How good was the River Eden?

[Anglers' Net]

Eden Rivers Trust News Release

 

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[mikeclough]

Forwarded to Simon Johnson at Eden Rivers Trust:

 

 

"I have fished the Eden and its tributaries since the age of 10 - that was 1963. My earliest years were mostly spent fishing one of the Eden's major tributaries, the river Irthing, as it was walking distance from our house. This is a small spate river flowing south and south-west from the peaty upland bogs of north Cumbria, joining the Eden near Warwick-on-Eden. Later, when I had my own transport, I fished the Eden more and now I rarely fish any other river. My comments here relate mostly to the river Irthing and are not really about how good it was but rather how different it was. I've also made some non-fishing comments because I think they are indicative of the changes to the ecosystem as a whole.

 

The most noticeable differences between the Irthing now and then are:

 

* There is significantly less water flow now. I estimate about 50% of the flow during periods of 'normal' rainfall compared to the sixties.

 

* The river now runs off after a spate in less than 24 hours whereas back then a spate would take 3 days or more to run off.

 

* Trout stocks now are not significantly less than in the sixties, nor is there much difference in the average size of the fish caught. A trout of 1lb is still a pretty good fish from the Irthing, as it was back then. In the Eden the trout stocks also seem to be very very good though I can't make such a close comparison.

 

* Sea-trout do not enter the Irthing in any noticeable quantity during the open season whereas it was possible to make fair catches of seatrout in the sixties.

 

* Grayling have made a massive comeback to the river after virtually disappearing in the mid- to late-eighties. The same has happened in the Eden. The grayling stocks are extensive and very healthy.

 

* Coarse fish have disappeared from the river. There used to be massive shoals of big dace (I caught many over 1lb) and plentiful chub (I had one of 4 1/4 lb). There were even some perch which is amazing for a spate river. The disappearance of the coarse fish coincided with a huge influx of cormorants and fish-eating ducks in the early eighties. I haven't caught a dace in the Irthing since 1985 and in the Eden since 2000. There are still some big chub to be caught in the Eden but I haven't had a juvenile chub since 2005.

 

* Shoals of minnows are now rare in the Irthing. There are still some stone loach and bullheads to be found under the stones though, which is encouraging. Sticklebacks are common but were never seen back in the sixties. The Eden fortunately still has massive shoals of minnows.

 

* Freshwater mussels have disappeared from both Eden and Irthing. They were very common in the Eden, less so in the Irthing (too acidic probably).

 

* Flounders no longer run into the Eden and Irthing. When I started fishing my uncle Jim used to go fishing specifically for flounders in the lower Irthing near Newby East. I haven't caught a flounder in the Eden since some time in the 90's.

 

* In common with other rivers in England there are no longer any water voles to be seen. They were wiped out by mink in (I think) the 70's. They were a common and delightful sight in my youth.

 

* Otters have made a wonderful comeback to the river Irthing. I have recently had the pleasure of watching an otter work its way up a pool that I was fishing for grayling. It was one of the most memorable fishing events of my life.

 

* Kingfishers have also returned, both to the Irthing and the Eden, though I don't yet know if they have been adversely affected by the harsh winter of 2009/2010.

 

I hope these comments are of some use."

Edited May 23, 2010 by mikeclough

[David Harkins]

Forwarded to Simon Johnson at Eden Rivers Trust:

 

 

"I have fished the Eden and its tributaries since the age of 10 - that was 1963. My earliest years were mostly spent fishing one of the Eden's major tributaries, the river Irthing, as it was walking distance from our house. This is a small spate river flowing south and south-west from the peaty upland bogs of north Cumbria, joining the Eden near Warwick-on-Eden. Later, when I had my own transport, I fished the Eden more and now I rarely fish any other river. My comments here relate mostly to the river Irthing and are not really about how good it was but rather how different it was. I've also made some non-fishing comments because I think they are indicative of the changes to the ecosystem as a whole.

 

The most noticeable differences between the Irthing now and then are:

 

* There is significantly less water flow now. I estimate about 50% of the flow during periods of 'normal' rainfall compared to the sixties.

 

* The river now runs off after a spate in less than 24 hours whereas back then a spate would take 3 days or more to run off.

 

* Trout stocks now are not significantly less than in the sixties, nor is there much difference in the average size of the fish caught. A trout of 1lb is still a pretty good fish from the Irthing, as it was back then. In the Eden the trout stocks also seem to be very very good though I can't make such a close comparison.

 

* Sea-trout do not enter the Irthing in any noticeable quantity during the open season whereas it was possible to make fair catches of seatrout in the sixties.

 

* Grayling have made a massive comeback to the river after virtually disappearing in the mid- to late-eighties. The same has happened in the Eden. The grayling stocks are extensive and very healthy.

 

* Coarse fish have disappeared from the river. There used to be massive shoals of big dace (I caught many over 1lb) and plentiful chub (I had one of 4 1/4 lb). There were even some perch which is amazing for a spate river. The disappearance of the coarse fish coincided with a huge influx of cormorants and fish-eating ducks in the early eighties. I haven't caught a dace in the Irthing since 1985 and in the Eden since 2000. There are still some big chub to be caught in the Eden but I haven't had a juvenile chub since 2005.

 

* Shoals of minnows are now rare in the Irthing. There are still some stone loach and bullheads to be found under the stones though, which is encouraging. Sticklebacks are common but were never seen back in the sixties. The Eden fortunately still has massive shoals of minnows.

 

* Freshwater mussels have disappeared from both Eden and Irthing. They were very common in the Eden, less so in the Irthing (too acidic probably).

 

* Flounders no longer run into the Eden and Irthing. When I started fishing my uncle Jim used to go fishing specifically for flounders in the lower Irthing near Newby East. I haven't caught a flounder in the Eden since some time in the 90's.

 

* In common with other rivers in England there are no longer any water voles to be seen. They were wiped out by mink in (I think) the 70's. They were a common and delightful sight in my youth.

 

* Otters have made a wonderful comeback to the river Irthing. I have recently had the pleasure of watching an otter work its way up a pool that I was fishing for grayling. It was one of the most memorable fishing events of my life.

 

* Kingfishers have also returned, both to the Irthing and the Eden, though I don't yet know if they have been adversely affected by the harsh winter of 2009/2010.

 

I hope these comments are of some use."

 

Interesting read.