Into the deep
We get our waders on and go urban fly fishing in the heart of one of Britain’s former industrial hubs
The River Don, Sheffield’s main watercourse, is the last place you would think to go fly fishing – but thanks to the improvement of the city’s water quality, it’s now possible. We have come to try it out for ourselves with freshwater ecologist Dr Paul Gaskell of the Wild Trout Trust, and it looks like he has just caught something.
‘It’s a grayling,’ he confirms, examining the fish before releasing it back into the river. ‘These creatures are particularly sensitive to dirty water. It’s hard to believe they are thriving at the heart of one of England’s former industrial bastions.’
Today Dr Gaskell is demonstrating the benefits of Japanese Tenkara fly fishing to Jess England, a young fishing enthusiast. A crowd of onlookers has gathered on a bridge over the river a few feet away. It’s definitely not your average fishing expedition.
‘Urban fishing is now a growing trend thanks to efforts to reduce water pollution,’ explains Paul later as we drive to another fishing spot in an Audi Q2 Edition #1. ‘In Sheffield we have seen a big change since the 1980s. Industrial activities have diminished and the Victorian sewerage systems have been improved, but there is still much more to be done.’
Gradually people are waking up to the importance of water in urban areas and the diversity of the wildlife. Previously as cities developed, rivers were forced underground and constrained in culverts, tunnels and drains. Sheffield is spearheading a global movement called daylighting that seeks to open up buried waterways. It has led to a number of successful projects, including the creation of the Porter Brook Pocket Park in Sheffield.
‘This park provides people with a lovely green space to enjoy in a part of the city where there weren’t any before,’ adds Paul, who was heavily involved in the project. ‘Its clever amphitheatre design also helps the city be more prepared to cope with heavy rainfall and flooding than before because the water has somewhere to expand without flowing into the street or into buildings.’
Paul believes that urban fishing plays an important part in the daylighting movement and explains that the more people become attached to the rivers and see the benefits they can offer, the more they will want to defend them. That’s why he is keen for the younger generations, such as 19-year-old Jess, to get involved.
Jess is already an accomplished fly fisher: she has been fishing with her father since she was a child on wild rivers in Scotland but this is her first experience in town. As a young woman she is a minority in the sport but believes that negative stereotypes of the sport are standing in the way of it becoming more popular.
‘Fly fishing is seen as an old man’s sport but it’s really not,’ she explains, sheltering from a shower of rain under an Audi umbrella. ‘It can be quite extreme at times. You wade out into the water and you are constantly moving, casting the rod forwards and back. It’s also much more accessible to people in town than it used to be. If you want to have a go for free, Orvis the fishing rod makers do demonstrations at their shops or you can go to big events such as the London Fly Fishing Fair. Just be warned: once you have started it’s pretty hard to stop!’
