Christened the spit today....

[Chris Plumb]

The Kennet does provide some wonderful locations to fish but I can't think of any swims capable of producing barbel in those numbers, especially on the float.

I can't think of a Kennet swim - ANY MORE! (can think of a couple that used to !)

 

C.

[Tigger]

Otters have decimated the Kennet barbel IMHO.

 

The only possible positive on all this is any new barbel stock are going to grow up (hopefully!) with otters present from the off, so they may not be as easy to be a food item. I was thinking about this a while ago along the lines of existing barbel maybe didn't know what an otter actually was, as it was however many years ago that they were present in the Kennet. This might make them less suspicious...until it was too late....I dunno, maybe just me trying to keep my hopes up that the Kennet hasn't been totally screwed over!

 

Back on Tiggers fish....more wonderful specimens....do you see any signs of repeat captures in your outings at all?

 

 

If there's other species of fish and especially if there's crayfish present in the river I can't see the demise of the barbel being anything to do with otters as they wouldn't keep targetting barbel all the time...unless they're seriously good to eat round those parts lol.

 

I have had odd repeats that i've noticed but on the whole they're either different fish or I just havent noticed. I probably catch repeat captures more often than I realise (especially if fishing the same swim a few times on the trott) but unless a fish has something very distinguishing I just wouldn't notice.On most occassions...like yesterday I unhook and release a lot of them mid-river and the ones I take a pic of I rush to get them back for their welfare but also because I want to get back trotting and wind another in .

[lutra]

Nice one Ian.

 

Just got back from a couple of weeks on the Severn with the Family where had a bit of a species hunt going on for fun. A week and a half in and we had to target barbel because we hadn't caught one. Wouldn't have been like that on the ribble.

[Vagabond]

Nice one Ian.

 

Just got back from a couple of weeks on the Severn with the Family where had a bit of a species hunt going on for fun. A week and a half in and we had to target barbel because we hadn't caught one. Wouldn't have been like that on the ribble.

True, but the species hunt went well, with 13 species recorded for the boat on a river none of us had fished before.

 

Lutra and I agreed an honorable draw at twelve species each - we each missed out on Ruffe

 

(For the curious, the 13 were - Barbel Bleak Bream Chub Dace Eel Gudgeon Perch Pike Roach Rudd Ruffe and Zander)

 

Lots and lots of small fish, a few rod-benders, but nothing astonishing.

 

Or put another way, two anglers with over a 100 year's experience between them could not catch a Ruffe ! Amber had the only Tommy Ruffe of the fortnight, caught on day two, and despite a variety of efforts from the other anglers, it remained a singleton.