UNWANTED TRAVELLING BUGS
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A beautiful winters day - not so cold this year!
Hello, its an exciting time as the trout fishing season on some rivers has already started and I have been receiving "overly animated" telephone calls from friends and clients of success here and there and, of course, a few calls of "What am I doing wrong?" But more of that later in another blog.
I'd like to highlight a call I received yesterday. A friend, new to fly fishing, who enjoyed several coaching sessions with me over the Winter, could not contain his excitement after a great day out on a river in South Wales: he had enjoyed wonderful sport and was really looking forward to the following day fishing another river. Some people are so lucky: I was unable to join him due to another fishing commitment.
As we chatted, I suddenly realised that he was moving from one catchment area to another: I had that "light bulb moment": Had he remembered "Check, Clean Dry" or more importantly "Getting into Hot Water".
"WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS MAN ON ABOUT, I HEAR YOU SAY!!!" Many will already understand where I am coming from.
Let me explain with the help of some exceptionally talented scientists at University of Leeds (UL) and CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science). They have been studying, and still are, the "hitchhiking" ability of aquatic invasive species. Invaders such as the killer shrimp, zebra mussel, floating pennywort and many others cause massive environmental damage and there was an estimate that they cost the British economy £1.7 billion per year to manage. As importantly, these invaders are not friends to our fishings.
New research by UL and CEFAS (I won't go into the scientific details but they stand up to scrutiny) has identified that Eight (8) of the UK's worst aquatic invaders die if they are submerged in hand-hot water for just 15 minutes. In contrast, if they are left in damp nets, waders and other fishing tackle they can survive for over Two (2) weeks and therefore you are giving them a lift wherever you go and helping them spread if you do nothing! PLEASE DON'T!!
I can hear someone laughing over my shoulder and saying "So how do I do that, my Wife/Husband is going to be really pleased if I fill the bath and submerge my boots, waders and landing net in it!" Well, you don't need to fill the bath: I bought a large plastic storage box and use that. It takes my boots, waders, landing net and reels. Yes, the best place to fill it is the bath but when your done you can gently pour the water out with minimal mess and then take your gear out of the house to dry. Easy really and it leads to greater harmony in the home.
The really important point is that your tackle and equipment needs to be submerged in hand hot (+45 degrees C) or hotter water for 15 minutes and the "Unwanted Travelling Bugs" are NO MORE - 99% of then will perish - it might be called a "disinfectant moment". You can then feel content that you are doing your bit to protect our fishings for the future. If you are concerned that hot water will affect your tackle, it hasn't with mine including my fly lines. Remember you can't always see the "invasive bug" you might be giving a lift to or hopefully killing!
On the same theme, in 2011 the Government in partnership with a large number of environmental NGO's launched the “Check, Clean, Dry” campaign in an effort to reduce the spread of aquatics invasive species and encourage anglers to clean their kit before moving to new areas to fish and thus stop the accidental spread of unwanted "hitchhikers". You might like to have a look at this.
Remember if you are going abroad to fish, many Countries now have strict regulations on the tackle and equipment you can take and if they have been suitably cleaned. Some insist on "Certificates" to show that your tackle and equipment has no "hitchhikers" and is sterile. Do check before you travel. You have been warned. Sorry, rather officious but better "safe than sorry"!
Tight lines and aquatic invasive species free fishing.
RJP
