FISH 133 Spring 2019

IFM News
44
If you haven’t renewed yours yet, then it’s very
easy to do so. The easiest way is to set up
a direct debit with your bank and that way
your membership automatically renews at the
beginning of each year without you having to do
anything. You can always renew at any time by
logging on to the website and renewing online
and alternatively you can send us a cheque if
you prefer.
One thing is very important though and that is to
keep your contact details up to date, without this
we can’t keep in touch and you may not receive
FISH magazine or our newsletters.
Each year we get several renewal letters sent
back to us as the member has moved away
without giving us their new contact details, so
please just take a few minutes to check that we
still have your current details, thank you.
Iain Turner
IFM Development and Membership Officer
IFM Training Report
Throughout the spring the IFM Training Team run
a number of practical courses for people enrolled
on our various courses as well as delivering the
workshops for the Environment Agency and
electric fishing training.
We kicked things off with the IFM Certificate
Course weekend in March which we once
again held in the village hall in Rempstone near
Loughbrough. The weekend sees the students
cover a number of subjects with both theory and
practical sessions to keep them entertained.
On the Saturday we visited Epperstone Park
Hatcheries where the students were able to help
with netting and grading some ponds as well as
carrying out some electric fishing on the
Dover Beck. The Sunday saw us tackle a large
gravel pit in search of some pike and large carp
using fish finders and electric fishing kit from
boats.
Moving into April and we held the practical
weekend for the Environment Agency staff
enrolled on the IFM Award course. Much as with
the certificate weekend we break up the days
with talks, visits and practical sessions. This
year we visited Roy Marlow at the Glebe and
Makins on the Saturday afternoon. This allows
the students to be able to compare and contrast
the fishery types and management strategies
used. It is also great to be able to speak to the
owners and get their views on the complexities of
managing modern coarse fisheries first hand.
On the Sunday, following some excellent talks
from Ryan Taylor and Chris Williams of the
Environment Agency and Jake Davoille of the
Angling Trust, we undertook a stock assessment
for a local angling club. We were ably assisted in
this pursuit by Jon Wall. Following both netting
and electric fishing we had gathered quite a
catch including one of the largest chub any of
us had ever seen which weighed in a couple of
ounces under six pounds!
Mike and Paul ran another sold out electric
fishing course in April, which once again saw a
nice mix of people attending. Following a day of
theory and an exam the trainees went out into the
field for some practical demonstration, which for
this course was on the Rothley Brook just outside
of Loughborough. We continued our specimen
hunting with some monster gudgeon that were
as big as your hand and some very nice roach
and dace. For a stream you can jump across in
most places it was surprising to see such
quality fish.
Paul has also delivered an electric fishing course