A.G.M.

Some 28 members attended the AGM which passed without major incident – apart from the Chairman forgetting his report! Fortunately this was resolved without too much delay and there were no major items to report.
The new Committee bears a remarkable likeness to the old, but we welcome Richard Foster who replaces Peter Curry who has had to stand down for personal reasons. Your new Committee is:

Chairman: John Plowman
Vice-chairman: TBA
Secretary: Paul Bond
Treasurer: Roy Gurney
Competition Secretary: Paul Davis
Equipment Officer: Andy Steer
Members: Chris Croucher, Richard Foster, Peter Winder, Ray Love, Tony Harrison,
Tony Woolnough, Bill Smith.

The Jonathon Glover Trophy for the member who has given outstanding service to the Branch was awarded to Paul Bond, our Secretary for some six years now, organising trips to the Game Fair, all in addition to arranging the high standard of speakers evenings and arranging the fly-tying courses.

A brief discussion was also held on the subject of the Branch Outing; there was overwhelming support for maintaining a Sunday date, and it was clear that cost was a major factor in the poor turn-out last season. There seemed to be considerable support to return to Lakedown, but without the specimen lake, which will reduce the cost considerably. More on this later!
The AGM was followed by mulled wine and mince pies courtesy of Alan Middleton, a splendid Christmas cake made by Tony Keeley and a quiz, organized by our Chairman, John Plowman.

FLY-TYING COMPETITION 2008

The winners of this year’s competition are: -
Novice: Richard Foster
Intermediate: Steve Mustchin
Open: Jim Harris
Once again we must thank Albert Horne for judging this competition. Numbers of entries are slowly rising let’s have even more next year –

The McDougal

A report from Peter Buss
Anyone who has fished Ashbourne will know it is a beautiful well maintained fishery with facilities that are second to none. What is not known to everyone is that it is also the home of the McDougal challenge where the participant attempts to shoot a cock pheasant, tie a Pheasant Tail Nymph from the bird he has shot, then catch a Trout on the fly he has just tied.

My friend Colin Avis and I arrived at the Ashbourne fishing lodge at 9am where we were introduced to the other two participants who had travelled from Hampshire and were quite ready for the breakfast that had been laid on for us. After demolishing the pile of bacon rolls, orange juice and the never ending coffee from the "Perky Copulator", our host Doug Chalmers escorted us to the first drive where he placed us in our positions. Roy, the Ashbourne Gamekeeper, and Mark, the gamekeeper from the neighbouring estate, beat through the cover crop ably assisted by their dogs (four spaniels and a Labrador) and flushed the pheasants over us eagerly awaiting guns.

I couldn’t see the two chaps from Hampshire as my view was obscured by trees, but I could certainly hear that they were getting plenty of shooting. I could see Colin however, and watched as he shot two cracking hens only for a cock bird to fly over him as he was about to reload. At the end of the first drive I discovered that the Hampshire lads had both shot cocks as well as hens, Colin had shot hens and I had saluted a hen that was better at flying than I was at shooting, still we had all dirtied our barrels, a good start to the day.

Two drives later and Colin and I were both "cockless" (if you will forgive the expression) when a cock bird was driven over the trees and was heading straight for Colin. Just before it got within range it curled away from Colin and flew over me, I swung the gun, fired, and a beautiful cock pheasant splashed into the lake behind me.
Two walked up drives were next but no cocks came within range of Colin’s gun.
By now it was lunch time and we retired to the shooting lodge where we were entertained by Doug and Roy with Champagne and smoked salmon before sitting down to a first class lunch of casserole and mash potatoes followed by cheese and biscuits and fresh fruit each accompanied by a very nice wine.

As soon as the table was cleared of plates and dishes, Roy passed round tying vices and materials and we set about tying our Pheasant Tail Nymphs. We each tied two or three ( just in case ) and it is a good job we did as Colin dropped his first fly while tying it on to his leader.
Just a little after two o’clock and we were all at the lakes and fishing, with several trout rising in the autumn sunshine. It was not long before I heard a cheer followed by the sound of a screaming reel, someone had achieved the McDougal. After a few more casts I decided to move to Kingfisher Lake where I had seen a lot of fish rising during the morning shoot. First cast the line tightened and I was into a fully finned hard fighting Rainbow that Ashbourne is renowned for. Once the fish was on the bank and dispatched, Roy the keeper came over to congratulate me and said I could carry on fishing but would have to use one of the other flies I had tied and promptly snipped off the P.T.N. that had just caught and headed off in the direction of the fishing lodge.

If I thought his behaviour slightly odd, all was revealed when at four thirty as our sporting day came to a close over afternoon tea, those of us who had achieved "The McDougal" were presented with a paper weight with our successful fly set into it with our name, date and the occasion clearly printed into it.
We also received an engraved glass plaque to commemorate the occasion, a bottle of Champagne and a polystyrene cool box that contained the trout that had been gutted and cleaned and also contained the Pheasants that had been exchanged for oven ready birds.

All in all a truly fantastic day spent in good company of like minded fellows in beautiful countryside. Obviously our hosts had put in a great deal of hard work to make the day a success.
If there are any members that shoot as well as fish I can fully recommend it as a day to remember.
For more information go to their website: www.ashbournecountry.com
Peter Buss

Frank Darrah Pairs

Results: Ian Dunk 8 fish and Chris Croucher 4 fish
Chris Nunn 6 fish and Alex Rainbow 5 fish

So the boat pair of Ian Dunk and Chris Croucher was declared the winner for 2008.
In the bag of the winning boat was a Brown of 4lb. 1oz. from Chris and a Rainbow of 5lb. 14oz. from Ian. For reservoir fish these were exceptional.
My thanks to all those who took part and I hope to see you all again next year.

