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| a Linch Hill roach in it's prime - 3/3 of redfin silver |
Many of us anglers love
fishing for roach, preferably big ones and there appears to be an increasing
enthusiasm for ‘silver fish’ as folk grow tired of hauling out endless
‘pasties’ from muddy carp puddles. I know that is provocative but you can’t
beat a beautiful redfin can you. What’s more, fishing for them can provide
endless variety in both techniques and the waters in which they flourish so
it’s a win win situation - or is it?
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| no wonder they can swim fast - look at the size of those feet |
No angler can have missed the
increase in cormorants these last few years
and you only need to be a
keen roach angler to feel the tears welling up when remembering the superb
roach fishing that we once enjoyed. Down here in the South you could pick almost any steady glide on the rivers Avon and Stour and in good conditions expect to catch pound plus roach and not too infrequently, two pounders. Good fish still survive but anything over about 10ozs have become a lot rarer.
Some folk still believe that cormorants are
not a significant cause of the decline in these silver fish numbers and while we can
all accept that many factors are responsible such as abstraction, pollution,
habitat loss and increasing extremes in our climate, cormorants do eat fish!
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| a superb Stour brace - 2/9 roach and 2/5 perch |
On the River Stour in Wimborne we used to catch big bags of big roach over a pound with two pounders a regular occurrence. My best was 2/9 and best bag 47lbs, including several two pounders ... and others did even better, our famous local postman Owen Wentworth landing several bags of over 100lbs! The cormorants arrived and there are hardly any roach there now ... a coincidence or what?
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| the dramatic decline in our fishing on the Stour at Wimborne, compiled carefully from match returns |
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| Hitler didn't make it here but the cormorants did! |
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| the invasion since 1970 and they are still increasing |
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| inland breeding pairs have increased too |
Cormorants numbers have
increased dramatically as these scientific graphs indicate and recent counts
suggest that about 23,000 cormorants visit our shores from the continent every
winter. As each one eats about a pound of fish every day, you have to ask
whether 23,000lbs of fish removed from our waters every day is
sustainable?
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| nowhere has escaped the invasion, the Fenland drains I've been exploring are being hit badly |
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| a small survivor but only just |
They do catch small fish of course but nature’s rules of ‘effort
vs. reward’ dictate that big fish provide a better reward for the effort
expended. If you doubt they can tackle pound plus silver fish, just scan
through this selection of my horror story catches from this past year.
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| a badly bitten 2/1 rudd |
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| horrible wounds |
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| this 1/12 nearly had it's tail bitten off |
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| even the monster aren't immune from attack - this 3/9 rudd shows recent bad damage from those lethal beaks |
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| the other side of the 3/9 with old war wounds by the dorsal |
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| this near two pound Avon roach was nearly a goner |
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| the good old days - a brace of two pounders from the Avon below Downton |
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| a more recent two plus from above Downton ... alas, mostly gone now |
One of my local rivers, the
Hampshire Avon was once legendary for it’s roach fishing and over the years I
have been lucky enough to catch lots of twos … and even a three from these
iconic waters, so you can imagine the alarm when EA fish surveys in 2008 indicated that roach were almost totally absent from the famous middle reaches.
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| Bob's legendary middle Avon roach catch for 'A Passion for Angling' in the early '90's with ten over 2lbs and I caught three more twos to 2/10 before we even started filming, with Chris adding one of 2/5 when we'd finished - happy days! |
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| the EA survey of the Avon showing the virtual disappearance of roach from the middle reaches - Britford on the left |
This was the catalyst for the
start of The Avon Roach Project by Trevor Harrop and Budgie Price. Both of them
are fanatical roach anglers and felt they couldn’t just sit back and do nothing
… there’s a lesson for us all there … so they decided to try to re-create the
once flourishing and self- sustaining populations of roach throughout the Avon.
After small beginnings the project has grown to industrial scale production and
thousands of true Avon roach have already been restocked into many once famous
stretches. You can read all about their work on the projects website and blog.
– http://www.avonroachproject.co.uk/
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| digging out refuge areas |
Creating habitat is the key
and many landowners in the valley are supporting projects that will enhance the
survival of all fish species, along with it’s associated wildlife.
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| prime habitat for wildlife |
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| bitterns moved in to take advantage of increasing fish populations |
The cormorant threat has
remained high on the agenda and a project document that I contributed to -
“Biodiversity in Danger” was the catalyst for a petition demanding change. This was delivered to the then
fisheries minister, Richard Benyon, along with it’s nearly 20,000 signatures
and with the support of the Angling Trust and Martin Salter, we got the law
changed so that there is now more and better protection for our fisheries from
the ravages of the ‘black death’. You can't beat a good dose of team spirit to get the job done.
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| ex. Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon having his ear bent by Trev and Budgie |
Administering this new
initiative are three full time Fisheries Management Advisors, [FMA’s] employed
by the Angling Trust and funded by anglers’ Rod Licence revenue. Colin Barker,
Richard Bamforth and Jake Davoille are the ones responsible for implementing
the new area licences and encourage everybody to work together to tackle the
problem.
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| behind us was the scene of the mass cormorant attack the other day |
In an attempt to help, Trevor
Harrop and I made a film for the Angling Trust called ‘Cormorants vs. Roach’
and it can be viewed on the Trust’s Website :
http://www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1031
We made it to inform viewers
and encourage support for the FMA’s work and we hope everybody will get behind
them to make the new scheme effective. Jake Davoille is the main man in our
area. I met him on the Avon recently while he was trying to turn words into
action … and it’s working. Fewer cormorants means more roach and only last week
was an example of how effective the scheme can be.
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| Britford dawn - a beautiful place that still supports a thriving roach population |
At dawn, immediately behind
where we were filming on the Avon at Britford, the carrier was black with
cormorants, keeper Stuart estimating a total of between 120 to 150 packed into
an area of a few yards. They weren’t there for long!
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| the tireless protector - Britford's keeper Stuart Wilson and Misty |
With predation now at a
critical level, all the local river keepers gathered in the area and made sure
the birds learned that they aren’t welcome. They haven’t landed in the area
since, so it’s a fine example of how the FMA’s can help co-ordinate our efforts
to protect our fisheries.
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| a big bar of silver - the result of keeping the cormorants at bay |
Please support them and the
Angling Trust … and if you’re not a member, please join. It’s your best chance
of making a difference and helping to ensure we have lovely big roach to catch
in the future.
So please do something … simply support these initiatives
or even just be positive about the future. There are signs that in several rivers their roach shoals are returning. So if we all pull together maybe those glory days of watching a
float trotting down a river and sliding under to the pull of a big roach will
once again make a dream become reality.
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| some of the silver beauties are still out there |
Details of the FMA’s can be
found on the Angling Trust Website :
http://www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=1031
Some folk still believe that cormorants are
not a significant cause of the decline in these silver fish numbers and while we can
all accept that many factors are responsible such as abstraction, pollution,
habitat loss and increasing extremes in our climate, cormorants do eat fish! 
