NATURE COLUMN: Bill Cawley

AS an educational practice it is long past now, but there was a time when school children had to learn off by heart poems in order to pass exams.

I well remember having to commit verse to memory in order to pass my CSE in English in 1971 at Carmountside High School in Abbey Hulton.

One poem I learned was by the 19th century poet and priest Gerald Manley Hopkins called “Pied Beauty”. It begins:

Glory be to God for dappled things

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim.

This brings me neatly to the River Churnet and trout. As I wrote a few weeks ago in my article on the kingfisher, the Churnet, having suffered tremendously in the past, has now recovered and wildlife is returning – including the trout which a colleague of my wife saw in the river close to Sainsburys.

It was large and looked well-fed, making the most of the flies that were foolish enough to fly too close to the surface of the water.

The trout has the reputation of being a voracious creature and will take prey far larger than insects – there are accounts of large trout eating wildfowl and small mammals, devouring them with its sharp teeth.

It has a character not so far removed from the pike in its fierceness and rapacity.

The Churnet once had a good reputation as a trout river and an angler writing in 1933 recognised its past status while complaining about how polluted it was then – although this has now changed in recent years.

In the Middle Ages the river would have been full of life and the monks who settled at Dieulacres Abbey, near Leek, in the 13th century would no doubt have taken full advantage of the abundance of fish found in the Churnet.

The monastery had fishing rights not only along the Churnet, but also near its original base in Wales – by the Dee – along with fishponds at its farms. Fish played an important role in the medieval diet especially in religious observance and festivals

It was in the latter part of the Middle Ages that the first writing on angling ever printed in English appeared. Written by Prioress Dame Juliana Berners in the 15th century, A Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle (hook), published in 1486, continues the religious theme in this piece.

It is a short work with advice on everything from making a rod to which baits you should use and at what times of year. Apparently, the grub under a cow turd – ideally to be collected in April – makes excellent bait. The instructions on crafting flies will make a great activity for children (and adults) if you fancy trying your hand at some medieval fishing techniques.