Need advice on who should clear river blockages

Big Sky · Apr 2, 2009

I live in Redditch and love fishing the river Arrow.Over the last ten years it's become a great little river with lots of club free beats and runs the chub and perch are ace my best perch being a 5lb 8oz, baby barbel and brown trout in the top end at boadsley abbey . But about a mile befor a club takes over at the washford mill a tree fell about two years ago,ok for a wile it made for good lure fishing but with the floods of the last to years it's now turned into a blockage forming a stagnent pool inwhat should be one of the best features.Fish are not passing one way or other due to lack of air it.s stinks and should be one if not the best run. Question who is resposible for clearing the blockage is it the EA or the local council as it's now turned into a big job after being left so long. /forum/smilies/crying_smiley.gif

any help would be excepted with thanks. Iain

keora · Apr 2, 2009

I assume it will be the riparian owner. You could contact the EA and see if it agrees with your view that the blockage is affecting the river.

I don't understand your statement that fish are not passing through the area because of lack of air. Do you mean the water has become deoxygenated ?

Graham Whatmore · Apr 2, 2009

The first thing that struck me was why not get a group of like minded anglers and do it yourself, think of the satisfaction you will get from clearing it out and making it a viable part of the watercourse again.

Second thing I noticed was you state you have caught a 5lb 8oz perch from the Arrow. Considering the British record is only 5lb 15oz that is some perch for any venue let alone a tiny river like the Arrow (which I know well incidentally, I lived in Matchborough for a number of years) canwe assume it was properly weighed, verified by independant witness(s) the scales tested, photographed etc.?

peter crabtree · Apr 2, 2009

Nice perch Iain,what bait did you catch it on.

Big Sky · Apr 2, 2009

Hi all.

First to answer Keith yes the water is deoxygenated and stagnateing quite badly although there must be some flow it's genraly after a good downpore.

Next Graham no the fish wasn't photographed wasn't expecting to get near any records but the scales are good and there were witness it was caught from the weir at the bottom of arrow valley lake by the car park ,the chap who was fishing the opposite side who had had 7 chub and 2 barbel that day nearly had kittens. it was a once in a lifetime fish and the memory is enough i don't need to make a big show hopefully only living in winyates i,ll see you on the river oneday in the season,as to the snag at the washford bend it would have to be a crain job to remove the stump from midflowand then they would probably have to close the road for a while.When iv,e been on theArrow i genrally come home with more bags tins and things than i went with but if you ever fancy joining forces and we can try and get a clean up day or two orgenized befor the start of the season i,m game /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Graham Whatmore · Apr 2, 2009

I said I used to live in Matchborough mate but now I live in Lydney about 60 miles away from you and anyway I'm far too old to be doing things like that.

Nice fishthat perchand it isn't a fish of a lifetime its a fish of ten lifetimes.

John H Member of THE C.S.G.. & The A.T. · Apr 2, 2009

If the obstruction is causing problems re the passage of migratory fish then the EA should take responsibility. If it is likely to cause a flooding problem again the EA should remove.

We had a similar problem on the river Wear in Durham where the weirs had become blocked due to debris and fallen trees lodged against the weir wall last summer. The EA didn't want to know because the fish passes were clear, just, and the City Council said it wasn't their responsibility, even though it was becoming an eyesore in what is a World Heritage site.

I eventually contacted my MP who kicked a few backsides and betweenthe EA, Durham City and Durham County Councils they managed to clear the weir sills. Scroll down the News and Informationof my clubs web site

Big Sky · Apr 3, 2009

Cheers guys

I,ll take some photos and get intouch with the EA .I had tryed the local councle and got a non comital answer shame as they just had the road closed to do repairs on the bridge right over said blockage but thats Redditch for you.

Graham i can understand why you moved though i have lived in worse places but the way the Arrow has improved over the last 5 to 10 years it might be worth poping back just for a days stalking the river. there is loverly brown trout in the top end from abbydale to boardsley with chub to 6 or 7lb to be found all the way to studley the odd barbel,big perch it,s turning into a little goldmine great for starting kids on or the long timer with a few people even fishing it on the fly well in the warmer months but the key is to keep on the move unless you can get on hotspots like the weiras mentiondwhere you can have an unbeleavable day on worm , maggot and bread and if your stalking don't foget your cheespaste smellyer the better.i hope the fishing is good in Lydney i shall check my map to see whats close to you ,just to be nosey/forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif, i,ll let you know how i get on with the EA thanks for the info .

