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Pressure

Neil Smart

Neil Smart

Senior Member
Had a chat last Saturday with two Anglers on the WA and it got me thinking a bit as to why rivers such as the Teme and other more intimate rivers are feeling the pinch as to barbel numbers. The finger is often pointed at the Otter as to be the main culprit, and it is a theory that I subcribed too, however the guys were very much of the opinion that Angling pressure is the main cause. They have seen what was perfectly good productive stretches of Rivers turn into what is now almost impossible to catch.

The reason they gave was the fact that these Rivers attracted a commercially inspired type who's only interest was to rake in the the high fees that each guest paid and reap the rewards while the harvest was good.

Any thoughts of a any long term or short term impact on the quality of fishing that is left is very much secondry it would seem, and simply all they need to do is find pastures new. But of course it is not a bottomless pit and if we as anglers do not adhere to what is a simple princible, of managing sensibly our Rivers then I am afraid we all will continue to see declining catches, and the need to travel even further in pusuit of the barbel.
 
Pressure plays a big part. Stretches on a few rivers I know, stretches once lightly fished and in some cases clearly "stacked" with fish, judging by how many of them were ready takers, have become very very difficult and apparently fishless after being fished hard. Okay, some of the oldies were due to leave for the Great Barbel Bend in The Sky and have probably died in recent years, but the great majority were not, and I believe are still present, but are now keeping a very low profile and being very very careful when feeders bearing freebies crash down on them or when pellets pepper the river.
 
Good question Neil.
Unlike many Teme anglers I'm new to the river and as such I have fished it with no pre-conceived ideas as to which swims are 'bankers' etc
And I'll be honest its this lack of intimate knowledge that has helped me catch; as over time we all inevitably form mental pictures as to where the fish 'should' be.
Then angling pressure will also eventually force even the ultimate 'mug fish' to seek sanctuary.

I say this because IMO the Teme is at saturation point regards barbel bio-mass, I would also say yes otter predation has impacted on the older (bigger) barbel but sorry that's nature.
Add to that the introducing of barbel has done is change the whole make up of fish stocks found in the river, less roach, chub and perch, all offering predators a more 'usual' sized meal.

Long term I'd say it offers barbel as a species greater prospects of survival due to their innate behaviour being reactivated.
Regards catchability, more challenging but still there.:)
 
Neil,

One of the rivers I fish, 3 or 4 years ago, I could go and catch 5 or ten fish in a day and I am now fishing for a bite...........

I am pretty convinced that the numbers of barbel were never particularly high but their free abandon to feed caused many, many repeat captures...... I know that one particular swim gave me five fish almost every time I fished it and they looked very much like the same 5 fish, even on concsecutive days.

I am 100% sure they have wised up just like Carp have on most waters, moved to different areas and built danger associations, especially with regards pellets, which I think actually spook fish on this river like sweetcorn did on the wensum and Hants Avon many years ago...........
 
As MR COOK has said above,this is what happened to a section of the ARROW me and my partner fished,the pressure as far as im concerned made the fish wise up and fishing for even a bite became almost impossible.
Maybe we had it too easy!!!but i for sure know it died a pretty sudden death and it cant be blamed on otters[i never once saw an otter there in over 8 years fishing all hours]and the floods of 07.


MH
 
Very interesting thread..It does amaze me at times when anglers say a particular big fish must be dead because it aint been caught for some time, only for it to turn up say the next year somewhere else..The record barbel wasent called the traveller for nothing.!..I have always believed that certain older big fish will change habits due to angling pressure and just maybe not feed on anything un-natural for some time..I also believe on some rivers where Otters are now more present that the fish will move around alot more to escape, but thats just my own theory and maybe im wrong..A story that was in AT some time ago made me think..A river somewhere had a pollution incident and the EA had to remove fish..They removed roach 4lb+ from this river and the local anglers just couldent believe it because these fish had never been caught..!!!..;)
 
A particular big Barbel on the WA was caught fairly recently and hadent been caught for some years..As already mentioned certain baits will be winners for a while and then they become blown due to fish being caught on them reguarly..Personally the very reason i go fishing is because of that certain shroud of mystery of never fully knowing whats going to turn up and nearly every year some big Barbel turns up somewhere where its least expected and if its not kept quite the usual big fish angling circus turns up and low and behold that fish disappears thought to be dead only to turn up again years later..There are venues on many rivers which have yet to be explored properly and are considerd devoid of anything big but unless your prepared to give it ago and fish away from the crowds, then you will never know..;)
 
one of the main reasons that make it hard to get fish is the amount of feed that is thrown in without thought.i have had plenty fish on single bait but you have to suck the blanks back.feeding ad lib spoils it for other people.
albert
 
Quite offten a river will go off. Some years back the Trent went from a top match venue with mega weights coming out, and them came the decline and it went in to the doldrums for quite a while, and then some years later all of a sudden the fishing came back with good weights of specimen fish. Now they did not just materialise out of thin air they must have been there all the time, but were not being caught. This also happened on the tidal Thames at Richmond where huge weights of quality dace won matches, and that also went off, but has since come back. Why this happens I have no idea, however it is possible that pressure is one factor.

