was newly minted. Not a scale or fin out of place and bright silver, too. It practically looked like a summer fish. Clearly a young fish that is growing fast. A potential future monster.

It was a cold, clear morning with a biting wind in my face but as lunchtime approached this shifted round to a northerly yet surprisingly it felt a topcoat warmer under the now cloudy skies. Of course, the change brought rain and hail showers, some quite vicious in nature.

I was packed and on my way home by 4pm, satisfied with 8 good chub. I missed two bites that I didn’t even see at the death. Frustrating but a reminder that chub fishing involves concentration and striking at bites rather than letting bolt rigs and bite alarms take the strain. When ‘proper’ fishing I struggle to keep up the necessary level of concentration required for more than 5 hours. Do you?

On reflection, what sets the really best anglers apart is not knowing how to tie a hair rig or shot a pole, it’s the level of concentration required to be on your A game for the entire duration.

Anyway, that’s it for the 24/25 river season. Time now to revisit the local canals, an odd commercial here and there, a couple of gravel pits are calling and it’s rapidly coming round to tench and carp. time again.

A change is as good as a rest.

Tight lines.

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Bob Roberts1 month ago

I appreciate this post will appeal to only a tiny minority of anglers, in particular, serious book collectors only. When Wayne Crier published my recent Mighty Trent book. Back in November he also produced just ten leather bound copies.
Leathers are incredibly expensive to create and are the preserve of a passionate few. They are certainly not cheap at around £250 each but that is what it costs for hand crafted books with their slip cases, silk bookmark, mottled page edges, dedications, etc.
The people who order them know exactly what they are getting, why the cost is so high and are still prepared to invest, as that is what the serious end of the book market is. Investing. And that’s why it came as something of a shock when two customers who had ordered their copies failed to respond when the leathers arrived on the doorstep of The Little Egret Press headquarters. As usual they were sent and email to advise payment was due but they simply ignored the message. Now there may well be a very good reason as to why they have not sent payment for the books they ordered but there simply has been no response, a reason, an apology perhaps. You might think an email, letter, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, phone call or whatever, would not be a lot to ask, but nothing, total radio silence.
Which means, two lucky people could unexpectedly find themselves the proud owners of a leather bound copy of The Mighty Trent. Should you be interested then please contact Wayne Crier at Little Egret Press: https://thelittleegretpress.co.uk/
Email: [email protected]
Or by phone: 07909 090983
Two copies doesn’t sound a lot when all copies of the Special and Limited editions sold out but it amounts to 20% of the sales on a short run like this and puts a bigger hole than you might imagine in the accounts.