Hi men,
Anyone who thinks they ain't a problem ain't in the real world . Less anglers on the banks of the Ouse , fishing for less fish , and you only have to look at the popular areas to see this . Obviously fry survival , abstraction , pollutants , crayfish are a big problem , then a apex preditor comes along to highlight these , in fact magnify it many fold , showing the underlining faults . Tags ?, the 5 fish found in the last big cold spell had no tags , perhaps we should tag as many as possible !. There are areas that may be better off than others , and tributaries like the Ivel have a well known area where they seem to be ok , but I know a very well known , good barbel angler with lots of good fish under his belt who have given up on it , and moved on .
So have they made the fishing better ? , no , would we have been better off without them on our bit , yes . They are here , things will change , but we can't do anything about it anyway.
Hatter