LEE ANGLERS' CONSORTIUM
LEE ANGLERS' CONSORTIUM
NEWS
12th March 2012
Season 2012-13
New season tickets are expected to be delivered from the printers any
day now. Postal renewal newsletters will soon be in the post. Affiliated club tickets
will also be sent out based on the number of tickets each club had last year. Do
not forget that the Lee Navigation from Aqueduct Lock (Cheshunt) stats its close
season from Thursday March 15th to June 15th inclusively. You can continue to fish
all year downstream of Aqueduct Lock. Download the February 2012 edition of the Lee
Angler here File: leeangler2012.pdf
26th October 2011
Enfield Carp
Laurence Mason has sent in four images of carp he has caught in the Enfield to Rammey Marsh Lock pound.
The first picture is a 22 lb common caught on floater tactics just below Rammey Marsh
Lock opposite the boats.
The second was 18.5 lbs mirror by the houses at Enfield Lock and the
third 24 lb common from the same area both were caught on legering tactics and
the fourth 23.5 lb common down by the boom when stalking the carp in the area. He
has had five 20 lb plus carp from the area in 2011 plus other smaller carp on all
sorts of tactics. These images can also be seen on the LAC Forum which can be accessed
from the ‘Home Page’.
LAC FORUM
I am pleased to see we are now getting some postings on the forum albeit that most members seem to be in the Stanstead Abbotts area. Please lets hear from members fishing in the Waltham Cross to Bow area. Even if it is all about poor fishing as we need hard evidence as to the quality of our fishing on the Lee.
Environment Agency
The EA are to launch ther Lower Lee Pilot Catchment project. This is a new catchment based approach to river basin management.The aim is to explore better ways to work closely with people and organisations to help achieve more for our environment. The Lower Lee (Hoddesdon to Bow) is one of ten catchments where the EA is piloting this approach. This a great opportunity to air our views on the poor quality of our river. So, send in as much feed back as possible. Information and facts are required from all anglers. I have been invited to attend the first workshop where I expect most of the stakeholders there will be representatives from local authorities which come within the catchment area, the LVRPA and BW.
21st May 2011
LEE PARK WAY, Edmonton
With effect from 16th June 2011 we have secured a further three years licence agreement but the stretch will be reduced to about half its length. The boundary will be just north of where the road travels under the pylon that straddles it. This is to keep anglers safe and away from the low cables that run along and across the river on the southern end to the the Lee Park Way footbridge.
15th May 2011
Fred French MBE FIFM
Sadly on the 15th May 2011 our President Fred French passed away in the Royal Lancaster hospital.
OBITUARY
Fred French MBE, FIFM
It was of much sadness to learn that Fred French, MBE, FIFM had passed away on Sunday May 15th after a long illness. Any one in angling that knew Fred would have found it a privilege to have been associated with him. He was dedicated to the improvement of our sport and his enthusiasm would have encouraged many of us to get involved in angling competitions and fishery administration.
His involvement in the angling world was too great for one individual to record but knowing Fred’s meticulous nature I am sure he had it all recorded away somewhere in those detailed papers he used to keep.
Fred was a retired Registered Insurance broker and his business was known to us as Glen Insurance. He lived in Tottenham, Chingford and Ware before moving to Ambleside in the Lake District in 1985. In his early years he was secretary of Edmonton & Tottenham AS and competitively fished for Defiant Mobile. He also joined the Abbey Cross and became a Vice President. He was a voluntary bailiff in the Lee Valley and in the 1960’s he took over as Treasurer of the London Anglers’ Association (LAA) when they had 48,000 members and 700 affiliated clubs. He was subsequently made a Vice President of the Association. In the mid 1960’s the Minister of Sport, Dennis Howell MP was instrumental in setting up the National Anglers’ Council and the Sports Council with local and regional Sports Advisory Councils. Fred failed to get the LAA involved but to overcome his frustrations he promoted the idea of local angling councils. Between 1969 and 1970 the Herts Anglers’ Consultative Association and the Waltham Forest Anglers’ Council were formed. Fred, wearing his NAC hat called meetings in many other Lee Valley districts and in 1970 these bodies buried their differences and formed the Lee Valley Angling Consultative Association with Reg Cooke (LAA) as Chairman, Fred French as Secretary and Tiger Warren as Treasurer. There developed a great lasting friendship between all the officers involved with the Consultative whether regionally or locally. As secretary of the LVACA he worked tirelessly for the future of angling in the Lee Valley and our consultative framework became a benchmark for the rest of the country. In the period from 1973 to 1985 his contribution to angling in the Lee Valley was considerable. Some of those achievements I list below: - close consultation with the LVRPA and the establishment of a Fisheries Officer post, formation of the Lee Match Anglers Council, largely responsible for setting up the Thames Fisheries Consultative Council (TFCC) and its four regions, chairman of the TFCC, formation of the Turnford and Waltham Abbey Angling Consortium, organising several ‘Anglers Forums’ and taking the lead in the first ever Thames Swan Survey. On retiring to Ambleside Fred was made President of the Consultative.
