On the Cover Four Old Geysers in Iceland. L to R, Nick Ring, Mal Shaw, Bob Ring, Alan Bailey. (See item below)

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2 VAC Trout Section Committee and Co-Opts: Roles and Responsibilities Bob Ring (Chairman) Contact: tel: or Chairing Trout Section Committee Meetings and the TS Annual Meeting. Overall responsibility to ensure the smooth running of the Section. Representative of the TS at the VAC General Committee. VAC Open Day co-coordinator for the TS. Fun Day organizer. Fish purchases. PLUS Assistant Fisheries Manager at Bellows Mill Barry Evans* (Secretary) Contact: tel: Season Ticket Sales (and liaising with Brian Gear and Chris Jennings on ticket preparation etc). Accounts. Agendas and Minutes of Committee and Annual Meetings. Maintenance of the Membership database used for communication and survey Clive Butcher Contact - TS Webpage on VAC website. Fly Casting tuition/introduction to fly fishing/fly tying. Newsletter (for communication to TS members) Neil Roberts - VAC FORUM Trout discussions moderator Chris Jennings Contact: tel: (early evening) (chrisjjennings@btinternet.com) - Day and Guest Ticket Sales at Riverside Road and Bellows Mill Brian Gear Contact: tel: or (brian.gear@ntlworld.com) - Season Ticket preparation, printing and distribution and liaising with the Secretary on ticket sales. Away Days and DMMM organization. VAC Training Coach Richard Russell Contact: tel: (richardrussell_9@sky.com) - Support for Day and Guest Ticket Sales. Support for Away Day organization. VAC Training Coach Mal Shaw - Social Secretary Peter Phillips - General Duties - Ford Lake, Bellows Mill bank maintenance (in conjunction with Tony Talty) On the Cover Four Old Geysers in Iceland. L to R, Nick Ring, Mal Shaw, Bob Ring, Alan Bailey. (See item below) Old Rods My item in the May issue regarding old rods prompted Ken Woollard to send me the following . Hi Clive Your epistle on the subject of old rods was interesting in that I also have a couple, one which is the Richard Walker superlite which I fished with in the 70s.at Grafham and other west country reservoirs. In a nostalgic moment I did use it at Riverside Road and did catch fish on it, much to the amusement of fellow anglers. However what is more important is that I have just returned from a holiday in the Derbyshire Dales and during my travels visited the Viators bridge in Dove Dale where Isaak Walton with his friend Charles Cotton first saw the River Dove about Sadly this river has been over fished in recent years but the club waters are probably better. On then to Rowsley and the Peacock Hotel on the river Wye which is probably the best trout river in England. It is the only river where for a 100 years Rainbows spawn naturally, so it is truly wild trout fishing. The peacock hotel have a policy of catch and release only on both browns and rainbows. As I walked the bank a fantastic rise was going on, a fellow angler had already taken four browns on dry fly which is the only method allowed. NO nymphs or lures. I was so inspired by all this that when I arrived home I found my split cane 9ft HDH Milwards rod that I caught my first brown on. I will only use with an AFTM 5 floating because sinkers will impose to much strain on this old rod. WE shall see, but it will be fun trying it. This is the second old rod that I have. I do have a third rod which was my first when I started fishing at the age of 7 years on the Suffolk Stour. Unfortunately the top joint was broken long ago. This old bamboo relic now hangs up to remind me of the wonderful fishing that I have enjoyed. Needless to say these days my rods are all carbon fibre, but some how split cane seems to be a living thing, nostalgia or memories of the past, whatever, but I do treasure my old rods and tackle. Regards KEN Ahh, memories Ken, memories. Makes me feel quite old (feel?)

River Itchen - 21st November 2015 There are still a couple of places for the River Itchen trip so if any of you fancy a try at fly-fishing for grayling this is your ideal opportunity.

The price is around 30-35 but if we are able to squeeze a few more in (there's really plenty of space) we may be able to reduce the price. Contact Barry vactrout1@verulam-angling.co.uk.

3 River Itchen - 21st November 2015 There are still a couple of places for the River Itchen trip so if any of you fancy a try at fly-fishing for grayling this is your ideal opportunity. Its a fabulous and well kept river and all who have been before say its a great fishing day. The price is around but if we are able to squeeze a few more in (there's really plenty of space) we may be able to reduce the price. Contact Barry vactrout1@verulam-angling.co.uk. if you're interested. A frosty start to the 2014 Itchen trip Bob Ring reports on FOUR OLD GEYSERS TRIP TO ICELAND (part 1) It all started when Mal Shaw decided to treat himself and his wife to a trip to Reykjavik to see the Northern Lights. One of the excursions they decided to go on was to a lake where there were thermal springs, which bubbled up by the lake edge and powered a sauna facility. They also baked bread in the hot sands by the lake. The lake that started it all Whilst there, Mal spotted a fellow fisherman trying his luck in the lake and they got talking, as you do, and he was told of the great fly fishing available in Iceland for Brown Trout and Arctic Char. On Mal's return we joked that we should all go one day. By chance, a few months later, the Herts branch of the Fly Dressers Guild had a talk on fishing in Iceland by a chap called Steve Cooper who owns Cookshill Fly Tying, a company producing and selling bird and animal skins for fly tying. He had fished in Iceland on numerous occasions. Mal, cousin Nick and I were enthused and Steve put us onto Skuli Kristinsson, an Icelandic guide, and we arranged to meet him at the BFFI (British Fly Fair International). It didn't take us long to decide to book for the beginning of June Alan Bailey didn't take much persuading to join our party and the four of us were set.

