It’s early March already… and that can only mean one thing: the time has come for the Wild Trout Trust’s famous annual charity auction.
Whether you’re a hardened connoisseur of urban fishing, or you just finally want to see what the fuss is about, we highly recommend reading through all 298 lots in the auction catalogue (trust us, it’s worth it!)
But if you just want to cut to the chase, here for the 4th year running is our shortlist of all the urban lots, ready picked out for your bidding pleasure…
- Lots 69 and 70: 2 chances to win a week’s permit for 2 rods on the Town Waters of the River Ness in Inverness, presented by the Inverness Angling Club. This beat runs right through the Scottish Highland capital, and is best fished for salmon with a fly.
- Lot 101: Presented by Ffynnon Taff Angling Club and Nicholas Steedman: 1 day for 1 rod on the legendary River Taff guided by Nicholas Steedman. The Taff is a big post-industrial river with some difficult wading, but hit it one right, and you may find huge trout and grayling rising freely to exceptional hatches…
- Lots 112 and 113: 2 opportunities to bid for a full season permit to fish the waters of Merthyr Tydfil Angling Association, which controls not just the Taf Fechan and urban upper Taff, but also beats on the Tarrell and Usk.
- Lots 120 and 121: As above… but if you can’t commit to a whole season on Merthyr Tydfil AA’s waters, why not fish them with a friend for just 2 days instead?
- Lot 156: Guided by former WTT officer Ben Tyser, 1 day for 1 rod on the urban River Allen in Wimborne Minster (as featured in Trout in Dirty Places and Hugh Miles’ film Liquid Gold: A Celebration of Chalk Streams)
- Lot 208: Wander up the Wandle for the day with this blog’s very own Theo Pike, getting the latest news on this inner-city chalkstream’s rollercoaster recovery – and a chance to meet other Wandle Piscators and hook a trophy trout somewhere in south London!
- Lot 266: Mission Impossible(?) with Stuart Crofts is to fish for 1 hour on each of 4 different urban rivers within 15 miles of Sheffield, on Tuesday 3 May 2016, with the aim of catching a wild trout from each. If you complete your mission successfully, Stuart will buy you a pint of Yorkshire ale. If not, it’s your round…
- Lot 272: One day’s fishing with Philippa Hake on Yorkshire’s River Calder, targeting trout and grayling with simple dry fly and nymph tactics. Philippa is a member of the England Ladies’ Flyfishing team, and the urban Calder is her home water.
- Lot 291: Shrouded in mystery (likely for a very good reason – and you’ll be sworn to secrecy too), this is 1 day for 1 rod somewhere on west Yorkshire’s urban free-fishing trout and grayling rivers with local expert Dave Hudson.
- Lot 292: From urban to unspoilt, 1 day for 1 rod on a north Yorkshire beck with the Wild Trout Trust’s newest recruit, Prof Jon Grey. Fish through the dilapidated infrastructure of an old mill stream to more natural water higher up the system, all of it rarely fished, with a good chance of a 2lb wild trout.
- Lot 294: Presented by Slaithwaite and District Angling Club, this is your opportunity to explore the River Colne near Huddersfield with local guide Mick Pogson sometime between 21 April and 30 September 2016.
Once again the Wild Trout Trust is hoping to raise more than £50,000 in unrestricted funds from this charity auction.
Because it’s not linked to any particular project, the money from your successful bid(s) can be used for a range of purposes including basic project delivery tools like chainsaws and waders, match funding for other sources of funds like charitable trusts, and even bursaries for local groups who may need just a bit of kick-start funding for their own projects. (Who knows, it might even be your very own urban river that benefits!)
Bids can be placed online between now and the evening of Sunday 13 March: you can also send sealed postal bids which will be logged online on your behalf.
Bid early, bid often… and we’ll see you out there on one of our urban rivers!
