Old River Work Party

Last weekend saw the first of three work parties we have planned on the Old River during winter 2012/13
A freezing start had us worried that not many would show up - and we were only expecting half a dozen or so victims/volunteers to turn out - so we were very pleased to see 16 members show up - all keen to help us bring some old fishing pegs back into play.

A VERY big thank you to all those who gave a bit of their time on a very cold and frosty morning.

Our immediate objective was to cut back the overgrowth around 5 pegs where access and fishing have become impossible.
The old phrase many hands make light work - didn't really hold true as some of the pegs were so overgrown it was very physically demanding to cut back the overgrowth.

Yet again, John P donned his waders, and cleared out the rubbish blocking the exit stream through the swamp - resulting in a 3 inch drop in water levels over 3 hours. I think that keeping this channel clear is going to be a key feature in the management of this water - as it prevents the water from the moss backing up into the Old River, helping us maintain steady water levels, and maintain dissolved oxygen levels within the water.

Our next club work party will be Saturday morning 9am the15th Dec at Drinkwater Park. There's alot of litter in the bushes behind some of the pegs so we will be undertaking a thorough litter pick - please bring a pair of gardening gloves.

Our next Old River work party will be Sunday the 27th Jan 2014 where we hope to re-board the freshly uncovered pegs.

By lunchtime it was mission accomplished on the work party and the Pike lads were patiently sitting behind their rods. El Blanko (Ian Goodwin) finally caught a pike after hours and hours of trying.  Only a tiddler - but as you can see from the smile on Blankos face - they all count.

Those of us with more sense had a pint in the pub! Especially after getting to grips with this stuff.

 Thanks again to everyone who turned out.