June 5th saw four very excited fishermen at Luton airport for the early flight to Reykjavik.

4 Iceland has very strict regulations regarding the disinfection of fishing tackle used in other countries. Nick found a Company that provided the complete service and certification to prove that all our flies, rods, reels, lines, waders, net etc had all been duly disinfected. June 5th saw four very excited fishermen at Luton airport for the early flight to Reykjavik. An interesting country Iceland, about the same size as England but unlike England's population of 53 million it has a population of 329,000, the same as Enfield Our guide, Skulli, met us at the airport in Iceland and gave us the bad news straight away - they had had a very severe winter and the lakes hadn't warmed up, as they usually did every year. Consequently the fly life hadn't woken up and fishing was very difficult. The good news was that his wife was a chef. The food we were to be served during our week was fantastic. After a circuitous route to our accommodation on his farm/guesthouse to see a few sights then a magnificent lunch, we were driven to our first lake. All the lakes were fairly shallow and involved wading and were on remote areas of various farms and therefore a fair bit of walking was involved over difficult, and often boggy, terrain. A few fish were caught and then it was back to the guesthouse for a splendid dinner at 8pm. Anyone for breakfast At about 9.30pm we were asked if we wanted to go fishing again, which of course we did With 24 hour daylight it was no problem. It was when I noticed it was 1am by my watch (2am in England) and remembered that we had got up at 3am to get our flight, I realised that this trip could prove tiring. A typical small Icelandic brown

Part 2 Next Month - Guide Shulli shows our Old

Discover the destiny of our quartet of VAC Old

5 Part 2 Next Month - Guide Shulli shows our Old Geysers what's available in Iceland But has Alan hooked the bottom or is it a spotted monster? And what happens when Mal realises he has no backing? Discover the destiny of our quartet of VAC Old Geysers on their Icelandic Saga in next months issue of VAC Trout Section News.

Bellows Mill Summer BBQ Divine assistance in the shape of five rolls and two small sausages would have been useful as more members turned up than had notified for the end of season BM Summer barbeque.

6 Bellows Mill Summer BBQ Divine assistance in the shape of five rolls and two small sausages would have been useful as more members turned up than had notified for the end of season BM Summer barbeque. Around thirty members and guests enjoyed a drink and a bite to eat with the evening warmer than the previously chilly weather. The event now seems to be a popular fixture to mark the end of Bellows Mill fly-fishing until mid September. At the end of the evening I took a handful of fish pellets to the corner of the lake where a number of trout were shoaling. The pellets were totally ignored; a sure sign, to me, that the water was too warm for the fish to feed and showing the wisdom of our decision to have a summer break. Autumn Season Tickets Those of you that want an Autumn Season Ticket (17th Sept to 16th December 2015) to fish Ford Lake at Bellows Mill should complete and send the form attached with this Trout News, together with your cheque, to Barry Evans. Bellows Mill Lodge The proposed new lodge at Bellows Mill is fast becoming a reality having been ordered in the middle of July. Delivery is expected to take place around the middle of August with construction taking a further few days. Assuming things go to plan it should be ready to use by all VAC members in time for the start of the Autumn Trout Season.

And Finally Probably the last "spring" season fish to be caught were reported by Peter Philips who emailed me as follows:- Hi Clive Thought I'd share this photo with you, following my visit to

7 And Finally Probably the last "spring" season fish to be caught were reported by Peter Philips who ed me as follows:- Hi Clive Thought I'd share this photo with you, following my visit to Bellows this last Wednesday. [29th] The plan had been to get my three, then do a bit of strimming. It didn't quite turn out that way. Got there earlyish, around 6.45am, to witness a fair amount of fishy activity - lots of rises with them taking flies off the surface. However, it soon became apparent that they had little interest in what I had to offer them. Over the period up to mid-day nothing, as in not a single snatch or tug. By this time I had given up on trying to apply any logic as to what was the most appropriate approach. Just about every item in my box of flies had spent time at the end of the line; buzzers, lures, nymphs, etc.. Fast / slow retrieves. Right on the surface, one / two feet down. Then, about 12.30pm, was that some sort of a tentative snatch? Continue the retrieve and about six feet out from the bank, bang. A very nice fish. This was with a mayfly; so, continue with this. After perhaps an hour, recognised that mayfly was not the answer to the problem. Switched to a bloodworm (on the basis that I noticed it had somehow come loose in the box) and on the third cast, bingo. First fish 3lb 15oz, second 2lb 11oz. Nothing to do with skill and/or ability on my part. Just persistence and bloody mindedness. In fact, I suspect these two poor fish had simply become stupefied by the bewildering array of types, colours, shapes and patterns of the items tossed out at them. They probably just hurled themselves onto the hook to get away from it all. The Jaffa cake was about the only thing that that hadn't been employed in the hunt, so was available to provide some scale in the photie. Roll on the cooler weather Cheers Peter.

8 For All Your Fly Fishing Needs Remember Mimram Fly Company Limited Top Quality Tackle at Rock Bottom Prices Ten percent discount to all VAC members plus all proceeds to the club. your requirements to Neil Roberts for a quotation at mailto:robertsnmr@gmail.com - Tackle

Verulam Trout Committee and Co-Opts: Roles and Responsibilities

September 2016 Verulam Trout Committee and Co-Opts: Roles and Responsibilities Bob Ring * (Chairman) Contact: tel: 01582.764442 or 07747795334 (bobring@btinternet.com) - Chairing Verulam Trout Committee