Fish ID required

[Dick Dastardly]

Not sure

[Vagabond]

Not sure

 

Well, I suppose you can never be sure without a DNA test (or taking the fish apart to look at the pharyngeals - but see below), which is why I always say such-and-such a fish has features consistent with such-and-such a species or hybrid.

 

All I can say is that if I had caught it, it would go in my log as a silver.

 

BTW I once dissected a suspected silver (at the fishery owner's request) to examine the pharyngeal teeth. All it proved was that a fish that looked like a silver externally had pharyngeal teeth like a silver. I could rule out bronze bream, but I couldn't rule out a bronze x silver hybrid. A number of anglers who were hanging on the result to "prove" they had caught specimen silvers were not too happy !

[Anderoo]

Well, I suppose you can never be sure without a DNA test (or taking the fish apart to look at the pharyngeals - but see below), which is why I always say such-and-such a fish has features consistent with such-and-such a species or hybrid.

 

All I can say is that if I had caught it, it would go in my log as a silver.

 

BTW I once dissected a suspected silver (at the fishery owner's request) to examine the pharyngeal teeth. All it proved was that a fish that looked like a silver externally had pharyngeal teeth like a silver. I could rule out bronze bream, but I couldn't rule out a bronze x silver hybrid. A number of anglers who were hanging on the result to "prove" they had caught specimen silvers were not too happy !

 

Ta folks On the bank I thought it was a silver (Vagabond, it wasn't slimy like a bronze) but thought it was worth checking. It was a really pretty little thing.

[Mark Wintle]

I'd say it was a silver with a tiny chance of it being a silver bream hybrid.. There are the very rare silver x bronze hybrids in there but pure silvers are far more common. In summer there are places around Medley where you can catch them one after another on the right method and in the right place. They like casters with plenty of hemp, or bread punch over a bit of fine groundbait.

 

Here's another silver bream from my catch two weeks ago:

[Anderoo]

Thanks Mark. It was caught on a pinch of flake over mashed bread while roach fishing in the Oxford area. Until you posted recently I really had no idea there were silver bream in the Thames, what a nice surprise!

 

Are they genuinely rare, as I previously assumed, and only to be found in a handful of waters, or actually quite common but just frequently ignored or mis-identified?

[Renrag39]

Yep, thats a Whitey. Consistent with all the tell-tales. Nice fish.

There's a few shoals on the Broads still. Not sure if I'd claim 100% to have had a few, but I believe I have, on the Thurne system only though.

[Mark Wintle]

Thanks Mark. It was caught on a pinch of flake over mashed bread while roach fishing in the Oxford area. Until you posted recently I really had no idea there were silver bream in the Thames, what a nice surprise!

 

Are they genuinely rare, as I previously assumed, and only to be found in a handful of waters, or actually quite common but just frequently ignored or mis-identified?

 

They are very localised but if you do find them then they can be present in large shoals. Of course they are frequently misidentified or ignored; that has certainly applied on the Trent, Bristol Avon and occasionally at Oxford - usually referred to as 'hybrids'. On the Thames I have caught them above Newbridge, Medley (though never above Godstow Bridge or at Carrot's Ham, or in the Seacourt), Clifton Hampden and Wallingford. I've had them from some Ringwood stillwaters though that was many years ago and they are long since gone from those waters, the Trent, Bristol Avon, the Oxford Canal, Nene, Witham and the Dorset Stour but never above Throop Mill; even had one from the Royalty last season. In the 50s and 60s there were a lot in the Royalty and Christchurch Harbour with fish to about 2-08 (Venables mentions them in one of his books) but very rare now.

[Anderoo]

Thanks Mark - very interesting.

[Rusty]

Until you posted recently I really had no idea there were silver bream in the Thames, what a nice surprise!

 

There is (or was) at least one more at Goring. I caught it whilst fishing for livebaits, it was Steve who identified it as a silver bream but I can’t remember if that was enough to save it from the livebait bucket.

[Kappa]

There is (or was) at least one more at Goring. I caught it whilst fishing for livebaits, it was Steve who identified it as a silver bream but I can’t remember if that was enough to save it from the livebait bucket.

 

Just out of interest does anyone know what baby Bronze Bream look like? In years gone by I used to catch tiny bream on the Thames near Oxford whilst catching livebaits at that size it was difficult to tell which species. By tiny I mean 2 inches long.

 

Rich