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What effect will COVID-19 have on rivers?


Ken L

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I fished the Severn at Arley yesterday and it was packed.

I'm told that it's busy in the week too.

With significant amounts of additional food going in and an increase in people fishing, what effect do you think COVID-19 is going to have on the rivers? 

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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Just look back when fishing was popular in the 50's and 60's,polution ,bank erosion limited spaces in clubs  and all before we had eastern europeans to blame lol

Its strange compared to the past how fishing has got worse the more effort we put into making it better ,i look at unseen polutants going straight through the so called cleaning thats supposed to happen at sewage works.

I remember getting huge hauls of fish in the canal in edinburgh and you had to wipe the oil off your line on a rag everytime you reeled in plus the fact you could walk across it as it was so full of crap ,i wonder how it is today in its sanitised state?

If you think about it it was just a slightly extended close season its not that dramatic thinking again it wasnt even that ,we lock downed on 23rd march with tecnically made a close season on all waters so not a lot of difference to the past and instead of the 16th of march  and you could say it ended two? Weeks after the 16th of june so a fortnight or so longer than the old closed season on ponds 3 weeks or so on rivers

Edited by chesters1
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Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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With no major flooding (so far) and excess food going in, I suspect that we will see a good recruitment year and increased overwinter survival.

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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I think that will be true across the board less roadkill due to less cars will mean more animals and birds survive ,think of the billions of flies that are not decorating car wind shields more food for birds and bigger insects.

Less birds scared off nest by dog walkers dogs but on the other foot less food for birds foxes and rats in country side litter bins

I think though nature will be glad of the lack of human interference even for the short time since late march

I have often wondered about winter survival ,if we feed birds or in this case more survive could it effect food for young birds next spring ,if the pool of food bugs is finite but more birds breed does it mean more young birds in the nest starve?

Is our seemingly good notion of not letting nature thin out birds in winter actually back fire and we end up with less birds the following summer?

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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All,

The only mention by CDC on this side of the pond. BRIEFLY social distancing or don't go. Need a public restroom - don't go, care to be taken in the  "car park", don't swim with strangers. AHH one for the YANKS. DON'T process and eat your catch.

First, the virus is not transmitted through water, whether it’s chlorinated water, fresh water, or salt water. So water itself is not risky. It is the aggregations of people that is particularly risky

all cut and paste

Phone

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12 hours ago, chesters1 said:

 

Less birds scared off nest by dog walkers dogs but on the other foot less food for birds foxes and rats in country side litter bins

 

Unfortunately you're 100% wrong, there are so many more people walking, running and cycling in the countryside at the moment. 

I shoot on a 240 acre permission and currently it's a nightmare and has been since the lockdown began.

I can be sat quietly in a hide and a whole family of trespassers come moaching though. They trample crops, pick flowers, cut trees, interfere with wildlife in general. Poking sticks and throwing stones into fox and badger sets is one I have on film. I've not seen a deer since lockdown began they're that timid now.

Motorbikes and cyclists, don't get me started.

Right to roam they claim, rubbish! Right to vandalised and destroy. Always the same story, oh, is it private, we didn't know, we're lost.

Birds now fly the moment they see people as before they had little fear.

The farmer has taken to speading liquid pig manure on every farm track, every access point and every part of the farm people think is a car park.

Doesn't bother the odd horse rider, but imagine a cyclist or motor cyclist spaying it up their back from the wheels. Or a family treading it back into the family car.

It's a private farm with no public access, yet people are stood in the middle of the fields, openly stealing carrier bags full of peas.

Wildlife hasn't stood a chance this year, its the poorest it's been for several years.

Even the farm animals have to be penned up due to the "right to roam" morons.

Litter, wow, I can spend a day/evening shooting rats and make no dent in the population.

Maybe i should post some pictures of the left over carrier bags, choccie bar wrappers, burnt out bbq trays and just general tipped rubbish. The farm is 2 miles off the beaten track and last week had a double mattress dumped in the barley field. Surely it must have been easier to visit the local tip.

Sorry Chester's, people have destroyed habitats this year and are continuing to do so.

 

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You must be in an over populated area ,in my circuit  of daily excercise in a couple of miles of road there was weeks of not seeing a human bar the odd cyclist ,never seen so many deer and very close aswell .lots of foxes no doubt looking for roadkill that didnt exist so spending more time looking.

Picking up now ofcourse its been ok to travel further for exercise but i recon its what it probably was traffic wise in the 40's or 50's you cannot even hear the A3 or A31 traffic anymore in rush hour .

As far as i know most heaths around here were closed except to the army was the forestry commision land open? I didnt venture onto film land!

Litter on the roadside is well down they chopped up last years cutting the verge a few weeks ago and only the odd bit has turned up ,most probably moslems chucking forbidden drinks cans away before getting to the gates of islamabad lol

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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The extra food might be a good thing, although the extra angling pressure won't do it any good.  No idea what effect Covid19 will have on the river though, maybe it will blow bubbles and flow back uphill ?.

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