Hot weather and Barbel.

[dicky123]

I'm hearing some news that many Barbel are showing up dead due to hot weather. Long played out fish and little recovery times. Some Barbel anglers have stopped fishing for a week or two!

Thoughts? Should we be barbel fishing today?

 

[tigger]

Many barbel....Sounds like pollution problems to me?

Any barbel that i've had recently have all been full of beans and bolted off leavimg a bow wave behind them.


Oh, I forgot about otters and corms etc.....gotta be down to them!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

The reasons for Barbel being found dead or dying are many and varied.


In these high water temperatures however the most common is (probably) fish that have expended too much energy in fighting and been allowed insufficient recovery time.

As usual, anglers will have different views on this type of a topic, and speak in many different tongues . . . . especially on the Babel Society . . . .

 

[Neil Maidment]

Over the years I have seen a fair few barbel float past me that have been "fully rested" and returned only to turn over later. Admittedly that's on rivers like the Severn and Trent, some I've been able to revive but for most they've been out of reach or too late.

The dissolved oxygen level in two of my local rivers (Dorset Stour and Hants Avon) is currently exceedingly low as are the general water and flow levels. I have only had three short sessions so far this season each of a couple hours either side of sunset. As long as these conditions persist, I will not fish.

It is frustrating particularly as I've been able to see barbel every time on my recent frequent walks around the fisheries, some have even fed on my loose offerings (especially as that's on parts of the Stour others say are devoid of such fish!).

 

[tigger]

I'd imagine the dissolved oxygen levels in your local still waters are lower still.

 

[Another Dave]

I'd imagine the dissolved oxygen levels in your local still waters are lower still.

Depends on the depth doesn't it? Deeper water will stay cooler and cooler water holds more oxygen.

 

[Neil Maidment]

I'd imagine the dissolved oxygen levels in your local still waters are lower still.

Quite probably. But at least a number of them have, and operate, aerators to maintain/increase the DOL.

 

[Philip]

Perhaps we should all only going fishing in that 1 week in September when its not too hot, not too cold, water levels are perfect and the dissolved oxygen levels are just right & the fish are not spawning so we do them as little harm as possible.

Of course I am being sarcastic so I am sorry for that but I do worry we are shooting ourselves in the foot sometimes.

 

[tigger]

Depends on the depth doesn't it? Deeper water will stay cooler and cooler water holds more oxygen.

No not really, the larger the surface area the more dissolved oxygen and moving water which has a broken surface should contain much more oxygen. That's why people install aereators, to break the surface tension. It's not the rising bubbles that aereate thwe water, its when they pop on the surfce and cause agitation.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Perhaps we should all only going fishing in that 1 week in September when its not too hot, not too cold, water levels are perfect and the dissolved oxygen levels are just right & the fish are not spawning so we do them as little harm as possible.

Of course I am being sarcastic so I am sorry for that but I do worry we are shooting ourselves in the foot sometimes.

This thread is about barbel which, as far as I understand, are particularly susceptible to adverse effects caused by low DOL. Potentially more so at this time of year when they may have recently spawned. Certainly some of "my" local barbel were spawning in the last week or so. I've also heard some argue that barbel in stillwaters are used as DOL indicators but maybe that's people looking for justification.

Having said this is barbel related, as an aside, the overall local C&R policy for salmon fishing contains specific provision to stop all such fishing when a certain water temperature is reached (a reasonable guide that DOL will be decreasing). Monitors are in place and when the situation arises the "stop fishing" rule is fully observed by those concerned.

 

[tigger]

Problem there Neil is how could you fish for the other species and avoid barbel, lets face it they'll take pretty much anything from a single maggot to a huge pellet, trotted or legered. I think it would be difficult to fish any river using any method and avoid hooking up with a barbel at this time of year, especially fishing rivers where they exist in any numbers. Surely the only certain way to avoid catching barbel would be stop fishing entirely?

 

[flightliner]

I understand that the Barbel soc' have instructed members not to fish their waters at Sutton on the tidal Trent.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Problem there Neil is how could you fish for the other species and avoid barbel, lets face it they'll take pretty much anything from a single maggot to a huge pellet, trotted or legered. I think it would be difficult to fish any river using any method and avoid hooking up with a barbel at this time of year, especially fishing rivers where they exist in any numbers. Surely the only certain way to avoid catching barbel would be stop fishing entirely?

Not a problem for me. As I said earlier, I choose not to fish in these conditions. That's also the position for many of my fishing mates down here on the Stour and Avon. But that's our personal choice.

 

[Neil Maidment]

I understand that the Barbel soc' have instructed members not to fish their waters at Sutton on the tidal Trent.

They are an irrelevance as far as I'm concerned but if the same conditions are prevalent on waters they control then I hope they will enforce their instruction.

 

[Philip]

I imagine DOL are at their worst of all for Barbel when we take them out of the water after hooking them.

The point being that if we keep chipping away around the edges as to what is the acceptable line then fishery policy might change even quicker than we think to stop us fishing for them altogether, because lets face it - thats the best solution of all for Barbel welfare.

-Just my opinion of course-

 

[tigger]

I imagine DOL are at their worst of all for Barbel when we take them out of the water after hooking them.

The point being that if we keep chipping away around the edges as to what is the acceptable line then fishery policy might change even quicker than we think to stop us fishing for them altogether, because lets face it - thats the best solution of all for Barbel welfare.

-Just my opinion of course-

It's all getting a bit silly in'it, maybe it's time we just hung our rods up !

I wonder where the EA would get their extra money from then?

 

[binka]

I've got to admit that, after initially being sceptical, I've been abstaining since the weekend.

Being on holiday for a fortnight I'm straining to get on the river but the temperatures have just been silly this week in comparison to last and I don't want to risk it if there's any doubt at all, I think it was a bit of an early call before this week but things have really warmed up over the last few days.

As an alternative I did do a spot of gravel pit Perching yesterday, setting up under the shade of the brolly late afternoon and it wasn't until the sun dipped beyond the top of the bank at around 9pm that I began getting bites and I had three over 2lbs in consecutive drop ins.

 

[Philip]

As an alternative I did do a spot of gravel pit Perching yesterday, setting up under the shade of the brolly late afternoon and it wasn't until the sun dipped beyond the top of the bank at around 9pm that I began getting bites and I had three over 2lbs in consecutive drop ins.

Well done thats a great catch. I have to ask...is this from the water with the recent Carp stocking ?

....just out of interest ...nothing malicious intended..

 

[binka]

Well done thats a great catch. I have to ask...is this from the water with the recent Carp stocking ?

....just out of interest ...nothing malicious intended..

Yes it was Philip, although it was very much against the grain of things in the wider picture.

On a previous occasion I had my float repeatedly all but engulfed by hungry Carp looking for surface food, on another I caught a Carp first put in and immediately after returning it I packed up and went home.

The fish are also that used to being supplementary fed that they're not even moving off when they pick up baits which in turn has resulted in some gut hooking, this is on reasonably sensitive float rigs and on which I've never seen that happen in my life before.

I think the only reason that I didn't encounter Carp on this occasion was that it was so hot they were all on the top and a good few feet away from my bait down near the deck.

Quite what this means for other species and the balance of the fishery in general I don't know but I would say that it doesn't look good for anything other than Carp... It's not your typical commercial which sees a reasonable number of anglers and feed throughout the year.

I keep saying I'm done with the water but I keep on going back, maybe on the strength of brief periods such as the other evening but it's a shadow of its former self in respect of anything other than Carp.

 

[Philip]

Well Carp aside three 2s in consecutive casts is a great catch in anyones book.

Maybe a livebait or lure could help solve your problem.