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Welcome to fishingforanglers

A round-up of fishing in the
North East of England
Seven-year-old Thomas Fraser who came third in the NCBA fishing competition.
Seven-year-old Thomas Fraser who came third in the NCBA fishing competition.

Fontburn anglers raise £1,000 for blind charity

STEVE Porter won the annual Northumberland County Blind Association fishing competition at Fontburn Reservoir with eight for 20lb 2oz ahead of Brian Smith from Pegswood who landed six for 17lb 14oz and Thomas Fraser, seven, from Wallsend, the youngest angler in the competition, who had seven for 16lb 1oz.

Brian's granddaughter, Emily Peart, 16, who brought a cracking blue of 3lb 4oz to the net, won the prize for the heaviest fish caught by an angler aged under 17 - a rod donated by Game Fishing Supplies of Morpeth.

The event which is sponsored by Northumbrian Water raised £1,000 for the Morpeth based charity

Bank fly competition at Hury

A MAJOR bank fly only competition will be held at Hury Reservoir on Saturday, August 28.

Registration will start at 8am prompt in the fishing lodge situated on the north shore of the reservoir. Competitors are requested to use both the north and south shore dam wall car parks. Those who park in the south shore car park will need to make the short walk over the dam wall to register.

Competitors will draw numbers; those who draw odd numbers will fish from the north shore and those who draw even numbers from the south shore. After drawing their numbers anglers will need to muster in either the north or south shore car park by 9.20am.

At 9.30am competitors will be set off at 30 second intervals by a steward from both the north and south shore car parks to walk to their desired location. No angler shall pass the angler in front of them until they have chosen their fishing spot.

Competitors may fish on the north or south shore from the dam wall up to Corporal Hill Bay on the south shore and from the dam wall to the Reedy Point on the north shore.

Both of these areas will be clearly marked to avoid confusion.

There will be no fishing on the dam wall during the competition. Anglers may move to a different area within the north and south shore designated areas at any time during the match but must not encroach within 15 yards of any other angler.

The match will begin at 10am by the sounding of a klaxon, and fishing will stop at 5pm, again by the sounding of a klaxon.

The match will be fished to fishery rules - that is, fly fishing only, no double hooks, no flicker spinners, gazelles and so on. Anglers may carry two rods which may be set up ready for use.

The match will be fished to an eight fish limit, on catching the eighth fish the competitor must report to one of the bankside match stewards who will register the finish time.

Anglers will be awarded 2lb per remaining hour of the match time bonus to add to the weight of their fish. This will be rounded to the nearest 15mins at 8oz per 15 min.

Fish will be capped at 3lb so no individual fish shall count for more than this in the overall bag weight.

No catch and release, first eight fish must be killed, with the exception of brown trout which must all be carefully returned.

Wading is allowed but not above thigh depth - daylight must be seen between the legs at all times.

The match shall be fished in the spirit and tradition of the sport and any of the stewards or Northumbrian Water officials reserve the right to disqualify competitors in breach of the rules.

Trust 'furious' over licence proposals

THE spectre of an increase in rod licence fees to meet the cost of all Environment Agency work on managaing freshwater fisheries and fishing licences, saving the Government £9.4m, has been raised by the Wildlife and Countryside Link.

The WCL, a coalition of more than 30 voluntary organisations concerned with the conservation and protection of wildlife and the countryside, this week issued a statement with some proposals for spending decisions related to environmental and countryside spending in light of the current government review of budgets.

It also suggested that all Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCA) and Marine Management Organisation (MMO) work on the management of sea fisheries could be funded could be funded by the industry and that "a licence could be imposed upon the sea angling community similar to that of freshwater angling".

The Angling Trust reacted angrily to these proposals and issued the following statement:

"The Angling Trust is not a member of Wildlife and Countryside Link, but has a partnership agreement to collaborate on the Blueprint for Water. The Trust was neither aware of, nor consulted with on these proposals.

"The Trust disagrees wholeheartedly with these proposals in respect of angling and is furious that WCL did not consult the national governing body for angling before issuing the proposals.

"Freshwater anglers contributed £26m in rod licences to the work of the Environment Agency's fisheries department in 2009, a figure which has risen consistently in recent years. Anglers also invest hundreds of millions of pounds each year improving and maintaining rivers in the UK.

"The Government grant in aid for fisheries has been frozen at £9.4m for the last decade - effectively a cut in real terms each year. The Angling Trust demands that this grant is maintained because fisheries are important to society as a whole and not just to anglers.

"The Angling Trust is strongly opposed to a licence for sea anglers and holds firmly the position that fishing with rod and line in the sea should be a free right for people of all ages under current circumstances.

"The notion of charging sea anglers for access to public fishery resources whileaccess for commercial over-exploitation of those same resources is free of charge, and heavily-subsidised, is perverse.

"Sea anglers have endured decades of failed fisheries management and commercial overfishing that have thoroughly degraded the sea angling product, so the idea of now charging them is like adding salt to an already raw wound.

"If overfishing is brought to an end, depleted stocks restored, those who fish commercially are paying realistically for access to fish stocks and anglers are playing a full role in the process of formulating fisheries policy, then and only then will sea anglers be prepared even to discuss the merits of a licence."

Trout Tickler Caisy O'Grady, aged 12, had the heaviest bag at 4lb
Trout Tickler Caisy O'Grady, aged 12, had the heaviest bag at 4lb

Ticklers enjoy day at Fontburn

HIRST Park Tour Ticklers juniors had a day's fishing at Fontburn Reservoir recently with Caisy O'Grady, aged 12, recording the heaviest bag at 4lb (rainbows) and Lewis Robertson aged seven landing the heaviest fish at 2lb.

Both anglers caught their fish on Powerbait.

