LDAC Members - please take a moment to look at - and vote for - the scheme which you think will help reinstate Salmon to UK waters.
The Fowey Rivers Association and the South West Rivers Association are very much behind Pitch #6 which is specifically aimed at our water in The South West.
The eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted a new gate at the 'tarmac pull-in' off the A38, 1/2 way down Lewarne.
Following the clearance of roadside trees and improved drainage channels - the entrance had become a little rutted - so a new piece of tarmac was laid - however, this has increased the presence of non-club members and dog walkers.
The gate is to deter trespassing - but allow members to park safely. There is room to pull off the main carriage way - open the gate and park - please do the reverse on the way out, park & close the gate before (carefully) pulling out onto the A38.
As I write this, the 2014 season is coming to an end and with the
river running clear and no sign of imminent rain, a late run of
Salmon is looking less likely but we must remain optimistic.
The
season overall has been unpredictable and although good numbers
of Sea Trout came in to the system the long dry summer did not
make fishing easy. However those of you who ventured out with
the night time fly or those who managed to get on the river
following the occasional heavy showers were rewarded with some
good fishing.
As for Salmon, the beginning of the season brought some large
salmon into the catchments of both the Fowey and the Lynher.
The best spring salmon reported for many years (at 18lbs) came
off the upper Lynher in mid-March, with several others well into
double figures also reported during the same month. The largest
spring salmon reported from the Fowey was estimated at >12lbs
(32.5” long), caught in May.
Despite these early catches the
summer Grilse never really arrived in any great numbers. This
appeared to be the situation generally on rivers throughout the
South West.
Counter figures on the Fowey however, show that
good numbers of fish are still coming into the system with a total
of 8,385 Sea Trout and 1,373 Salmon/large Sea Trout being
recorded up until the end of August.
On the conservation front, some vital gravel rehabilitation work
was carried out, with Chris Janes organising tree removal and
weed clearance on three consecutive Sundays up in the Draynes
Valley. I would like to thank Chris and all those who turned up to
help, for all their hard work. It is hoped that we can continue to
improve these spawning areas and that will depend on your
support next year. Look at the website for further details nearer
the time.
We are again facing the prospect of having to remove a large
number of fallen trees that have come down during the year,
obstructing both the river and anglers access. As most of you will
appreciate, it is not possible for the club to pay contractors to
carry out this work as the cost would be very high and would lead
to an unacceptable increase in the price of membership. Whilst we
are lucky enough to have very capable people willing to give their
time to such tasks, they are few in number and it is impossible for them to tackle all the problems that occur unless they receive far
more help from club members.
A timetable of bank clearance
dates is printed in this newsletter so please come along and help
out.
Despite the challenges LDAC remains strong and with access to
over 20 miles of fishing we have a club to be proud of and I would
like to thank all the members of the committee for their continued
hard work and support, without which this club would not be the
success that it most certainly is. I look forward to seeing you at
the AGM.
The Club continues to provide the largest choice of game fishing in
Cornwall and the southwest. We currently have access to six rivers
with a total of 21 miles of fishing.
We rely heavily on the goodwill of our riparian owners for
continuing to lease quality water to us – and it is good to report
that our relationships with these key stakeholders remain firm.
Just before the opening of the season the Club was saddened to
hear of the passing of Mr D Arbon, from Maenporth, Falmouth. Mr
Arbon had been a strong supporter of the Club for many years and
was always happy to lease Caradon Wood Beat to us on the
Lynher. We thank him for the kindness he showed to the Club over
the years.
With the fishing rights of Caradon Wood now passing to a new
owner (The Woodlands Trust) LDAC are (currently) unable to
renew the lease and we therefore no longer have the rights to
access or fish on Beat 13. All remaining fishing was retained and we also extended the
Ashford Beat (Beat 3, River Fowey) some 500m northwards. This
was through the kind agreement of Messrs J and E Coodes, to
whom we extend our thanks for their continued support.
No stretches of local river(s) were offered for open sale during the
2014 season and the Club was therefore unable to add to the
current inventory of owned waters.
