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I'll second that Ian. The rivers you mention are now producing some stunning specimens of a variety of species considering their state not so long ago. Other rivers on this side of the north are nothing short of prolific despite a full house of predators in the system.
 
When I were a slip of a lad ,and about 5 stone lighter,I did most of my fishing on the Bristol Avon,Barbel were relatively new in there ,and I caught a 9-14 and half ounce in a match ,which would have been a river record,except such things never bothered me ,but the fish was fantastic and a total thrill to catch on my Ivan Marks Carbon Quivertip rod Cardinal 54 reel ,and 5lb shark line Maxima .

That stretch was Bathford and waggler and maggot ,or caster was usually the boss way of winning a bit of coin ,the ubiquitious feeder was only just coming in so the float usually ruled,because the river had a bit of pace on it then and top Midland Anglers came down and initially made us pools fodder at the hands of Shaky Superteam.

In 1987 I was moved to Worcester with work and carried on match fishing on the Severn which was fantastic as matches could be 200 peggers ,and Barbel to over 10lb were a regular feature ,often on stick float and 1-7 bayer bottoms ,and before you condemn,very few were lost as skills and tackle were well balanced.

I got more into specie fishing as attendances started to dwindle and Commercials started to take off ,and were not my scene ,high speed ,skull dragging Carp just didn't cut it for me.
A couple of years later I took John Found to some old haunts on the Bristol Avon and was shocked at the state of the river in late summer ,float fishing would have been pointless ,there was no flow,and spiraling weeds came to the surface like octopus tentacles,this on a gulley that used to be full of chub and barbel,we used to call it Dead Mans Gulch ,dont know why,but we did.
Suffice to say we caught nowt ,and investigating several bits I returned home really sad at the state of the river.
It seemed only winter flows and colour would improve things.

Now to add to our woes,we have numerous Cormorants,Otters,massive abstractions ,and dedicated pot hunters from Eastern Europe on most of our rivers who use all methods,most of which are illegal to reduce stocks still further.

My local River Teme is still dry on parts of the upper river ,and unlikely to recieve enough rainfall to enable Salmon to run much above Leintwardine at this rate.

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My point is things are not rosy in the camp,and as Keith Speer says we are lucky to have seen great times
 
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Chris and Keith are right....they are old farts.

But nice posts, realising that in their lifetimes they won't see those glorious happy days on those rivers they mention.
 
Scary pics Chris, very scary.

I had a wander round a few favoured swims on the Lea yesterday afternoon with a view to starting chubbing, but the flow, if you can call it such, is virtually non-existent. Can't remember it so poor in the last ten years, particularly at this time of year?
 
To add to my earlier post. Over the past few years I have repeatedly highlighted the decline of the thames rivers network on this site. Frequently it has been argued that all in the garden is fine. Anglers just need to adjust tactics to suceed etc. Rubbish.

Having fished the rivers for 45 years the emphasis by the EA is to create new spawning sites etc and fiddling with edges of the problem. Meanwhile raw sewage flows into the rivers in the south with all types of debris including tampons and associated chemicals.

I pointed this out many times and even offered to show the local group it happening. Nil interest. The EE problem, though serious it nothing compared to this with the future in mind.
 
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Ian Crook said:
One of the local streams was blue with the chemicals flowing out of the bleach works.........
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In Stockport the Edgeley Bleach works discharged into the Mersey. The Goyt also changed colour regularly as there were at least 2 Dye works discharging into it.

I certainly would not recommend swimming in any of these rivers - or eating any of it's residents.
 
begs the question lads - what is anybody doing about these EE's? Maybe if you put more effort into actually doing something about it rather than bickering on a website forum, perhaps the problem could be erradicated?
 
How far are people willing to go to "protect" the rivers? Talk the talk walk the walk. Anglers willing to give up their own free time to walk the stretches marshalling and be the eyes and ears of the river systems. Enough people belong to clubs but how many of us actually baliff?
I know my club empowers me to check licences of other anglers but have I, no. To me we have to protect what we have, legally of course and that means wearing out boot leather if anglers are serious of leaving behind fishing that Chris and others have eluded to for future generations.


Brian
 
Instead of being single minded one species anglers ,and fishermen who by the very nature are solitary ,and nocturnal in many cases,you have to embrace the pleasure and match anglers at your clubs,THEY are the ones who keep clubs afloat ,not by license monies,but by hard work and dedication.
And in those clubs,9 times out of 10 it is dedicated committee men ,driven by overworked Chairman and Sec ,who probably do 80% of all the work,including bank clearing and bailiffing.

There seems to be an ethos amongs't speci anglers to moan like hell about the pleasure and match anglers running the clubs and setting up silly rules that dont suit them,but the reality is ,they are the only ones prepared to get of there butts and put the time in ,when you are sat at home waiting for it to get dark.

I am seeing some brilliant clubs re emerging in the west midlands ,old established ones with dynamic leadership and enthusiasm ,who are getting full books ,and loads of great,well managed waters ,many of them bought and paid for .
Kinver Freeliners,Birmingham Anglers ,White Swan AC,Ross AC , Hereford and District, have all done a fantastic job recently in these hard economic times,there are countless others I could name that I come into contact with work also very well managed.

