Increase in fish weights

Morning everyone,

When on the bank yesterday i was having a right good natter with the person in the next swim to me.

One of the things we ended up talking about was the increase in fish weights. Supposedly if we take a look at the records alot of dramatic increases have taken place in the last ten years.

Now i know everyone will be saying oh those HNV baits, but surely they've been around and in biggish use longer then 10 years.
Right well i didnt know this but apperently around 10 years ago nitrogen was starting to be heavily used as a pesticide (i think) on farmers crops.

Now even a if water isnt next to a farmers land surely it will all get picked up in the water cycle anyway. So almost every water will be affected.

The idea being that the nitgrogen leads to a big increase in water quality, leading to more natural food. Obviously meaning bigger fish.

Im not saying this is completly true but the person who told him this is a fish scientist and well respected angler. So i reckon it may have some truth in it.

Although i still think the HNV baits played a part in it has anyone else heard this theory or got any others of their own?

i think it has to be a mixture of the both.....better water quality etc... will surely lead to an increase in the foodstuffs availiable to all water life in the food chain.
i would have thought that pellets,boillies,hemp,maggotts and whatever else we throw at em must have some effect but i wouldnt have thought it would be a great deal in a river.surely the effect would be greater in a lake???

This might help;

http://www.fishingmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/2613/V/5/SP/

A longer growing season seems to be the biggest factor (due to short term weather changes) but far from the only one. Nitrates are fertilizers not pesticides. Phosphates are increasingly being stripped from treated sewage.

Thats it Mark, ive got a terrible memory.
Good article makes alot of sense!

I'm sure the amount of baits/food going into some of our venues is a major part of the increased growth rate. But Mark's article makes sensible and logical conclusions which are just as valid today.

I'm old enough to remember big catches of Chub from the Dorset Stour and Hants Avon but those shoal fish, although very long, were not that heavy, particularly from the Avon. The majority were averaging 2lb - 3lb (very handy in matches though!). Every now and then (but rarely) a "lump" of around 4lb - 5lb would make a mistake. I did have the good fortune to land a Chub of 6lb 10oz from Littledown (now Lower Throop) and that was positively huge!

If the average length of the 70's was sustained today, what would they weigh???

One thing which I have put it down to is the much loathed black plague.

Increased predation by cormorants etc = a greater amount of food left in the water and reduced food competition for those fish left.

Plus which once fish get over a pound / pound and a half they are then too big for a cormorant and therefore it is these larger fish which stand to benefit most from the increased food supply.

Also the invasion of the crays may ironically be doing some good as well. I have little doubt that Chub are having a whale of a time with them - sometimes recently even feeling a bit "crunchy" when you pick them up from all the bits of Cray shell inside them !

Soooo.... two clouds with silver linings ? Cormorants and Crays not all bad. Discuss.... !

I spose in the short run the cormerants may be producing bigger fish. But for species like roach, rudd or dace it will always be a nighmare as they'd have to be pretty big not to get eaten. Benefiting for some fish but not so good for others.