The Trent is set to raise eyebrows.

A year or so ago I wrote that the Trent was more than capable of producing a new record Zander. This I still believe despite opinions favouring the Severn.

Recent info now suggests that Barbel could well be added to that list. Strange really when you consider that back in the day we always believed that the Hant's Avon and Dorset Stour as being the only realistic candidates. Add to the mix a few outsize Perch in recent years makes the situation most encouraging.

However being such a long river with such a large volume of water, location of such fish will remain as always a monumental task. Nonetheless, knowing that such fish are present is all the encouragement some anglers will need. But to quote the character ''Quint'' from the film Jaws, ''It's not going to be easy''.

I believe that that record fish live in the tidal Trent but that any record that is caught from there will most likely be kept quiet by the angler that catches it and who would blame them?

Vast stretches of the tidal never or very rarely see an angler and that's the problem, there is nothing for other anglers to latch on to, the ones doing well on there are not going to want others jumping on to the work they have done to find fish of the quality they want, who knows some/one of the rumours that circulate every year about records caught but not claimed just might be true.

As you say derek, it was mostly a southern river mindset regarding record barbel, but my oh my how things have changed over the last quarter century.
The trent is arguably englands premier river holding most popular river species and more in abundance, a far cry from the days when it was impossible to see the river in parts on account of it being covered bank to bank with detergent foam .
long may it continue!.

That the Trent is coming at a gallop is a fact,the rivers that were most likely to break the record were ottered,the Ivel fish had reached mid-twenty pounds and was likely to have been close the winter after its demise two years plus ago,the Ouse suffered a similar fate some years earlier,I hope and pray the Trent gets left alone.

Considering the barbel record(s) came from the Thames and Avon and spanned 80 years (1888 to 1968) then yes, the southern rivers have a pretty good claim (especially as one of the records thrown out in 68 was subsequently reinstated)!

But barbel are massively bigger now. My local clubs have club barbel records circa 17lbs from the Stour and Avon, fish of a size almost beyond imagination 40 years ago, although comparison with local carp sizes really blows the mind in that if you'd have said back in in the mid 70s that the local (Ringwood) pits would one day produce carp of nigh on 60lbs with most holding 40lb+ fish those hearing it would have died laughing.

You've certainly covered the three most likely species which I would tip the Trent for as producing a record Derek, I know in the instance of one of them of a credible report which smashes the current record out of sight but I will leave you all guessing as to which record that is

For my part I shall ensure that you are all the first to know when I bag the perch record

There's no denying the outstanding catches from the Trent, from match winning weights to specimen captures. On its day, and in places, it may well merit being titled the “premier river”.

But even though the Trent seems to be always “on fire” in the Angling Times, it can also be a damp squib in reality. The stretches I live near to – you can call them where Upper has turned Middle with the Derwent and Soar joining - can be moody, difficult and mediocre. I drive past once popular stretches regularly and see few anglers, and can't recall watching – I often stop to chat – an angler catching well. Specimen and specialist anglers get some good results, but nearly always at night, and they don't always catch, as one very well known local angler and writer will readily admit. If I stopped visiting the Derwent and Dove, I'd soon be forgetting what a chub looks like. Fishing with a very experienced local Trent angler last summer, we classed 8-10lbs of mixed fish on the float a good day – nice, but hardly outstanding. I have tickets for several local clubs, and there is no doubt catches can be low and blanks not uncommon. I only came to live down here 12 years ago, so it's not really my river, and I'd only describe myself as an average angler although with fairly wide and varied experience. But I can say I enjoyed much more consistent fishing for all species on the North West rivers I used to fish - the Weaver, the Dane, the Welsh Dee. The catching, as opposed to fishing, season on the local Trent also seems very short by comparison to those rivers – it can be practically all over with the first frosts and even local experts and tackle shops can't tell you where to get bites on the float in winter. As for being the best river, well, if I could wake up 5 mins from the Wye instead....... And I've heard there are still vacancies in the holiday cottages around Long Eaton

All this is not to annoy Trent lovers or put the river down. I fully accept how good it is in places, especially around and below Newark. But I felt I'd like to mention, in the interest of balance, that it can be hard work and small rewards around here.

whitty said:

That the Trent is coming at a gallop is a fact,the rivers that were most likely to break the record were ottered,the Ivel fish had reached mid-twenty pounds and was likely to have been close the winter after its demise two years plus ago,the Ouse suffered a similar fate some years earlier,I hope and pray the Trent gets left alone.

