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Anybody stopped fishing?

Just seen on FB that Hereford have closed their sections of the Wye from the 23rd July. Imagine that Ross won’t be far behind.
 
Terry Simner said:
Do us all a favour and give it a rest eh Gwyn, you're beginning to remind me of someone (I thought at least) we'd got rid of. Thank you kindly, but we don't need lectures.
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No. I will not.
If people can post here telling us we shouldn't fish, I will continue to post saying you can.
IF, you have a suitable venue and stretch.

I've already stated elsewhere I will not fish the stretch I pay through the nose for due to conditions.

I refuse to accept a lecture from someone who fishes a lowland river who says we should all stop, as you refuse mine.

The beauty of forums and conflicting views.

Wait until the floods start, I'll start a thread asking if it's ethical to catch a fish in coloured water and disorient it so it has no idea where it is upon return.
And do they go belly up or not after release? How would you know?

Simple answer - we should all stop fishing for barbel seeing as we care about them so much.

WUF aren't going to suspend coarse fishing seeing as they've asked me to represent them at Hereford Show on Aug 5th ( see other thread ), I've seen the Wye far lower than it is now in 2006??
Guess what? People still fished for barbel, the barbel were feeding and I had no problems.

This country sucks these days, everyone is entitled.
 
Gwyn Jeffs said:
No. I will not.
If people can post here telling us we shouldn't fish, I will continue to post saying you can.
IF, you have a suitable venue and stretch.

I've already stated elsewhere I will not fish the stretch I pay through the nose for due to conditions.

I refuse to accept a lecture from someone who fishes a lowland river who says we should all stop, as you refuse mine.

The beauty of forums and conflicting views.

Wait until the floods start, I'll start a thread asking if it's ethical to catch a fish in coloured water and disorient it so it has no idea where it is upon return.
And do they go belly up or not after release? How would you know?

Simple answer - we should all stop fishing for barbel seeing as we care about them so much.

WUF aren't going to suspend coarse fishing seeing as they've asked me to represent them at Hereford Show on Aug 5th ( see other thread ), I've seen the Wye far lower than it is now in 2006??
Guess what? People still fished for barbel, the barbel were feeding and I had no problems.

This country sucks these days, everyone is entitled.
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Please actually read the posts Gwyn. No one is saying you "can't fish". A few people have expressed their view , they may have stated that they personally wouldn't/aren't fishing due to these conditions. No one is being dictatorial, no one is telling you what to do. It's a matter of ethical behaviour IMO, and each angler has their own view on ethics (especially dilemmas such as this i.e. pleasure vs damage done). Yes your views may be out of step with the majority, but that doesn't necessarily mean that your wrong. I think your wrong...but that's just my opinion.
 
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What I fail to understand is that the WUF suspend Salmon Fishing, because the conditions are not considered safe for the capture and return. And yet Barbel are equally dependent on sufficient O2 levels to survive a catch and release. I telephoned WUF Monday to ask if they were considering suspending Barbel fishing, their reply was that they are merely the representatives for the landowners, and it would be their responsibility alone to decide to suspend.
Hereford as Howard pointed out has closed their stretches as have other clubs around the country, not least the Barbel Society. Personally I cannot remember such extreme conditions, and I go way back, not since '76 have we had such a run of hot dry days, the last rain of any worth was around May the 27th.
Of course clubs would rather have it's members decide for themselves not to fish, but as always there will be those who buck the trend, Gywn tells us proudly he is now an exhibit of the WUF gig, however through all this, the common thread with those that I have respect for on here is one of restraint, and thank goodness for that.
 
Neil is that the case though? As far as I was aware, whilst Barbel are high oxygen demanding fish for thier family (carp like fishes, Cyprids) they aren’t as dependant as Salomids, such as Salmon and trout. Barbel live a breed in rivers that Salmon and trout will not, due to oxygenation.

They certainly need more care than Carp in these conditions but as far as I’m aware they aren’t as demanding as Salmon.
 
Stephen Crowhurst said:
Neil is that the case though? As far as I was aware, whilst Barbel are high oxygen demanding fish for thier family (carp like fishes, Cyprids) they aren’t as dependant as Salomids, such as Salmon and trout. Barbel live a breed in rivers that Salmon and trout will not, due to oxygenation.

They certainly need more care than Carp in these conditions but as far as I’m aware they aren’t as demanding as Salmon.
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Hi Stephan,
Yep I was aware of the fact that Salmon would be more at risk, but where other clubs have and more are likely to suspend all fishing on their waters, and with Barbel being the main concern, I would have thought WUF might have followed. I would hope Barbel would be able to cope with these conditions if left alone and certainly where they can find some flow and deeper areas...the problem is being caught that puts them at risk.
 
Just reading with interest some people's views regarding stopping fishing for barbel in the current climate.......i have just returned from the Wye after having caught 60 barbel over 2 days from a very well oxygenated swim......fish were rested after capture, unhooked, de-liced, lice wounds treated with Friars' Balsam, rested again and returned to the river. Every single fish went back with no problems whatsoever...none of them remotely showed signs of going belly up. I have never had a barbel die on me ever. I think common sense prevails and if river conditions are suitable and the fish are rested in the flow to recover properly, you shouldn't have any problems. I think even did the barbel a favour as lots of them had some really nasty wounds from the lice infestations, especially behind the dorsal fin. As i said, removed all lice off every fish i caught and treated the wounds. Maybe now, they might not get infected and die??
 
