Pond Fish - Do You Like Catching Them?

[lutra]

Well you are in a minority of at least two. I think anyone who introduces ANY non native species should have his gonad sac slit open with a rusty old opinel. There are a lot of old phonies in angling circles methinks. On one hand they claim to be 'conservationists' and on the other they want to introduce all sorts of fish that we know not what the long term consequences of their introduction may be.

 

I never have and never will fish in a shitty brown pond with fish in it who have names.

Were do you draw the line cory? I don;t think the rivers around me should really have any coarse fish in them, the last ice age so to that. I don't go for the theory that flooding got them all the way up here. I also don't much go for the theory of ducks or birds bringing them here, especially in the case of fish that spawn in the gravel at the bottom of the river. I think the helping hand of man is the most reasonable explanation, so should i be a good conservationist and biff all the coarse fish on the head i catch up here?

[Dick Dastardly]

Mebbe that's a minority of three.

 

4,I hope my playing "Devils Advocate" hasnt misslead anyone about my beliefs?

[Dick Dastardly]

There are 1000s of tiny little tarns, puddles and pools all over Scotland, with no inlets or outlets, containing huge, plague-like populations of brown trout,

 

 

Good point Andy I forgot that.

[Andy Macfarlane]

It ain't all rainbows....lol

 

It does make you wonder how they got there though. I simply cannot believe anyone went to the bother of putting them there. They're far too widespread and random and some of these puddles are in some pretty dangerous territory, which is hard enough to get to with the right gear, never mind with buckets of water. Why would anyone want to?

 

I just have a problem accepting the theory because it seems so implausible but as Sherlock says, ""When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"

 

I know of a little pond nearby and I would barely even suggest it's a pond. More like a very small crater full of concrete and tangled metal. That has had sticklebacks in from time to time. Sometimes it's been bone dry with no fish for years and then it only takes some water for a couple of years and bingo, the stickles are back. Again, I really can't imagine anyone goes to the bother.

 

Strangely though, there's a proper pond nearby and for whatever reason, that's never had fish in it of any kind and that's a bird mecca.

[Dick Dastardly]

Were do you draw the line cory? I don;t think the rivers around me should really have any coarse fish in them, the last ice age so to that. I don't go for the theory that flooding got them all the way up here. I also don't much go for the theory of ducks or birds bringing them here, especially in the case of fish that spawn in the gravel at the bottom of the river. I think the helping hand of man is the most reasonable explanation, so should i be a good conservationist and biff all the coarse fish on the head i catch up here?

 

 

I see your point Brian.

 

All though I'm not totally enamoured by commercials I have fished the occasional "better one".To a degree I don't mind if people build a new fishery on this line,hopefully with some thought to fish welfare and taking precautions against any damage to surrounding aquatic ecosystems though....................... they are however not a venue I would by choice limit my self to or spend more than the occasional day on.

 

The trouble though as I see it is that these type of waters are obviously very attractive (due to the ease of catching) to many anglers.Most of these are either too inexperienced or selfish to see that this type of fishery and the results they give are very artificial.As a result they start to want/expect all venues to be like this. This leads to two main long term problems (amongst several other lesser ones) First (often hailed by the unthinking/equally selfish traditionalist angler as a bonus/plus point) is that the rivers are deserted, Fine at face value as it leaves more room for those that want to fish them but in the long term results in clubs giving up the fishing rights on them and the subsequent problems this can/will bring. Secondly we see natural waters being "turned" into commercials due to stocking and management policies.Once again at the request/demand of anglers wanting "commercial" fishery type results from the water.

 

Over reacting? panic mongering? Well unlike most on here I will gladly back this up with hard facts and can take anyone to several waters in my area that have been "turned" or have fell into neglect/fishing rights lost full stop due to these influences. Choice again is the word.......

[Dick Dastardly]

It ain't all rainbows....lol

 

It does make you wonder how they got there though. I simply cannot believe anyone went to the bother of putting them there. They're far too widespread and random and some of these puddles are in some pretty dangerous territory, which is hard enough to get to with the right gear, never mind with buckets of water. Why would anyone want to?

 

I just have a problem accepting the theory because it seems so implausible but as Sherlock says, ""When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"

 

I know of a little pond nearby and I would barely even suggest it's a pond. More like a very small crater full of concrete and tangled metal. That has had sticklebacks in from time to time. Sometimes it's been bone dry with no fish for years and then it only takes some water for a couple of years and bingo, the stickles are back. Again, I really can't imagine anyone goes to the bother.

 

Strangely though, there's a proper pond nearby and for whatever reason, that's never had fish in it of any kind and that's a bird mecca.

 

 

It certainly is a mystery Andy.Even though the spread of fish eggs is taught by various bodies as fact there doesn't seem to be any actual proof or work documenting any research into it. Same with lots of things we as anglers come across/question..........just like the recent and perennial "pike anti coagulant" thing.

[corydoras]

Fine at face value as it leaves more room for those that want to fish them but in the long term results in clubs giving up the fishing rights on them and the subsequent problems this can/will bring.

There is a simple solution to that conundrum. Nationalise all the riparian rights to our freshwater lakes and rivers. Anyone with a rod licence can fish on a catch and return basis anywhere. Problem solved.

[corydoras]

Were do you draw the line cory? I don;t think the rivers around me should really have any coarse fish in them, the last ice age so to that. I don't go for the theory that flooding got them all the way up here. I also don't much go for the theory of ducks or birds bringing them here, especially in the case of fish that spawn in the gravel at the bottom of the river. I think the helping hand of man is the most reasonable explanation, so should i be a good conservationist and biff all the coarse fish on the head i catch up here?

Do you think that after the ice retreated the land mass that makes up current day England, Scotland and Wales was an island?

[corydoras]

Same with lots of things we as anglers come across/question..........just like the recent and perennial "pike anti coagulant" thing.

I had to google for that one, I'd never heard of it. It look's like a lot of old bollix to me. Fish can hardly have an anti-coagulant in their saliva. Fish digestive systems don't work that way, they don't have any saliva. As far as I am aware the only fish that have anti-coagulants as part of their feeding process are lampreys.

[Steve Walker]

Don't ask me how they got in these little puddles and believe me, some are puddles. I cannot believe anyone would go the bother of moving fish into them when there's no guarantee these puddle would stay wet from one year to the next. It would also be a long walk over very dangerous terrain, with a fish that doesn't appreciate being carried in a bucket, even with an aerator.

 

I agree that sounds nuts, but on the other hand during the days of Empire British game fishermen transported Scottish trout all over the world, in a manner I would have believed impossible if I didn't know otherwise. People sometimes do bizarre things when they get obsessive about a hobby! When we were kids, my mates and I were responsible for illegally stocking a number of small ponds - maybe Scottish kids are just better at carrying buckets over miles of peat bogs?