Didymo Dave – Why Check, Clean, Dry Matters More Than Ever!

Check out the video here: https://youtu.be/8Oqp-VLusMM​ (Apologies for the bad audio. Turn captions on to follow.)

At the club meeting on 23rd March, we had Didymo Dave along. For many, this was a first time hearing him, and he brought a mix of humour, straight talk, and a message that landed clearly.  Dave has a way of making a serious topic feel accessible. There were plenty of laughs along the way, but the key points came through strongly.

The focus was on didymo — what it is, how easily it spreads, and how little it takes for it to be moved between waterways without anyone realising. It’s not about big mistakes, but the small, everyday oversights. Damp boots. A net that hasn’t quite dried. Gear moving from one river to another too quickly.

He also spoke about the increasing concern around golden clams, an emerging freshwater pest that has the potential to spread quickly and cause significant disruption to river systems. The point was clear — this is not a future problem, it’s already here, and it reinforces just how important it is to get the basics right now.

One of the strongest messages was that once these organisms are established in a river system, there’s no simple fix. There isn’t a second chance. That shifts the emphasis firmly onto prevention, and onto anglers as the people most often moving between waterways.

The Check, Clean, Dry message came through clearly — not as a slogan, but as a habit. Something to be done properly and consistently. Not just a quick rinse, but making sure gear is genuinely cleaned and dried before moving on.

There was also an emphasis on normalising this behaviour. Not making a big deal of it, but simply making it part of how we fish, and quietly encouraging others to do the same. That collective approach is what makes the difference.

Underlying it all was a simple but powerful idea — this work is not just for now, but for the future.  For the children and tamariki who will come after us, and for the rivers we want them to experience as we have.  Dave’s style makes the message easy to take on board without feeling heavy-handed, while still making it clear what’s at stake.

A big thank you to Dave for the work he continues to do in this space, and for bringing both clarityand energy to a message that really matters.