PatrickALeigh

Small point of order for interest, John Wilson is not Martin Bowlers uncle, he is in fact his 2nd cousin ... of course, there are a lot of 'cousins' in Norfolk

A great fish. Taken a few months back and has just been waiting on weights and measures check on the scales... Well done Ricky Halliday.. a cracker

No, 117 is not the true amount..... 117 was the figure published by the Otter Trust and is taken as gospel by those who wish to quote the number, it does not take into account releases performed by other wildlife groups either, such as the VW trust from the west country.. Natural England, WWF etc like to publish this figure though ... however, the total number released will never be truly known due to clerical errors and paperwork issues.. Oh, and not forgetting the general mis-information and research prior and during the releases. Too few sites used as survey locals at the start of the project and 20 years of assumptions and still limited research data was only ever going to give a figure in favour of the research rather than actuals.... A quick search of paperwork from 2002 will give you a brief idea of the numbers.. but again, very grainy with the 'actual' numbers.. For instance and I quote " At LEAST 99 releases into East Anglia" I have got all the other numbers in emails and paperwork in my office as part of some research and 'fact' finding for other parties and if you are interested in it Elton then drop me an email. Oh and before anyone starts.. I like Otters and believe they should be in the wild, however, this badly flawed project has created issues for the environment we enjoy in terms of problems for fish, other mammals, birds and the Otters themsleves... I'll leave you with a direct quote from the 2009 otter survery of bedfordshire written by the author of the report for the local BAP (biodiversity action plan) "As can be seen in the discussion a number of otter signs and animals were recorded during 2008 and 2009 from areas outside the scope of this survey and from areas where there is no obviously good habitat. It is these animals that are of greater interest as they indicate a potential expanding population and use (or re use?) of new areas. Vermin records for the 16th and 17th centuries indicate the capture of otters from all over the county including areas where they were not thought to occur in the previous surveys. Is the discovery of animals a long way from the expected habitats an indication that the Bedfordshire population is reaching its carrying capacity and therefore animals are having to subsist in suboptimal habitats? If this is the case it is likely that there will be an increase in conflicts between otters and fishermen as the animals are forced to venture further and encounter the easy pickings that well stocked fishing lakes can provide. This will particularly be the case in the Ouse area where fish numbers in the river are declining" guess what? at least 3 of the East Anglian releases were in areas that Otters already habitated... missed by the surverys, but known to be there and spotted frequently by anglers in the early 80's.... but hey, the experts new best and created competition and welfare neglect because they thought they were doing the right thing..... Sometimes, they need to co-operate a little more with those who might just know more than them?

Not dead and realistically the 6lb it was weighed at. The pictures I've seen show an old very fat fish. Possibly holding some serious amount of spawn which has stretched it out and that combined with the stress of capture has faded the stripes a tad. Although caught from a very clear lake as stated, that does not necessarily mean a stripey fish. If it had spent the last couple of days laying up in a weedbed it's stripes will have faded out. Here's a pic of a big 4, very much alive and very faded in colour: Yes, pictures are not the greatest of the 6 in the mail, but more than adequate from the mobile phone they were taken from. Independent witnesses too for the capture, weighing and pictures. A very real capture and worthy of claim if he decides too. Bear in mind that a lot of the Cotswold water park lakes have crayfish in and I know of other big 5's from lakes in the area then it is a very real capture and well done to the person caught it. Wether or not it was caught whilst targeting pike is totally irrelevant, it was caught fair and square.

If you two guys are interested I would be more than happy to help you get a Tinca in Milton Keynes, drop me a PM if you are interested.... regards Paddy

Nice fish. Perch can spawn anywhere between late March and early May but 'normally' early April is an average. Had some at the weekend just gone and some had spawned already with signs of heavily flushed vents and empty bellies whilst otherwise were still as fat as barrels. Here's a couple the kids and I had: ( Hope you don't mind the hat Anderoo )