Michelham Priory Game & Country Fair, 14/15th July 2007

Following on only two days after the Schools’ event, Tony Woolnough again came to the rescue by delivering and helping erect the tent with Bill Smith and his good lady.
Brian Hendry and Roy Gurney manned the stand both days and by good fortune the weather did not live up to the dire forecasts and was reasonable good - if rather hot in the tent at times.
On the first day, Brian’s salt water flies created a lot of interest, but the Sunday saw him tying some Green Highlander salmon flies for the manager of Michelham Priory - this time his box of various pattern salmon flies caught many an admiring glance.
We were placed a little away from a lot of the attractions, but right in the middle of the fly-fishing area with a host of instructors demonstrating and giving casting lessons as well as the SATA stand, all alongside the lake which was full of rising carp (who declined my offer of a deer-hair "bread fly" - maybe they wanted some Marmite on it!
Alongside was our own John Rush showing his new boats designed for fly-fishing, which evinced considerable interest and admiration.
Michelham is a lovely show and though interest may have been a little less than previous years, a "must" for the future.
For once we were able to pack the tent in the dry, and with the aid of Brian and Sheila Hendry, Ray Love provided the muscle and the van to return it to our store at Patcham

Catch and Release of Trout

We have all seen Trout badly handled in a catch and release situation. This includes fish dropped into the water, fish unnecessarily removed from the water for unhooking, fish dragged out on to the bank, and large fish needlessly killed because "they won’t go back". It is our responsibility to treat our fish with respect, so for the benefit of us all, here is the best practice advice I can find on catch and release fishing.

Key aspects of catch and release:
Effective catch and release fishing techniques avoid excessive fish fighting and handling times, avoid damage to fish skin, scale and slime layers (that leave fish vulnerable to fungal skin infections) by nets, dry hands and dry surfaces, and avoid damage to throat ligaments and gills by poor handling techniques.
# Use the strongest tackle suitable for the circumstances to minimize fighting times
# Bully the fish in when playing it, to minimize fighting times
# Use needle-nosed pliers or a catch and release tool to aid unhooking
# Always use Barbless hooks* to minimise unhooking time and damage to the fish
# Do not remove your catch from the water. Leave your fish submersed during the unhooking and release process
# Always minimise any handling and, where necessary, use wet hands

You can minimise tangles and make handling easier by keeping your fish in the water and turning it upside down. Most trout remain docile in this position.
Generally speaking trout should not be removed from the water. If this is should become necessary due to line tangle around the fish or for any other reason, key aspects of handling include:
# Only ever touch the fish with wet hands
# Avoiding touching the fish with dry surfaces (e.g. shirt fronts) or laying them down on dry surfaces (e.g. dry ground, punt bottoms)
# Never squeeze the fish or rip a hook out
# Hold your fish horizontally and support them under the belly
# Minimize their time out of the water (ideally 20 seconds maximum)
# Support the fish gently upright in the water until it swims away
If your catch is exhausted from a long, drawn out fight it will enter a state of almost unconsciousness. In this condition the fish will not be able to swim off when you release it. Instead the fish will float belly up. If this occurs or if you suspect that your fish is too weak to swim away you will need to resuscitate your catch by performing Fish First Aid. (cont’d)
# Find a place where the water is clear, where there is no mud or sediment stirred up by the process of netting and landing the fish
# Place the fish in the water gently, supporting its mid-section
#Move the fish gently back and forth until you feel it revive and start to swim away.

The effects of catch and release vary from species to species. Trout caught on the fly are usually hooked cleanly in the mouth, somewhat minimising injury and aiding release, and a number of scientific studies have shown extremely high survival rates (upwards of 97%) for such fish where they are handled correctly.

Most importantly, there is little difference in the survival rates between large trout and small. You should never kill a big fish out of the assumption that "it won’t go back". There is no reason not to return fish of any size, provided they are properly treated using the guidelines above.

 

INSTRUCTORS

A number of our members are qualified game angling coaches and members of The Game Anglers Instructors Association (GAIA) with Alan also a member of Association of Professional Game Angling Instructors (APGAI). Most of them you will already know from attending tying nights at Patcham.
They are willing to offer tuition in all aspects from casting, entomology through to how to land fish or any aspect you need instruction on.

They are:

Name - Town ---------------- Home Telephone - Mobile Telephone
Andy Beadsley, Petworth -- 01798 343582 ---- 07860 650023
Michael Brayne, Hove ------- 01273 327906 ---- 07836 624043
Alan Middleton, Henfield ----01273 493473 ---- 07790 251693
Bob Burbidge, Worthing ---- 01903 873878 ---- 07836 713586
Mark Carr-Brown, Uckfield - 01825 749843 ---- 07801 750166
Phillip Ellis, Goring-by-sea -- 01903 504317 ---- 07969 104421
Albert Horne, Lancing ------- 01903 765237 ---- 07810 227715

South of England Show

Arlington Evening - 22nd May

Some fifteen members came along to Arlington and were rewarded with mixed blessings. The weather was kind, there was no rain and the wind was not excessive, and even some cloud cover at times to make things interesting. Some caught well and others struggled - but at least the gathering in the lodge afterwards was convivial and the drinks and sandwiches went down well.
This event remains one of the highlights of the season mainly due to its low-key profile, and is probably the longest standing Branch event - a great opportunity to meet up with new members and old friends and sample the delights of this lovely small reservoir.

Chairman

John Plowman

01825 762975

Secretary

Paul Bond

01273 420410

Treasurer

Roy Gurney

01273 506184

Newsletter

Roy Gurney

01273 506184