The Club is a private one, founded in 1877, of approximately sixty-four members and six Town Rod subscribers. The Club's waters consist of about 7 miles of wild brown trout & grayling fishing in the main River Frome, River Cerne and River Piddle, together with attendant carriers and side streams. The waters extend both above and below the town of Dorchester and the Club employs a part-time keeper.
If you have any news or a fishing trip report please email to Admin@grhe.co.uk
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Working Party
First work party of the year and we worked hard up from Whitfield Hatches clearing over hanging trees and bushes. Shame more people didn’t turn out because with more help we could have achieved so much more.
We also checked out the trout hatchery which is helping to boost the natural head of trout. We could see there where many swim-up-fry in the box and shoals of small fish all round the hatch box. It wasn’t until I checked the video at home that I realised the vast majority of these little fish where minnows!!
Little egrets for company
I had a good day on DFC water yesterday with eight grayling up to 40cm, one tiny sprod grayling of less than 10cm,
plus a couple of wild browns (possibly the same fish once in the morning and again later in the afternoon). I fished through the area we discussed with small tungsten bead nymphs, size 16 and 14 and initially had one brown, about 20cm, four grayling 32cm to 40cm, and the sprod grayling, I weighed the 40cm fish which was close to 2lbs. I also had a couple of little egrets for company for the first half hour of fishing, they didn’t seem too concerned about my presence.
Moved up into the hatch pool where I hooked but dropped a fish so continued above the hatches where I missed a further fish in a nice glide. I wandered a bit further upstream to renew my acquaintance with this stretch of water and came across salmon and possibly large sea trout busy on redds in a run between a series of bends.
I had a quick lunch watching the fish at work, then had a further grayling on a pink litebrite shrimp pattern out of the glide near the white cottage.
Continuing upstream I came across further salmon activity and spent part of the afternoon trying to get a reasonable photos of spawning activity using the camera through the lens of my polaroids. Due to low light conditions the results weren’t great but the best of the photos at least shows the extent of a redd with fish on the far side of it close to the bank.
I finally dropped back to where I had commence the day and had a further three grayling between 27cm to 30cm plus
What I reckon was the same trout as earlier in the day. I had a real heart stopping moment whilst trying to free my line from one of the rocks in the pool when a cock salmon with a hugh kipe showed itself a few feet behind where my line was snagged. I briefly thought that it might not be a rock that I was pulling against but the fish return to its lie whilst I continued my losing battle with the rock. There were a few fish rising during the afternoon but I stuck it out with my sub surface tactics.
I hope to get back sometime next week as the river, although low, is in great condition. As there are so many fishing distractions I will bring a proper camera and filters to see if I can get some better shots of the salmon activity.
Best wishes,
Tony
Day Tickets 2012
Day tickets for 2012 are now available :- please click here
Merry Christmas
I had a bit of time on my hands so was able to get out after grayling on Christmas Eve and also Boxing Day. The river was in fine shape, just the right amount of colour in the water so the grayling could be caught unawares. There were plenty of fish throughout the lower water, taking the nymph in places where I had never previously caught grayling so late in the year.
Christmas Eve was warmer, and I had at least a dozen fish, I also saw a large brown trout rising, so wished him a Merry Christmas and noted the spot for next season. On Boxing day I went back with my brother (narrowly missing John Aplin on the river walk), promising him that we couldn’t miss. There was a fair breeze, it was much colder this time, and the grayling were more reluctant. Despite the support of a handful of chocolate Father Christmases, action was slow, but we did manage to connect with some grayling and also saw a salmon moving.
The best fish of the two days were 46 and 47cm, with plenty of mid-sized fish too.
That’ll be my last trip of 2011 so I’m already looking forward to first outing of 2012.
Doug
Boxing Day Walk
Pre Christmas Trim
The weather was amazingly kind to those who turned out for today’s work party, especially as there was some horrendous weather forecast. Unfortunately it was again a very low turn out and it was down to the usual suspects to tidy the banks from Giffords Pool up to the Withy Bed, but we were unable to tidy the right bank because the river was in full flood and still rising, which was a great sight after all the low water this autumn.
Actually we cleared from Loder Garage up, but now Loders is no more, we will have to call it Giffords Pool bridge and Giffords Pool lay-by!
The Chairman battling with a undergrowth!
Work Party Dates
New work party dates have been added, along with a planned Boxing Day walk along the Lower Water in the hope to see a few salmon. Please bring the family along for the walk or come on your own and escape the Christmas chaos for a few hours!
Work Party
A great mornings work above 10-Hatches, with all the encroaching tress and bushes removed – thanks to those who turned out and helped..
Before
After
Work Party Saturday
Saturday 26th November – 9am – Ten Hatches – tree clearing – meet London Road lay-by (next to Piddlehinton turning)
Defeating the Aliens
Tuesday 15 November 7:30 pm
Herrison Hall — Charlton Down — Watts Room
Speaker: Sarah Williams, DWT Dorset Wild Rivers Officer
We shall fight them on the river banks : defeating the aliens
It’s big, it’s strong, it comes from the Himalayas and it stifles any living thing within reach. No, not the mythical yeti, but the alien plant Himalayan balsam, which is leading an invasion of Dorset’s rivers. Dorset Wildlife Trust & Dorset Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) have launched an offensive to give this and other harmful alien plants the elbow before it is too late for native river wildlife.
‘Return of the Natives’ is a 3 year project to remove Himalayan balsam from the Frome, its tributaries and other local rivers, and to examine the extent of the threat from other alien plants.
This will be a progress report and an encouragement for anyone interested to join the battle – or is it a brush war?
Contact for info: Allan Reese 01305 269912
Gallery
Work Party dates
Cormorant Watch
Angling’s representative body, the Angling Trust, has launched a new web site for anglers to record sightings of cormorants, goosanders and mergansers throughout the UK: www.cormorantwatch.org The new site is easy to use and will gather vital data to help persuade government of the need for action to protect fisheries. Friends
