WTT Blog

It’s pretty clear that roads can be hard for wildlife to cross: lights, noise, and fast-moving vehicles pose challenges to deer, foxes, badgers, and other animals that might want to stroll to the other side.

But what about fish? Roads which cross small rivers and streams often create barriers that are almost impossible for fish to swim through.

Theo Pike describes the Brue CREW's recent project: 

If you’ve read this year’s issue of our journal Salmo Trutta, you may recall Caitlin Hafferty’s fascinating feature about the dynamics of community-led river management initiatives.

The Institute of Fisheries Management is in its 50^th year, and has just hosted its 9^th Specialist Conference in York on Fish, Flows and Climate Resilience. Jonny Grey went along on behalf of WTT to keep tabs on the latest research and perspectives.

A year has already flown by since we (me at WTT, Pete Turner at EA & Kevin Sunderland at Aire RT) worked in partnership to remove the weir at Coniston Cold on the Aire, North Yorks. I’m currently champing at the bit awaiting a bespoke permit from the EA to tackle another. The funding is in place. The owner has granted permission for full removal having seen the transformation at Coniston Cold. The next weir will present its own challenges… but more on that in another blog.

I wanted to focus on developments at the site formerly known as Coniston Cold Weir....

Gareth Pedley, our Northern Conservation Officer, recently headed even further north to attend a trout workshop in Kinlochewe, hosted by the Skye and Wester Ross Fisheries Trust (SWRFT).

The purpose of the workshop (supported by WTT) was to disseminate the findings from a range of studies undertaken over recent years in the Wester Ross area by Middlesex University staff and students and SWRFT, in addition to other work undertaken by the University of Highlands and Islands in Inverness.

The mayfly is the iconic river fly, loved by trout and anglers, for whom ‘fishing the mayfly’ is shorthand for having a lovely day by the river with fish rising everywhere and catching lots of trout on dry flies.

NoWPaS, the International (formerly Nordic) Workshop for PhD and post-doctoral fellows working on anadromous Salmonids, is an annual workshop which consists almost entirely of early career researchers (ECRs) with a focus on PhD students. The workshop, which is organised by a committee of PhD students, allows a small group ECRs to present their research programme and ideas, along with any results that they might have already collected. WTT Research & Conservation Officer, Jonny Grey, was our man in the thick of it at the NoWPaS 2019 meeting, held at the Scottish Centre for Ecology and the Natural Environment (SCENE), the University of Glasgow’s field research station.

Flyfishing history has truly been written on England’s chalk streams and limestone rivers, and it’s impossible to fish these waters without feeling that you’re exploring in the footsteps of giants.

From Charles Cotton’s haunts on the River Dove, to Halford’s water at Mottisfont, Plunket Green’s Bourne Rivulet and even the Wilderness fishery on the Kennet where Neil Patterson fished with John Goddard, Peter Lapsley and Brian Clarke – take your pick of historic waters in this year’s Wild Trout Trust Auction.

When our founder Mike Weaver published his book The Pursuit of Wild Trout, he inspired a whole new generation of flyfishers to discover the excellent fishing on Devon’s beautiful little rivers.

These sparkling streams seem perfectly made for holiday adventures, so we’ve included a wide selection in our Auction catalogue. We’re particularly grateful to local guide and Fly Culture editor Pete Tyjas for offering a wild trout safari through some of his own secret spots. But if you prefer exploring on your own, we’ve got that covered for you too.Time to start planning your season of adventures, inspired by the WTT's auction. 8-17 March, on eBay and by post. Click the Lot numbers below for a direct link to the Lot description and thence to eBay.Or click here for all the Lots on eBay,

It’s probably no surprise that many professional ecologists and fisheries scientists are also really good anglers…

Thanks to our generous network of friends, the Wild Trout Trust is proud to offer these amazing opportunities to enjoy a season of adventures on the water with gurus like Kenny Galt, Alan Kettle-White and Jonny Grey – the very best way for you to learn first-hand from the experts!

Most of our supporters know trout don’t just live in obvious or even beautiful places… but it’s sometimes hard to work out what that really means.

Hidden in the pages of our catalogue, here’s our curated selection of trout fishing in some of the most unexpected places in England. For instance, who’d have thought that Andrew Flitcroft, editor of Trout & Salmon, could take you on a wild trout adventure in Rutland? Or that wild trout are living happily in the Great Stour just outside Ashford in Kent?Time to start planning your season of adventures, inspired by the WTT's auction. 8-17 March, on eBay and by post. Click the Lot numbers below for a direct link the Lot description and thence to eBay.