Why don't you explain what the detrimental factors to the river are? I can assume otters but anything else? Why don't you trap crayfish whilst fishing if they are a problem?
Steve You'll have to forgive me, but I have covered the total sum of issues in numerous other videos in the past and as such don't always wish to bore my regular viewers whom have watched said videos. So where to start? Regarding crayfish trapping, the areas I fish already have a contracted crayfish trapper whom puts many traps out along this stretch and also traps the surrounding water courses, to put the crayfish problem into some perspective for you the season before last there were around 800 kilos of crayfish removed from this particular river which is not far off of one ton! Something that myself with one crayfish net could not put a dent in when compared to a self employed trapper and even despite his efforts the crayfish issues are an existent threat to the health and bio diversity of said waterway, like they are to so many waterways local to me and other regions, causing bank side erosion as they burrow into banks and destroying stocks of fish eggs and small fry recruitment, in my opinion they remain our waterways biggest threats. Moving on to my next point the over extraction of water during low water periods, especially summer time, this is seemingly happening more and more causing areas of river to silt up and eventually close up not to mention the damage to aquatic eco-systems, areas of river lost that were originally free flowing, thriving habitats. Then there is a more worrying theme and that is the decrease in areas of river that were originally thriving with ranunculus (weed beds, cabbage patches), places I have always seen good weed growth becoming more barren. Add to all this the increase of housing development in Berkshire as well as sewage dispersal and extra road infrastructure I believe it is all playing its part to put the river in to a lower state of quality. Yes there are still good fish to be caught, but having fished the river since I was 7 years old I can atest to seeing it change, some reaches and areas more obvious than others. I hope that gives you some idea of what I perhaps did not go into detail on this particular video fully, but like I said I have covered it in more depth on my other videos and never wish to overly bore anyone by sounding like a stuck record player. What I will do is pin your comment so it will remain at the very top of this comments section so that new viewers can see the detailed reply.
DUB MILITIA its a joke we have ponds with them in up here in lancs and the water bord aint botherd i would say just catch em im sure there are bigger fish to fry 😉
Very sad to see abstraction, mink, crayfish, pollution and silting decimate the Whitewater over the years. The Blackwater strangely seems to be in pretty good shape though and it is pleasing to see you doing well on it, brings back childhood memories. Don't worry about waffling, it's good to see your honesty and sharing the same frustrations as we all experience. Good luck in the flood water!
This is what we love about fishing for memories honest upfront no bull and a good old chin wag love it great to see the rough with the smooth mark best fishing channel on RU-vid by far god bless mate tight lines
Cheers Neil! Must admit the adrenaline went a bit over the top there, but after the blanks and then having a nice thick branch on the line I guess it is understandable lol.
Cheers Frank, it would be nice as a personal goal as such. Cheers regarding that fish, it is blanks like those that make you pinch yourself when things go right.
A lovely catch that Mark. I thought I was the only crazy one continuing to fish through over 15 blanks on the Loddon this year but it’s good when the Barbel finally show up. I’ve also noticed the decline in fish stocks and anglers on the stretch I fish, which is very disappointing to see. But still catching is only a small part of it. Tight lines mate
I hear that Steve, you just have to keep plugging away at times, I totally agree with you and what you say about noticing a change in fish biomass, it is very worrying for the future and I really do not believe such talk of it being "cyclic" especially not when there are plenty of other species dropping in numbers and not just barbel.
Crayfish are a massive problem and I recentley caught one at Royal Berkshire carp fishery. The owners weren't even aware they had them in their ponds! Also the reason as to why barbel chub and perch are now growing so big! With such an abundance of natural bait in our waterways now, you can see why these fish prefer crays to our artificial baits
Mark. Another enjoyable video and what a beautiful barbel to break the sequence of blanks. The Loddon is hard at the best of times but, with an ever decreasing population of barbel and low water conditions, it must be extra tough. Well done for persevering and you fully deserved to succeed. What a difference a few months make to river conditions with so many now in flood. The Warks Avon was in the fields recently and continues to be several feet up on normal with very few anglers venturing out as all the fishing platforms are under water. Good luck with your fishing this winter.
Cheers Harry, I fished the river whilst it was in flood and had a welcome 14lb barbus, but currently like your Warks Avon my local waterways are in flood but it is good barbel conditions really and some areas are more than reachable, but I much prefer hitting the chub and perch this time of the year and for the perch side it has been a bit hit and miss at times due to the river levels scrambling up on my particular venues ( I have a couple of chub fishing videos due to be edited soon). I think a lot of anglers do value their safety as well being on the bank and having seen some photos of the Warks Avon lately in some areas I think it is sensible to say the least.
