I hope so too Neil.
I fished the Teme pretty much every week last year from June onwards without a great deal of success.
Waterlevels were very low at times (and very high lately) and very clear.
I have seen a couple of cormorants but not otters.
I'm hoping that with improved tactics and better planning my catches will improve this year and that the river is not suffering a serious decline in fishstocks.
Thanks for the reply.
Belsh.
Facts are that Barbel catches are well down, it's hard to admit that the Barbel are not there in the numbers that they were previously, but as Judas says that it is probably the recent floods and then drought that has the biggest impact on such a spate river.
Of course Otter are a factor, and they are there, they are in every waterway now that contains fish, you just need to observe the paw prints in the mud /sand. But they haven't been resident in recent years, and when they were they were culled by the Otter Hounds.
If predation is the problem then it will always show more on such Rivers as the Teme as opposed to the Severn, Trent etc, for obvious reasons, but the fact that the Severn and the Wye was below par too this summer indicates that perhaps fllood and then drought indeed plays a major part.
Certainly the Teme is an important spawning river for the Barbel and is as such a hugely important River for the welfare of Barbel and future stocks.
But alas the EA seem not to care at all regarding such matters, show them a new Hydro Scheme and they will back that to the hilt, but declining fish stocks?
Perhaps as anglers we have not helped, pursuing the Barbel to the extent we would impose our rigs on them even in the snaggiest of the Barbel 'safe' areas, the very public affair the Teme had through the likes of celeb anglers was perhaps unsustainable, is it no wonder that if we are lucky to find Barbel now we keep it a secret?
Look on the bright side you will have miles of River to yourself.
ssshhh.
