Cheers Lindsay
I spoke to Stuart a few years ago and helped out with a study on March browns, he was doing.
I still have some kit form then. I wasn't much use to him as i got very little time on the river that year, but next year that should be very different.
Butterfly nets i have been looking at and have an insect holding pen coming from ebay apparently it was used to house a praying mantis that has now passed on. It looks like a great way to store flies caught while out on the river to take home to photo.
Kick nets is what i have been trying to work out, plenty dipping nets about but only a handful of things a sensible size. I remember Ollie Edwards doing this in a video and he was using net curtains, so i might just make my own one
Doing kick samples is high on my to do list as any excuse to get into the river will not be passed up.
Daniel has expressed an interest in heading in the direction of marine biology, so i intend to get him out doing some of the work too. I'm happy doing the pictures and drawings and plodging about catching beasties, so i want him to try and do the chemistry bits, to make a record. Not sure whether i need that much info though
As said previously i'm no scentist and don't want to be creating a sceintific report. What i had in mind was more a reference guide for the River and its inhabitants that anglers would find useful as well as interesting.
LOTS of pictures with info on where in the river certain beasties live and how to identify them, with maybe a size guide and a timing guide (both time of day and time of year), you know something that might help you work out what is hatching so you stand a better chance of matching it.
I've ordered the books from the FSC so that should help, thanks for the pointer, i'd forgotten about them, even though i looked at that site a while ago following a link from the WTT
Dopey!
Going to be interesting to see where it goes
Sandy