Hi there,

There is a program about the burbot at 11am Friday the 31st on Radio 4. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/whatson/prog..._49700_57277_30

Thanks for that. As a kid I can rembember burbot brom the Broads. I can only guess that the salt water floods of 1953 finished them off.

Did you ever catch any as a kid Peter?

Just one, not very big. I remember my fathers pleasure and surprise more than anything! His father had caught them, and now his son had had one, but never my father himself!

A couple of guys used to fish for them in the Cambridge area in the '60s. One of them had a Scandanavian sounding name, though he was English. I know that they caught a few - perhaps there still some there. I believe that Vagabond also came across the angler concerned, perhaps he can remember a bit more than I can.

Quite right Chevin. The chap in question was John i'Anson (apologies if I haven't got the case and punctuation quite right, but it was pronounced Yanson)

Nice guy - met him at an angling show. He and a friend had caught burbot occasionally and came to the British Ichthyological Society's stand to talk about it. The upshot was that we arranged to fish his burbot swim with him and his mate.

Four of us fished there (it was on the Cottenham Lode just before it empties into the Cam) That was John, his mate, the late Dave Marlborough and myself.

If I remember rightly it was a 36-hour job, including two nights and a day. We used worm, maggot, bits of crayfish and small deads. We tried every sort of presentation we could think of. It would be nice to report burbot, but alas, all we got were eels, eels, and more eels.

Very enjoyable company though, and the sense of "being there" - fishing in the last swim known to produce a British burbot.

As some one who has caught nearly all of the present freshwater fish in Britain I really envy you guys who either had the chance to catch a Burbot or as Vagabond says merely "been there".A great shame when species dissapear but I dont think there is much hope or point in them being re introduced.I will have to put the "fresh water cod" down as "one that got away".

What will you swop for my burbot then Budgie?

Seems the demise of Broadland burbot coincides with the advent of marine diesel engines.

What would I swop? Hmmm a difficult one Peter.Would defeat the point a bit if I was to swop a species but would gladly swop an individual big fish.

Marine diesel engines ,not heard this theory before.Any other nature dissapear/go in to decline at the same time?

Yes, very much so on the Broads. Its well documented.