Fishing on some stretches of the Kennet and Throop, and no doubt other rivers, are very difficult during the day these days, but talk to the guys who night fish on Benyons and they still catch so I am sure the fish are still there, but are very well educated. Tethered baits on some stretches during the day are a waste of time but get a bait moving, by float or Walton style and they can still be tempted.
If you are in a swim and some kind fellow comes along and says you are in a good swim, because a double came out yesterday my advice is pack up and move, because it wont be there now.
Try fishing swims where the grass is not completely flatened by numerous others, if a swim is normally fished down stream, try up stream.
Just try something the fish may not be used to seeing, and put it where they are not used to seeing it.
I have no doubt that Otters are killing some fish, but I am convinced that Barbel are still there, but are much wiser than they used to be, and are well aware of our tricks to tempt them. We need get back to basics and do some lateral thinking.
ATB
Colin
 
Hi men,

Not sure how all the above relates to a couple of bit we fish , with no pressure what so ever , as we were the only ones fishing them , and not heavy at that !.

Hatter
 
Many years ago when I took up fishing for barbel . One place I used to fish was a particular weir on the Severn . I would turn up with with about 4pints of hemp and caster and lob a feeder about three quarters of the across
and with in half an hour I would start catching barbel and on a good day would catch up to a dozen fish . Depending on the time of day you got there .
Their could be up to three four or five anglers all in a line fishing down stream from the weir . I must of fished there many times and all ways had a good day using hemp and caster . Then one morning I turned up with my usual bucket of hemp and caster and sat their till lunch time with out a fish .
Then some one turned up to fish just up from me and with in half hour of him starting , He starts catching barbel and to cut a long story short I found out he was using Halibut pellet .
Had he not turned up and started to catch I would of sworn their were no feeding fish about .
So the question I ask . Was it angling pressure that put them of hemp and castor and made them switch to Halibut pellet which in those days was some thing new
 
Yup. And you should have seen what happened when I and very few others hit ALL of the Kennet in the mid 1970s with unknown sweetcorn: the river turned gold.
 
in the 70s i had many multiple catches using a bucket of maggots.times change and i repeat some rivers cannot stand this sort of feeding pellets.they lie on the deck forever.some pegs must stink.
albert
 
Hi men ,

Do they just lie there ?. After using my own eyes for a good few years , and with the evidence of the well known barbel DVDs they breakdown quick, and are swept from the swim over a period of time . In the 90,s/ 00 I put a dropper of the then hush hush T23 pellets we were using for carp fishing , and taking Elstow apart . That dropper had roach, chub, dace, minnows, fry of unknown species, and of course barbel feeding like mad on them . This must be repeated on all rivers , but with bigger pellets taking longer to breakdown , but when done so I'm sure the food chain takes over . Weather pellets are effecting fishing may be another mater .

I have posted before about if you are roving , thinking of the person following behind, and feeding with that in mind. Not sure all anglers think my way , but that's life !

Hatter
 
Mark - well explained & illustrated. On the whole I have similar pellet considerations too. Very little hook longevity compared to insoluble boilies, nuts, etc. As with your proviso too Mark, I am not advocating mass baiting nor its potential effect on fishing on the whole.

Back on topic - I have fished a few spots both here & abroad where I have observed of bait quickly blowing & having to swap it around accordingly. Pressurised waters - find out the current vogue bait & tailor to either the nutritional deficiencies or start off in a completely novel/old school direction.

Cheers, Jon
 
Most points made here are good, fish do feel pressure and get suspicious of baits after prolonged use, but that was always the case. The odd thing I find is how fish on all rivers seem to have wised up at the same time. With the possible exceptions of the Trent and the Wye most rivers seemed to hit an alarming slump at one particular point, that point being the aftermarth of the 2007 floods. Coincidence? Unlikely, but very strange all the same.
 
The stretches of the middle Teme that I have fished over the last few years are certainly not as easy to catch on now (for me at least). Whether that means there are less fish to catch I cannot say. What I can say is that, on the whole, these stretches are incredibly lightly fished. I rarely see another angler. As far as the Teme is concerned I find it hard to believe that simple angling pressure is causing a decrease in catch rates. I am more inclined to believe that barbel numbers are cyclical.
 
Andrew Thomas said:
I am more inclined to believe that barbel numbers are cyclical.
Click to expand...

Is that a posh way of saying that the barbel have got on their bikes and legged it?......................:p

Sorry Andrew, you were making a serious, and quite possibly valid point. However, it doesn't explain why exactly the same thing happens in carp lakes...where you can clearly see that the fish ARE still present ;)

Cheers, Dave.
 
Put angling pressure alongside the pressure for the fish to eat to survive.

I think the two go hand in hand, which is why the "wiser" fish still slip up in time.

Anyone remember Jim Gibbinson writing about the effectiveness of a simple redworm for carp on pressured waters?
I think a change of approach can be the answer, sometimes a brand new bait/rig (if you're lucky enough to be "in" on one), sometimes going back to basics. Just a question of making such a choice and being confident enough to see it through.
 
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