Just to add, most of the other anglers i spoke to hadn't caught a thing..........maybe all of the barbel were in my chosen swim because of the high Oxygen levels??
 
So you have saved Barbel
Michael Corder said:
Just to add, most of the other anglers i spoke to hadn't caught a thing..........maybe all of the barbel were in my chosen swim because of the high Oxygen levels??
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Exactly, they were there for a reason, the question is do we leave them in peace?
 
As i said they were all fighting fit, and were returned without any problems......if the river is well oxygenated, the fish should be fine? I came home a day early rather than fish a 3rd day as i didn't want to start capturing the same fish again. "All" the fish i caught were covered in lice so i couldn't have been catching the same fish twice. I never publicise where i fish so hopefully they will be left in peace to be caught another day when river conditions improve. If i hadn't found the swim in question i probably wouldn't have bothered fishing as lot's of the river is very low with little or no Oxygen. As i said, common sense prevails.
 
Barbel are often in any given location for a reason. When does one draw the line and leave them in peace, say, under an overhanging willow on a fresh September morning? Or in a streamer channel on a late August night? Interesting and thought provoking topic. Should we leave them in peace in a clean gravel cattle drink during a warm February flood? Should we put a hook in them and drag them from the water at all, at any time?
 
Surely the fishing clubs, private syndicates and conservation groups such as WUF would suspend all fishing if they believed they was a serious risk to fish welfare due to adverse weather conditions?
 
There's one swim on the Severn on the BAA stretch at Eardington that will be holding the majority of barbel that normally spread out over a mile or so. A few years back I fished for them in conditions like these on the float, wading out up to my waist and using a keepnet during 6-7hours I had around 25 barbel and 10 chub. I emptied the net about 3 times during bhe session and these fish were very well recovered.

if they had been caught from the bank un hooked and faffed about with on a mat then say about 10 mins recovery time in the edges of the river quite a few of the may well have gone belly up after release.

so it is about common sense and personnel choice but with conditions as they are now there will always be a risk.....though I would not tell anyone else what to do, but if I saw anyone fishing in a way that could harm fish I would soon tell them and that goes for all species.
 
Jason Bean said:
There's one swim on the Severn on the BAA stretch at Eardington that will be holding the majority of barbel that normally spread out over a mile or so. A few years back I fished for them in conditions like these on the float, wading out up to my waist and using a keepnet during 6-7hours I had around 25 barbel and 10 chub. I emptied the net about 3 times during bhe session and these fish were very well recovered.

if they had been caught from the bank un hooked and faffed about with on a mat then say about 10 mins recovery time in the edges of the river quite a few of the may well have gone belly up after release.

so it is about common sense and personnel choice but with conditions as they are now there will always be a risk.....though I would not tell anyone else what to do, but if I saw anyone fishing in a way that could harm fish I would soon tell them and that goes for all species.
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You put Barbel in a keep net????:eek:
 
Dan Whitelock said:
Barbel are often in any given location for a reason. When does one draw the line and leave them in peace, say, under an overhanging willow on a fresh September morning? Or in a streamer channel on a late August night? Interesting and thought provoking topic. Should we leave them in peace in a clean gravel cattle drink during a warm February flood? Should we put a hook in them and drag them from the water at all, at any time?
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The Wye is low and the fish will be in pools, not the same scenario we normally experience as you describe. The concern is if capture in these conditions kill them. Because the apparently go back fit and treated is not always the case. Dragging them out as you put it, in these conditions is taking a huge risk..That is why some clubs have ssuspended fishing, including the BS Dan!
 
I walked a small Yorkshire Ouse tributary river the other day that I know very well . The river is normally very shallow for the most part , but now it is extremely low , you can see the bottom on nearly all the stretches . I walked 2.5 miles of the river and virtually all the fish were jammed in to little pockets where the flow was quicker / surface ripply , all other areas were largely devoid of fish, including areas where I know fish congregate in numbers in normal conditions . They are in these streamier areas for a reason - survival .
 
I'm fully aware of all of that Neil, I'm merely offering up some thoughts as to where the line should be drawn. If anglers really cared that much then they wouldn't stick hooks in them and drag them out of the water, regardless of the weather.
 
Dan Whitelock said:
I'm fully aware of all of that Neil, I'm merely offering up some thoughts as to where the line should be drawn. If anglers really cared that much then they wouldn't stick hooks in them and drag them out of the water, regardless of the weather.
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That argument is a blatant 'red herring' IMO Dan. Most of us care about most creatures, but most of us still eat meat..but eating meat doesn't mean we 'don't care' does it. I'm sure most of us care about ALL fish but we, on BFW, tend to care mostly about barbel...and we care about them because we enjoy catching them . What this 'dilema/concern' is all about is not a hook point in a barbel's lip, or the possibility of psychological distress, but us inadvertently KILLING barbel.
There is a world of difference between, a 2mm hole in a barbel's lip... and a barbel going belly-up down the river to its death. But, that's just my opinion..you may disagree.
 
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