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How Margaret Thatcher (unwittingly) saved our rivers
Greetings!
In the week of fulsome tributes (and some less so) after her death I pondered long and hard on what Margaret Thatcher did for fishing? For many days nothing came to mind. I didn't recall her clutching a salmon to her bosom or dressed in fishing attire for a photo call. Did she ever visit Balmoral to join the Queen in royal pursuits on the Dee? If she did, I suspect it was a well kept secret. Then suddenly it pinged into my head. Water privatisation.
 | | River Tichborne (headwater of the Itchen) on Saturday in the best condition anyone can recall for the start of a season. |
Now I am 100% certain that when Keith Joseph and all the other policy wonks put the Regional Water Authorities (RWAs) on the block for sale in the late 1980's the fate of our trout, salmon and the rivers they inhabit was not a consideration, but unwittingly the Conservative government dealt us fishermen a good hand.
The problem with the RWAs was that they were poacher and gamekeeper responsible for, to quote Wikipedia "the supply and distribution of drinking water, sewage and sewage disposal, land drainage and flood risk management, fisheries, water quality management, pollution prevention, water resource management and many aspects of the management of aquatic ecology and some aspects of recreation." This is probably not an exhaustive list, but you can see at a glance how conflicted the interests of the RWAs were. In short, pillager and polluter.
I started Fishing Breaks two years after privatisation, so I have had a ringside seat to watch the changes. I think it is fair to say the early 1990's were the nadir on the chalkstreams. I can recall literally miles of river that were devoid of weed. Sewage outflow pipes that changed the colour of the water. Canalised sections of rivers that still bore the scars of dredging for flood defence in the 1950's and 60's.
It is easy to rage against the people who did these things, but in the post war decades it was the nature of the times. It was a rare person who fully understood the ecology of the rivers and was able to articulate the damage being done. And to boot very few people had a vested interest in the chalkstreams as they were mostly preserved for the privileged few.
So with privatisation came the National Rivers Authority (subsequently morphing into the Environment Agency) with a remit to keep the water companies in line, controlling pollution and water resources. A regulator? You might arch a cynical eyebrow, but the effects were almost immediate. By 1995, just six years on, a World Bank report cited the higher quality of river water as a benefit of privatisation. The EU, much hated by many I know, has further turned the screw on the water companies who have been caught in a two way squeeze with strict domestic and European oversight.
Is everything in the river perfect? Of course not. As Charles Rangeley -Wilson eloquently sets it out in the editorial for the May edition of The Field there is much still to fight and fear for. However, as I walked the chalkstreams last Wednesday morning, on the day of Lady Thatcher's funeral, I saw rivers that she had helped, albeit by accident and chance, back from the brink.
5th RIVER TEST ONE FLY
On Friday (26th April) thirty of the best trout fishermen in the land gather on the banks of the River Test to compete for glory in a fly fishing challenge that pits them against each other and the native brown trout. With just one single fly to use during the day, the skill and wile of the angler is at a premium because if you lose your fly you are out!
 | | The 2013 One Fly Guides at the Briefing Day |
I am pleased to say that the competition has become something of a fixture in the chalkstream calendar, a great way to celebrate the start of a new season. Of course everyone is competitive, but the camaradarie and sheer fun of it all trumps that.
Ed Burgass of Fly Fish Map is back to defend his trophy, as is winning Guide Nick Parish. The Dream Team, champion team last time, are back with actor Geoffery Palmer a new face for the One Fly, but not to fishing as those of you who saw him in the 10 part Compleat Angler TV series will recall.
If you are in the vicinity of The Peat Spade, Longstock, just outside Stockbridge on Friday around 5pm drop in for the awards cermony. The bar will be open!
GREAT NEW FLY SHOP OPEN IN NEWBURY
I have news of an excellent new tackle shop for those fishing in north Hampshire, Berkshire or travelling the M4 corridor. In the Test and Itchen valleys we are fortunate to have great fly fishing shops: Orvis, Robjents and The Rod Box all immediately come to mind. However, Experience Fishing in Newbury fills the gap just 3 miles from the Lambourn and six from the Kennet.
It is one of the biggest and best laid out shops I have seen in a long while. It covers every discipline - fly, coarse and sea but rest assured the fly section is comprehensive. I couldn't see anything they didn't have and all the big brands: Hardy, Greys, Fulling Mill, Wychwood, 3M, Vision ..... As a very occasional coarse angler I must admit I was goggle-eyed at the cost of some of the fishing poles and the frozen bait section would do credit to a Tesco superstore.
For more information contact David or Ben 01635 31116 or visit www.experiencefishing.com
WIN A SIGNED COPY OF SILT ROAD - The Story of a Lost River
In the week that we run the 5th River Test One Fly I am pleased to bring news that 2009 team winner  Charles Rangeley-Wilson has just published a new book, Silt Road - The Story of a Lost River.
As Charles told me this is not a fishing book, but a moving account of how a chalkstream, the River Wye in Buckinghamshire has been a part in the disappearance of our natural world as the urbanisation of the English countryside has changed our rivers for ever.
I have a signed first edition on my desk as a prize for the first correct answer out of the hat. The question is: In 2008 Charles wrote and starred in a three part BBC series. What was it called?
Have a good week.
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