Its a sad fact regarding otters , but all we can do as anglers is carry on and enjoy our pursuit as best we can.Wait till they start releasing wolves eh lol.All the best Dave .
Well done Mark great catch after a run of blanks. Always look forward to your videos which are without doubt the best coarse fishing ones on RU-vid so I've no doubt you'll get those 10,000 subscribers and more. Keep up the good work 👍
What an inspiration your videos are Mark , you certainly do stick at it & in the end it comes good . My local river is very lightly stocked with barbel & is not actively fished by anyone as far as I can gather for barbel that is . What I need is a dose of your stick ability to determine whether there is enough stock to fish for anyway keep up your videos to inspire light weights like myself . BTW still waiting for the wormery insight have a happy Christmas & new year Ian
Hey there Ian, cheers and Merry Christmas to you. Well if you are talking about about the Thames where we've both fished then certainly worthwhile for barbel, not massive stocks along there but some good ones.
Hi Mark just caught up with this video and well done for persevering. Reading the comments about water problems and you are spot on. My local small rivers are dying from all the reasons you note. A couple have dried up now! But the quality fish are still there but are hard to find and tucked up in tight little places. Like I have said before I can take you to some good small stream fishing if you are interested. Bill
Hello there Bill, thank you for the offer, but I don't actually drive. Which makes getting every video produced a bit more of a challenge but worth it.
Well done for sticking it out mate, Beautiful Barbel was well worth it i'm sure... Bit worried about the decreasing numbers of fish year after year & seems to be no smaller fish coming through? Think something needs to be done with the Otters & crayfish problems quick.... All the best Mark & have a lovely Christmas ;)
Cheers mate, she was attempting to break my balls a bit, but guess I am used to it with this river, dare I say I get a slight kick out of that side of its moods.
Hi Mark, I like your approach in the wild, far from the fisheries, with sharp but minimalist equipment for your travels or change of position! Happy New Year! see you soon
nice one mark as always determined you put the time in and were rewarded with that stunning barbel ,a fantastic fish ,i agree the low stocks on rivers or some rivers is a worry ,,,our rivers are general run of the mill as the stocks to are low until they head toward stratford on avon ,,,,,the cormorants and now otters every where ,plus ether very low levels or as now 7 weeks of flooded avon and leam up here,,. ,but you stick it out and put in the time mark fare play ,your a genuine type of angler who loves the sport for what it is and not for an ego trip unlike some who have forgotten what its about ,and use it as a vehicle to promote to the world how good they think they are ,,as always a great video well put together and with the real personal touch that make your videos yours ,,nice one as always ,tight lines and remember what west indian john said about big heads and know all,s until the next adventure from the banks tight lines,,
Cheers Stephen and you're right there are multiple topics and issues facing our rivers and some are not being dealt with that well, apparently a head in the sand approach or financial back handers is the way forward and it is only going to get worse with an approach that will see more housing developments happening in the country, putting more pressure on water ways and existing flood plains. I read your reply about West Indian John and I could not help think it reminded me of my fathers experiences at work, he was originally a butcher but went and worked at a plastics factory as an extruision machine operator and when I mentioned to him your reply he smiled with a rye smile and said "sounds like some of the jerks I had to work with". You know Stephen I always appreciate how much you put into typing your comments and replies and that means a lot, so thank you mate.
Heya Euan I thought that I would see you here my fellow Loddonite. It will come right mate stick in there, got to take a few kicks to the gonads, but the eventual reward is worth it, no matter the size and that is why if you cut us Loddon anglers I think 50% of our blood would be made up of this rivers water.
I use the same rod and reel, mine's the 1 1/2 lb version. On big rivers it's common to see 2 3/4 lb carp rods favoured - people used to use 3/4 lb Avons for barbel! Specimen rods are built for casting potential nowadays. The predation issue is complicated, in the past there were otters and although they were hunted, fish stocks remained high. Mink are a problem, they've cleared my local trout stream in the last 5 years. Generally, the lack of fish is a mix of issues, plus a natural ebb and flow of dominant species. When barbel were introduced to the Trent to replace the Victorian stock, they didn't show for 20 years. Now it's arguably the best barbel river in the country, but it will tail off and another species will be in the ascendancy. It's a mistake to see our small window in time as the way it should be. While we should always be vigilant against pollution, abstraction and predation, the carp puddle mentality shouldn't be applied to rivers.
