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when is it going to stop.

Lets just hope we get some rain, otherwise this year the Stour & Avon will be in serious trouble along with whats left of the fish..I fear the predators will have a field day if we start removing cover in low water conditions..Last season i moaned due to too much weed & wanted to see some cut..However after seeing how low the river is without the weed, i felt stupid for even thinking that!..:eek:..What a sorry state of affairs we find ourselves in, but in truth what can we do?..Unfortunately the good old days are no more, and i fear challinging times are fast approaching many of our rivers..:(
 
Hi men,

On a bit we fish a couple of lads seem to enjoy getting the bow saw out a bit to handy. They have rendered one swim devoid of barbel and chub , a swim that was always good for a bite has had cover removed , so the fish have relocated:eek: . These working parties happen when the fishing is slow, and I hoped they would get bored , but have had a go at the whole length . I did talk to them , pointed out a branch they were taking out was very heavy, and true to form it ended up in the water , and they wedged it to "make" more cover , give me strength . They seem oblivious to my gentle prods in the right direction .

This on a generally shallow stretch has done it no favours , but these are general club members , so can't even blame the EA :D. .


Hatter
 
In the same vein as Tim earlier, don't get me started on guys who need room for a bivvie and their stack of soon-to-be-dumped trash and a no-snag, no-risk casting and fishing space for two to three fishless rods. Try Horton or Farlow's or a million places somewhere similar now, not a river.
 
I think the reason that people like Ray, Paul and I are so passionate about the habitat destruction and species annihilation that is going on with seemingly no recourse is that we are all old anglers and we remember just how good it all once was!

I can’t speak for them but I know I come across as a grumpy old man but as a conservationist I want to leave this world in a better state than when I joined it!

Organisations like the EA and Natural England are part of the problem and not part of the solution, so the sooner they go, the better as far as I am concerned.
 
I now feel quite fortunate that when the EA did some work on the Yorkshire Derwent, they discussed it with the local clubs. Result being that (approximately) at every third willow/alder three were taken severly back. Result is some swims in areas unfishable before now have many near-bank features to fish to in newly opened areas. And previously open areas left with existing (but managed) cover. I think, from what I have read and been posted above, there is a very different agenda on the HA.
 
removing obstacles in the water because they don't look pretty irritated me one year in one 1 very good barbel swim, the result, 1 dead swim, it was perfect as it slowed the water down and created a perfect eddy.
 
And it also means that I see on any fishing venture, among a few many unidentified species, willow, blue, great and long-tailed tits, finches of a number of species, wrens, blackbirds, woodpeckers, shrikes, hawks of a few species etc etc. And the waders on the unmolested water meadows...
 
Keith Speer said:
I think the reason that people like Ray, Paul and I are so passionate about the habitat destruction and species annihilation that is going on with seemingly no recourse is that we are all old anglers and we remember just how good it all once was!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you're right there, Keith, though I certainly side with you views on conservation and preservation. I don't think one needs to be old (to qualify that; on the wrong side of 50) to appreciate the rivers we fish and absolute necessity for restraint when making changes that affect the environment.

Mr Boote talks about foot soldiers (of the EA variety) just following orders. Ditto that for every business in the country, whether public or private. It takes a definite type of individual to buck the trend, speak out, etc....not caring about the consequences. That's what the angling fraternity is missing, both organisationally and individually. Too many YES men.....

That's my penny's worth.....
 
Ray, my point was that in the not to distant past you have been quick to lay the blame at the feet of one club for work being done on 'their' fishery by the various organisations you mention. I think it is plain to see that neither RDAA or CAC has any real control over what either NE or the EA (or any other so called interested party) do, when these organisations decide they are going to do something.
As an angler you have my greatest respect but please place the blame for this so called 'Habitat Enhancement' work where it belongs.
I firmly agree with your assersion that clubs should make their veiws known to riparian owners when work appears to be carried out at the detriment to the aquatic, riverine environment but they are often "caught between a rock and a hard place" meaning in order to retain the lease, sometimes they have to make a choice between keeping their council and retaining access or not. I don't envy them.

