Well, it was, then it wasn’t, and now it is!
But it is a VERY small county….and with a trout stream?
In 2010, that I spotted that, one Andrew Flitcroft offered a day on his beat on his Rutland stream to the successful bidder for a lot in the WTT Annual Auction, that I realised there was such an opportunity, and probably the only one. My own bids came to nought that year, for I had then not heard of ‘sniping’!
But I wrote to Andrew, anyway, at his office in Peterborough and he kindly agreed to host my visit the following year, this one, and I had offered to send the WTT what I had bid, as a thank you, if he would be so kind to accommodate me.
The ‘OK Diner’ on the A1 just upstream (north) of Stamford was our meeting place.
And so we met. Don’t you find that on meeting, you know instantly that you will like someone, and that you will enjoy their company…and so it was at 10 am that day, and so it proved to be the case. I suppose I am motivated by enthusiasm and energy and commitment, and Andrew has these qualities in spades.
He has a long lease on a piece of water, in one place adjacent to, but in the main downstream of the Gwash Fishing Club’s water, and it is fed by pipes at the base of the dam at Rutland Water ensuring a steady flow of cold water which remains so, constantly through the year, delivering a consistency to his stream.
When Andrew first walked the mile or so of water he now has, what he saw must have excited him as much as it daunted him. He was greeted by fallen timber, heavy overgrowth, little light, sparse vegetation, slow moving water, deep silted margins, un-protected banks where grazing sheep or cattle could add to the woes of this water…but he saw wild brown trout, too. And it could not have been fished for years, and he saw an opportunity to create something special. Over the winter months of the past few years, he and a small number of friends have begun the recreation of this place.
The stream has distinct sections. The banks on the upper reaches are clearer, running as they do through meadow and space owned by a school for special needs children, but the fish are easily spooked. The lower beat is unworked and still unfishable, massive overgrowth, still to be cleared….but the middle section…!?
This is a meandering ‘wonderland’ of difference, because you never know what to expect around the next bend in this pretty stream.
It could be a long pool, a short run, a flourish through a groin, or a deflector, and surrounded by wild flowers, and enough cover for fish to be confident, and enough bank side foliage for the angler to have to concentrate.
The fish are wary though, and Andrew, reminding me of the need for stealth, often had me be casting from a way back, and the roll cast was often required, too, in the tighter lies. Weed growth is coming on, but to Andrew’s disappointment, lowish water has left some weed covered by algae, and the brightness of weed growth will not be revealed until rainfall flushes the algae away.
The fish are quick and several were missed by ‘yours truly’ but an optimist, by nature, Andrew assured me there many more to come, and so there were, and a couple came to net early on my new favourite fly, #22 Adams, along with a few more misses!
what you see comes from the river side and looks completely natural rather than man made. Plenty of scouring runs have been created, but the silt remains in the margins and will, until washed, or blown away.
Then, his stream will look resplendent. However, what is there today is a minor miracle and has been achieved in only five years of dedication. It is a treasure……and is Rutland’s only trout stream.
Google ‘trout rivers in Suffolk’….go on, do it!
Not much help from this search engine, eh?! Or most of the others, so patience and persistence was called for.
From my ‘where to’ sites, I chanced upon UKFishersOnline, and made a speculative call to the telephone number given for a ‘trout stretch’ on a river near Bury St Edmunds. I was delighted to talk to John Anderson who listened interestedly as I described my ‘mission’ and he volunteered to help me. I was to call him nearer the time of my planned visit.
As it happened I called him from Amsterdam whilst visiting Son and D-i-L #2, and, GS 1&4.
A lady answered – “Oh, you’re the fisherman!” she commented….. I liked that!
Everything was quickly arranged after talking to John, and he mailed me a map to show outside which Red Lion pub, we should meet, and from which map I determined that I was to fish the water of the Lark Angling & Preservation Society.
I travelled to Bury from North Norfolk and enjoyed a lovely drive on a beautiful Spring morning with the sun streaming through the coniferous woodlands south of Swafham and the hard wood area of Thetford. The Forestry Commission do a marvellous job in Thetford and the Stag at Lynford is rather special.
so it was unlikely that I would be able to read the content of his hand written joining instructions to me, but I did and we met at the prescribed time!
including the comment that ‘not many fish had been taken so far this season’. But, John kindly walked the bank and indicated some likely ‘where’s’, but on a sunny but windy morning, not only was casting difficult into runs between reeds which were already narrowing the flow, inside quite heavily silted bank sides, but there seemed to be little fly life, too. John noted that on a gravel pit nearby, there were six cormorants!
We saw no fish move that morning, (except, for maybe one chub) and I concluded, that in the bright light, fish were in the reedy margins, and my visit’ highlights were confined to good conversation with John, and his kind invitation to return, later in the season.