All juniors did well and enjoyed their day despite the strong winds and intermittent heavy showers.

Trout Tickler Lewis Robertson aged seven landied the heaviest fish at 2lb.
Trout Tickler Lewis Robertson aged seven landied the heaviest fish at 2lb.

Durham Action group inaugural meeting

THE Angling Development Board and Durham Sports Partnership have been working together to support the launch of a Durham County Angling Action Group and the inaugural meeting will be held at Easington Colliery Club & Institute, Seaside Lane, Easington Colliery, Peterlee, County Durham, from 7pm on Monday, August 23.

There will be presentation followed by a question and answer session.

The group will effectively be a network of organisations who are involved in angling in Durham.

The group will be looking at ways to increase participation in the sport, club development opportunities, increasing the number of angling coaches and develop school to club links.

The group will give a bigger, stronger and more unified voice to develop & raise the profile of the sport across the county. It should also bring more funding and resources into angling and angling clubs.

Anyone intending to attend should contact Ben Thompson, North East Development Officer with the Angling Development Board by email at ben.thompson@anglingdevelopmentboard.org.uk or by telephone on 0785 424 0177.

Sir Ludovic Kennedy helps Morten  research his book on Numedalslågen pioneers.
Sir Ludovic Kennedy helps Morten research his book on Numedalslågen pioneers.

Can you help Morten with his Lågen research?

IF like myself, you like keeping an eye on what is happening with fishing and to fishermen in other parts of the world you might like to visit
www.harangenmedia.blogspot.com/ which is run by a Norwegian journalist and friend of mine, Morten Harangen. It is in English and Norwegian.

Morten works for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, hosting a regional morning radio show.

He is also a passionate fly fisherman who has fished some of the finest rivers in the world and a regular contributor to Scandinavian fly fishing magazines and the Flyfishers' Club's Journal.

Morten is researching a book on the early British pioneer anglers who, for almost 100  years, dominated the Numedalslågen - traditionally one of Norway's best salmon rivers.

For some incomprehensible reason, this important, exciting and historic era is hardly documented.

Morten who grew up by the Lågen, decided 10 years ago - armed only with a few names and conveyances, an old photograph, some dubious tales and the sad ruins of what is known locally as the "Salmon Castle" - to write a book about these angling pioneers.

Anyone who can help Morten with his research bygiving him maccess to documents, fishing diaries or photographs - or just family stories of bygone fishing adventures - should visit his blog and follow the appropriate links.

Music and laughter at sea

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has launched its new season of Music and Laughter variety shows with a brochure promoting the programme. 

Great bands, comedians and solo artists are all featured, providing star-studded entertainment on board.

Covering cruises from autumn 2010 through to spring 2011, including one from Newcastle to the Mediterranean in October, the programme is offered across all four ships in the fleet - Balmoral, Braemar, Black Watch and Boudicca - and the acts aboard offer a wide range of entertainment styles, from rock and pop, swing, jazz and soul to top-rate comedy.

Performers include the chart-topping Opera Babes; the Divas of Motown performing some of the best-loved Tamla Motown hits from the sixties; Colin Bryant and his Hot Rhythm Orchestra, rocking the ship with swing and jazz numbers; and the evergreen Sixties band still delighting audiences everywhere - The Merseybeats.  

There are also popular acts from the world of comedy with Jim Bowen, Don Reid, and Jimmy Tamley.

The 23-night Boudicca Eastern Mediterranean cruise (D1024) sails from Newcastle on October 19. Two great acts will be keeping guests entertained during the cruise - The Grumbleweeds and The Merseybeats. 

The Merseybeats are the original Sixties Liverpool band, still going strong from their early days in the famous Cavern Club, where they played alongside The Beatles.  

A very different kind of entertainment is provided by the Grumbleweeds, whose unique blend of music, comedy and impersonations have gained them a huge following.

The cruise visits a host of historic ports, including Portugal's elegant capital, Lisbon, Malta's capital Valletta, Piraeus (for Athens), La Goulette (for Tunis), as well as ever-popular Gibraltar, and returns to Liverpool (with coach transfers between ports included in the price that starts from £1,659 per person).

The 14-night Black Watch Western Mediterranean cruise (W1018) departs from Southampton on October 15, and features the sensational Opera Babes. This opera-singing duo are big stars on both sides of the Atlantic, with their first album reaching number one in the UK Classical Charts and number four in the USA. 

The autumn cruise visits Gibraltar, Menorca, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Ibiza and Almeria, combining some great European cities with picturesque landscapes and warm, balmy weather. Prices start from £999 per person.

A relaxed way to visit the Caribbean with no flying, tis the 28-night Black Watch Caribbean cruise (W1020) that leaves Southampton on November 12 and sails, via Tenerife, across the Atlantic to reach Barbados, its first Caribbean port of call. 

A cornucopia of delightful islands follows - Grenada, St Lucia, St Kitts, Tortola, Antigua and St Maarten, before the return Atlantic  crossing via The Azores to Southampton.

Delighting audiences during this cruise will be The Divas of Motown. This talented trio relive the great days of Tamla Motown, recreating the sounds of The Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight and many other Motown greats.

Also entertaining guests aboard will be The Upbeat Beatles, one of the finest Beatles tribute bands around. 

An additional attraction is speaker Steve Simone, a soul-singer and songwriter, who will be speaking on the History of Motown.

Prices for this cruise start from £2,299 per person.

All prices quoted are per person, based on two sharing an inside twin cabin and include all meals and entertainment on board, as well as port taxes.

Find out more at
http://www.fredolsencruises.co.uk/ Book online, call Reservations on 01473 742424, or see your ABTA travel agent.

More Fred.Olsen news on Travel.

fishingforanglers
Last updated: 1236, Wednesday, July 28, 2010