Healthy Rivers

[Guest tigger]

Just to backup what i am saying

 

Heads should be rolling for this kind of thing.

 

 

Link's not workin Brian.

[lutra]

Link's not workin Brian.

is now

[rob.imk2]

our local water supplier 29 offences fined £327,000 and are top of the list

[Neil G]

I think you will find that the cormorant numbers are down still, its just that a large number of them have come inland because there are no fish left in the sea. Something the goverment hasn't got the guts to sort out.

 

As for rivers being healthy.

 

OK, maybe a bit cleaner than in the last few hundred years but Just two weeks ago when i was fishing on the mid Ribble i had to kick a sanitary towel off my rig when i brought it in. Another of my local rivers is the river Darwen, a river that back in the 1600's was said to be one of the best sea trout rivers in the country. When i was a kid it was just an open sewer, however it has seen a slight improvement in recent years as it doesnt smell quite as much, and even has a few small fish these days. But i don't think it will ever see a sea trout again.

 

On the River Darwen the water company gets fined a few times a year when the sewage-works over flows due to heavy rain and pollutes the river. Sadly its seems to be cheaper for them to keep paying the fines than to sort the problem out. This and other kinds of problems are still too common from the water companies all over the country and i think it is time the gutless government stepped in and put the fines up.

 

For me a clean river would mean you can drink the water and there are not too many rivers like that.

 

Agree

 

The Avon where I fish a lot is, to put it bluntly a bit of a s**thole

 

Large amounts of bottles, beer cans and, worst of all fishing line, lure packets and the like.

 

Sometimes I feel like going down there and cleaning it up myself but I know it'll only get ruined again.

[Anderoo]

I think litter is a separate issue - 'clean' rivers to me means the quality of the water (i.e. the absence or otherwise of pollution) rather than how 'tidy' they are.

 

I'd also like to see some trustworthy statistics on otters, if anyone has a link. I've seen several otters on some very out of the way little rivers in Oxfordshire and I'm always enthralled to see them. Of course they eat fish. Lots of creatures eat fish. Cormarants I'm less keen on, but as has been said, they go where the food is.

 

I think anglers can be guilty of assuming rivers, lakes and fish are there for their enjoyment only, and that fish are only there for us to catch. They're not.

 

Irresponsible release of non-native animals (like mink) is both stupid and dangerous, but I think getting the native otter population back to 'natural' levels is a higher priority than making sure the rivers are teeming with fish for us to catch.

 

On the same river I sometimes see the otters I very often see water voles (possibly my favourite waterside creature!). Even if I don't see one I often hear the loud 'Plop' as they bellyflop into the water. They have been reintroduced and are doing really well. At the same time the mink are being trapped so the voles have a better chance of surviving.

Edited March 5, 2008 by Anderoo

[Neil G]

Well as for the quality of the water in the avon is seems okay....seen a couple of Otters near Bath and the river in Bradford on Avon holds a large head of barbel and river carp. Can't be too bad despite the s**tty banks!

[lutra]

I think litter is a separate issue - 'clean' rivers to me means the quality of the water (i.e. the absence or otherwise of pollution) rather than how 'tidy' they are.

 

I'd also like to see some trustworthy statistics on otters, if anyone has a link. I've seen several otters on some very out of the way little rivers in Oxfordshire and I'm always enthralled to see them. Of course they eat fish. Lots of creatures eat fish. Cormarants I'm less keen on, but as has been said, they go where the food is.

 

I think anglers can be guilty of assuming rivers, lakes and fish are there for their enjoyment only, and that fish are only there for us to catch. They're not.

 

Irresponsible release of non-native animals (like mink) is both stupid and dangerous, but I think getting the native otter population back to 'natural' levels is a higher priority than making sure the rivers are teeming with fish for us to catch.

 

On the same river I sometimes see the otters I very often see water voles (possibly my favourite waterside creature!). Even if I don't see one I often hear the loud 'Plop' as they bellyflop into the water. They have been reintroduced and are doing really well. At the same time the mink are being trapped so the voles have a better chance of surviving.

 

Try this, might not have all the answers but it make for some interesting reading.

[Jeffwill]

Them bloody Otters there breeding like mad, there everwhere, I'm sick of them eating all the fish lets kill em all !!!

 

By the way you say cormorants are enjoying fish stocks which are a direct result of cleaner water...........who polluted the water systems killing the fish in the first place........mmmm...........I don't think it was the birds or the Otters.

 

 

MARCH 2009 UPDATE

 

I have fished a couple of regular stretches on the River Wye for the past few years, producing fantastic chub action. The action was still good last winter even though there was suddenly regular otter sightings. Even disturbed an otter under a bank eating two chub at the same time.

 

This winter, the chub are scarce. The affects of predation are far worse than I hoped. I expected a fall in numbers as I saw the otters so often but I did not catch even one chub the last couple of visits but there are loads of fresh otter tracks.

 

The trouble in these situations is that the otters need to eat a lot of fish. They dont care about the natural balance, they will move on when they have eaten whats available.

 

Hopefully, not a problem near you soon, especially you Tigger!!

Edited March 16, 2009 by Jeffwill

[Worms]

MARCH 2009 UPDATE

 

I have fished a couple of regular stretches on the River Wye for the past few years, producing fantastic chub action. The action was still good last winter even though there was suddenly regular otter sightings. Even disturbed an otter under a bank eating two chub at the same time.

 

This winter, the chub are scarce. The affects of predation are far worse than I hoped. I expected a fall in numbers as I saw the otters so often but I did not catch even one chub the last couple of visits but there are loads of fresh otter tracks.

 

The trouble in these situations is that the otters need to eat a lot of fish. They dont care about the natural balance, they will move on when they have eaten whats available.

 

Hopefully, not a problem near you soon, especially you Tigger!!

I think the lack of chub is for some other reason, I imagine the cold weather has had something to do with it.

 

I haven't fished the Wye this year, but the Teme and lower Lugg have both been slow for coarse fish until very recently. Last Autumn was very good on the Teme and Wye for chub and barbel. I doubt very much if an otter or pair of otters has suddenly eaten all of the chub in the Wye.

 

The Lugg has had the largest growth in otter populations of any river in the UK over the past 15 years or so. The fishing? Bloody excellent and improving year on year for coarse and game fish.

 

Otters will not eat all of the fish in an area and then move on, they will stay and take the fish that they need and, will be there for possibly (hopefully) generations.

 

They don't care about the natural balance as such, they are the natural balance.

Edited March 16, 2009 by Worms

[Guest tigger]

MARCH 2009 UPDATE

 

Hopefully, not a problem near you soon, especially you Tigger!!

 

 

 

 

Why especially me ?