Trout in the Town:

Three local guides - Paul Gaskell and John Pearson (both of SPRITE and Discover Tenkara) along with Orvis guide Stuart Crofts - gave a free guided tenkara experience valued at over £500 on Saturday. The event was run as a thank-you to people who have supported SPRITE over the last few years. We were delighted to receive very generous donations direct to SPRITE charitable funds from two attendees (one a brand new member and one existing member) that totaled almost £100. Very many thanks for such generous donations ( whether volunteering "in kind" or in cash ) as all will be focused on continuing to look after the river and educate people in the value of their urban rivers and wildlife. Some selected quotes from attendees include: "I've learned more this morning than in the last 5 years of fishing" "Just wanted to thank you for a fantastic 'Tenkara Day' on Saturday. I had a great time, learnt masses and masses and I was really touched by how ge...

Just be thankful you are not a trout at this time of year: "Non Migratory" trout trying to migrate from Paul Gaskell on Vimeo .

Sunday the 23rd September saw the first " Riverlution " festival for a whole collection of local river users and interest groups including local rivers trust members, kayakers, cyclists, river stewards, breweries, traders and more. SPRITE (Sheffield Trout in the Town group) teamed up with Discover Tenkara to offer kids (and their parents or guardians!) the chance to try traditional Japanese style fly fishing known as "tenkara". The starting point was looking in the bug sample tray to see the kinds of wriggly things that lived in the river in the city centre. This lead straight on into learning how to tie an artificial fly with SPRITE and Fly Dresser's Guild members: Not bad at all for a first effort! This entitled participants to get a sticker on their certificate: Next (for another sticker) came the "on the street" casting lesson: Then, once togged up in thigh waders, safety sun glasses, buoyancy aid and armed with tenkara rod, line ...

It was my great pleasure to travel up to the west coast of Scotland on Sunday (24th June)to meet up with Alan Kettle-White and Daniel Brazier of Argyll Fisheries Trust . Staying over until Tuesday enabled me to get in a habitat survey of the Black Lynn Burn in Oban on the Monday as well as meeting local stakeholders such as businessman Graham MacQueen of MacQueen Brothers who are keen to have local community members discover, re-engage and value their local urban river. Hopping into the river to walk along the riverbed was the best way to get to know the burn. It didn't take long to find signs of life: In fact, away from prying eyes, there was some very good habitat- particularly for juvenile trout (although also a lot of Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed also in evidence!) As long as this small structure does not conceal services (such as sewage/gas pipes or electrical cables) and appropriate permission can be gained, the variety in depth and flow up...

The old adage about pictures and thousands of words probably applies here. The following small selection of moments from a great day out. Many thanks Kris for purchasing the lot and supporting the WTT (yet again!). Click on each picture to view full size. Don't miss the video at the end of the post, and if you'd like to just view the photos as a slideshow - click here: http://s231.photobucket.com/albums/ee67/Totalpunter/KrisAuction/?albumview=slideshow And if still pictures are worth a thousand, then I'm not sure what those new fangled moving pictures translate to: Mayfly Tenkara: Missed opportunity from Paul Gaskell on Vimeo .