Barrie's Latest Article

[Bob Hornegold]

Now what was that word, let me think ?????????

I know----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hypocrisy

 

[Mike Wilkinson]

Hi Guys, let me try and simplify things a little as regards to the Lymmvale situation:
*My stepdad and myself took over as waterkeepers and bailiffs in 1996.
*The last stocking of barbel took place in 1993/94.
*We both saw barbel actively spawning in 1996 & 1997 over areas of stoney bottom when the water level was several feet lower than it is now.
*The water level is now too high to see these areas.
*No young barbel were caught in the following 5-6 years, suggesting those attempts at spawning were unsuccessful.
*Then in 2002 8 young barbel weighing 1 1/4lb to 1 3/4lb were caught, when the smallest usually caught were approx. 4lb.
*This year 4-5 small barbel weighing approx. 1lb have been reported on catch returns.
Make of this what you will, but it does indicate that offspring have been successfully produced twice in the last ten years.
Nb:Lymmvale no longer holds vast numbers of orfe, there are only a dozen left, it is now more recognised as a specimen tench and chub water (whoops!, that's another river species.)
Tight Lines.

 

[Murray Rogers]

It don't seem to bother the fish,,,
So why does it bother us?

Rods for our own backs!!!

 

[Fred Bonney]

Not just me then?
I for one am pretty well convinced with what Mike has said, as it relates to his water.
Bob's response, maybe?
Rumour has it, they've been placed there from elsewhere.

 

[Steve Spiller]

Fred you've got a P.M.

 

[Fred Bonney]

No Pm Steve

 

[paul williams 2]

How many opf you lot have caught a number of small barbel from rivers?....by small i mean fish from 1/4lb up to a pound......Bob you ask for evidence and say you can suply evidence of river barbs moving 10k in a day........evidence or hearsay?, I know of barbs that have traveled that distance and more, but in a day?....as far as them moving between two rivers is concerned yes i know......the Severn and Teme are an easy example?

My point is that the fish in Lymvale could easily have gone undetected untill "catchable" by anglers?

Didn't the barbel fry that(allegedley)moved from the middle Severn to local connected reserviors do just that?


Another thing that always gets my mind thinking is can a fish with such wanderlust manage to move in a saline situation in certain conditions?......not from somewhere like the Severn to the Trent of course but how about from the Severn to the Wye.....can conditions such as fresh water flooding and low seawater produce the situation for a fish that covers such distances and pass between a shared estuary?

 

[Steve Spiller]

Fred look in junk, thats where you will normally find mine!

 

[Tony Rocca]

Paul, I believe they got into the H Avon from the Stour via the joint estury.

I read so somewhere anyway.

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Thats correct Tony.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Paul,

Research into barbel movements has been undertaken by a number biologists, off the top of my head I'll guess this fact was gleaned from a paper by Lucas or Baras, but it could have been another boffin. Do some searching via Google and you'll discover that lots of interesting research has been undertaken, everything sampled, and factually recorded. Not guesswork, not assumed, not spoken of in tackle shops or pubs but measured. Evidence in other words.

If you need the actual paper before you can sleep easily at night you'll have to bear with me for now, time for digging out stuff is limited as I'm packing stuff in readiness for a trip to the Himalays and I'd need to revisit my research notes made for the Barbel Society talks I used to give.

Some barbel living in the Yorkshire Ouse ascend the Nidd to spawn. The gauging weir at Skip Bridge has now restricted their upstream movement in normal conditions. Previously they travelled much higher upstream.

Strange how the Nidd barbel population has fallen in the past 30 years...

I'm not wishing to cast doubt on any of Mike's statements but some fish clearly grow more quickly than others. There is a paper available that states barbel in stillwaters grow more slowly than their river counterparts. Some carp grow more rapidly than others whilst living in the same water. Growth may be genetic but it is also governed by how well they adapt to the available food sources. They are, after all, fish and not cloned sheep.

Would you not agree that fish in the same year classes attain different weights and have different growth rates?

Evidence of small barbel in rivers? Had one of maybe 3oz last time out on the Derwent. If you want visual proof then check out Big River Feeder Fishing video. Whilst shooting this I had over 50 between 1 and 2oz in a single day from the Trent.

 

[paul williams 2]

Bob......i won't lose any sleep mate, just that in the early days on the Severn i caught no barbs as far as i can remember of the size you say........but my old fella and me fished meat in the hope of a biggy ( 3lb+ then!)most of the time so our methods didn't lend themselves to small fish.

My nipper caught 2" barbel in a pool on the wye a couple of months back though.... a pool left after the floods that is.

I've never been convinced that the Wye barbel arrived soley through illegal stockings and i have a sneeaky feeling they may well have done exactly what Tony and Nigel say the Stour/Avon fish did........nature is a great "stocker", even if man started the ball rolling?

 

[Bob Roberts]

Well Paul, I'll let you count your lad's fish as a genuine stillwater barbel if you like!!!

But others may argue to the contrary.

I was fortunate to fish the Wye many years ago near Fownhope and catch plenty of barbel from a previously syndicate owned salmon fishery. The bailiff was a pretty enlightened chap and was keen to see coarse anglers move on to the Wye as in his yes the salmon runs of yesteryear were very much consigned to history.

He actually claimed to be the guy who first stocked the Wye with Severn barbel and I can tell you with certainty that they were thriving merrily.

Whether they actually moved, or indeed can move between the lower Severn, the Bristol Channel/Severn Estuary and the lower Wye I have no idea.

One thing is for certain, there are no physical obstructions to their passage from the estuary right up to Builth Wells or the shad runs would disappear.