Eager to see more of the LAPS water, I ventured upstream, and on the road bridge just shy of Lackford, I spooked a small fish, which motivates and means I must return!
I was perusing some books locked away unseen in my storage unit, and I found a copy of ‘Trout in Norfolk’ by E. C. Keith, which was published in 1936. It is in great condition, and has the pristine look of a ‘first edition’. I know not when I procured it, or how, but maybe I was given it. It does not have my personal library stamp in it, either, so who knows? It talks extensively about the Wensum, Yare, Nar, Bure, Wissey, Whitewater, and, of course, the Ouse. It discusses through a series of anecdotes, the fishing quality of 75 years ago, and does so with an honesty which belies the myths of some who believe it was always better, then, in the past! It talks as fondly of roach, as it does of trout.
I loved the question posed on p154 – “Why is it that fishermen are so easily tempted by a tackle maker’s shop?” Life does not change! I can never exit a store without purchasing some leader, or some flies, or a book…in fact I think it would be unacceptable, and rather rude, not to.
and I was intrigued to read, also, excerpts from the Rangeley-Wilson compendium, ‘Chalkstream…Fishing the Perfect River’., which offers ideas about where, as well.
Separately, I would add that his is a really good book, (also anecdotal in content) published by Medlar (who also publish ‘Waterlog’) and whilst expert and knowledgeable, Charles is also President of the WTT and he cares, but he writes convincingly and worryingly in its Introduction, of the true extent of just how much river qualities have changed through man’s interventions in the latter years of the last century. It is a thought provoking read and salutary in its warnings.
In the event, my search for Norfolk opportunity was conducted via the typical ‘where to’ websites, and both ‘fishandfly’ and ‘flyfishingvenues’ referred to Bintry Mill, a fishery visited by John Wilson (can someone stop him laughing?) and John Bailey, too, in those much repeated series on ‘Discovery Shed’. So I already have a picture of the possible.
I uncovered the name of Terry Lawton, and wrote to him describing my mission, and asked for his advice, as I knew that the Wensum has trout, but had discovered on the Salmon & Trout Association website that members could access water on the Bure at the National Trust’s Bickling Hall property, but I wondered where a ‘local’ would suggest I try.
I did not know until he responded that he is Secretary to Bintry Mill Trout Fishery, and he (“you have set yourself an interesting challenge”) kindly invited me to be his guest on his water.
…not that I thought I would never find it…but satellite pictures from Google do not necessarily resemble the grounded reality!
and meadow, over tractor track and around fallen branches, has riffle and gravelly runs, pockets and glides, and contains wild and stocked fish. And the Club also has a beat lower down at Yarrow Farm, which is more Wylye like.
Terry was an inspirational host. Passionate about his fishery, determined that it is managed carefully, alert to the wildlife within it, and protective of his head of wild fish .It is always interesting to fish with an angler who readily identifies fly life, as he does, and he has put this keen eye to good use in writings, and I notice that his latest book, “The Upstream Wet Fly” is reviewed in the June edition of Trout & Salmon.
His observant nature prompted some interesting conversation. Steering me toward a rising fish, soon after our mid-morning arrival, I cast an Adams which prompted a splashing take. “Sometimes”, he declared,” we endow fish with human characteristics…and the noise (of the splash) probably frightens them, which is why they don’t rise again for a while”…umm!
“And why expend so much energy and not take the fly?” I responded. Maybe they know instinctively that the Mays are coming and their annual banquet bonanza is imminent!!
to be able to ‘net’ Norfolk.
We fished the lower beat in the afternoon and I lost a larger (stocked?) fish, and Terry caught a small wild fish from no more than twelve feet away from where I was casting, no doubt belying another myth!
A memorable day….thank you, Terry.
…….Afterwards, I drove to Brancaster, to the country home of Tim and Liz How, for the June meeting of the Reed Dining Club. It was a splendid evening, and in their letter of thanks to Tim and Liz, from two members there were the following paragraphs, which might amuse!
Post script 1 – (WLP)…. “It was a great shame to have missed Antonio Mair this morning as he left so early to do his extraordinary (fishing) journey from Brancaster Staithe to Bury St. Edmunds to Stamford Lincs. I did hear one of the girls say that it was a frightening sight at 7.30 a.m. seeing “The Great Permatan with the Grey Mullet” in a state of undress, floundering from bedroom to bathroom. And just a little cod-piece covering his tiny prawn (or is it a tadpole ?) and his wide bream ……. Even worse I had fixed it with Liz that he would have some kippers for breakfast…… and I was perched nearby with a camera to record the moment when Battersea and Brancaster were as one, but he skated off early, carping under his breath as he dabbed at the make up around his eyes ….