The introduction of stocked brown trout on the Harrogate Fly Fishers water ceased in 2020. Historically substantial numbers of stock fish had been introduced annually for decades, of course in those days large numbers of fish were taken for the table, things have changed and now the vast majority of fly fishers voluntarily practice catch and release. The Committee decided that the money saved,(and more), should in future be used for conservation and river habitat improvements. In fact the River Nidd is no longer stocked from the bottom limit of the Harrogate Fly Fishers water right up to its source, therefore there are no stocked brown trout “dropping down” from upstream. Stocking still continues in some places downstream.
On Darley beck, the main trout spawning beck on our length 25 tonnes of gravel have been introduced and numerous trees have been “hinged” and secured to provide better habitat for spawning and to provide more cover for juvenile fish.
Darley beck is being regularly surveyed by electro fishing techniques to establish how well or otherwise these measures are working. Even at this early stage the indications are showing increased numbers of 0+ or “young of year” trout. It is hoped that electro fishing surveys will continue for at least another 5 years.
Fly life Surveys
Regular river fly life surveys are conducted and results supplied to the national River Monitoring Initiative (RMI). Early sampling indicates that there are at least reasonable numbers of the “main” species.
Water Quality Monitoring
"The club also monitors water quality on a regular basis, being an early adopter of the Angling Trust (AT)’s national Water Quality Monitoring Network project, featuring on pages 9 and 10 of their first, 2022, report
The club is at the very heart of the Nidd Action Group (NAG)’s water quality monitoring of the Nidd with other flyfishing clubs, with concerned citizens and in engagement with major stakeholder organizations including the Environment Agency (EA) and Yorkshire Water (YW).
Most of the Nidd is rated by the EA as ‘moderate’ ecologically, not achieving the ’good’ classification that is the EA’s goal (rarely achieved) for all rivers in UK.Find out more on NAG’s website:
The club’s WQ work aims to maintain and improve the condition of our beautiful river and its riparian habitat"
Invasive Species
Harrogate Fly Fishers’ are participating in trials to reduce Himalayan Balsam, an invasive species. Thirteen sites were selected at various locations along the river two of which are on the HFF water. CABI, The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International are heading up the trials. Seed samples were provided to establish if the strain/s of balsam on each site were susceptible to a particular type of rust fungus, fortunately ours were. The marked test sites were sprayed several times and results so far indicate that the plants are infected and the fungus is slowly spreading beyond the treated areas. The rust fungus doesn’t kill the plant but substantially reduces its vigour; clearly this is a long term project.
Two small areas of Japanese Knotweed have been treated by professional contractors and hopefully eradicated.
Habitat Improvement
A number of initiatives/projects have been started including:
Tree planting - so far 600 mixed broadleaf saplings have been planted and this is expected to continue.
In March 2023 30 assorted bird nesting boxes and 10 insect “hotels” were installed.
Affiliations
The club is a fully paid up member of the Wild Trout Trust (WTT) the Angling Trust/Fish Legal (AT) and the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust (YDRT) and works closely with all these organisations. It is a founder member of the Nidd Catchment Action Group