Tight lines .BS

Big Sky · Apr 3, 2009

Thanks for that John very inforative gives me a real place to start very usefull . tomorrow the photos monday the local councler and the EA and see where we go from there.

nice one i,ll keep you both posted .

BS

Graham Whatmore · Apr 3, 2009

I lived in Matchborough when it was first built in 1971 (left in 1976) when the Arrow was but a trickle from Studley to what is now Arrow Valley lake which didn't even exist then can you believe. I have fished the Arrow for many years but mainly the sections between Alcester and the confluence with the Avon which was, and still is, a delight for keen float anglers like myself, it is true to say it is a river of many surprises for the angler.

I have my beloved Wye close at hand and Lydney itself is on the Severn estuary but though very few if any local anglers ever coarse fish the Severn here local mature anglers tell me they used to fish many many matches further up the river at Newnham (still 10 miles from Gloucester) with good bags of roach and the occasional chub and there are constant rumours of big barbel being caught in Gloucester itself, the Severn is tidal as far as Tewkesbury incidentally.

Big Sky · Apr 3, 2009

Graham i,m jelouse i love the seven though lack of transport means i don't get there as often as i would like .

Istarted on the Avon at Eversham when i was 4 with my grandad and carp were things of dreams. but part of the family moved to Redditch in 72 and i started on the river in 78 and arrow valley lake had just stopped being the tip, it,s a shame as the river has improved the lake has gone down hill from one of the midlands great fisherys it,s now just got about 30 good carp and 3 illegelliy stocked catfish one nearly 30lb,i know i had it two years ago when it was 27lb but the lake in your time had great stocks of bream,perch and roach and kids like mecould bump into people like the great Ivon Marks in his Shakspear days.

Now it,s just a hole in the ground with rumours of the local councel selling the carp stock off on the sly ,you made a good move .And as for fishing the Wye one can only dream. Still there was some good memorys, hope you have wet and full nets Gray.

BS/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

EC · Apr 4, 2009

I spent my birthday on Arrowe Valley lake in 1986-ish, it was a youth club/intermediatetype match. The mini bus broke down on the way home at the services on the M5.

I caught a carp of 1lb 4oz and lost another, and later on met Ken Giles who gave me a certificate.

Big Sky · Apr 17, 2009

Hi EC

It,s changed abit no perch not a lot of bream , 3 catfish and about 50 carp rangeing from 6lb to 30lb the two big plauges in the 80,s killed all the perch .Then another killed the Bream now all there is are carp, The lake is a shadow of what it was in the 80,s when you could bump into the likes of Ivon Marks testing for Shakespeare and one man looked after the whole place like it was hisbaby the lateJon Lewis.It,s still worth fishing but it,s hard work whitch is somtimes better back then you could catch 120lb of fish in 8 hours and made life to easy but i was 14 then i,m 41 nowbut them big carp make it worth all the hair pulling, but the river is more challenging.

If you get chance give it a day it,s worth £5.40

tight lines .BS/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Big Sky · Apr 17, 2009

PsEC.

Have you still got the certificate. Frame it i would, them days won't come back .

Big Sky · Apr 18, 2009

Graham

I'm takeing your advise ,this weekend and again in two weeks i'm donning the waders and starting at the washford mill. Myself my freind and two band saws will be walking the river Arrow trying to cut as many snags and blockages caused by the floods of the last 2 years into as small peices as possible or moving them to the unfishable bank or if small inoffto let them hopefully float down. foget the EA or the councle people power if i can fomat the pictures they will be posted if not thanks for the push .

BS

keora · Apr 18, 2009

Snags and trees stumps in a river give shelter to many species, especially in flood. If you remove them all, you won't leave any areas where fish can congregate.

Big Sky · Apr 20, 2009

Keith2

I compleatly agree with you they can give shelter so don't worry i'm not on about the norm just the big blockages. In three or four places there are some compleat willow trees that were felled by the last two big floods.

Anyway we have desided to take Grahams Idea we are going to by some waders and do the job ourselfs.

Ps sorry i forgot to answer Peter about the bait for my Perch it was the good old worm.

Need advice on who should clear river blockages

Big Sky

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keora

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Graham Whatmore

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peter crabtree

AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)

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Graham Whatmore

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John H Member of THE C.S.G.. & The A.T.

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EC

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