Just a quick plea for some volunteer help for a couple of working parties on the Dove and Manifold to prevent the Himalayan Balsam getting any worse, the dates are:

24th June
4th July
9th July
11th July

the exact areas to be covered are still being sorted, but if anyone is able to help and can PM me their email address i will send some more details out, this will be above and beyond 8days of conservation volunteer working parties already being carried out in the catchment and it would be great for some input from the fishing community.

Also if anyone is aware of any him balsam on the Dove above Dovedale, or the hamps above Waterhouses please let me know, this invasive weed is still contained enough that we can realistically eradicate it from the top of the catchment, also if anyone knows of any giant hogweed (there were two plants on the dove last summer!) and japanese knotweed then hopefully we can keep the catchment free from these plants

Many thanks

Dovemink

Hi' Dovemink. I hope you get a better response from the anglers in your area than we have done so far in ours. Two of the parties that I attended on the Irthing, a lower Eden tributary, a couple of years ago had 3 ladies, one other adult male and a 16 year old lad attend; and the following year, three employees of Eden Rivers Trust, and myself, a 'friend' of the Trust. Not very encouraging. A turnout earlier this spring on a local river, the Old Petteril, had 6 people on the bank. There is another party arranged next week. I'll have to get mrtrout involved; we worked on last year's outings on this tributary of the River Petteril. So far, there have been as many females as males on the Petteril scheme. That says something about the angling community. I have tried to help with mentions in a column I have in my local paper, but most people I have seen working have not been anglers, and that is disappointing. All the bestwith your efforts, TerryC

DM you have a PM !

DM you have another PM.

thanks for the replys, I think there are two people (both conservation staff) out somewhere up near Longnor on the Manifold pulling the stuff as i type this, i hope we can drum up some more help for the other events

if not im going to have to get busy with Mr Glyphosate and Mr Knapsack on the river banks

Sorry to hijack this thread but I have Himalayan Balsam in the wood surrounding my house. How do you deal with it typically - chemicals or just pulling it up ?

Thanks

Charlie

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Sonik Sports Team Pitsford Pirates

Problem is bud, it doesn't catch them anymore fish...

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i know that W, but when the banks are bare in winter and they erode rapidly depositing silts into the gravels leading to a decrease in overall productivity then what,

i keep getting complaints from people, oh the rivers to silty, its always coloured, its not as good as it used to be, but nobody wants to help, I think im starting to become as cynical as you W regarding the angling clubs over here, there is only one river keeper doing anything about it and he has done a mammoth amount of work on his beat to control the stuff but untill the upstream sections are dealt with its a never ending cycle

I am running a day in our village in July as over the last 2 summers its become rife along our little brook, this day has attracted more interest than all of the other volunteer days put together, and not one of the people coming have any real interest in the brook, but can appreciate that something needs doing,

oh well if i have to get in and use herbicide, its just money coming out of the conservation budget that wont get spent on other conservation works such as riparian fencing, large woody debris, fish passes and the like

C'est la vie

DM

We have a different system here. Anglers pay for their fishing and contribute towards keepers who look after the river. Their full contribution to the river is made when they buy a day ticket or a syndicate rod and we thank them for that. We are lucky in that we do not need (or want) anglers helping on the river and apart from one or two extreme cases, it is an feeling that is reciprocated.

On the up side, their is a smashing lass at the Peak Park, who can help you with your license to spray...

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Don't get cynical - think more about how you are getting your message out. And how effective it is. At the moment clearly not very.

I don't actually know how you are getting your message out, but hope that it's more than posting on this forum.

* How about contacting local fishing clubs, the WTT, the Angling Trust and others you can think of and getting them to publicise upcoming dates in their newsletters, on their websites, and via email contact, too late for this time but maybe for future events.
* Then there's the angling press - can you get any of their journos interested and do a small piece on it? Or even send them a short press release?
* You could ask admin of this forum for a "sticky" post somewhere to give it more prominence.
* Have you considered contacting the council to see if you could get some community service "volunteers"?
* Or using the money you were going to spend on herbicide as a donation to a charity like this one who can also provide resource

Maybe you've done some of these - what works and what doesn't?

Final thought - remember Tom Sawyer, Ben Rogers and the Fence