The Complete Fisher Forum

[tenet]

BRFFA cautiously optimistic post their meeting with BW - MC has e-mailed details to BRFFA members which, perhaps, Tim (Appleman) could post on here for the benefit of non members. (could do so myself but not sure of copyright infringement).

[BristolFlyer]

In light of Martin's email, I hereby commit to take 3 new anglers out on BW lakes in 2018 - documented here with photos.

I reserve the right to chuck them overboard if they catch more fish than me

[Appleman]

For all non-members of the BRFFA......Please join the club!! Details about joining are available at www.brffa.com









Dear All,

I said that I would report back on the committee meeting with Bristol Water management team, which was on Monday.

I will start by saying that the meeting was a really positive one and that B.W. have taken heed of many of the aspects that we have been questioning. Present at the meeting were Steve Smith, Alan Dimmock and John Harris, along with Mark Withyman, John Horsey, Andrew Wiles and me. After a brief introduction, Steve outlined a few changes that have happened. Firstly B.W. have a new C.E.O. - Mel Karam, and it seems that much of the change of heart regarding potential lake closures for 2019 is down to Mel. All the B.W. staff seemed to suggest that Mel is much more on the side of fishing at the lakes than the previous C.E.O., and also more of the current board of directors appear to be following Mel’s lead. This is all good news. Steve has also had a change in his overall responsibility as now his “title” is “Community and Lakeside” manager. He explained that this means that he will be three days in head office dealing with the wider community of Bristol Water users (he has responsibility for people struggling to pay bills, and also for bad debtors, to name but two areas) and only two days at the lakes. One other aspect mentioned at this point is that B.W. is now MOSTLY British owned!

Steve, John and Alan emphasised that the fishing still needs much more support, but, that B.W. are going to “put more in” in the next couple of years to see if they can generate more in return. Alan announced that he has 20,000 more fish to go in. John then took over the rest of the meeting with a prepared statement of intent. I will attach his notes below. There are some very positive aspects to all of this and as a committee we agreed with B.W. management that we will work hard to support their positivity. But, it was stressed that many of the changes are, at least to start with small, but we agreed, that in making change, SMALL STEPS are often better than trying to go right into huge changes.

We ended the meeting spending quite some time on working out how to keep hold of the new fishermen and women who attend the beginners’ days on the lakes and then struggle when they hit the water! WE decided that we would ask club members if they would get involved in a “Mentoring scheme”. This would involve an experienced angler being prepared to spend some time with a beginner and show them a few tricks, some areas where there is more chance of catching a fish or two, and basically encouraging the newcomer to keep with it. WE are going to discuss this further as obviously, if club members give up their spare time (which may well be precious) they may need something in return. At this early stage we are looking at maybe asking a mentor to give up one or at most two short sessions a month. We don’t envisage it being whole days or even half days! Once we have decided how this will progress I will compile a list of club anglers who are prepared to take part and the management will then check that list as to suitability. If you think you may be interested please let me know.

Have a look through the attached PDF from John and PLEASE let me have feedback!

Happy Christmas to all club members.

[mc07fly]

Appreciate the update, Appleman.

Very pleased to see that there will be follow up of Newbies and a trial of a mentoring system.

I benefited from the considerable help of a couple of experienced bank anglers when I moved back to the UK in 2001 and I know this format can make a big difference.

The beard is a tad long these days but if there are a few retirees in the mix then I will certainly take them out and try and help them during my morning visits.

If the new CEO is supportive and can see that there is short term potential for some very good PR for BW plus some long term genuine financial potential, then that will make a huge difference and I would hope and imagine that all existing staff will be re-energised to make a difference.

Very encouraging and well done to the BRFFA representatives who did not give up on the cause.

Best,
McFly

[arkle]

Just googled Mel Karam, & there's quite a bit about him on there, including this https://www.insidermedia.com/insider/southwest/kpmg-partner-named-as-new-bristol-water-boss
_________________
Hi there, I have around 40 yrs exp. of tying flies, incl. some semi-pro work. I've taught at adult evening classes, written for and supplied photos for most U.K. fly magazines. Given talks/slide shows/lectures/demonstrations etc. Am founder and life pres. of local Fly Dressers Guild (27years), our members have won more prizes for tying than any other similar club, we've also won several national flyfishing comps. I look forward to both learning from and contributing to this highly respected forum.

[Allrounder]

Good to see that BWF are prepared to look at new ideas and that things are slowly starting to move in the right direction now. The Mentoring scheme is a particularly good initiative and I am sure that this could play an important role in helping new anglers to move seamlessly from their first lesson to becoming regular customers.

In the meantime like Tim (Appleman), I too would urge every trout angler who is not already a member to join the BRFFA. If anyone was in any doubt before there can be no doubt now that the only reason that trout fishing was given a further reprieve on Chew was due to the robust response from the BRFFA. We are lucky to have some very talented guys on the Committee who were prepared to step up to the plate but we are by no means out of the woods yet.

Numbers matter and the more members the Association has the better its claim to speak on behalf of all trout anglers who fish the lakes. Apart from that it is a really well run Club which is well worth £10 or £5 (over 65) of anyone's money, especially in these worrying times.

Membership runs from 1st January and as Tim has already pointed out, more details can be found of the Club website here .

Alan
_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[arkle]

I picked up the latest issue of Trout Fisherman earlier today, & like Trout & Salmon, they also have a 2 page spread about Chew. Haven't had a chance to read it yet, but imagine it will be pretty similar
_________________
Hi there, I have around 40 yrs exp. of tying flies, incl. some semi-pro work. I've taught at adult evening classes, written for and supplied photos for most U.K. fly magazines. Given talks/slide shows/lectures/demonstrations etc. Am founder and life pres. of local Fly Dressers Guild (27years), our members have won more prizes for tying than any other similar club, we've also won several national flyfishing comps. I look forward to both learning from and contributing to this highly respected forum.

[Allrounder]

For those who are interested but haven't seen it yet , which included me until just ... , the BRFFA Action Plan can be found on their website by scrolling down to the 7th Dec, along with later feedback on the discussions with BW.

It's well worth a look and suggests to me that the BRFFA have got a good handle on what is needed to return the fishery to its former glory.

Alan
_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[arkle]

I saw a quick note from Paul Barnfield on facebok earlier this morning, that the levels were not far off top limit & he had no doubt that it would be well before the start of the season.
_________________
Hi there, I have around 40 yrs exp. of tying flies, incl. some semi-pro work. I've taught at adult evening classes, written for and supplied photos for most U.K. fly magazines. Given talks/slide shows/lectures/demonstrations etc. Am founder and life pres. of local Fly Dressers Guild (27years), our members have won more prizes for tying than any other similar club, we've also won several national flyfishing comps. I look forward to both learning from and contributing to this highly respected forum.

[Allrounder]

I went for a drive today to take some pics of the snow but although most of it has gone now, I managed to take a couple of the water levels at Chew. There is still some way to go but given the rain we have had so far in December I am sure the water levels will greatly improve as the water continues to run off the surrounding countryside over the coming weeks ...

Water level at the dam today, 27th December ...


And from the the layby opposite Bobs House...



Alan
_________________
Member of ...
The Angling Trust
BRFFA
B.A.S.S.
Pike Fly Fishing Association

If you see me on the bank, say hello!

[Mallard]

Chew needs to flood and run over as there is a lot of “stale”water/silt sat in that lake! Keep raining please.

[VGB]

Just driven past Chew on my way back from the airport, the levels are up by at least 3ft compared to the photos a few days ago.