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Prolonged heat

I'm not fishing for barbel or travelling. Been on my local river. Which yesterday was surprisingly not that low. What I'd expect this time of year. Had a good flow too. I've dug-out my match rod with 3lb line and targeting the silvers. After 6pm mind you.
 
Not fishing at all until it cools. Show some respect for the fish in these hot days. Yes I think I can catch and release safely, no probs. Its the numptys, who don't have the experience that will more than likely kill fish. Overplay and photos etc.. some well known anglers who sport a cowboy hat says its OK to fish in extreme heat.
 
Huanzhou Zhu said:
In this hot weather, catching fish and give it a good rest is a joke IMHO. We normally rest the fish in shallow water close to bank, where the water is the warmest and with the lowest oxygen level, how can a hard fighting fish be properly rested in such condition, I really think this is the most misleading thing.
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That is a very good point
I haven’t fished for 3 weeks , originally down to a near complete lack of flow and nearly all swims had ‘ dead’ water in the margins
The last barbel I caught fought like a chub and still took way too long to recover as I was reviving it in water with hardly any flow
That was enough for me to stop
Never mind this heatwave
 
I was watching a barbel feeding the other day. The river is about a foot down and normally only two feet deep. It was 35C air temp' and the fish was in sunlit water, not shade. It fed whilst working its way upstream before turning, drifting downstream then resumed feeding whilst working upstream. I watched it for about 25 minutes and it showed no signs of being stressed.

That location is about 1.5km from the nearest weir and the stretch is no more than 2 feet deep. The water will be warmed by sunlight all the way down yet the barbel was doing its normal thing.

The areas I choose to fish in these temperatures are below weirs simply because that is where the deeper water with flow is. The Charente in the navigable parts is gin clear, averages 12 feet and rarely drops a foot owing to it being fed by underground aquifers. The weed is verdant and there is plenty of shade. The Vienne is a freestone river and depths vary more than the Charente. However, below the massive hydro dams there is always a healthy flow of oxygenated water.

If the fish were suffering they would not feed. I have seen plenty of evidence of carp and barbel in small rivers just hanging under the surface in a torpid state. You couldn't catch them even if you tried. They are best left alone. But there are areas where the fish will be getting along just fine and that is where I will will fish.
 
What water temperatures are being recorded around the country on your rivers that are helping to make the decision to not fish? Air temperature is, as in winter is not always in step. The D.Stour and H.Avon which run so close will be completely different at present. Saying its irresponsible to fish if the air temperature is over 30c is rather meaningless.

That said, water temperature is only one factor. Oxygen levels in two bodies of water of equal temperature could be vastly different. If I took two buckets of water, one still the other with an air stone the dissolved oxygen would be different. To the point that you can manipulate a bucket of waters pH by doing this. A polluted slow flowing body of water would be affected disproportionately to a clean one of a higher temperature.

What I’m getting at is that not every river is going to be the same and when a spate river in the midlands is not suitable to be fished a southern chalk stream may be completely different. I recall a big river I swam in, in southern France on a very hot trip, it was FREEZING because it was mostly ice melt from the mountains.
 
Good posts from many on here regarding the current dangers of barbel fishing in these conditions. As pointed out by Steve and Paul. What may appear by dissolved oxygen measurement to be acceptable may actually not be. Hard fighting barbel in oxygen deficit taking longer to recover in lower than normal oxygenated water. To the point that recovery may not actually be achievable. Also, the sudden thermal shock for barbel when taken out of the water into 30 Deg C air temperatures. Also, the chemical and biological oxygen demand of the water with respect to chemical pollution/sewage etc. All seem to me to be good reasons to close waters during these conditions. There is always another day.
 
Graham Elliott said:
I have only barbel fished a few weeks ago. On a big river.
I am happy to wait until things cool down.


Watching a barbel swim and feed in warm water and saying its all OK is a very different scenario from after it has been caught
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The fish showed no symptoms of discomfort. It could have chosen the deeper, faster water that is just over 100 metres from a larger weir and has far more weed growth. The confluence was less than 5 to 10 metres away. Instead it was quite happy to browse in what would have been warmer, shallower, slower water with less dissolved oxygen. The fish is there all summer and always chooses the same side of the confluence. As do a shoal of 10 plus middle teens carp that are regularly seen.

That is fact, not theory.
 
I saw this on another facebook and agree with it and thought it was worth copying and pasting here please read it

Some people seem to be under the impression that if you rest a fish caught when the water temperature is high and dissolved oxygen levels are low, it will be fully recovered when you release it.
THIS IS NOT THE CASE!
If the oxygen is not there, the fish WILL NOT recover like it would DO if levels were high.
Imagine climbing Everest, the oxygen level at the summit is very low and the slightest amount of activity requires a huge amount of physical effort. You can rest all you like but you'll never recover fully because the required oxygen is just not available. It's exactly the same for fish when dissolved oxygen in water falls below a certain concentration

Sadly I cant give the author the credit as I dont know who he was
 
Graham Elliott said:
I have only barbel fished a few weeks ago. On a big river.
I am happy to wait until things cool down.


Watching a barbel swim and feed in warm water and saying its all OK is a very different scenario from after it has been caught
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We were down Herefordshire on Monday Graham. The river was low. We weren't fishing but had a look at some beautiful stretches. This one was from Prince Charles stretch 🤐
 

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Gerry Giles said:
I saw this on another facebook and agree with it and thought it was worth copying and pasting here please read it

Some people seem to be under the impression that if you rest a fish caught when the water temperature is high and dissolved oxygen levels are low, it will be fully recovered when you release it.
THIS IS NOT THE CASE!
If the oxygen is not there, the fish WILL NOT recover like it would DO if levels were high.
Imagine climbing Everest, the oxygen level at the summit is very low and the slightest amount of activity requires a huge amount of physical effort. You can rest all you like but you'll never recover fully because the required oxygen is just not available. It's exactly the same for fish when dissolved oxygen in water falls below a certain concentration

Sadly I cant give the author the credit as I dont know who he was
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Couldn't agree more.

It was posted by @Roger Carswell back in 2018.
 
What is fact is that in excessively warm water with low oxygen levels, that more fish suffer the effects of being caught and less recover and survive.

I am only speaking in regards to British fish though.😩😉
 
Chris Thomson said:
Am i the only one on here advocating not fishing wholst these extremr conditions exist ??????
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Been once as Rodger has quoted in a post the Ribble. most of the reading stations are to low to give a reading. Would go down to the Dove but that it is giving a very low reading.
 
Quite easy to get stuck in to a game of moral one-upmanship here!
If you can conscionably go fishing in this weather then that's fine.
 
I would like to see some evidence to support these 'accepted' statements on thermal shock and dissolved oxygen levels. Sport fishing is carried out in a lot hotter places than the UK. If you don't want to fish - fine. Nobody is making you. But to come on here preaching absolute tripe to gain the high moral ground isn't on.
 
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