Looking back at 2020 as a member of and being involved in running an angling club I have realised the value of angling not only to the economy but to people’s health in general.
One of the most striking things that have come out of the pandemic is the value of angling to those who suffer from mental health and anxiety problems. We took many phone calls from people when we had to shut down our waters, to comply with the regulations, regarding their feelings. Many expressed the feeling that it would leave them feeling extremely depressed by not being able to go fishing. We tried hard but failed to get the Welsh Government to relax the rules but they would only do so to the point where anglers had to walk to fish. In most circumstances due to most fishing being in rural areas except where rivers run through an urban environment this has not proved practical.
We had high hopes when the talk of schools going back began to gather pace this year. These have no however been dashed until the middle of March. The governing bodies of many sports through The Welsh Sports Association wrote on the 12th February to ask that a small tweak be applied to the regulations. That would have allowed many outdoor sports, which many with mental health problems attend, to have started again. Let us hope that very shortly angling can begin again in earnest.
The opening of the trout fishing season at the beginning of March on many rivers is the time that game anglers have eagerly been waiting for. Over the winter months they will have been busy tying flies and preparing once again to start fishing. Always a big relief, but this year in particular those with anxiety problems will have to wait a little longer.
Some of the most popular reservoirs stocked with rainbow trout will also open in early March, restrictions permitting. However, the more natural wild brown trout lakes do not open until the 20th March. Many angling clubs around Wales now rent or lease these Welsh water assets as wild fisheries. They are proving extremely popular and in some cases individual clubs rent both trout and coarse fishing on these reservoirs.
A big benefit to angling clubs over the last two years has been the launch of Clubmate. This is a dedicated platform for those who run angling clubs and are coming up against the onerous job of finding volunteers to do the administration a chore. Some of the largest clubs in Wales now use this platform and anglers will find that joining them through Clubmate is a very simple process. For details clubs should contact Owen Chapman: owen@clubmate.co.uk for information.
If the restrictions on angling and gathering are lifted sufficiently in the next few months several angling clubs/associations Gwent Angling Society and Merthyr Tydfil Angling Alliance will be looking to run some introductory courses on fly fishing and tying: to include such things as Czech nymphing and other modern methods.
The South East Wales Rivers Trust has joined the Salmon and Trout Conservation Smart Rivers Project. SmartRivers is a member of the Riverfly Plus citizen science family and enables volunteers, supported by an Institute of Fisheries Management certified training scheme, training videos, an invertebrate-identification app and support programmes, to monitor the water quality in their rivers to a near-professional standard. This project is being held on the river Cynon in South Wales. Due to the Covid restrictions the autumn sample had to be taken by salmon and trout. However, we are hoping that the main course will be run for ten interested persons who value the river Cynon in April. It is a three year project with spring and autumn samples being taken and read by qualified persons. Visit salmon-trout.org/smart-rivers/ for information on the smart rivers project or contact the SEWRT: enquiries@sewrt.org if interested.
It has taken some time but the minister for agriculture in the Senedd finally after all the pollution problems with slurry and the promise of self-regulation, has tabled the recent Water Resources (Control of Agricultural Pollution) Regulations 2021. This will be put before the Senedd in March and will bring a more regulatory approach to what has been until now an ad hoc approach. It has understandably drawn some criticism however there is still scope for those complaining to bring forward equally comparable proposals that will achieve the same outcomes required. It will be interesting to see if all the parties who talk about how important the environment is to them support this.
Feature image: Mark Jones – Bream from a local wild fishery.
