Rivers, releasing fish and keepnets

[Muffin]

Hi All,

Recently I've had a few occasions trotting on the Bristol Avon, where to start with I am getting a bite a chuck for the first 15 or so casts, mainly just small roach, chub and dace.

However these bites all of a sudden just dry up and for the next 30 mins plus I cant even get a touch.

I've tried varying feed patterns etc, but with no luck.

I dont like carrying a keep net when roving on the upper river as its a pain in the back side, not too mcuh of a problem when I'm staying in a swim for a long period but I'm not doing that in winter in the area i'm fishing at present.

In your opinions does releasing fish straight back into the river affect the other fish in the area? Should I just carry a keepnet and put up with the extra weight?

Any advice greatly received

Simon

 

[Sean Meeghan]

I think that chub, especially, can spook the shoal when returned. With bigger fish I just leave them in my landing net for a while and I'm sure you could do this with smaller fish as well. just use a bigger net than usual (I use my barbel net) and sink it with a stone. I've also used a carp sack with chub, but I wouldn't recommend this with smaller fish.

 

[Mark Wintle]

Yes and no.

It's complex - putting them back CAN spook them but what you are describing is what I term crash, bang, wallop fishing. You're at 'em too fast when they are not settled so you get the fast flurry of easy fish, scaring off the bigger ones before theyhave a chance to settle. When I used to fish winter leagues on the Avon around Melksham you could tell this because those in the lesser teams would weigh in less than a pound with the common tale of 'Ihad a few in the first 20 minutes then couldn't buy a bite' whereas the experienced anglers built their swims over the five hours to get anything from 5 to 15 lbs. You have to slow down the feed rate, use baits like caster to get a slower response and vastly improve your feeding and bait presentation. Often you will pull fish (especially chub) from more than one swim away in time.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Simon,

MW sums it up better than I ever could and he has far more winter experience in the UK than I do.

To gradually build-up a swim takes; time, patience and that confidence that only comes from experience.

However, if you are roaming the river then why not bait up 5 or 6 swims and then go back and fish them in the order that you have baited them. That way you won't have to worry about them going 'off the feed' and when you are ready to move on simply re-bait and then you can always go back again.

 

[Risque Manoofus]

Are you really roving the river Muffin or are you just travelling light?

The way you describe what you are doing and your dissapointments. It sounds too me that you are trying to have your cake and eat it a bit mate.

If your catching down the inside and putting fish back into your swim then yes your going to spook them.

If your catching across at somewhere like Newbridge say and releasing them straight back then I would hardly think so.

 

[Muffin]

Some really great feedback and ideas here.

Mark - I'm pretty sure what you describe is to some extent what is happening, I guess its all experience and learning, and the benefit of pleasure fishing as opposed to match fishing is I can move swim! Maybe I will have to stay put for a few sessions and see if I can build up a swim better.

Peter - I hear what you say about it taking experience to build a swim and patience, maybe I will just have to peservere, but in the winter I think your idea of moving and baiting swims has worked so far for me, so its a good solution in winter.

Sean - I normally just end up running up or down river to release my bigger chub, but its a waste of energy and time, so I guess I could sack the bigger ones for a short while.

Risque - I'm fishing up and down a 2 and a half mile strecth towards the upper end of the avon, but what you say about catching down the inside and releasing fish has been exactly whats happend on a few occasions.

Thanks for all your advice is given me some food for thought, so I really appreciate it.

Simon

 

[Graham Whatmore]

At one time I always used a keepnet when float fishing in the belief that putting fish back into a swim when you are catching was fatal much the same as losing a fish in the swim can also kill it off. Perhaps it is, because I now notice more and more that I can kill a productive swim dead by doing this very thing because now I never ever use a keepnet.

What Mark is saying is true because that is what every river match angler did or the competent ones did shall we say but that was when fish were placed in keepnets not returned, but I am convinced that putting fish back into a swim is going to kill off the swim. Yes you might be able to feed them back into the swim eventually but it isn't guaranteed.

I am of an age when keepnets were used by almost every angler on the river but due to polical correctness (political claptrap more like) the use of keepnets is now frowned upon and maybe using one <u>in the correct manner</u> should be the norm rather than the exception and we wouldn't have the problem. The only reason I don't use one is that I cut my luggage down to a minimum nothing to do with conforming to modern views on keepnets and I accept that it may have an adverse affect on my catching.

 

[slime monster]

I endorse Grahams comments , my own observations over the years are that bream in particular seem to respond to distress signals ,pulling out of bream on stillwaters even at the net can and more often than not trigger an interruption in the catch rate.

On the other hand carp dont seem to care even in close range explosive hits and misses surface fishing .