UFTA News

FINAL BANK CLEARING DAY - 20 MARCH

The final bank clearing session will be on 20 March, meeting at Mill End (Dogmarsh) Bridge at 10 am. Parking in the field on the left bank immediately below the bridge will be available by kind permission of the National Trust (but please take care when entering and leaving as traffic crossing the bridge can approach very quickly). The objective for this session will be to clear the left bank downstream from Drogo Weir, an area that has not received attention for many years.

The first two sessions took place on 6 and 20 February and, although only six members turned out on each day, an overgrown stretch below Sharp Tor and the right bank at the top of Fingle Weir Pool were cleared. For the third session, on 6 March, more than a dozen members participated and both banks of the top half of Chagford Weir Pool were cleared.

SUBSCRIPTIONS NOW OVERDUE

Members are reminded that the 2010 UTFA membership subscriptions, which remain the same as 2009, should have been paid by 1 February.  

If you have yet to pay, please send your subscription as a matter of urgency to the Membership Secretary - Chris Hall, Higher Sticklepath Farm, Belstone, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 1RD.  

RIVER WALK FOR TROUT FISHERMEN

Mike Weaver and Tom Hill will be conducting a river walk on Sunday 28

March, meeting at Fingle Bridge at 10 am. This is a repeat of last year’s river walk, which was very well attended. The plan is to walk a stretch of the river, pointing out the kind of spots favoured by the trout and demonstrating tackle and techniques. If you are interested in participating, just turn up on the day. If you have any queries, contact Mike Weaver (Tel: 01837 840911; email: weaver.mike@virgin.net).

FREE CASTING INSTRUCTION

Members wishing to improve their fly casting skills will have the opportunity to do so on Sunday 21 March, when Tom Hill, proprietor of The Devon School of Fly Fishing and a Level 2 Instructor, will be offering instruction free of charge to any UTFA member. 10 am start at Fingle Bridge. If anyone is interested they should contact Tom by phone on 01626 866532 or mobile 07883 086094.

WEB CAM AT FINGLE

Members and visitors can now check on the state of the river by using the new web cam at Fingle Bridge. The camera looks down on the river from a camera on the Fingle Bridge Inn and provides an up-to-date view of conditions, without having to travel to the river. Go to http://www.finglebridgeinn.com/upper_teign/live.php

AGM

The AGM was held at Fingle Bridge Inn on Saturday 16 January, the snow and ice having cleared just in time to get a good attendance. Andy Waymouth was elected to fill the vacancy on the committee; otherwise the officers and committee are unchanged and can be seen on the Officers/Contacts page.

GRAND DRAW

The draw for the annual UTFA Grand Draw was made at the end of the AGM. The fortunate winner of the first prize of an Orvis rod was Nick Holding, and Mike Willis won the Orvis reel. The thanks of the UTFA go to Andy Roberts at Orvis for donating the first prize, which undoubtedly added to draw ticket sales and the resulting contribution to Association funds.

2009 TROPHIES

At the end of the AGM the trophies for catches in 2009 were presented. The successful members were Ted Crumby (best salmon), Tom Hill (best salmon on fly), Andy Waymouth (best sea trout and best bag of sea trout), Darren Everitt (best brown trout), Ian Pinwill and Richard Jackson (best bag and best fish at Kennick day).

VOLUNTEERS WANTED

The Teign Fisheries Association is still looking for volunteers to participate in surveying the small tributaries of the River Teign, to identify their potential for restoration as spawning and nursery streams. Work on restoring streams has already been done but more surveys are necessary before rehabilitation work can be extended. Volunteers will receive training from the Westcountry Rivers Trust, so that they can identify those stretches of tributaries that could benefit from work. If you are interested in volunteering please contact the TFA Secretary,Pat Howgill - telephone 01626 832874 or email pathowgill@aol.com.

TEIGN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION

The Annual General Meeting of the Teign Fisheries Association was held at the Ilsington Country House Hotel on 24 November. At the end of the meeting, John Malleson was elected to serve as chairman for three years; Mike Weaver continues as the other UTFA representative on the TFA committee.

Although the UTFA is an active member of the TFA, membership is also open to individuals and details can be obtained from the TFA Secretary, Pat Howgill - telephone 01626 832874 or email pathowgill@aol.com.

ENGLAND QUALIFIER

The Federation of English Fly Fishers will once again be fishing its regional qualifier on the UTFA fishery in 2010. This year the date is Saturday 29 May, when around 25 fly fishers will be competing for a place in the England team.

UTFA AT KENNICK

Ian Pinwill and Richard Jackson took the best bag and best fish awards at Kennick on 17 October. Details on Fishing Reports page.

UTFA members at Kennick on 17 October

FREE FLY TYING VICE

That's right, Richard Jackson has been donated a Lureflash Regent vice, used, but it still works fine. The original owner has requested it goes to either a junior member, or a member who has yet to take up this great hobby.

If you are interested please e-mail Richard.

ANGLING TRUST

The UTFA as an association is a member of the Angling Trust, which has been formed by an amalgamation of six main angling bodies to campaign for the protection and enhancement of angling, to fight pollution, abstraction, all forms of undesirable exploitation, and anti-angling campaigns. Government is only influenced by bodies which have a large membership operating on a wide range of concerns. UTFA as a club is entitled to various benefits, including liability insurance cover, as well as various offers and discounts. However, these benefits do not extend to individual UTFA members. To take advantage of benefits it is necessary to become an individual member of the Angling Trust. The cost of Angling Trust membership is £20 per year, and full details and a joining form can be found by going to the Angling Trust web site, www.anglingtrust.net

KNOWING THE BYELAWS

One of the UTFA rules states that anglers must be aware of and conform to the national, regional and local byelaws of the Environment Agency. As a result, some members have asked where these byelaws can be found. If you have a copy of the Get Hooked Guide to Angling in South West England you can find this information in the Environment Agency section at the beginning of the guide - or go to the Get Hooked web site (www.gethooked.co.uk).

ORVIS

The Orvis Company, Inc. is pleased to have the Upper Teign Fishing Association as a member of the Orvis Affiliate Network. We have agreed to ship products and provide customer service for orders we receive through special links on www.upper-teign-fishing.org.uk. We hope you enjoy our broad assortment of products.

REMINDERS TO MEMBERS

Parking at Clifford Bridge. In the past we have received complaints that cars have blocked access to the forestry track at Clifford Bridge by parking in front of the gate. This problem may well have been caused by walkers but we would like to ensure that no blame falls on the UTFA. Please ensure that you never park in front of the gate at Clifford Bridge or, indeed, any other gate or vehicular access point.

Mill End (Dogmarsh) Weir Pool. Members are reminded that as part of our arrangement with the Bovey Castle Hotel, guests from the hotel have priority at Mill End Weir Pool. If you are fishing at the weir and a guest of the hotel wishes to fish there please move on to another location if so requested.

Steps Weir Pool. The UTFA only has the left bank at Steps Weir Pool. To avoid any conflict with the owner of the right bank, members must ensure that they do not wade beyond the middle of the river when fishing this pool.

ORVIS OFFER

Members of the UTFA can now get 10 per cent off the price of tackle bought at the Orvis shop in the Cathedral Yard, Exeter. To take advantage of this splendid offer you must produce your UTFA membership card when making a purchase.
Important, this offer is only available through the Exeter shop and not through the affiliate link above, or on the links page.