Mid Season 2024
AJS FlyFishers and The Wild Trout Trust
​
In May this year Jonny Grey from the Wild Trout Trust (WTT) visited our water on two occasions. His initial visit was to gain an overview of the whole of our section of the River Nidd and its environs. Jonny has responsibility for the work the WTT does on all of the River Nidd, from our stretch right up the headwaters. He is therefore well placed to provided an overview of the river and in particular the environment we have.
During his visit members of the Committee joined Paul and myself and throughout his time with us Jonny was asked questions and gave various responses that the team put forward to him. Topics covered included the effect of stocking the river, bankside clearance and what ways could we further improve the fishing for our members.
Following on from this visit the Club commissioned Jonny to 'electro-fish' a part of the river he had identified as a good section for fostering the growth of wild brown trout.
​
For this session Paul, Charlie, and Paula joined me. Electro-fishing is a fascinating process to observe and a challenging one to participate in. Once stunned - which lasts milli seconds - the idea is to net the fish and then measure them before returning them to the water. Sounds easy but they are very fast, even faster than taking a dry in the riffles, and whilst we did manage to collect data for the analysis there were many who escaped the net. One unexpected find was a pod of eels, these ranged in sizes but there were one or two large ones who felt obliged to have a 'nibble' at Jonny's fingers when in the net!!
​
A comprehensive report was sent across later and a summary of his findings and recommendations is being sent out to members for their consideration.
In his summary Jonny points out that our section of the Nidd is very different from those further upstream, we have an abundance of tree cover along both banks and this benefits the fish enormously. He was also pleased to see that fallen trees had not been removed per say and that the natural push of the water in high flows had moved them to the side so creating great features that provide not only good safe habitat for the fish but also a steady flow of insects right into their lie.
​
This all bodes well for the Club and the Committee is now looking forward to responses from our members with a view to proposing a 5 year development plan for the river and its environs.
​
Some photos and a video are shown below of the activities we undertook during the 'electro-fishing'
​




The Club has had a good year, members have reported good catches throughout the Brown Trout season and several have already had very successful sessions Grayling fishing.
​
Whilst we thought it prevalent to not run our usual workshops for habitat and river bank improvements owing to the still prevalent Covid issues the general condition and access we traditionally enjoy is still in good condition. The work by the Woodland Trust has made major improvements to accessing many areas and members are encouraged to explore areas not familiar to them, there are some great pools, riffles and runs once you cross the Burgess Bridge and fish either upstream or downstream.
​
Another major achievement for the Club has been the successful completion by the first cohort of Scouts enrolled on the Youth Programme. Previously the reports and information have been subset within this News Section but these are now given their own pages under the Youth Programme Title. Simply navigate via the top menu bar along the top row and under 'More' a set of additional pages appears and it is here you will find the full reviews.
​
We are also pleased to let our visitors know that the project has been chosen by Trout and Salmon magazine for inclusion in the December 2021 edition. This should be on sale mid November. Of particular interest for members of the Club there is a section included within the article that outlines the history of the Club. Thanks to our Riparian Owner Sally Sterne for allowing this to be included.
​
As Autumn takes a more firm hold and the trees continue to loose their leaves in readiness for the onset of winter please do spend a few hours down at the river. The small dry fly continues to be a great way of temping eager fish to the net but for those who prefer a nymph approach success can also be had using any of the old or new techniques often seen in magazines or via social media.
​
Tight Lines to all