Fishermen who have been eager to get back onto the banks since the end of the close season in June have been left frustrated and fed up at the sheer number of rainbow trout in the River Avon in Hampshire. One angler reported that they had caught 52 of the farmed fish in a single morning, with 20 from consecutive casts from the river which runs through Christchurch Harbour. Due to the spotty trout being a non-native species, anyone who unintentionally catches one is not allowed to return it to the water and instead is asked to take it home for them to eat.
Andy Walker of the Christchurch Angling Club, whose 900 members use the Avon, said: “Anglers have been chomping at the bit to get back out on the river only to find it packed full with rainbow trout. They are a non-native species and must have escaped from a trout farm. There are so many of them that anglers can’t get through to the traditional target species they want to catch like chub and barbel” He went on. “A lot of these fish are quite wily and anglers enjoy trying to outsmart them to catch them whereas farmed fish like these trout have got no sense whatsoever and don’t think twice about taking your bait. It is very frustrating. The pike are having a field day and I’m sure many anglers’ freezers and those of their neighbours are full to the brim with rainbow trout because there is no limit on how many you can catch.”
He added that there is nothing that the Environment Agency can do about the fish, so Andy hopes that the rainbow trout will be caught before they start to breed. “Spawning time is next spring so there is 10 months to catch them all.”
However, the Environment Agency is investigating where the fish have escaped from and have not ruled out prosecution.
A spokesman has asked that anglers who fish at the River Avon to report their captures of rainbow trout with the details of the number caught, date, location, size of fish, pictures if they are taken and the amount of hours fished. This information should then be emailed to SW_SWESSEXFRB@environment-agency.gov.uk
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