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Photos of river scenes

They look like minnows to me. But I can't get a big enough image on the tablet device to be sure. The movement does not suggest a bottom grazing fish like gudgeon and barbel.

Near where I live there is a bridge over a tributary of the Vienne. It is a barbel nursery with gudgeon sized barbel constantly feeding on a shallow gravel stretch. You can see them turning on their side to extract something from the gravel. By now last years hatch will have moved downstream a couple of hundred metres and feed over a sandy stretch in slightly deeper water. They hoover the botton in a loose shoal, moving upstream before drifting back downstream and starting over again. They grow to about 8 or 9 inches then drop down further close to the confluence. The confluence is full of barbel up to a couple of pounds.
 
MinnowsHorizontalExtremeCloseup.jpg


I took this photo in 2008. Minnows were leaping a small weir on the Dearne just like salmon in minature. Once they cleared the waterfall they had to swim like buggery to get over the fast shallow sater of the apron. They were there for three days with marauding chub mopping up the stragglers.
 
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Early this morning, miles from anywhere on the river Nidd. Cast in, sit back and wait. Silence is golden.
Thirty minutes later an irrigator fires up directly opposite. Peace shattered, moved swim, but the moment was gone 😥.View attachment 19763
Ah bad luck Mike. Yeah I remember standing there on the work party. Looks nice. The irrigator was mentioned by the chap on utube. That's why he avoided that area.
 
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