Well, the rain came, the river rose, and rose, and kept on rising. A few hardy souls braved the high water but otherwise mother nature finished our season with a hint of irony. Too much water.

So , that’s it all over then, The Trout Season went by and now the Salmon Season has closed, except for one important thing. Don’t forget it is compulsary to send a Catch return to the EA if you have a Migratory Fish licence, do it now before you forget.

Also the club asked for your catch returns, particulary in respect of Triploid Trout, marked with a black spot.

BLack Spot identifies our Triploid Trout

It really is beneficial to know what has been caught, we are trying to plan a stocking policy to ensure great fishing for all , it really helps if we have good information to work with.

A catch return form is provided on this site or in your membership book, please make the effort to return one version or the other.

Thank You.

Whatever you’re doing on Hallowene as an angler the 31st October is better known as the last day of the Salmon season.

The river finally has water and fish are running so good luck to everyone who is able to get out for that last chance.

We would like to respectfully remind members to always follow the code of fishing etiquette. Please don’t hog pools, if anglers are waiting remember to cast and step … take one step downstream with each cast, and please, whether on fly or spinning do not cut infront of someone fishing a pool.

All best wishes for the last casts of the season, have a great day.

Tight Lines W&DAC.

Appealing all anglers. You will understand how annoying and frustrating it it to lose a fly box.

A Snowbee Tube Fly Box, with flies, has been lost at Willington, downstream from the Jubillee Bridge. If you have found this please contact the club secretary and we will re-unite the fly box with it’s rightful owner.

Many thanks.

You may have seen this story in the media recently. Lyme disease has been brought into focus with a major awareness push.

Did you remember that we brought this to you early in the summer under the heading “SHORT SLEEVES, SHORT SHORTS AND DEER TICKS.” We are repeating the story now because it is very important.

Where we can we will try to bring you helpful tips, not only for your fishing and for your enjoyment but also for your health and safety. We’re not the experts but we will do our bit. Take a look at the pages under ABOUT W&DAC, and in particular FOR YOUR SAFETY to see more.

The number of people contracting Lyme disease has quadrupled in the last 12 years – leading one famous sufferer to describe it as “the most significant threat to human health” of our time.

More than 1,100 people were diagnosed with the disease in 2013, according to figures seen by The Daily Telegraph.

The bacterial infection is carried by ticks often found in woodlands and, if left untreated, can cause neurological damage and debilitating fatigue in humans.

Celebrities such as Avril Lavigne, Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid are all known to suffer from Lyme disease.

Billionaire Phones 4U founder John Caudwell, his ex-wife and three children have all tested positive.

He told Sky News: “It’s really the most under-researched and most significant threat to human health and this must change, and it must change quickly.

“The frightening thing is that my son started with anxiety 10 years ago. He’s now 20. This anxiety became so severe that he couldn’t leave the house.

“Despite having endless doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, this condition just continued. Nobody could understand why because he was the most confident lad ever during his first 10 years of life.

“He just got taken out completely by mental illness and nobody could understand why.

“Then eventually the psychological symptoms turned to physical ones. The shock of that was immense – that he’d lost 10 years of his life due to a bacteria.

“It was also a huge sense of relief because all of a sudden we had something we could treat.”

Many GPs remain ignorant of the disease, charities have claimed.

Potential causes for the increased infection rate are the greater number of housing developments in rural areas, warmer winters that prolong the life of ticks and immigration from central and eastern Europe, where Lyme disease is more common.

One way of reducing the chance of contracting the disease is to cover up when visiting wooded areas.

With invasive species the hot topic this leaflet my be helpful to anglers, available from the main bodies covering rivers and angling.

Anglers may feel that we are able to achieve very little  but by helping to slow the spread on our own river and avoid transfer onto other waters we can do something. We may not be able to turn back the clock but we can at least slow progress and protect waters which are not yet infected/inhabitted.

Anglers, please be aware any PINK SALMON caught and killed is not part of your catch limit.  Please report any catches to the club.

Pink Salmon are non-native fish and not welcome in the River Wear.

Pink Salmon have been found in the Tyne and now in the Wear. If a Pink Salmon is caught, DO NOT RETURN it to the river.

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A tree which fell across a popular stretch of water has been removed by the bank work team. The fallen tree blocked the path of anglers moving through this pool and offerd a great snagging opportunity for any fish hooked.

A fallen tree blocks the angler’s way.

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A young Willington Angling Club member tackles the River Deveron, his dad watches on from behind the camera as he fishes through a promising pool.

Cieran ODowd fishes the River Deveron

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You may have seen reports in the Northern Echo and on Tyne Tees news about Signal Crayfish being discovered in the River Guanless.

We have two kinds of Crayfish, White Clawed Crayfish are native and do not pose a threat, Red Clawed American Cray Fish were introduced to this country commercially, their spread is rapid and the damage they cause is significant.

We cannot put the genie back in the bottle and preventing the spread of these unwelcome arrivals is not realistic but we can take some precautions to prevent spreading them oursleves. Please go the the information on this site to learn how you can play your part.

This can be found under the heading ABOUT W&DAC and is headed:  Invasive Species. North American Signal Crayfish.

It is important that any angler who is moving from water to water, river to river, follows some basic best practice to avoid transporting the problem on your equipment or clothing.

Please take a little time to make yourself aware. Thank you.