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Just you wait


Anderoo

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About 10 years ago I waded into the (still ongoing) otter debate by saying I'd seen one at a little Thames tributary and despite that the fishing was good. I was told that means nothing, just you wait, in 10 years all the fish will be gone.

 

The other evening I was back at the same stretch fly fishing for brown trout with rich and we saw another otter. It swam upstream along the far bank underwater (we thought it was a huge fish at first!), popped its head up, had a look at us, and then swam off again.

 

We caught some lovely fat brownies, as I had on previous evenings this spring, and saw a few decent chub mooching about under the surface, also looking for mayflies.

 

I don't know if this is just the world's crappest otter, or it needs new dentures or whatever, but I'm afraid to say that the little river still has a decent population of fish despite the rampaging carnivores that are apparently decimating our rivers.

 

Anyone who predicted an empty river and a very fat otter a decade ago is welcome to explain this impossibility! :D

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And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music

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Easy to blame otters and herons for decline in waters but if they were that good at denuding water of fish they would be extinct having eaten all the fish millions of years before anglers appeared

The decline is down to man himself but likes to blame others for his impact on them

 

I have often wondered if fishing itself has a impact on fish IE if you catch a fish in late autumn in its fight does it burn up so much calories and fat it cannot replace it because the natural food and to an extent fewer anglers are not enough to sustain it through the winter?

The effect would be heightened in winter when theres even less of both ,perhaps the close season should be in winter?

 

The same applies to garden birds ,if the natural food in spring when their raising chicks is finite then feeding birds in winter could keep the week ones alive ,if more birds survive then per brood there must be less food available and chicks will either starve or have a weak start in life and not survive to breed next year if unaturally sourced food is unavailable ,perhaps our kindness actually kills more than it keeps alive?

Edited by chesters1
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Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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We had otters, and otter hunts down here in Sussex when I was a lad/teenager. Later, in the 1950s/60s, according to received wisdom, the otters were hunted to "extinction" (extirpation is a better word), only to be re-introduced by brave eco-warriors, to the background music of apoplectic fishless anglers.

 

But, but, but, .... on "my" trout streams, you could see, from time to time, some of these "extinct" otters in the 1950s/60s. Just as, then, and even today, (particularly if you are out fishing instead of writing to the angling press about the lack of fish) you can find plenty of these fine fat "decimated" fish that Anderoo was warned about. Good job he and the fish didn't listen......

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RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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Good timing this Androo.

 

I remember reading 30 odd years ago of the first otter sightings for many years on the upper Hodder (a Ribble tributary).

 

About 10 years ago I started finding a few ottered skimmers (in winter mainly) on a still water linked by a stream to the mid ribble (still too many skimmers in that water). Around the same time I did a bit of googling and found a report that said there was 6 known pairs on the ribble catchment.

 

About five years ago I started finding tracks and spraints on the lower ribble so knew they were about, but never saw one.

 

Out sea trouting last night and while sitting about waiting for it to go dark movement in the margins on the far bank (50 yards across the river) that I first thought was a duck turn out to be my first ribble otter sighting. To make it even better another one soon turned up and I was given 20 minutes of them play fighting and messing about.

 

30 odd years ago the mid ribble had very few if any barbel in it. Its now stuff with them and plenty chub, dace, roach,...........

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A tiger does not lose sleep over the opinion of sheep

 

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I think there have been some situations of interest to anglers which are unnatural consequences of a missing apex predator. Big senescent barbel in a dying fishery, for example. We should celebrate the return of balance.

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All,

 

I confess, IMO my carp mates are responsible for some rediculious claims, otter predation being one. From about 2009 til roughly 2013 otters killed 93% of all fish on your island. But you didn't have many fish left anyway. Peanuts had killed 93% the previous 5 years. That is all that were left from the 93% meat had killed in the previous 5 years.

 

Blame carp anglers with few skills for these excuses. Especially commercial anglers. Excuses is the reason I have 67,286, carp baits on my list of secret baits.

 

Phone

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One of the clubs i'm in has a couple of still waters not too far away and there have been a few carp etc found "apparently with their gills missing" and so the thick'o members are all like a mob of hangmen or whitchunters blaming otters...it really winds me up, i'm sick of hearing the same old shyte. Same goes for cormorants, herons etc.

Funny how you see anglers abroad and the banks are solid with all kinds of fish eating birds, mammals and reptiles and yet you never hear them moaning about them. Infact they often look for them to find fish.

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The same applies to eastern europeans ,if they can catch "every" fish in a river using the most basic of tackle we should be employing them as angling tutors they must be very good just think what they could do with decent tackle.

 

The decline will be down to the most obvious but hardest to control as big business rules the roost ,modern washing liquids ,fabric conditioner or some other modern chemical used country wide ,unfortunately sewage works can only remove solids and bacteria cannot remove every chemical so sewage companies polute the rivers everyday not just the headline occurrences

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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To save anyone else Googling, this means 'growing old' :)

...but if anyone calls me senescent.........

 

............I won't invite him to my 90th - so there !

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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