Clatworthy Reservoir is a leisure fishery and the main water supply for people in the Tone Valley. It is sparkling but low when we meet there in the summer drought. Simon spent much of his youth fishing on the River Tone and, once it was created, on Clatworthy Reservoir. He is, in his own words, “obsessive” about weather and about fishing. He has kept detailed records on both these topics for decades (counting, for example, all the tiny pond snails in a trout’s stomach, daily rainfall and temperature).
Simon paints a uniquely broad and detailed picture of how the climate crisis and the introduction of invasive species can devastate an aquatic ecosystem. In the 60s and early 70s, Clatworthy was abundant with diverse life. Now largely empty, the fishery stocks the lake with large, fat Rainbow Trout for the benefit of anglers. The fish lose weight till they are caught.