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Unfortunately Graham the barbel world is very fragmented and divided, the Barbel Society is dammed if it does and dammed if it doesn't , as i said we try our best, but invariably fail to please everyone....thats just way it is mate.

Funny enough Graham, Lewis Baldwin has a stretch on the Warks Avon and was anxious to do the right thing, so we put him in touch with one of our freshwater biologist contacts in the EA and strangely enough the EA have given approval to fish the Avon, i was amazed! The BS wouldnt tell anyone not...

Graham....its water Temps that are the problem not air, certain species die once water gets to 25c, water temp on the middle severn is at 22c, whilst Barbel and other species will undoubtedly survive this current period, some won't and catching them lessons their chances of survival. Lactic acid...

One thing that gets forgotten, which is amplified in these conditions is lactic acid build up, during a long spirited fight with a big barbel the acidification of the barbels blood will take place, this can disrupt the barbels whole metabolism, coupled with low dissolved oxygen and high water...

PPM, the point emphasised is that when the DO is at its lowest is during the hours of darkness up until dawn, and yes you are right, this is normal, however what exasperates this is the increased percentage of treated effluent (due to low water levels) in the river, high water temps (25c plus in...

See the graph below, that shows declining Dissolved Oxygen levels on the river Wye in Herefordshire, it shows the lowest levels being around first light/ dawn/early morning, it won't be long, if these conditions continue, we will wake to barbel and other species on other rivers going belly up...

Night fishing is the worst time to fish for barbel in these weather conditions, during the hours of darkness sub surface plants actually consume oxygen, with an hour before dawn dissolved Oxygen being at its lowest, during the day and bright sunlight, plants will actually create Oxygen via...

With all due respect Fred, Barbel are studied probably more than any other species, especially in Europe where they are considered to be the indicator species of many European rivers due to their susceptibility to chemical and heavy metal pollution, people think the reason why barbel were...

Otters dont have to kill many barbel to have the most severe profound effects on a barbel population on a river, as I said earlier on the thread, the ratio between male and female barbel is about 7 to 1, on some rivers its as high as 10 to 1, the larger barbel 10 pound plus are invariably female...

No way , shallow narrow small rivers are finely balanced mini eco environments and an Otter or otters soon tip that balance into their favour as they eat their way through barbel populations....

Bang on Nick...

I have my own ideas Michael.....and i think we anglers pay enough? What do you suggest? Its clearly something that needs yo be discussed, however the resource is already available

The other thing Neil, i believe the numbers running up the Teme are much lower than previous times, due to the decline in barbel numbers on the lower Severn...

Well Neil it is speculative, you are right but its odd that even though barbel do still go up the Teme from the Severn ( electro tagging has proven this) they soon disappear off the scale and numbers dont improve, so at best its an assumption that they fall victim of predators, but this...

The BS has now given up its stretch on the Teme at Bransford, as have many other clubs, due to the decline in the barbel population and other fish species, whilst the BS had the stretch it invested many thousands of pounds in habitat reconstruction on the river at Bransford and frankly it didnt...

The paper isnt published yet Joe, the student gave a summary of the paper during her presentation and had private conversations after her talk, we will give details of the paper when its available....

If you want to see forensic evidence on Otter kills on all fish species including barbel, read the Predation Action Group Fact Sheet and watch the superb accompanying DVD, it covers all predation, Otters, Cormorants, White claw crays and Gooseanders. Details can be found on...

I believe the first thing we as anglers have to do is convince those who have the ability to make changes, is that Otter populations need some sort of management or control in some locations, this is the first step in the non lethal control model. We as river anglers need a mechanism and process...

Cheers Graham...i have spoken to many regular Wye barbel anglers and without a doubt the barbel are in decline, but there are still enough to be caught.....at the moment, but the Wyes barbel population is showing the same signs other rivers previously have, where there barbel population's have...

The 2018 Barbel Show in June, Cattie the river Teme PHD student who was sponsored by the Barbel Society, the EA and the Severn rivers trust gave an update of her study of barbel numbers in teme, and in conclusion she stated, that as the Teme as an SSI, her study has shown, there are no water...