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What Happens When A River Dries Out - e.g Teme


Del_R

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A few years back I used to get up to the Teme in Worcestershire. Caught my first ever barbel and chub there and it was a beautiful river. Thinking about getting up there again, but can't get last summer's photos out of my mind when the heatwave dried up great swathes of the river. How long would it take for a river like that to get back to some kind of natural equilibrium - I would have guessed several years? (Assuming no repeat of the heatwave). Anyone been on the Teme this season yet?

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-44722945

 

Derek

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Del,

 

Something interesting I noticed at the end of the URL site you included.

 

""""""Sections of the river's upper reaches are prone to drying out during hot weather and this happens on average about once every three years, the Environment Agency said."""""

 

Should the EA's statement be true (?) I can't imagine this river ever being productive for anglers. I doubt a natural equilibrium would be possible in a three year time frame. Certainly, there would be an absence of adult fish - just from logic.

Nice post, I'll be looking forward to some local responses.

 

Phone

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Thanks for the reply, Phone.

Following on from the above I found a Facebook group for Teme anglers and they said the same - that the upper reaches dry out every year, so maybe the photos above had a hint of the non-story about them really. Their recent photos of the Teme downstream look a lot more healthy and folks are catching a few chub and barbel, so I think I will give it a go one of these weekends.

 

Derek

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Many,many watercourses dry out in their upper reaches in most summers. Down south, on porous chalk country, they are known as "winterbournes", What is a serious matter is that the reckless (I repeat "reckless") extraction from the aquifers by water authorities severely exacerbates the drying out in both linear extent and in duratiion.. Many of the trout-holding Wealden streams have been effectively shortened by this practice..

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd presume the bigger fish would move much further downstream to find survivable water nearer the sea, (but still freshwater) then return when conditions were back to near normal.

It's the only logical conclusion for me.

 

Nature always finds a way!!

Edited by Martin56

Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd presume the bigger fish would move much further downstream to find survivable water nearer the sea, (but still freshwater) then return when conditions were back to near normal.

It's the only logical conclusion for me.

 

Nature always finds a way!!

 

Doesn't always work like that Martin. Rivers are not evenly graded in their upper reaches , they have shallows, glides,,pools and deeper pools. In times of drought,fish retreat to the deepest pool they can find, That means they are cut off if the shallows above and below dry up.. Such fish may survive until the river flows again - or they may not!

Edited by Vagabond

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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It's only really the upland areas of the Teme that ever dry out and they're not exactly coarse angling venues to begin with. The biggest problem with the Teme in recent years has been regular major flooding that has impacted habitat, recruitment and it seems a lot of the adult fish have simply been pushed downstream.
I fished it Tuesday at Stamford Bridge and a chap was packing up as we arrived who had caught nothing, dad had nothing and I managed one chub of about 3lb and an eel.

The forum on the BAA website has also been full of reports of missing barbell so it doesn't sound like our results are unusual.

Access to the river was also a problem but that might just be the BAA.

Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

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It's only really the upland areas of the Teme that ever dry out and they're not exactly coarse angling venues to begin with. The biggest problem with the Teme in recent years has been regular major flooding that has impacted habitat, recruitment and it seems a lot of the adult fish have simply been pushed downstream.

I fished it Tuesday at Stamford Bridge and a chap was packing up as we arrived who had caught nothing, dad had nothing and I managed one chub of about 3lb and an eel.

The forum on the BAA website has also been full of reports of missing barbell so it doesn't sound like our results are unusual.

Access to the river was also a problem but that might just be the BAA.

Might be better in the long run then to electro net the river, put them in somewhere else & give it up as a viable fishery??

 

The river would still have its attractions for non Anglers - nice walks, picnics etc

Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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Might be better in the long run then to electro net the river, put them in somewhere else & give it up as a viable fishery??

 

The river would still have its attractions for non Anglers - nice walks, picnics etc

 

Nah, it is what it is. It turns up some nice chub and trout and I would have done better if my knees were still up to mobile lure fishing on a river with banks like that.

Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

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Nah, it is what it is. It turns up some nice chub and trout and I would have done better if my knees were still up to mobile lure fishing on a river with banks like that.

Yeah but the nice chub & trout would still turn up - but at a better venue (hopefully not too far away) And with better banks for your poor knees. wheelchair.gif

 

My COPD, heart condition (stent) & still smoking is also what it is!!

Edited by Martin56

Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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