It may not be quite as fast as football, or even cricket, but for fifteen year old Wayne Rayson and his thirteen year old brother, Shaun, nothing can be quite as captivating as fishing on the banks of the Ehen here in Egremont. Last year Shaun was awarded the John Fee Memorial Trophy for catching a 5lb salmon on fly, and the anticipation of repeating the experience keeps him intent for long summer afternoons. These young anglers will do well to catch five salmon in a season, but the many days they return with empty baskets are not wasted. They are utterly absorbed in the lovely skill of casting their lines more artfully, and are rewarded with some of the loveliest sights in nature: otters making their holts on the river bed, or the flash, almost too fast for sight, of a kingfisher, making a comeback on our river.
Secretary of Egremont & District Anglers, Neil Thompson, praises their discipline and their commitment to conservation. If they catch a salmon that is ready to spawn they will gladly release it, anticipating the new life it will release. The excitement is in the angling. Its juvenile members are a credit to their parents and the association, and the club is keen to recruit more. Angling might be the answer to parents' anxiety on how to absorb their children during the long summer holidays. As club rules insist that very young anglers are accompanied by adults, it could provide a very satisfying pastime for parents, too.

The club was established in 1923 and among the many well known local people who have been involved were Billy Hartley, Frank Gates and the late Francis Bunting who was also an active member of Egremont Town Band. Members of the Association, like many others, have been saddened by the death of long serving former secretary, Clive Fisher, who along with Francis Bunting made the association what it is today.
There won’t be many families in Egremont who haven’t had someone fishing the Ehen over the years and listened to tales of the one that got away. However, there can be few stories to match that of a certain assistant editor’s brother who is alleged to have caught a large trout while fishing out of his kitchen window on Vale View using Wilson’s sausage for bait. Now is that sporting?

From Neil Thompson