One way is to fish for all species ,summer and winter,that way ,when conditions are not right for Barbel ,you turn your enthusiasm to whatever is the best option.

Don't be just a night owl,get down and enjoy the sunsets and the dawns,take a camera and shoot some great scenic shots,learn how to use settings on your camera other than P and Auto modes.

Go Fly Fishing on a small river for winter Grayling,or trotting maggots and worms .

Pick up a Beachcaster and try fishing a remote beach for Bass,or join the twinkling Tilly lamp brigade on a frosty pebble beach,like Chesil in Dorset on a winters night,well wrapped up,but hauling plump,tasty Codling and Whiting ,all magic,embracing,invigorating experiences ,the sea air will do wonders in lifting your mood,the crashing surf and suck of undertow scaring you with it's unpredictable power.

Above all share your experiences with others,and the fuel bills,be more social,make the day out the experience,the memories and photos,the laughs ,and the craic with your mates.:)

Does it really matter that it is not a double ? Who cares about your PB list when you are gone.:(

Live each day,pack as much in as you can ,don't worry how far,how expensive ,what others think ,life is here and now ,get out there and live the dream !:)
 
I think we have found our William Wallace ;) All very well put Chris, being a club Chairman I can relate to all of that, problem is that many these days see angling as something they pay to do, and expect to be guaranteed to catch for their Money too, we can probably blame the commercial fishery culture for that
 
I live 45 mins away from syndicate stretch I fish and visit at least once a week and if anyone down check them before I even get tackle out of van , plus any cars in car park have number taken , had a spell where there was a few down trying it on after day tickets , also had 3 guys with a caravan that were invited to leave but the best by far was the guy whose brother is on the committee of the club who lease it to us and he openly admitted that he hadnt bothered buying a ticket as no one came round and he was also going to night fish ( controlling club have night ban and our syndicate have permission to fish overnight ) as everyone did it and no one stopped them , he wasnt happy when i told him that i would be stopping him fishing that night , he left about an hour before dark and left gate to car park open in protest , not seen hime since and it was passed onto controlling clubs committee . During close season I will still go down for a walk and tidy up but can understand others not doing it as they have to travel 2 hours or more
 
Chris Ponsford said:
...Instead of being single minded one species anglers...One way is to fish for all species ,summer and winter,...Go Fly Fishing...
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50% of the reason I spend 3 months of the year pratting about with a fly rod on the Teme and other rivers nearby is because these close season months are the ones when I find all the evidence of poaching. As a bailiff for a couple of clubs you soon get to realise that it's between March 14th and June 16th that the crisp packets, fag ends, beer cans, 50lb nylon, forked sticks, spinner packets, empty worm pots and so on all start appearing. While most of us are taking 3 months off decorating and doing a bit of tench fishing the EE anglers, local poachers, cormorants, otters, mink and goosanders come out of the woodwork and have our fish stocks and favourite swims to themselves. And then each year we come back to the rivers on June 16th and we get the usual stories about "Slow Start to River Season". Well what a surprise! If a few of us spent £50 on a bit of fly gear and kept an eye on the rivers for a quarter of the year they might not be seen as an open pantry in our absence. Anyway, bit early for a close season rant...:).
 
Will Smith said:
50% of the reason I spend 3 months of the year pratting about with a fly rod on the Teme and other rivers nearby is because these close season months are the ones when I find all the evidence of poaching. As a bailiff for a couple of clubs you soon get to realise that it's between March 14th and June 16th that the crisp packets, fag ends, beer cans, 50lb nylon, forked sticks, spinner packets, empty worm pots and so on all start appearing. While most of us are taking 3 months off decorating and doing a bit of tench fishing the EE anglers, local poachers, cormorants, otters, mink and goosanders come out of the woodwork and have our fish stocks and favourite swims to themselves. And then each year we come back to the rivers on June 16th and we get the usual stories about "Slow Start to River Season". Well what a surprise! If a few of us spent £50 on a bit of fly gear and kept an eye on the rivers for a quarter of the year they might not be seen as an open pantry in our absence. Anyway, bit early for a close season rant...:).
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round my way, you need a very big and very hungry dog to balliff the closed season.
 
Of course Will, you found yourself a victim of a bit of unofficial close season baliffing this year if memory serves......
Interestingly I had a club card (won't say which club, but most will have a good guess) checked twice during the coarse close season on the Severn, they didn't bother asking for my EA license to see if I was legally fishing (which I was) even though I was spinning for salmon rather than fly fishing for trout.

I actually explained to the guy, who was a decent sort and a local who had agreed to baliff in exchange for free fishing) that at that time people fishing in that location also required a migratory license, he didn't seem aware of this. Hopefully the "Dad's Army" baliffing scheme being trailed down south somewhere will include some training!
Any one heard much about that scheme? Anyone here volunteered for it?
 
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