NEWS 

Day tickets are available, a maximum of 2 Day Tickets will be issued each day.  These are available from Addingham Post Office (mornings only). 

No member, guest or day ticket holder may charge for instruction on AAA waters without written permission from the Committee, which if granted, must be shown on request.

Exception: A member may engage the services of a Fishing Instructor with the permission of the Secretary. 

 

AN INTRODUCTION TO RIVERFLY MONITORING

Our member Ian Banks has provided this brief overview of the Riverfly Monitoring project.

Addingham Angling Association are linked through some of its member volunteers to the Riverfly Partnership, a network of organisations, representing anglers, conservationists, entomologists, scientists, water course managers and relevant authorities, working together to: protect the water quality of our rivers; further the understanding of riverfly populations; and actively conserve riverfly habitats.  The Riverfly Partnership is currently hosted by the Freshwater Biological Association.

More information on Riverfly Partnership can be found on their website on https://www.riverflies.org

Under their ‘Anglers Riverfly Monitoring Initiative’ (ARMI) monthly monitoring is carried out throughout the year on either of Addingham’s Paradise or Sandpit pools. Volunteers don waders and carry out monthly 3-minute kick sample followed by a 1-minute hand search. They then spend time to sort and roughly count the caught invertebrates into 8 so-called ‘target groups’ that include:  Cased & Caseless Caddis, Mayfly (Ephemeridae),  Blue-Winged Olives (Ephemerellidae), Flat Bodied Stone Clingers (Heptageniidae), Olives (Baetidae), Stoneflies (Plecopter) and Freshwater Shrimp (Gammarus).

As the ‘canaries of our rivers’, the presence of these invertebrates help indicate the general health of the river - with any declines in water quality reflected by resultant declines in invertebrate diversity and abundance.

Scoring

The scoring of the ARMI invertebrate counts involves a lot of counting (and estimating!). Each target group gets a score, which are all then totalled up at the end of the survey to reveal the overall score for that site. The Environment Agency (EA) sets a minimum acceptable trigger levels for each site. If a survey breaches its trigger level, then it is reported to the EA immediately as it may be related to a more serious pollution incident.

Scores are calculated for each Target Group count as such:

  • 1 to 9 of each species = 1 point
  • 10 to 99 = 2 points
  • 100 to 999 = 3 points
  • 1000+ = 4 points.

The average score of the Wharfe at Paradise is typically around a ‘10’ and the Trigger Score is a ‘6’. 

To view the Paradise monitoring data select this link https://riverflies.fba.org.uk/open-data You will then need to select “Paradise” from the drop-down menu for “Select Site”, then enter a start and end date and then click on “Search now”. From the list of results, you can then select “View record” to see just what was caught. (You can see data for other locations on the Wharfe if you search by “Select River”.)

Addingham Angling Association are also linked through the Angling Trust to Anglers Against Pollution campaign, and their Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN). This also engages angling clubs like AAA in better understanding pollution issues on their home waters through monthly sampling.

 

RIVERFLY MONITORING RESULTS - MAY 2023

Ian has supplied the following results for 22nd May, 2023.

SPECIES                                              CATEGORY           ESTIMATED NUMBER

Cased caddis                                        A                             1

Caseless caddis                                    A                             3

Mayfly                                                    A                             1

Blue winged olive                                  A                             2

Flat bodied upwings (Heptageniidae)   B                            25

Olives (Baetidae)                                  B                            20

Stoneflies                                              B                            35

Score 10

 

WATER QUALITY MONITORING RESULTS - MAY 2023

Here are the Water Quality Monitoring results for May 2023.

Date 24.5.23

Time 1330

Paradise Pool

River level 0.24, average flow

Weather bright sun, no rain in prev. 24 hours

Water Temp 16c

Phosphate 0.00

Conductivity 210 us/cm

Nitrate 0

 

WATER QUALITY MONITORING RESULTS – JUNE 2023

Here are the water quality results for June 2023.

Date 13.6.23

Time 1200

Paradise Pool

Weather, warm (24c) sunny and no rain in the previous 24 hours.

River level 0.25, rising, normal flow.

Water Temp. 20c

Phosphate 0.12

Conductivity 210 us

Nitrate 0

 

CATCH RETURNS

We use the catch return information (including blanks!) to help us understand how healthy our river is. On this basis, it’s really important that all members and Day Ticket anglers remember to complete a catch return, even if you blanked. 

Members can submit their catch returns on line. Day Ticket holders should leave their returns in the catch return box at the fishery entrance, Farfield Hall.

The returns submitted for June 2023 show a total of 72 fish caught, which compares well with June in recent years.

 

COMMITTEE AND TRUSTEES

Trustees:

Howard Sunderland, Michael Roe, Cyril Guest, Peter Bell.

 

Committee:

Chairman - Cyril Guest

Secretary - Peter Bell

Treasurer - Cyril Guest

Membership Secretary - Rob Whitemore

Committee members: Paul Beasant, Richard Curry, Charlie Dutton, Robin Ellis, Graham Maud, Robin Priestley and Paul Tinsley.

 

Life Members

H Sunderland, M. Roe, P. Tinsley, B. Armand, M Moore, C Winterburn.