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Chris Klee has managed the fishing side of things since Ernie Wright retired. It has been well known that the water company has been struggling to maintain the quality of the fisheries under its control, as anglers become thinner on the banks and more small stillwaters open up. There is no doubt that the quality of the fishing is still second to none, but in its endeavours to maintain this position cutbacks have become inevitable. The first loss is reputed to be that of the historical hatchery, where over the years those magnificently proportioned trout have been reared. Is this the start of the slippery slide?Chris Klee has been a great friend to all of the anglers who grace the shores of the Bristol waters. He supports all of the events, he is known to anglers, whether they are interested in competitions or pleasure fishing. He always has a kind word for the visitors, and must be complimented for his work in having the new lodge built at Chew. He will certainly be a hard act to follow.What of the successor to Chris? At present nothing has been announced. I will be talking to the powers in charge of things this week. There are plenty of very able bodies waiting in the wings. Firstly my good friend Bob Handford, who at present runs the lodge and all of its concerns, could more than step into the breach! He has a very capable hatcheries manager in Kim Lucas. Either of these fellows would be very popular choices amongst the regulars. The trouble is that usually in situations like this a certain “type” of candidate is required, never mind the fact that there are ideal ones readily available. So keep an eye on this space – I will let you know as soon as a decision is announced.Back to the rumours: one very strong one being pushed around is that Chew is going to have to catch up with the other major fisheries in allowing a valuable resource to be tapped in the winter. I am talking about that thorny old number regarding pike fishing in the winter. There have been an amazing number of large pike caught on Chew in the past couple of seasons. On the fly, one of our locals – Andrew Hedger – has had a dozen or more pike over twenty pounds this season! On one trip, he invited ex world champion Jeremy Herrman, who was the only one not to catch a pike during the day – until he latched into a 32lb fish! Some fish on a fly! Typical of Jeremy! Wouldn’t it be great to be able to tap this resource? Maybe with a new manager in place we will be able to do so.Snap 1 –
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