Some 'interesting' stuff in Trout & Salmon this month.
Seems the EA have different policies regarding different rivers for some reason.
Mind you NRW doesn't have a policy anyway other than do nothing but restrict us further.

In the same issue we have an extensive article by one Laurence Catlow who had a visit to the Irfon and caught some grayling would you believe..  Not sure what input WUF had in this but he praises their work in restoring the river due to their work in the headwaters.  I'm not sure who has fed him this information and I am not sure many locals would agree with him.  Irfon has always had fine grayling even though it may not be as good for trout as it once was -indeed where is?  However perhaps he might have stayed to watch a spate come down and dip his toe into it then.  Ah well another project done- another success with no real evidence to show.

There is also a story of a lost Wye salmon, Llanthomas apparently although it does not say so, It's an example of how to embellish a story with such flowery,language as to make it almost unreadable though thats just my opinion of course.

Once again there was considerable 'editing' of my Wye report leaving out again some important -to some anyway - information which others might like to have considered.  If you do i print me Wye report as submitted below.  Seems it's best not to be critical of anyone or anything these days.

RIVER WYE REPORT  NOVEMBER  2016

Pretty benign conditions persisted through late September and much of November with just the odd small spate, mild temperatures and just a couple of frost so far. Several redds have been seen on the main river but the main spawning has yet to get under way and although some fish have been seen on the Irfon a proper spate is really needed for fish to access some of the other tributaries.  There seems to be a reasonable head of fish in the river compared to many recent years and speculation still continues as to whether or not mild temperatures will affect spawning fish or the eggs and fry.

Early results from the WSA temperature monitoring scheme are interesting and are at least likely to provide accurate information which will be made available to everyone on completion.

The recent EA/NRW ‘consultation’ seeks to yet further reduce angler exploitation on many Welsh rivers including the Wye with a proposal to ban treble hooks and impose a general 100% catch and release.  The Wye already has 100% C&R of course which is supposed to be up for review in 2012 and much will depend on stock assessment.  The below paragraph in particular taken from the NRW consultation paper drew my attention;

“It is thus essential that catch recording systems remain as consistent and effective as possible in order to maintain the quality of data collected and ensure that the accuracy of associated assessments is not compromised. Maintaining the quality of catch records is not only the responsibility of the organisations charged with collecting catch data but also of fishermen who have a statutory duty to provide accurate catch information”

Catch recording is important in particular comparing like with like. With 100% catch and release it’s inevitable that some fish will have been caught more than once, possible two or three times plus the fact that some believe catch data is more accurate than it used to be –well maybe!!  If this is so comparision with past figures tends to make the picture better than it may actually be.  In the past EA catch figures from anglers returns were usually far less than those returns by the beat owners.  Whatever the true figures are it’s still really a shot in the dark.

Take a look at the ‘Frequently asked questions’ of the consultation and shake your head in amazement at some of the lack of logic employed there.

You can make your response to NRW if you so wish. Will your views be taken into consideration, well I doubt it.  They go through these consultation exercises as a matter of course in my opinion and then do exactly what they want. The consultation ends on the 5^th February with the measures possible for 2018 season

There seems nothing on the table to address many of the problems that are affecting our fisheries and many of the NRW scientists and officials who have overseen the decline of our rivers over decades are still in situ. Perhaps we need a new more innovative mind set from those in current control.

 See much of the NRW documentation below.

A full set of documents including the technical case, byelaws, and response form can be found on our web site http://naturalresources.wales/crossbordercontrols

In particular if you really want to depress yourself take a look at the juvenile figures for the Welsh rivers including the Wye under this heading in the report;

Annex 3. Rod and net catches; and juvenile salmon and trout data

The current catch date supplied by WUF is a season total of 1143

Whether or not this is an accurate figure, many do not think so, but it will be interesting to see what figure the NRW use for their 2017 assessment.

Situated just a couple of hundred yards from the Wye at Glasbury one would have thought that Foyles pub and restaurant (ex Maesllwych Hotel) at Glasbury would have known that the Wye was total catch and release and any sale of fish was therefore unlawful.
Instead they advertised Wye salmon and trout on their restaurant menu much to the consternation of a customer and NRW who tipped off Powys Trading Standards Dept.
The subsequent investigation showed that of course the fish were not from the Wye and they were found guilty and fined, with costs a total of over £7,000. Would they wye have been able to supply the required number of trot and salmon anyway is unlikely to say the least.

Hopefully fish will soonget a decent spate to take them to where they want to go and that redds will survive should there be a major washout spate later in the spawning period. Whatever the outcome it’s often not the amount of fish that spawn but how effective that spawning and subsequent egg and fry survival is of course.

Geoff Franks..