Frank Sawyer (writer)

Frank Sawyer MBE (1906–1980) was an English Riverkeeper, writer, and inventor of such flies as the Pheasant Tail Nymph. Sawyer also invented a number of different animal traps some of which bore his name, and the most widely used (the Imbra) is still approved for use in the UK although no longer in production. He died in 1980 on the banks of the River Avon at Netheravon.

Sawyer was born at the Mill House in the village of Bulford on the banks of the River Avon in Wiltshire.

Sawyer's first job as a riverkeeper was in 1925 on the River Avon at Lake in Wiltshire, just north of Salisbury. He was employed by Lieutenant-Colonel Bailley as assistant keeper to Fred Martin and managed the six miles of river around Lake House, now owned by the musician Sting.

In 1928 he moved as head keeper to the waters of the Officers' Fishing Association, which later became the Services Dry Fly Fishing Association (SDFFA). Sawyer served as head keeper with the SDFFA until his death in 1980. The SDFFA waters included some six miles of prime chalk stream fishing on Salisbury Plain and a number of small lakes that were constructed by Frank Sawyer in the 1960s.

By the time Sawyer took over as head keeper on the SDFFA waters, natural regeneration of wild trout had dropped markedly due to the decline of the water meadows, increased pollution and large amounts of silt running into the river from surrounding farm land and the Army’s tank manoeuvres on Salisbury Plain. By the early 1930s the fishery could no longer sustain a wild trout population large enough to meet the demands of fishermen. Frank Sawyer determined through detailed observation of the river that the mortality of eggs in the redds was virtually 100%. However, those few fry that did hatch had a reasonable chance of survival. Frank Sawyer introduced a large scale programme to stock the river with trout fry. Mature wild trout were caught from the Nine Mile River and other tributaries, stripped of their eggs and milt, and then returned to the river. The fertilised eggs were then reared in a purpose built hatchery designed by Sawyer before being released back into the river. Some 100,000 fry were stocked in the river each year from 1930–1953 and resulted in around 2000 large fish being caught each year and a great many more that eluded the fishermen.

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