In 1973 (the reorganisation of the water industry) he was appointed by the then Secretary of State to represent angling on the Water Space Amenity Council and also organised the annual Water Industry Coarse Fishing and Game Fishing Championships which he continued for 30 odd years.
Until the formation of the Angling Trust Fred was Member Services Officer for the National Association of Fisheries & Angling Consultatives (NAFAC). He was a long time active member of the IFM where he became a fellow in 1998. Fred was awarded the MBE in 2002 for services to angling, conservation and people with disabilities. On the death of his colleague, Terry Mansbridge, NAFAC set up an award to be presented to persons making a significant contribution to angling and conservation. It was fitting that Fred received this award in 2008 in memory of his life- long friend and fishing companion. Fred continued to support the Angling Trust and became a Life Member.
On moving to the Lakes he soon became a local figure in angling and became Chair of both the Furness & South Cumbria Consultative and the North West Fisheries Consultative Council. He also held positions on the EA North West RFERAC, South Cumbria Rivers Trust. I am sure there are many more that I am unaware of.
Fred was also a member of three Thames Championship winning teams and won a silver medal in the 1974 National Federation of Anglers’ First Division Championship when his Hertfordshire Federation team was placed third.
I first met Fred when we were Secretary and Treasurer of the Waltham Forest Anglers Council and the LVACA but we did have a family connection as I schooled in the same classroom as his late wife, Jean (who was the sister of my brother-in-law). Although he lived in Cumbria we had regular contact and Fred would always support any issue in the Lee Valley. In 2002 he came down to the REDCAFE (cormorants) conference in Cheshunt and a few years later he attended the launch of the Lee Fishery Action Plan, I am sure we would have seen him many times more if we, in the Lee Valley, had continued his good work. On the formation of the Lee Anglers’ Consortium in 1992 he became the President.
Over the past few years Fred’s illness had restricted his activities away from home but that did not stop his involvement. Many of us were on his ‘daily distribution list’ which in Cumbria was apparently called the ‘World Wide French Web’. This was a communication service of emails and articles relevant to the world of angling and fisheries together with some humour. Some days there would be as many as 10 and very often he would inform me of happenings in the Lee Valley that I knew nothing about.
Fred approached angling issues with professionalism, energy and good humour and his passing will leave a massive void in all our lives. The Abbey Cross, LVACA and the LAC are honoured to have known and worked with Fred French MBE, FIFM, angling legend in the Lee Valley.
I apologise if my knowledge of Fred’s life has not covered any personal memories.
29th April 2011
Update
Lee Valley News
Olympics
The other Sunday,whilst walking around Waltham Cross and Bowyers Lake, I found many annoyed local residents as the White Water Centre public address system was bellowing out right across the countryside. I have been having a moan about the state of the river around the Olympic stadium as a fishery. We will soon have people taking a riverside walk and even a pleasure boat around Bow and yet the river is almost fishless. The Anglers’ Mail wanted a face to put to my comments. So some of you may have seen the article on page 7 of the 19th April edition. You will see my silly grimace but on the whole I thought the article got over a few points but unfortunately it did not bring forward any response from the authorities involved.
Moorings
British Waterways are introducing a new trial mooring policy and they chosen the Lee and Stort as trial rivers. I attended a meeting at Stonebridge Lock last week and was the ‘lone’ angling representative amongst the boaters. There are some important issues for the Consortium that need consideration in the very near future. After the meeting I walked the Lee from Stonebridge up to the A406 and what a sorry state the river looks. There were 10 narrow boats nose to tail just above Stonebridge and thick scum for 50 yards floating above the lock and from there all the weigh to the A406 was floating dead weed. In the 1990’s there was some great roach and chub fishing opposite the old riverside building and always plenty of anglers. Now there is no room to fish even if you wanted to and too much floating muck to even put a pole float through..This floating debris never gets cleared by BW and as soon as the wind turns in a southerly direction it will all drift back to Picketts Lock.