Hey there Borderlands, precisely there is no need for overkill tackle, on such rivers. Yes this is exactly why I pinned my in-depth reply on the subject to the very top of this comments page and in it covered pollution,abstraction and invasive species. I don't agree with creating an artificial environment with fish being regularly stocked as I do believe we need to fix the root causes so that the future of our waterways is brighter than it is. I am primarily a river angler and as such used to seeing otters on the Loddon way back into the 90s, however fish stocks were healthier then and biomass higher, I am not talking single species but right across the board. The rivers should be in better condition than they are, but the fact is biodiversity and health of water courses suffer with the ever increasing over developments of housing on our flood plains and green field sites, add to this piss poor Utility companies like Thames water to name one, with numerous sewage spills amongst other polluters and you have a big problem. Call me cynical slightly but the main environment agency fish farm that supplies our UK waterways with fish stocks is based in Calverton Nottinghamshire and I also have it on good authority just how often the trent has received massive stock boosting over regular years, things like this should be balanced across the country and not cherry picked. But once again as I say we need to fix many root causes with our rivers first and foremost. I'm glad we agree on such things. Merry Christmas to you too and a fishy new year.
@@francolinobasco A successful new year to you too, Mark. I can't argue with any of that. The Trent has changed so much since I used to regularly fish it. It was a silty river of zero visibility, with warm stretches near power stations. A silver fish environment, basically. Carp entered the river with flooding of local gravel pits, and barbel showed in the early/mid 80s. I assume these were the Angling Times stock of the 1960s, but they could be subsequent stockings. The modern Trent resembles that fished by J W Martin, Henry Coxon and Jack Bailey - how much of that is artificially enhanced, I wouldn't know. The type of rivers you (and I) fish now are fragile environments with generally localised fish. Any of the issues you name could devastate those populations.
Very much so Tad, all a challenge but nice when it comes right, but such are the fine balances between landing a fish and losing it and I had my share or should I say big slice of luck with that tree branch and the camera playing up.
Cheers Ross, I had a beautiful 14 myself this season and on the centrepin (not a personal best but my largest on the centre pin reel) a good scrap to say the least.
Well it is a contentious subject to be sure and there are many, some of which are fishing club chair men that I know whom, would agree with you. My own thoughts is that the rivers needed to be brimming with life and in tip top health before such a reintroduction was made. So now we are in a position of playing catch up, but it is more than one issue, waterway over abstraction,predation of small fry and eggs by crayfish, cormorants and one of the biggest issues mans hand with housing development and sewage/pollution incidents caused by the water companis and others which has accounted for many severely damaging catastrophies on so many of the rivers in the UK.
@@francolinobasco Could not agree more mate . I used to fish Hampstaed ponds as a kid and teenager then the cormorants turned up and killed it , now it's mostly carp . People don't seem to be interested in small species nowadays . For me catching Perch and Gudgeon was always a delight good luck Martin .
We won't be able to shoot the otters until they get properly surveyed and deemed to be nuisance, cormorants have been protected under the same veil for decades when any bugger with eyes can tell that their populations are fine. Even if surveys are performed (something I suspect anglers will have to fund for themselves) it'll be even harder to get permission because while they are highly efficient killing machines they're also quite cute and as such get a soft pass from the public. The whole reintroduction was an irresponsible mess, they basically let a bunch of wolves loose in the countryside without telling the farmers or giving them the physical or legal means to protect their livestock. If time and finances had been given to lake owners to protect their stock as well as breeding and stock distribution programs to help rivers cope during the balancing period then I'd have no objection to them but as things are they've had a huge effect that nobody wants to take responsibility for. The EA has been rendered all but useless at their job of protecting the environment over the past decade, there is little representation in parliament for rural matters and as such the EA is only given funds to protect urban areas and roads from the effects of rivers rather than looking after the ecosystem within. I don't hate the organisation for this as it's out of their hands and they can only dance to the tune the piper plays but it's nothing short of criminal neglect from the government, as long as the farmers keep paying their taxes then the government doesn't care how much water they abstract and how much long term damage it will do.
@@DjDolHaus86 The future of British fishing unfortunately is in gravel pits .The days of the rivers are numbered .But there are some wonderful gravel pits around .
@@DjDolHaus86 Well said and more or less encapsulates my feelings on how things should be but aren't, what worries me the most with leaving the EU is the fact that we will have less environmental protection that companies and others have to currently adhere to under the EU directives for waterways, we all know some things will be eroded .