Also best regards

Keith
 
Ray Walton said:
Not quite sure when the work was done, but perhaps you should also have a gander at Phil Smith’s Blog – ‘Travelling Man’ who was on the Avon recently, as it may surprise you and a few others who fish the same areas in question. Travelling Man
Best Regards
Click to expand...

You've lost me there Ray. Are you suggesting that Phil did well because of the destruction at Somerley or despite it? :confused:

The rest of your post just confirmed Keith's observation. Instead of railing at the destruction on Somerley your reply appeared to justify the work simply because equally damaging work had already happened at NEF and on the Royalty.

You have started loads and loads of - perfectly valid in my opinion - threads on here about every single incident that happened on the two aforementioned fisheries yet you have neither started one or objected strongly to all that's gone on at Somerley, preferring to respond with statements that make it clear that equally bad stuff has taken place at NEF and on the Royalty.

Why?
 
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Fished the estate yesterday, couldnt find a tree anywhere:(
Even the portaloo had gone from around the lake..........
I ask you, what do you do when the toilets been removed and now there are no trees ?..........:rolleyes: Especially now, at the end of the season when there are many other anglers on the bank.
 
Don't you think this is a little bit of an over-reaction?
I mean yes, the place looks different, and will agree that where in-stream vegetation provided cover for fish, it should have remained, but really the issue is one of appearance?
Isn't it?


Regards

Damian
 
Damien its not an over re action ita a fact that a fishery that was once a joy to be sat even when i blanked has been totally ruined and will never be the same in my lifetime. i know things evolve but this is a disgrace and imo done without a thought for wildlife habitat and fish habitat.the good thing about ibsley was the older generation could fall out of their cars and fish,without a long walk,its been getting tougher year on year and all this work(if you can call it that) will make it even tougher.i know swims there which have been totally ruined.it makes me laugh that for years you had to battle over broken stiles,rotten planks over streams.rip yourself on barb wire ,but in one season a fiehery can be totally flattened.Damien i know you worked on the work parties along with others and thank you but cant understand the logic whats going on the somerley.John i know how you feel got abit breezy when i had to drop me strides last week.
 
I do empathise with your disappointment, Jamie, but just consider for a minute carefully how badly you'd feel if it weren't for the aesthetic change.
I was really surprised just recently when, staying at Sandy Balls, and taking note of the incredibly dry year we've had, the local carriers were in full view, not brimming exactly, but with a fair amount of water in their confines. I'm assuming that management plans for the water levels are in action...
A better managed water level in the valley should in theory provide for any populations of young fish and it appears to be, in part anyway, part of the same plan behind the reduction of trees.

Damian
 
I'd like to see some photographic evidence of just what has happened here on the Avon. ie before and after.
There's been a similar destruction of bank-side vegetation on the Lea, not to mention the small streams that run in around my area.
Why not just turn these waterways into 'running water' canals.
 
Maybe not related, but just come across this lovely shot, enjoy.

Hampshire-Avon-downstream-from-CharfordBridge-put-in.jpg
 
I fish on the Somerly Estate for chub most seasons and always enjoy the experience. This season it has been slightly dulled by the previously mentioned tree surgery taking place downstream of Ibsley. It has been widespread, and from a observers veiwpoint difficult to understand. I know that the bushes and even trees will eventually grow back to their previous state, but you can now stand at Ibsley Bridge and see all the way through to Ellingham without too much effort.

There is a justification for the work being carried out mentioned in the blog, Avon Diary 2012 and no doubt the people who make these desisions do so in all good faith. The good side of this particular aspect is that it does not affect the fishing - that's left to the otters!
 
Quick question , there seems to be some negative Salmon/Trout angling aspect to this. I am neither a Salmon angler nor Trout angler but what happened back in the past when both were more prolific? Did the undergrowth get "culled" to the extent it appears to have been recently ? What I am saying is are we going back to the bad old days or is this type of fishery management a more contemporary manifestation?
 
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