Overhead Cables
I have received a letter from National Grid giving notice of consultation of their North London Reinforcement Project. The project is a major investment to increase the operating capacity of the Waltham Cross to Hackney overhead lines to meet growing demand for electricity. This will facilitate an increase in the flow of power from new sources of generation, for example new power stations and wind farms. Wind farms!. The upgrade process will involve replacing existing wires along the route of the pylons. You may recall that only a few years ago the LAC had all the overhead cables from Enfield to Tottenham individually risk assessed and this resulted the in the three zones we currently operate under. To protect anglers safety we now need to learn of any fresh implications for fishing along the towing path.
All of these issues are to considered by your committee in the next week.
Water levels
Last week, with my LVACA hat on I was with the Environment Agency looking at the upper stretches of the Small R Lee. This river starts via a penstock as a stream off the Old R Lee at Cheshunt where it runs behind the Aqueduct Lock house into a culvert and under the navigation showing itself beside the towpath and then along side Marsh Pit, Turnford. There was no flowing water to be seen there but at Windmill Lane and Bowyers Lake there is a slight stream but it is only about 30 cms deep. It carries through under Highbridge Street and the M25 before joining the Turkey Brook around Rammey Marsh Enfield. We could not get to the penstock as access was via Aqueduct Lock house and that was not possible. However, to provide a flowing stream at Cheshunt by clearing out the riverbed etc would have to evaluated against flows down the Old R Lee and Turkey Brook. This is just one example of the affects of reducing water levels and flows over the past 30/50 years.
Hertford
I also took a look at the platforms the LAC put in at Hertford in the mid 90’s. There were 120 installed and I found over 100 but most are derelict and/or dangerous. I can remember that their front legs were in the water but, some now, are 6 feet back from the water. Yet another example of water levels and silting up.
Tree Maintenance ‘known as felling’
Whilst walking the Lee I counted nearly 100 mature trees had been felled down to ground level. This was between Dobbs Weir and Hertford and all were on the riverside of the towpath. I did ask for one to be cut down on Feildes Weir as it had fallen right across our walkway to our platforms. But it is still there! There was no consultation about the felling and the affects on the habitat. It is just part of their tree maintenance programme. I find it difficult to view that sort of devastation as ‘maintenance’.
23rd February 2011
Anglers Mail provides another report of a big perch form the R Lee. This fine fished weighed 4.12.0 and was caught by young angler Ben Parker. From the picture it looks like it came form the Library car park in Ware and the fish was taken on a lure. Once again it would be nice to receive reports in this office so that the report and photo can be put on this site.
8th February 2011
Brook Lamprey
I read in the Angling Trust’s news that British Waterways have found a Brook Lamprey in one of the Lee’s lock gates whilst carrying out maintenance work. That is a rare find for the Lee.
Cormorants
Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP has announced a review of the current licensing regime for cormorant control at the recent Angling Summit. This letter followed a letter to the Minister from the Angling Trust last November, calling for action to protect stillwater and river fisheries which are suffering significant losses as a result of cormorant predation. The Minister’s Department will invite the Angling Trust, as representative for all anglers, to contribute to the development of the scope, remit, and delivery of the review, which have yet to be decided. Since 2002 I have continually submitted evidence of how bad cormorant predation has hit Lee fish stocks and our sport but nevertheless I have sent further papers to the Trust.. One has to appreciate there is not a lot that can be done for the the Lee as our fishing is from a public tow path. However, control on adjacent waters could benefit the Lee and yet on the other hand we might see cormorants move off controlled waters to those left open. There must be a point where there is insufficient fish left to sustain them. This is a situation unacceptable to the LAC and so we must fight on. Please send your cormorant observations into this office as every scrap of information is important..
Lee Perch
You may have read the weekly angling papers in the last two weeks with articles on
big Lee perch coming from the Rye House to Hertford stretches.Gary Collins recorded
a big perch of 5.02.00 lbs from the Amwell pound on a 3 inch live bait. The Angling
Times also had a article on 25th January edition by father and son duo Gary and Sam
Edmonds. These two local anglers have caught hundreds of perch from the river using
lures. So with just weeks left until the end of the season give it a go.