I'm not totally convinced about water quality being the answer. True, many of the waters to the north of the Poldens, particularly the Brue and Axe, are known to contain higher than average levels of heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium and copper, as this occurs naturally in the Mendip hills (roman lead/copper mines aplenty up there) but as far as the waters in the Parrett catchment go (KSD, Tone etc.) this does not apply.
Cheddar reservoir, if it was in Essex/Kent would be a mecca for Tench anglers far and wide, as it should contain numbers of specimen Tincas, instead of the head of 5/6lb fish that exist there, as it is big, crystal clear and full of weed.
In the case of the rivers and drains, my own personal feeling is that high water levels in autumn/winter that persist for weeks stop a lot of feeding activity, coupled with the fact that there is such a huge amount of water to go at that only a fraction of it is ever fished regularly goes some way to explaining the lack of true specimens, after all, if you took all the water in, say, the Huntspill or Kings sedgemoor drain, you'd have one hell of a big lake!!
Increased predation by cormorants and, more recently, otters could hold another clue, but the fact that the huge bream shoals that made the Huntspill famous are a thing of the past suggests that there is something that we are not picking up that causes this, but I for one am at a loss to figure it out! I have always been baffled by the fact that the Huntspill produces very few pike of any note, despite the fact that all the waters connected to it are decent predator waters, anyone got any thoughts on that one guys?
JC
