BMTF News
2020 AGM
The 2020 (35th) Annual General Meeting of the Bintry Mill Trout Fishery was held over the course of last week via email. It was unfortunate that members could not meet in person (due to the Covid 19 restrictions), but nevertheless there was a lively email discussion, with members approving the Officers’ Reports and endorsing the new committee’s plans for improving the river next year. It was also generally agreed that, despite the late start to the fishing (May 13th) it has been a very good season, with the river fishing well throughout and a record number of wild trout caught.
The season ended on October 29th and the fishery will re-open on April 1st 2021, although booking of day tickets for next season has started.
Healthy Finances
The club is now in a healthy financial position and able to fund the clearing of excess trees and vegetation on the County School beat, which will significantly increase the amount of fishable water available to members and day ticket visitors. Improvements to the channel are also planned which will hopefully increase the flow and create more habit for smaller fish and perhaps even some new spawning areas.
As the river is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Conservation Area, a number of permissions were required from various environmental agencies, all of which have been obtained.
The work was originally planned for this Autumn, but the heavy rains rendered the banks inaccessible to the heavy equipment required, so hopefully better weather next spring will allow us to get going.
Future Improvement Plans
This work is part of what will hopefully be an ongoing programme of improvement and restoration of the less productive parts of the river. As we have had a lot of support from the Environment Agency in the past, we think that future work will need to be funded from the club’s own resources and carried out by a combination of external contractors and volunteer labour.
If you would like to get involved, please contact our Club Secretary, Richard Nelson at rvnelson@freedom255.com