Peak Passport

Beat Keepers Required

2012-01-12T00:57:00.000-08:00

The Peak Passport Scheme is looking for a team of half a dozen Beat Keepers to help look after and manage the passport beats. In return for free fishing, we need a small team to patrol the beats keeping an eye out for jobs that need doing, sensitively manage the trees and other vegetation, and help maintain facilities such as gates and signs. Developing good relations with the beat owners will also be an important part of the job.

This is a chance to have an involvement with the work of the Rivers Trust and learn more about fisheries management and fresh water conservation.

For any queries, contact:
Andrew Heath
Peak Passport Scheme Officer
andy@trentriverstrust.org.uk
Tel: 07896 344448

Peak Passport - End of season

2011-10-12T06:58:00.000-07:00

Well, thank the stars that the rain is finally here, and we can forget all about what must have been the most thoroughly grim trout fishing season that anyone can remember. Locals to the Passport beats have reported having not ever seen the rivers looking lower.

The Dove has suffered with terrible water quality all summer, colouring up in April and not clearing for a moment since. Consequently the fishing has been dire, so much so that the new beats planned for the river were abandoned. I just felt too sorry for the fish!One that couldn’t stand the conditions was the gnarly old monster pictured; with a head and teeth like a Bull Terrier, but a body like an Eel, I picked this old Trout dead off a weir in Beresford Dale in August when the river was at its worst. Being no spring parr I assume it had just struggled and starved to death in the brown soup that the river had become.

Fingers crossed that the current spate leaves a clear river, and that a good flow remains for some time. So for all you fellow rain dancers out there, don’t stop yet!!

The Manifold has kept its end up though. Not as good as last year, but nevertheless worth a bit of a thrashing, particularly in the evenings. This is something that river fishermen need to bear in mind; when things get low and slow you are better off fishing for a couple of hours after work, and putting up shelves/mowing the garden on a Saturday, instead of fishing all day Saturday and leaving the river in time to be home for Strictly come Dancing, just as the fish start to feed!

Some big fish have been caught on the Manifold again this year, including a whopper of 51cm by 14 year old George, well done lad! This is only his second season on the end of a fly rod, but having started fishing on these little streams, he already knows how to creep about un-beknowns to wily brownies.

The new beat on the Hamps (Redmorlee) appears to have done well, but not all of the tokens have been collected up yet, so we will have a better handle on the results for the season soon.

But for now, onto the Grayling! Bank Top and Mill Lane will remain open for the winter. Bank Top has been awful this summer, but with more water can hopefully redeem itself in the next few months.

Tight lines,

Andy

River water temperature monitoring on the rivers Dove and Manifold

2011-08-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

Loughborough University, in association with the Wild Trout Trust and the Trent Rivers Trust, are monitoring river water temperatures at 36 sites along the rivers Dove and Manifold.

The aim of this research is to identify variation in water temperature between different locations on the rivers, and relate this to various physical influences (such as river bed slope, gravel size, and bank-side shade).

The data we are collecting will contribute to management strategies to improve fish habitat - to maintain optimum temperatures for fish and hopefully increase fish abundances.

The data is being collected by small, yellow data loggers, which are attached to bricks in the river bed. This method creates very little, if any, disturbance to the river or to the fish. The photos below show what they look like.

If you spot a yellow data logger in the river bed, please leave it alone.

Thank you for your co-operation.

For any further information, please contact:

Julia Toone

Department of Geography
Loughborough University
j.a.toone@lboro.ac.uk

Tim Jacklin
Conservation Officer
Wild Trout Trust
tjacklin@wildtrout.org

Andrew Heath

Projects Officer
Trent Rivers Trust
andy@trentriverstrust.org.uk

New Beat - River Hamps

2011-06-08T03:53:00.000-07:00

The Peak Passport has another River Hamps Beat, Redmorlee.

1600m of single and some double bank stream fishing for wild brown trout.

This is a lovely stretch of small river, not easy to fish in places, but not a difficult beat either by Passport standards. You will need your waders, but this is not a bad place to go if you are fairly new to river fishing and are looking to start improving your skills. As far as the fish go, we don't know what you can expect yet, so fire in those catch returns and we will get an idea of how the trout population is doing.

See our website for more details.

Thanks

2011-06-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ian Gould for all his help re-writing and getting the Peak Passport website back up and running. Ian is Errwood Fly Fishing Club Secretary, and a keen all rounder fisherman who especially likes game and predator fishing and is just as happy on the Peak Passport rivers as he is on large reservoirs such as Carsington and Foremark

Bank Top trimming

2011-05-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Just so you all know; The Lower section of Bank Top had a prune and a spruce up just before the start of the season. In fact, we removed an entire trailer load of rubbish, mostly sileage wrapping and mineral buckets! It looks great now and should be a little easier to fish. Well worth the extra token!

Larger Maps

2011-05-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

After listening to requests from Peak Passport anglers we have added larger maps to the website. Printable data sheets will soon be included so you can easily take directions and other information with you to your favourite beat.

EA Water Levels for the Peak Passport Areas

2011-05-05T01:36:00.000-07:00

EA monitoring stations for the Peak Passport areas can be found at http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/120751.aspx though these are not for the individual beats on the scheme they give a good indication of water levels.

For the rest of the UK http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/riverlevels/default.aspx

Windy Arbour Bridge

Fly Fishing & Fly Tying

2011-03-01T01:50:00.000-08:00

The Peak Passport Scheme is featured in the March Issue of Fly Fishing & Fly Tying. The article covers setting up and the benefits of the scheme and advice on how to tackle the waters.

Back issues can be found at http://www.flyfishing-and-flytying.co.uk/back_issues/2011/

Winter Grayling

2010-12-01T01:31:00.000-08:00

The Grayling season is in full flow now, and 4 of the beats remain open for winter fishing. These are: Bank Top, Mill Lane, Raikes, and Hulme End.

In an effort to convince you that numb fingers are worth the reward, below is a snap of a very happy Chris Watson, with his best Grayling caught on the day he fished Bank Top recently.