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Spawning in April!

Simon Burt

Simon Burt

Senior Member & Supporter
Hi All,
Have just got home from watching the barbel hard at it on April 21st! I guess that the warm weather we have been having recently has got things started early this year. I counted 11 fish in all many of which were fairly small (3 - 4lbs) along with 2 or 3 larger females. Like many, our river has been in decline and this particular stretch has seemingly died a furry death - does anybody know how many mature fish need to be present for a successful recovery?

Best wishes,

Simon.
 
Watched them at Lacock yesterday Simon it is very warm but the earliest I have ever seen them spawn. Hopefully they will get more chances to aid recruitment.
 
Simon Burt said:
Hi All,
- does anybody know how many mature fish need to be present for a successful recovery?

Best wishes,

Simon.
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One very randy male fish and your three females Simon !!...:D
 
Perhaps this prove's once and for all and puts the final nail in the coffin ,
On the other thread . ''THE RIVER CLOSE SEASON DEBATE'' and I respect other peoples opinions and thoughts .
That the close season on rivers is out dated and should be scrapped .
We all know that Barbel numbers for what ever reason are on the decline .
So do it not make sence to leave well alone and let them do what they do at this time of the year undisturbed .
 
Too true!!
 
Joe Fletcher said:
Perhaps this prove's once and for all and puts the final nail in the coffin ,
On the other thread . ''THE RIVER CLOSE SEASON DEBATE'' and I respect other peoples opinions and thoughts .
That the close season on rivers is out dated and should be scrapped .
We all know that Barbel numbers for what ever reason are on the decline .
So do it not make sence to leave well alone and let them do what they do at this time of the year undisturbed .
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How the hell does this prove leaving in place something that clearly is not working (the close season) is the best option?
Its got to be said you display a very typically British drippy level of apathy, sort of; if it ain't obliterated, don't change it!!

And its proof of nothing, except we are having an early spring.

I trust you (and all the keep the close season supporters) never went barbel or chub fishing until July last year, seeing as last year they were so belated in spawning?


Clive Shipman said:
Watched them at Lacock yesterday Simon it is very warm but the earliest I have ever seen them spawn. Hopefully they will get more chances to aid recruitment.
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It is one of a multitude of factors that aid good barbel recruitment and very welcome one.

The last time I witnessed barbel spawning this early was in 2003 on the river Wey and the fish from that year class are coming through nicely...
 
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As I reported here at this very time in 2009 (or was it 2010?)*, during another hot spell, the brazen ladies and gents of a near-London river were hard at it on April 18th, 19th etc and for a good week afterwards, during which I took a lapsed angler mate, a guy who had his first barbel with me on the Kennet in 1977, to see just what swam in one section of a river that he, like me, had known since childhood.

* Mid April 2009 - I had a newly bought Olympus compact binocular with me.
 
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I was catching Trent Barbel late June last season, with eggs still coming out. Its totally pointless bickiering about the closed season, at the moment its still here and going knowhere. Until out of the blue it gets demolished like what happened on stillwaters. I personally think when this happens and i guess it will, thats when the fun will start, and thats when the clubs/associations should adopt there own rules regarding the safety of all spawning fish.
 
Certainly early for barbel spawning, and just to show how mucked up everything is, I watched a pair of pike spawning on theTest today, a tad late? My wife just freaked out because a Maybug came crashing into the kitchen a few minutes ago, very early!!!!
peter
 
My proposal that some rivers should be left fallow was given not much approval on here, and yet there seems to be an overwhelming support for the close season which is a statuary ''fallow'' period for all Rivers....so if then the majority on here think that is a good thing, why then should not extended resting period for pressured stretches of rivers also be beneficial?
I am all for the close season as far as giving the fish an opportunity to spawn without the disturbance of Anglers, but I wonder if this is the real reason, or is it some past anti coarse agenda in favour of the game fishers?
To place a blanket ban on all rivers is I feel punitive, I cannot imagine for instance the Lower Severn to be adversely affected in any way if it was free to fish twelve months of the year, however there is not the will in Parliament to change anything, as Angling and Anglers matter not a hoot to most members unless of course it is not coarse.
 
Colin Gordon said:
How the hell does this prove leaving in place something that clearly is not working (the close season) is the best option?
Its got to be said you display a very typically British drippy level of apathy, sort of; if it ain't obliterated, don't change it!!

And its proof of nothing, except we are having an early spring.

I trust you (and all the keep the close season supporters) never went barbel or chub fishing until July last year, seeing as last year they were so belated in spawning?




It is one of a multitude of factors that aid good barbel recruitment and very welcome one.

The last time I witnessed barbel spawning this early was in 2003 on the river Wey and the fish from that year class are coming through nicely...
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Hi Colin never been called drippy before :p As I have already stated we all have a right to express our opinion on what we think on a particular subject .
To answer your question I was on the river bank on June 16th last year after barbel and yes I blanked .

Some people have already commented that barbel have spawned early this year . I assume it's due to the unseasonal warm weather and its only April . Correct me if I am wrong in April 2010 we had snow so river conditions were hardly favourable for the fish to start spawning .
We all know about global warming and how weather patterns are changing from year to year .

So tell me Colin do you have a viable suggestion to what should be done about the present close season . Bearing in mind that even game birds and other four legged game that are shot for sport are left alone during the mating season .
So why should fish be any different .
Accept it or lump it for the time being you are stuck with it :)
 
Just let it be ffs, it's a chance for us all to stop and think, have a break from it and look forward to a new season.
This is getting very boring. The close season is here for a good reason, why do 'we' keep trying to find an excuse to abolish it?
Find something useful to do in and around the house and garden. ;-)
 
Neil - might it be that the 'support' for the close season is merely a reflection of the numbers who turned out, i.e. those who give a damn?