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That there are otters on the Trent and the Tidal there is no doubt. I have seen them. Others say they must have been mink but I do know the difference.
I have had one swim under my(pointy up/sorry) rods on two occasions.

I have read that otters are territorial. That may be the saving grace on a river with such a large volume of water. As may be the currents and tides. Who knows.

As an anecdote some time ago some local misguided types were pushing for otters to be released in the Gainsborough area of the Trent. Just because they had never seen one the sillies thought there were none there. Any new releases would be given short shrift by the resident owners.

There is another species that the Trent could throw up at "record" weights if the daft BRFC allowed claims for it and that's the Catfish, it has all that is needed to produce a monster.

john step said:

That there are otters on the Trent and the Tidal there is no doubt. I have seen them. Others say they must have been mink but I do know the difference.
I have had one swim under my(pointy up/sorry) rods on two occasions.

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Yep...

I came face to face with a big dog otter (middle reaches) during a trotting session in an Autumn gale and it clearly knew something wasn't right but it wasn't sure what due to the din of the wind in the trees and so it decided to have a closer look at me by sticking it's head above the water and looking me right in the eye from around twenty feet away.

On the same stretch there are also mink, I've heard it said that the two won't inhabit the same area but they do.

Otters kill mink which helps to keep their numbers down! They regard them(apparently) as a threat and an intruder into their territory.

The Trent is certainly a fine river. I probably wouldn't drive further to fish another. However, I'm convinced that it's on the downward slope as far as barbel numbers are concerned. That's probably no bad thing for other species and bigger barbel. I'm not at all confident that it will ever produce a barbel of the size of the Great Ouse fish, despite seeing pictures of fish that purport to be close. I reckon that chub, zander and perch all have a better chance of reaching national record levels. Catfish would be a reasonable shout too, if there were a national record.

I was just thinking of a recent conversation I had and another species which might well feature at a record weight is the Dace.

The bloke I was talking to had a proper kipper of a good pound and certainly these last couple of years and so far this season the river has been and is chock bang full of 'em.

Even when I think back to the 80's I can't ever remember a time when there were so many Dace in the river and they're good to see.

Having read the praises being heaped on the Trent for some years especially on this site it would be nice to finally see one of these monsters actually photographed, weighed, validated and officially rubber stamped as the record rather than the endless grapevine whispers.

The Trent is so well known and so many people go on about it be able to break every record out there why would anyone not claim a record fish from it ? ...its not like they are hiding a secret venue is it.

.

binka said:

Yep...

I came face to face with a big dog otter (middle reaches) during a trotting session in an Autumn gale and it clearly knew something wasn't right but it wasn't sure what due to the din of the wind in the trees and so it decided to have a closer look at me by sticking it's head above the water and looking me right in the eye from around twenty feet away.

On the same stretch there are also mink, I've heard it said that the two won't inhabit the same area but they do.

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The mink will survive as long as the otter puts up with them,thing is mink have smaller territories,larger litters,so on a large river like the Trent can go relatively unnoticed,but they do dig them out,mink are rarely seen these days on the Ouse and Ivel,those that are I believe are on the run,as you don't see them again and mink are seen far more in daylight,otters being released,reduces territory sizes apparently,where normally approximately 5 miles of river for a female,10 for a dog,who normally overlaps two females,is what i've been told.

binka said:

I was just thinking of a recent conversation I had and another species which might well feature at a record weight is the Dace.

The bloke I was talking to had a proper kipper of a good pound and certainly these last couple of years and so far this season the river has been and is chock bang full of 'em.

Even when I think back to the 80's I can't ever remember a time when there were so many Dace in the river and they're good to see.

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Good call Steve, my end on the tidal is the same, stuffed to the gunnels with em.
Two years ago I had two days stick float fishing, the first on hemp n tare for a cracking bag of quality roach (pik was on the hdygo thread) a few days later I returned with maggot and counted 110 chunky dace as they went in the net. I dont think there were more than a half dozen roach amongst them.
Last week I was out with the heavy float gear and even not trying for them with heavy line, ten hooks with four big red maggots they were taking them with gusto, greedy little beggers but some of them were big , fat , long jobs, the biggest of several similar I put on my open palm with its nose dead level with the end of my forefinger and its tail wrist was a good inch past the end of my palm .

It certainly did today Derek when I turned up

Thankfully it treated me kindly today!

Look on the HDYGO thread Derek...

whitty said:

Look on the HDYGO thread Derek...

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Thank's for the heads up mate, just checked and it all becomes clear now. Mike was in very capable hands.