2015 will also see the need for the Club to renew three of our
beats on the Lynher and the Committee has approved moving
forward with those new contracts. We hope to be able to report
that they have been secured for future years in the next
newsletter.
To keep abreast of any changes to your fishing please remember
to log onto the new-look/up-dated website at ldac.org.uk. Thanks
to Richard Grieve for continued support in looking after all things
IT.
Your Committee met four times during the year. Attendance by
Committee members was good, at 87.5%. The Committee were
pleased to be able to see (and now report to you) a marked
improvement in catch/return rates for the 2013 season and I am
particularly gratified to be able to say that all members adhered to
the catch/release targets, particularly in the matter of Lynher
salmon.
The Lynher catch/release rates rose from 50% (in 2012)
to 83% (2013).
We need to ensure that these figures continue to exceed 66% in
the future to help support the prevention of commercial nets
returning to the Lynher.
Several members have contacted me to discuss the issue of fallen
trees and difficult access on some beats during the 2104 season.
As you are aware all the beats are the subject of planned work
parties at the beginning of each season (see page 2 of this
newsletter for relevant dates and locations). These provide the
opportunity to carry out maintenance after winter storms and
floods have had their way with our rivers and footpaths.
Members need to continue to come forward and support the workparties
before the season starts, to report any areas that they
consider require attention and then to support requests for
additional work during the season. We would urge members to carry out their own (sensitive and
sensible) clearance of undergrowth across and along footpaths as
they pass through whilst fishing during the season.
We ALL have a part to play – please do so.
If you want to or can help make sure we have your up-to-date
contact details so we can contact you directly.
Your Committee members also attended Fowey River Association
(FRA), Lynher River Association (LRA) and Tamar and Tributaries
Fisheries Association (TTFA) meetings and AGM’s to ensure the
Club interests are fully represented in these forums. Information
from these is shared via the Club newsletters/website if
appropriate.
The Club website is enabling us to reach more members than ever
before, more cheaply and more quickly – we now have 70%
registered, 5% up on 2013. The target remains 100% and we are
slowly getting there……..
Remember: If we don’t have your (latest) email address
please do send it to sec@ldac.org.uk when you read this
newsletter.
The mid-year newsletter was once again published, being
distributed to all members in August 2014; mostly by email. I hope
you found it useful. If you have any views or ideas on it’s future
content please do contact the Secretary on sec@ldac.org.uk to
discuss. This year we are again distributing the Annual Newsletter,
attachments and the FRA newsletter by email wherever possible.
This has a major impact in lowering our printing costs and postage
bill. That means we have more money to spend on improving our
fishing – far better than spending it on other non-fishing related
matters?
Whilst the underlying financial position of the club remains sound
we continue to find ourselves under financial pressure to ensure
that the club does not run at a loss.
As discussed at the last AGM the membership levels are key to the
future of the club.
I am therefore pleased to be able to report a
small increase in adult membership for the year; rising from 185 in
2013 to 191 in 2014. At this level the Clubs finances are just in
balance.
However the cost of our rented beats will inevitably rise in 2015
(some in line with RPI and some under new lease agreements)
and this requires that the Club raise season ticket prices to cover
costs for next year.
The Committee has therefore agreed to increase fees to £90.00 pa
for both adults (+2.8%) and senior members (+9%) but to
maintain levels for disabled and junior members (see Item 2 on
page 2 of the newsletter for full details).
The decision to raise
senior member ticket prices to the same level as adult members
has been an aim of the Committee for several years and is
predicated on the fact that such (retired) members have
significantly more opportunity to use club waters than others.
Despite these increases the costs are still highly competitive with
game fishing costs elsewhere in the county and wider afield.
Please note that visitors’ day/weekly ticket fees are also rising
above inflation – reflecting the quality and quantity of fishing we
offer.
Members on e-mail will have received the 2014 mid year newsletter in their inbox this morning. Members with postal addresses only will get a hard-copy in the next week.
