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NO FISHING - WINTER - SALT


watatoad

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Although its winter and many of us are experiencing a bit of a freeze up.

 

Salt is a problem and some are saying any river will be better than a lake for a while...

 

Could someone help me out here as I am not sure I fully understand.

 

How much salt really gets in the rivers or lakes, generally speaking...???... A million pound question, I have always thought that it was probably a lot less than most think and very much less in many rural areas.

 

A lot of what the gritters spread is not salt, so that must reduce the amount, a lot of snow to my mind equals a lot of water therefore the salt is watered down considerably even before it goes anywhere. Surface water / snow surely must by definition have less minerals in it than river water to start with, surely therefore the salinity of the surface water/snow will need to absorb a certain amount of salt just to catch up with the river/lake water, but I have no idea how much.

 

So what am I on about...I think many stretches or river and possibly whole rivers must escape from all the salt everyone talks about getting into rivers.

 

Back in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's and the 1980's I cannot recall this being a problem so why has it suddenly become such a problem that fish are not feeding or even biting because of the salt? Certainly there are more cars on the roads but back then there was a lot less sand and grit added to the salt.

 

I am always reading these days of how the fish prefer or want or need salt in bait to get them feeding like mad this was not really the case back in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's and the 1980's.

 

So is all the salt and melt a real problem or an imagined one? Yes I fully accept melt caused some difficulty when fishing. But salt?...???...Really?

 

Sorry but perhaps I am having a senile moment but it just does not add up to make a picture. I have always fished through the winter and sure flood melt conditions can put fish off, but salt from the roads it's a fairly new one on me.

 

So can someone explain please

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Back in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's and the 1980's I cannot recall this being a problem so why has it suddenly become such a problem that fish are not feeding or even biting because of the salt? Certainly there are more cars on the roads but back then there was a lot less sand and grit added to the salt.

 

I am always reading these days of how the fish prefer or want or need salt in bait to get them feeding like mad this was not really the case back in the 1950's, 1960's, 1970's and the 1980's.

 

Salt was certainly a major problem during the '60's in a number of waters and especially the Hiz which was a brilliant roach water. During the big freeze one winter, Hitchin council scooped up tons of snow and dumped it on the ice over the River Hiz. Of course the snow was loaded with salt and grit. When the thaw began the salt went into the river and killed many of the roach, sadly the roach fishing never recovered from that. If the winter you are now experiencing continues for any length of time I would expect problems to come from the salt and also winter kill. Many anglers will be heart broken to go to their favourite lakes as the ice is melting and be confronted by the sight of most of the fish belly up and stinking to high heaven. It is bad for all, but it is particularly distressing for those anglers who have built up a fishery from nothing. It takes a lot of work to get where they were and it takes a whole lot more to get their fisheries back to that state.

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Salt was certainly a major problem during the '60's in a number of waters and especially the Hiz which was a brilliant roach water. During the big freeze one winter, Hitchin council scooped up tons of snow and dumped it on the ice over the River Hiz. Of course the snow was loaded with salt and grit. When the thaw began the salt went into the river and killed many of the roach, sadly the roach fishing never recovered from that. If the winter you are now experiencing continues for any length of time I would expect problems to come from the salt and also winter kill. Many anglers will be heart broken to go to their favourite lakes as the ice is melting and be confronted by the sight of most of the fish belly up and stinking to high heaven. It is bad for all, but it is particularly distressing for those anglers who have built up a fishery from nothing. It takes a lot of work to get where they were and it takes a whole lot more to get their fisheries back to that state.

 

Although I don't dispute what you say about the incident but the river Hiz is a fair way from Hitchin the nearest river to Hitchin is the River Oghton and in the 1960's I was only living a few miles away and I personally never heard of the incident, I wonder if you might have heard an Urban Myth. incidentally 1963 was the worst winter in the 1960's.

 

Perhaps if it happened it was an exception not a rule and it was certainly not a widespread practice for one thing very few of the rivers were accessable by almost any means let alone lorries dumping snow and salt in vast quantities.

 

You say they dumped, snow and salt I am puzzled why any council would transport snow and salt sounds like too much expense and much too much effort.

 

But I am referring to winter salt and snow melt.

 

The incident you refer to was one of dumping and not just what is put on the road which is what people are complaining about now and I stand by what I said it was not a problem certainly there are bound to be a few incidents but they were not the norm.

 

So why in this day of enlightened conservation greenie outlooks and 'caring councils has it become a problem suddenly?

 

Something is wrong with this picture.

Edited by watatoad

From a spark a fire will flare up

English by birth, Cockney by the Grace of God

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Worrying over nothing. You get all kinds of freshwater fish living quite happily in the tidal zones of numerous rivers and they seem to accept a certain degree of salinity. I don't think a little salty run-off into a spated river (which they would be in a thaw) is going to make the blindest bit of difference.

 

Did any fish pop their clogs in the thaw a week or so back?? Not to my knowledge.

 

Go back to bed and forget about it.

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Might even be a bit less to worry about than last year going by this article.

 

http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/articles.aspx?cp...entid=155630791

From a spark a fire will flare up

English by birth, Cockney by the Grace of God

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putting fish in salty water for a while is an old cure all for fish in tanks ,most lakes are fed and drained by something so the salt will disappear anyway

sugar used to be a big problem donkeys years ago some wise chap worked out half a ton was chucked in in the national it was a basic ingredient of ground bait then

Edited by chesters1

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As far as I understand it it isn't actually salt as such that is used on the roads but the material is still not good for an aquatic environment. I think the real problem is that when the snow melts you get a large amount of cold deoxygenated water dumped in a relatively short space of time into the venue.

 

I'm sure someone who knew explained about this on here a few winters back?

Edited by BUDGIE

And thats my "non indicative opinion"!

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As far as I understand it it isn't actually salt as such that is used on the roads but the material is still not good for an aquatic environment. I think the real problem is that when the snow melts you get a large amount of deoxygenated water dumped in a relatively short space of time into the venue.

 

I'm sure someone who knew explained about this on here a few winters back?

 

 

 

I would think with the extra water going through a river in a snow melt just the extra flow of water will put more than enough oxygen into the river.

As Andy Mac has already said fish do seem to like the tadal and lower stretches of rivers where the water is permanently saline. Infact a rivers largest specimines are often in these areas.

I suppose the sudden input of salt and icy cold water will put off fish what arn't used to it so may well kill the action until it's run off.

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Woder if it will make 'em taste salty?

"Some people hear their inner voices with such clarity that they live by what they hear, such people go crazy, but they become legends"
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I would think with the extra water going through a river in a snow melt just the extra flow of water will put more than enough oxygen into the river.

As Andy Mac has already said fish do seem to like the tadal and lower stretches of rivers where the water is permanently saline. Infact a rivers largest specimines are often in these areas.

I suppose the sudden input of salt and icy cold water will put off fish what arn't used to it so may well kill the action until it's run off.

 

thats what i think as well , the sudden change of water temp puts them off until the water temperature catches up with the air temp

Edited by tony tinca
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