As for those fish spawning during the close season; surely a good reason to retain it?

I just can't make up my mind (and I'm not alone) :)
 
I shall now bore you with my thoughts and opinions on this wretched closed season debate, for what they are worth :D Purely because it is late, I can't sleep (as usual), and I need something to do :p

Those clamouring for the end of the close season often claim that there is little point in retaining something which, according to them, 'doesn't work'. They quote tales of numerous occasions where the fish were seen spawning outside of the closed season limits, claiming that this proves their point.

Unfortunately, what they are whittering on about does happen...of course it does! We are talking about wild creatures here, who's actions are controled by the vagaries of the weather, rather than a rule book :D. However, I for one fail to see how this 'proves' that the closed season 'doesn't work'.

True, the timing of the closed season was always going to be a compromise. The period chosen was one which it was hoped would cover the majority of fish spawning in an average year...but clearly, no fixed period could ever hope to do the impossible and cover every eventuality.

However, is ANY system, in ANY walk of life, ever perfect? of course not. The best we can do, if we are to have a closed season of a reasonable length, is what we do now...compromise...cover as many events as possible within the limits of a set period.

The fact is, even if only 50% of spawning events occur within that period of protection, then that is 50% of our fish protected while they spawn as against NONE if the closed season was done away with.

As for the argument that 'it doesn't work' because there are many lawbreakers who carry on fishing during the closed season....in my opinion that is an even more bizarre point of view. Should we do away with ALL laws, just because ALL laws are continually being broken? Do away with the law making murder illegal for instance, on the grounds that the minority of our population are going to break that law anyway :rolleyes: Absolutely not...the answer to that is we must take steps to minimise the number of people breaking the law.

It doesn't take too much thought to understand that the reasons people publicly give for wishing to do away with the closed season are not the true reasons at all. Money, or greed of one sort or another, is invariably lurking in the background. The ringleaders have their own agenda, while the easily led man the front lines as ever :D

OK, I'm done...you can wake up again now :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
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Chris Guy said:
Just let it be ffs, it's a chance for us all to stop and think, have a break from it and look forward to a new season.
This is getting very boring. The close season is here for a good reason, why do 'we' keep trying to find an excuse to abolish it?
Find something useful to do in and around the house and garden. ;-)
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Me too, but I suspect that there is nothing to support a ban by way of scientific evidence that a ban actually helps spawning fish, the close season is a farce with still waters open at the whim of owners the argument that the legislators actually care about spawning fish goes out of the window.
So as put forward on the other thread it would seem that the controlling clubs perhaps should have the say about any closure on rivers. But there is no political will to do anything I suspect, and as opinion is so split amongst anglers we will have to live with it I guess, until next year when it starts all over again.:)
I think the real reason that many anglers prefer the close season on rivers is because of a romantic notion rather than anything else, which in itself is not a bad thing, which of course allows us to retain the moral high ground over the 'other' lot. Certainly the close season does allow us time to reflect, and the expectation that I still feel about the 16th is the same as I felt as a boy. ;)
 
Dave Gauntlett, couldn't agree more with everything you've written.

Fortunately, this also saves me having to type something similar myself - thanks! :D

The close season exists. Go fish for tench or another species on still water for a couple of months and get on with it! :rolleyes:

Actually, I think the closed season is good for 'barbel anglers' for the exact reason I just mentioned - it forces people to have a change and go after other species for a couple of months. There have been threads before about barbel fishing becoming the new carp fishing, with people becoming incredibly blinkered, so I think it's a good thing that the closed season encourages (forces if they still want to fish somewhere) them to try something different.

Stu

P.S. I know the point I've just made doesn't apply to everyone, but it certainly applies to some!! :(
 
Stuart Wright said:
Dave Gauntlett, couldn't agree more with everything you've written.

Fortunately, this also saves me having to type something similar myself - thanks! :D

The close season exists. Go fish for tench or another species on still water for a couple of months and get on with it! :rolleyes:

Actually, I think the closed season is good for 'barbel anglers' for the exact reason I just mentioned - it forces people to have a change and go after other species for a couple of months. There have been threads before about barbel fishing becoming the new carp fishing, with people becoming incredibly blinkered, so I think it's a good thing that the closed season encourages (forces if they still want to fish somewhere) them to try something different.

Stu

P.S. I know the point I've just made doesn't apply to everyone, but it certainly applies to some!! :(
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But dont you think that's hypocritical Stuart?

I'm as guilty as others on this (I'm not haveing a go.... just making a point) because I dont fish the rivers during the 'Closed Season', yet I do go Carp/Tench/Perch/Roach/Pike/Catfish fishing.

IF the reason for the closed season on river it to protect the coarse fish that swim in it, then why should those exact same species that happen to like in stillwater not be protected?


Steve
 
I see your point, Steve, and it's a fair one. Although I wouldn't say I was being hypocritical. The angle I was coming from was not to debate the rights or wrongs of the close season, but simply to accept that it's in place and get on with the other fishing to be done at this time of year.

Rather than protesting that anglers should be able to use their discretion on rivers for 12 months of the year by not fishing for species that are spawning, why not just apply the same logic to still waters where that can already be done?

Life is too short :)
 
Nice one! :)

Actually Steve, slightly off topic but you seem to be very knowledgable about the preds, how long do you keep fishing for the pike for?

Stu
 
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