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Christchurch or Ringwood AA

Thanks john thats great info. Will give the royalty a right bashing for a bit then before heading to other stretches. How is throop fishing these days? I will be living very close to the banks (practically walking distance).
 
Hopefully someone else can answer that one as I haven't stepped foot on there for a couple of years.
ATB
 
Where's Mr Willson when you need him?!? As manager of Throop he should be ideally placed to answer that question....


Dave
 
George Maltby said:
Thanks john thats great info. Will give the royalty a right bashing for a bit then before heading to other stretches. How is throop fishing these days? I will be living very close to the banks (practically walking distance).
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Throop is Throop, it's a beautiful place to be and deserted in places at the right time. Barbel wise they are there but work is required to get them out, I would say it's difficult but rewarding. Chub wise, get it right and you can bag up on mid size fish 4-5lb class, with some hunting and time there are plenty of sixes to be caught and a few sevens, an 8 has been done.
Beat One, I've walked but not fished and those that do fish it seem to keep quiet. Beat 2, that's the busiest bit and best bit for stalking, beat three is new to me but is quite popular. Once summer comes through polarised glasses and a long walk is in order.
I'm sure Brian will be along soon to give you information. Il be on Beat 2 tomorrow morning.
 
George...My Throop Beat2 vid will be live on youtube in about 3 weeks time. but here’s a few local recent others to have a look at, and a few from a few years ago to give you a view. Just click on the underlined links.

Dorset Stour – Tuckton Bridge to Iford Bridge, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YIWVqL6Xa8

Dorset Stour – Church Farm, West Parley https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF4LJk_7zVs

Dorset Stour – Bounds Farm, Parley Green https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Q2JA-dD54s&t=8s

Dorset Stour - Beat 1 Throop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1lb9ptTK6w

Dorset Stour - Beat 3 Throop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJfej36s8qA
 
Thanks guys all great info. Ray I have studied all those vids over the last few weeks in preperation. They are very usefull and have provided a good 'feel' for the sort of fishing i can expect...which is great considering i have never fished the stour and have only a handful of avon sessions (and a lovely 9lber) under the belt so thanks for those.
I do not mind tricky waters provided they are rewarding in the end as stephen mentioned. What i am keen to avoid is the situation i had 7 or so years ago in my bw days (before wye) where i was fishing a stretch of a trib of the bristol avon that i used to catch tons of nice fish on (blanking was the exception not the norm)...but got ottered out...i continued to spot the odd fish in the off season/early season when spawning in their previous favourite spots, but numbers went from 10 or so fish spawning at once (before the otter) to just 1 or sometimes a couple on the redds (and infact normally 0), this lead to me continuing to fish the stretch thinking maybe itll produce a lump...literally countless sessions later and i was still biteless (3 or so years of fishing that stretch without a bite)... foolhardy. Was keen to avoid a stretch that is that tough again! Just want to be in with a decent chance of a fish...and get a few fish banked before searching for the record! (In my dreams!!)
Thanks again for all your input guys...very valuable for me.
 
Mmm..There are re-introduced otters present in the area George and they have been there for many many years, and on the Avon, but you should still catch barbel, chub and all species.
 
Thanks mate...cant think of a ruver without them now...but its reassuring that barbs are still widespread down there. Havent bothered to fish my local bits of the bristol avon in a fair few years now what with the cormorants and goosanders on top.
 
We do have Tarka yeah, but as said we've had them many years now. I saw my first a decade ago and I hear they were around before that. I don't rate them very highly as a threat locally. They seem more interested in silver fish.
 
Yeah thats good news. Maybe the issue on my local bit i metioned earlier was that tarka wasnt present...and then suddenly was? The fish therefore maybe has not learnt a flight response that fish that had grown up with otters had learnt throughout their young lives, leading to the sitting duck scenario that has been experienced on so many other stretches that similaly had no recent history of otters. Hopefully the generations of fish we have growing nationwide now will have an increased resistance to predation of this type as they have known it all their lives...leading to a more balanced coexistance between future specimen sized fish and otters...thats what im telling myself anyway! I seem to have hijacked my own thread!...off topic!
 
George Maltby said:
Yeah thats good news. Maybe the issue on my local bit i metioned earlier was that tarka wasnt present...and then suddenly was? The fish therefore maybe has not learnt a flight response that fish that had grown up with otters had learnt throughout their young lives, leading to the sitting duck scenario that has been experienced on so many other stretches that similaly had no recent history of otters. Hopefully the generations of fish we have growing nationwide now will have an increased resistance to predation of this type as they have known it all their lives...leading to a more balanced coexistance between future specimen sized fish and otters...thats what im telling myself anyway! I seem to have hijacked my own thread!...off topic!
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Not to continue the hijack to much but...Give it 50 years and there might be an answer to that one. Current thoughts are just that. No one alive to tell the tale is available to draw a comparison. When the otter was common (who knows how common) fish were more plentiful. Don't forget numbers were suppressed for decades by hunting. It's guess work at present. I actually would push for against the argument that the common sighting of them is good. It's good because it shows the space is there for native endangered spieces to return, the Red Kite and Raven are other great examples. I think the "number" of otters spotted is misinterpreted, were usually seeing the same one or part of the same group moving through their range. Frequently seeing them in the day is in my opinion a sign of low food levels, naturally a crepuscular creature is being forced to hunt in day light hours to top up thier diet. Next time you see one, watch it, they put vast amounts of energy and time into scudding around catching naff all. Eventually you may see one catch a dace. There certainly not held up in station raiding the river and creating a pile of bones of Chub and barbel getting fat.
I think there's much to learn about these wet cats yet, their predatory success being a big one. Opertunist rather than underwater ninja death cat.
 
Agreed up to a point. However where there are low food levels in my experience it is the otter that has been the main cause of it...and i have witnessed piles of bones on a regular basis...perch, pike, barbel, chub...particularly when they have a few nearly mature kits.
However, i am also hoping that when they have been here in numbers for a decade or so and they have lost their novelty factor to the general public, it is most likely that their numbers will be allowed to be controlled again...just as badgers and foxes are. So if they dont find their own balance (which i think they will, as you say they are opportunists like most mustelids, not killing machines, the issue being that initially the opportunity was just too good/easy)...we can always find the balance for them! After all, often sense does prevail in the end, and not even the full and completely biased might of the RSPB could protect the cormorant completely...otters dont have an RSPB...thank god.
 
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