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still water barbel - depressing news.


Guest lyn

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Guest lyn

I felt this warranted a new thread rather than tag it on the KF thread. Once again are you sitting comfortably?

 

 

This is not going to be an easy thread to post for two reasons. Firstly some may feel it’s ‘sour grapes’ believe me it is NOT! This is about barbel! Ian is well aware of my feelings regarding still water barbel. We had many ‘heated debates’ regarding it when we were together.

 

Secondly, my involvement with the BS. One of the main reasons I joined the BS in the first place was because of their ‘vision’ to stop the introduction of barbel into still waters.

 

You will only have to look back at my postings on this subject over the last year to see that it is something I feel very strongly about. The ‘motto’ of the BS, is ‘Swim wild, swim free’ If they were a company, I would class it as their ‘vision statement’ or even their ‘objective’.

 

The thing that worries me most about all this is where it stops or if it will. We now have RMC which is part of the ‘Premier Fisheries’ group stocking barbel in lakes. Billy Makin another one of the group as we all know has stocked them for years. Is there or will there be barbel stocked in every members lakes for example, Bury Hill Dorking & Anglers Paradise the list goes on. If we have all these large commercial fisheries stocking barbel in still waters are all the smaller ones going to follow suit? I have thought about this all day & it has left me feeling very depressed about the whole situation.

 

I have two questions I would like answered & I am sure others here will as well.

 

Right question one to Ian (Sounds like blind date eek.gif ) As you are Angling Manager for the largest commercial fishery in the country, with already, an excellent stock of fish. Why did you feel that you had to stock barbel into your lakes? (By the way I put this question to Ian this evening & his reason was because people wanted it!)

 

What people? I know I for one don’t want it, have never wanted & will never want it! Even so Ian perhaps you would like to add your own statement.

 

Question two to Steve. You are aware of my feelings on this subject, as I am of yours. I speak as myself now & as a BS member. What are the BS opinions on this matter? Not an easy question I know in view of the fact that, 1. Ian is a member & 2. A lot of BS members fish RMC rivers. (I know you have a committee meeting at the weekend. I will quite understand if you wish to answer in full next week.)

 

I really wonder if or how this practice can be stopped. I think I may start a ‘Free the barbel’ campaign!

 

lyn

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Guest 'eelfisher'

Dear Lyn

I understand your depression....

keep your chin up.

This is a good thread to watch from now on...well done on posting it out.

I for one will be interested in the replies that come along.

Now I want to see unity.!!!!

Yours With Respect......

Steve.

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Guest tony jolley

Dear Lyn.

Before I ask any questions of you and the other Barbel anglers on this forum, Please , please understand that I know very little about Barbel, or there needs so please bare with me.

firstly can I ask you to clariffy for me the reason that B,S don`t want Barbel in still waters,

I have fished waters with Barbel in them and not seen a problem with them being there.

I am going to make a comment now which Barbel anglers may not like,

If the barbel in Kickles farm are targeted ALL the time by barbel "specialists" then as they are known to be "resident" there they may as well (in my perseption of the situation) be in a still water going around and around. that dosent mean I agree with it. you understand?

This is ment to be constuctive,

 

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Tony B.T Jolley

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Guest 'eelfisher'

Dear B.T.

Hold on to your hat my friend......this could get rough, very rough.

Yours With Respect....

Steve.

PS...Go easy on him Lyn....he knows not what he has trod in!!!!

 

[This message has been edited by 'eelfisher' (edited 07 May 2001).]

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Guest davidP

I have no particularly strong feelings either way about this, although if push came to shove I'd rather they were in rivers. I'd certainly much rather catch them in a river but that's just because of my personal fishing history. However, I feel that provided the fish aren't actually being taken away from the rivers (ie they're farm bred stock surplus to river stocking demands and not river caught fish) and provided they can survive and grow in the water into which the are introduced (as it appears to be in most cases) then so be it. We know they won't breed and so does the owner, but it's his money and down to him how he spends it.

 

I can't however see any point in raising question 1 on here when the Gentleman concerned has already answered it. This is especially true given the people we have on this site many of whom are impressively committed to their cause - all it does is set him up for abuse. His criteria are different to the rest of us because he has a business to run.

 

And there lies your answer. It's a simple matter of economics - to make any decent money in fishing these days you have to attract the angler who simply wants easy fishing in an easy environment with minimal walking, toilets and a shop/cafe on site. A lot of them will only fish waters like this and will never go near a river, yet they hear and read about this mythical creature called barbel. So if they then hear about a local fishery that has stocked them then it's odds on they'll pay it a vist, hand over the cash, and hope to catch one. That's it, end of story, no moral or ethical dilema, no agonizing over the decision. It's bums on boxes and pounds in cash registers. It's a cut throat world with small profit margins where an extra 10% of anglers poached from a non-barbel water could be the difference between profit & loss.

 

So in some ways by talking up the barbel and raising its visibility and status the barbel community has actually created a rod for its own back. You help to create a demand for the fish but then don't like it when the masses want the easy option and somebody provides it to them.

 

Let's look at the situation though - a few thousand baby barbel stocked in still waters keeping the masses happy whilst there are 10's of thousands (maybe 100's of thousands) of wild barbel swimming free for those people (like most people here it would appear) who prefer to catch in the correct environment. Sounds like a pretty good deal to me!

 

God help us however if stillwater barbel ever get near to record size. The current arguments will seem like a minor skirmish in the lead-up to armageddon!

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Guest Spac-e-man aka eelangler

Lyn,

It would be interesting to know how these water owners/managers come to the conclusion that anglers want barbel stocked into stillwaters.

Every angler that I have ever spoken to falls into one of two camps. Either they are adamant that they don't want barbel stocking into stillwaters, or they just aren't bothered. Most of the anglers who fish these type of waters are happy as long as their string is getting pulled. They ain't to worried about what's doing the pulling.

Maybe it's a case of these owners telling anglers what they want and giving it to them regardless of their opinion. Anyway "not being bothered" is hardly a vote in favour of stocking barbel into stillwaters.

Our first course of action must be shout long and loud until we are listened to. Our second course of action is to vote with our feet and wallets.

Don't get depressed, get angry.

 

TTFN

 

Spac-e-man

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Guest lyn

Hi Tony

 

Firstly, any barbel angler will tell you that barbel do move they do not stay in the same place all the time.

 

I had a long chat with someone who knows the KF stretch (He does not post or lurk on here) to find out just how far they could travel. Apparently the stretch has a wier either end but in flood they may be able to move further.

 

With the floods we had last winter some fish may now be miles from where they were prior to them.

 

Secondly, barbel need running water & gravel in order to breed.

 

I hope that answers your questions.

 

lyn

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Guest tony jolley

As I have said I dont know the answers to the quetions i asked, and I believe that I WILL be put straight,

 

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Tony B.T Jolley

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Guest tony jolley

Thanks Lyn,

I`ll stand back and watch and learn.

 

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Tony B.T Jolley

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