What happened to the burbot in the UK and when was the last one caught?

Declared extinct in 1972 - I believe they were a found in the Yorkshire Ouse system and a few rivers in the Fens. They were still being caught upto the 1920's though I don't know when the last one ever was caught. One of the things against the burbot is the conditions it needs to breed. In Eastern Europe it spawns under ice in Jan/Feb. For succesful incubation the eggs require water temperature of no more than 4ºC for at least 20 days. Burbot feed best in the coldest parts of the year; the longer the harsher the winter the better.


Chris

I believe the last one caught in the UK was from the Old West River [Gt. Ouse] by one John I'anson.
John is still around though fairly frail in his old age. A great character with loads of comedy running through his veins. He reckons he is the last of the Great Burbot Hunters.
Still using the rods he used in the '60s just with more sticky tape holding the eyes onto the rods.
He also hooked, but lost after an epic struggle, Hercules, the monster pike of Saxon Lake in Cambridge. I'm sure I have his account on tape somewhere. Extremely funny and should really be kept in an archive somewhere.
He filmed several fishing trips with the Cambridge Sea Anglers on 8mm, these are in the Cambridge Archives and I do have these on video.
Make a good club night.
Now where's my Burbot tackle??

Colin

i seem to recollect that the angling times or mail offered a reward for any information on the burbot in the late 70s or early 80s . im not sure that they wanted it dead or alive though ?

anyone know what they look like? :confused:
and please don`t say a fish!!

Could be described as a freshwater cod - it is actually a member of the cod family - the only one which lives in freshwater.

See Fishbase




Chris

Sask - how common are they in your part of Canada?

Actually it was the Cottenham Lode, near where it runs into the Old West. Shortly after the report of John's burbot in AT, in company with the late Dave Marlborough I had the privilege of fishing with John and one of his friends on the same stretch where he caught his Burbot.

Glad to know John is still around - as I recall we had a jolly time, lots of bites, lots of eels - but no burbot.

Theres always talk of Muskies and Tigers being stocked in UK waters. We know Rainbows are stocked willy-nilly, without a thought. Oddball fish like Golden Tench and Orfe are turning up in the strangest places, alongside Asian fish like Grass Carp. It would seem that we are allowed to introduce fish of any type, where and when we like. The Zander was released as an experiment and look how poular that is these days.
Surely if any fish deserves reintroduction, it's the Burbot? It was/is natural to our island after all. I,m sure anglers, especially some of the older chaps, would appreciate the chance to capture, or at least see, one of these fish once more.
I remember reading about Burbot in an article by Mike Shepley?..I think. It always struck me as cracking looking fish with oddles of potential.
Could Anglers Net, it's members and all the the associated organisations not do something about it? Would we be interested :confused:

[ 04. January 2004, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: Andy Macfarlane ]

Burbot is to the Fens what barbel is to the Ouse above Bedford. After all, there are probably more burbot alive today in the Fens than there are individual potential record barbel in THAT stretch of the Ouse.

The trouble, of course, if finding truly pioneering anglers who can adopt standard carp tactics to burbot-luring techniques.Boilies hadn't even been invented when Britain's last burbot made its curtain-call appearance over 30 years ago.

Do Burbot tolerate Braid? Are they sensitive to fixed leads? Would they they dislike bent hooks? These questions need to be answered.

I'm far too old to be a pioneer any more. But if anyone is inspired to take on angling's last great challenge, I would like to offer the following advice....

1. The mid-Norfolk rivers flowing east to west and ending up in the Great Ouse were always the best burbot hotspots.

2. Burbot feed at night. Pretend you're zander fishing but scale doiwn accordingly. If you're fishing the Little Ouse, Thet or Wissey you could get an enormous chub on your deadbait (try a gudgeon).

3. If more than three of you take this serioursly, stick together and stay that way. Don't argue and split up. The last thing we need is a Burbot Seekers' Society, a Burbot Catcher's Club and a Real Burbot Appreciation Association - each with two members apiece.

Good luck, you would-be burbot pioneers. And remember... burbot were caught in all sorts of places, including immediately below the head sluice of the Relief Channel at Denver (approx 1969-70).

Yes, I know we need iced-up rivers for them to spawn. But I was in Swaffham this weekend and it was cold enough for a populatrion explosion of the little codlets.

Good fishing!