News

WTT Conservation Officer Tim Jacklin continues to manage the team removing some of the 177 weirs on the River Dove in Dovedale, Derbyshire, with the aim of creating better habitat for wildlife including trout and a more natural and sustainable form and function to the river. The project will host a visit from the BBC regional news team on 23^rd August.

Before and after photos from a weir removal last week:

This section of the River Dove has 177 weirs and large sections of rock armoured banks, most of which date from the 1920s. The effect of these man-made interventions is to prevent the river from behaving naturally i.e. creating a sinuous channel with variations in depth and eroding and depositing gravel. This results in poor and fragmented river habitat and, although Dovedale has the highest of conservation designations (Special Area of Conservation and Site of Special Scientific Interest), it is deemed to be ‘failing’ by Natural England. National Trust ecologist, Chris Wood, describes the current dammed areas of the river as ‘wet deserts, with no food and no variety for wildlife’.

The project is led by the National Trust, who have issued this press release and briefing document

For more detail on why weirs are a problem, read Paul Gaskell’s blog and our library page.

Listen to this podcast with Tim Jacklin interviewed by Andrew Griffiths.

Well known entymologist Dr Cyril Bennett has written up a number of methods for attempting to restore fly populations in rivers.
As Cyril notes in his recent interesting paper, these methods are aimed not at trying to boost existing fly numbers but rather for situations where pollution has impacted local populations and recolonisation from upstream is limited. Cyril also makes the really important point that such methods are only applicable where the issues that caused any perceived fly declines have been tackled. 

Fly Culture magazine is open for subscriptions!  Trout in the Town and urban fishing gurus Theo Pike and Paul Gaskell of the WTT have an article in the first edition which comes out in September. We are really delighted to be associated with Fly Culture and wish our friends Pete Tyjas and James Beeson great success.

https://www.flyculturemag.com/

There are several events we'd like to draw your attention to over the next few weeks in Yorkshire. 

The Great Yorkshire Show is this week (10-12th July) and as there is very little water in the rivers, why not pop along and see Jonny in the Salmon & Trout West Yorkshire Branch marquee. There will be opportunities for casting, riverfly samples and fly-tying demos, a river table to play with, as well as the opportunity to chew the fat re river habitat or get some advice for your local water if it needs a bit of TLC.

The following are workshops open to all, funded by Yorkshire Water under their Biodiversity Enhancement Fund. If you'd like to attend, please email Jonny (jgrey@wildtrout.org):-

On the 14th July, Jonny will be coordinating a small beck restoration workshop in partnership with Skipton Angling Association at Embsay Reservoir. 

Then, on the 17-18th July, in partnership with Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust, he will be installing woody deflectors and installing brash bank protection on the Cock Beck (a Wharfe trib),