Kirkstead burn improvement works!

 Photo 01 - Another load of Willow rolls.

Kirkstead burn improvement works!

Our tree planting day takes place on Saturday commencing at 10.00am. Parking for anglers has been arranged just over the bridge on the Bowerhope road. The work will in the first instance take place at the mouth of the burn where it enters the loch. The Kirkstead is the recipient of our work and as well as tree planting we will seek to carry out some much needed bank stabilisation work to curtail the erosion that is occurring.

We have more than a dozen Willow rolls which we will stake into the bank using concrete reinforcing bar sledge hammered into the river bed. This will deflect the force of water away from the fragile bank but to provide for long term protection we are to supplement this work by planting a good number of Willow whips through the rolls which will root into the bed providing a mass of roots over a short time to stabilise the bank sides. This should be an effective method of bank stabilisation having been used by the Wild Trout Trust for a number of years now with good results.

The trees which Ian kindly collected for us today are a mixture of Rowan, Oak, Hazel, Blackthorn, Birch and Hawthorn all indigenous trees to the area. Tim Frost from the Borders Forest Trust is coming along in an advisory capacity to supervise the planting of the trees and shielding them by use of plastic protectors and stakes to support them. The trees were given to us by the Forest trust to commemorate the queen’s jubilee and trees will have tags on them to signify this. 

One tree has been labelled as a “Royal Oak” coming from acorns harvested at one of the queens residencies; it has a red white and blue band around it as well as a descriptive tag. This most important work will not benefit some of us as the project is long term. This however is not a deterrent as in the spirit of true angling what we do today is for the benefit of those who come later! There can be no more fitting legacy from the current membership of the club!

The bank work however will bring immediate benefits as the already over widened channel will now be contained. We will also in the coming season create some deep pools and riffles further upstream and this will make the bottom part of the burn more appealing to all species of fish. The upper reaches of the Kirkstead is in good condition and our work will see the continuation of this. If we did nothing and allowed the channel to widen further by erosion then no fish would enter what in low water conditions would be a trickle of water irrespective of what the condition of the burn was further upstream.

In the past we would have encountered difficulty with the notion of carrying out work that did not directly benefit the Me me me brigade, but thankfully now they are history and our committed band of anglers fully approve of our actions! Members coming along to help should bring thigh waders if possible. Thanks to Alastair and Selina at the Tibbie for storing the trees until we could pick them up! If you can come along please do as there is much to be done.

Membership Renewals

Renewal applications are now being accepted for the 2012 season. There is no increase in the membership fee of £30.00, a fee which we have managed to cap since 2004. Members desirous of membership renewal should send a cheque for £30.00 to John Wright 8 Castle Place Dunbar EH42 1JD

The cut off date is the 31^st of December 2011!

 Photo 02 - The area around the boathouse circa 1930s.

Bygone Days

Photo 02 was given to us yesterday by Ian our loch keeper. He collects memorabilia of the area and has now a very nice collection. The photo shows the area of our boathouse he suspects from around the 1930s. The boats look to be very fresh as does the pier, and this would tie in nicely with the inception of the club in 1933. There are no dreaded fir trees on the far bank the current planting being a legacy from the 60s. Thankfully these are now being harvested and a mixture of hardwood and softwoods being replanted. As far as the aquatic environment is concerned this is a huge step forward!

The boathouse was at this time miles away, it was brought I am told after the Second World War and rebuilt in its present location and a very well constructed building it is too.

Catch returns

Although the number of catch returns has increased significantly a few members have neglected to submit nil returns. These are of equal importance to us for a proper overview of the lochs and every time you put a return in of any kind it goes into the end of season draw for the £100.00 tackle voucher.

The glorious dead!

Whilst working on a private road on Friday at around 11.00am I noted a TV Ariel installer come down off of his ladder and stand for two minutes as I did. I thought to myself that indeed there is good and respect still apparent in this country. On viewing the news that evening this was confirmed as people of all ages took two minutes to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice made by so many that we may enjoy our freedom today! Yes in spite of the Con – dems Great Britain is most definitely still great!

To those who went before! We owe them much!

 

Boathouse bat

The family of Bats resident in the boathouse roof were evident yesterday mid afternoon. The extremely mild weather saw them taking advantage of the great number of flys still hovering around enough to bring them out in daylight. Great to see they are thriving!

 Photo 03 - the "white" house near St Mary's hall.

Tweed Trout & Grayling Initiative

A meeting of the above group takes place on Tuesday evening which we will attend. Of particular interest will be the initial results from the video on regulator one. If any results are to hand we will let you know next week.

Flood protection scheme

A meeting on the St Mary’s Loch Option of the above group will take place at 7 pm on the 30th November at Cappercleuch Village Hall, loch keeper Ian has kindly agreed to be our representative at this meeting.

From bad to worse!

The award of arch blunderer this week goes to Theresa May the Con – dems home secretary. More interested in showing off her bizarre footwear she neglects to tighten up controls on all manner of undesirables and staggeringly relaxes them in this time of heightened terrorist activity! Arch buffoons, public school rich boys Cameron and Osborne were strangely silent on the subject! Who knows what manner of miscreant was allowed to enter the country during this time! Incompetence on a grand scale!

 Politicians of every ilk capable of incredulous and plain stupid actions, of that there is no doubt. Just look at the Tory puppet Nick Clegg for an instance! Yes these imbeciles will have us overrun with terrorists, devoid of employment, suffer a second recession and have no welfare benefits or public services to boot! Yes indeed we are all in this together NOT! 

It’s them and us, the way it’s always been!