AVON ROACH

a perfect Avon roach and probably a project offspring

Roach – a favourite fish for many and certainly for me and though they have suffered declines on many rivers, not least the iconic Hampshire Avon, they are making a comeback, even on this most famous of waterways … and you might ask why?

Bob's famous catch of two pound Avon roach in 'A Passion for Angling'

With something as complex as a riverine ecosystem there is never a  simple answer to any question. No doubt the dreaded flocks of cormorants have had a devastating effect on the roach population ; the relentless weed cutting probably had a negative impact too. Then there is the general lack of flow compared with the good old days. When first faced with this powerful rush of deep water, anglers would be daunted by the challenge, me included … but once the challenge was faced, the rewards of numerous big roach were there to be won.

In the early ‘80’s I made a film for BBC 2’s legendary series called ‘The World About Us’ on the Hampshire Avon and Longford’s river keeper Tom Williams. I looked at it recently and the thing that struck me most, apart from the numerous fish was the impressive volume of water and weed in the river. The many carriers in the water-meadows had flowing water in them too, providing invaluable nursery areas for young fish, including roach.

The carriers have fallen into disrepair now and the main stream is a sorry remnant of a once fast and lush river and if you add the increasing number of chemicals running off the fields, then it is no wonder that fish populations are suffering, especially with the loss of so much good habitat. There are no doubt many other factors that have contributed to the declines but not to be daunted by the challenges ahead, Trevor Harrop and Budgie Price decided to act instead of just whinging like most of us do. 

 stews where the one year olds are grown on - the diggers in the background are digging out the lake where the roach will grow even bigger

 finished pool slowly filling up with rain water - a future home for breeding yet more roach, paid for by fund raising gigs.

Their success in creating the Avon Roach Project and raising and releasing tens of thousands of roach into the river has received well deserved acclaim and even more importantly, anglers are beginning to catch roach in places which for many years has been unheard of.

some of the thousands of mature roach released into the Avon

Because these places are the very spots where Trev and Budgie have been releasing roach for a number of years, it’s tempting to suggest that these are indeed the fish that they have so painstakingly raised from roach eggs gathered from the river. There will always be doubters of course, those that suggest the increase in roach is just a result of natural recruitment and that all they are doing is feeding the cormorants … but whatever the reason, let’s celebrate that at least some roach are back in the Avon and that catching them is more of an expectation now than a surprise.

Trev enjoying a few hours doing what we like most of all

Only last week, Trev and I decided we’d put our skills to the test and see if we could find a true Avon roach. We tried in an area where releases had taken place, just to give ourselves a better chance of course and bingo, we caught the most perfect specimens on traditional trotted bread flake.

fin perfect Avon roach - only eight ounces but a two pounder one day maybe

With their lead being followed on several other rivers, the breeding of roach has become a successful way for roach anglers to make a difference and we can be thankful that Trev and Budgie have had the sheer bloody mindedness to rise to the challenge. As they are well aware, nature will never thrive without good habitat in which to live and these last two years or more have seen an increasing number of habitat creation projects undertaken by them with the support of the Environment Agency too and it’s thanks to their relentless hard work that they are slowly transforming a once famous river back to it’s former glory.

 backwater cleared by the Roach Project to provide juveniles with a safe haven

There are numerous examples from around the world that prove that nature, given half a chance will fight back and we should all be grateful for that and support those who are prepared to make the effort.

If you want to learn more about the project then please visit their website and blog. I made a couple of films for Trev and Budgie about the project, Keith Arthur and Tight Lines have done the same and links to these can be found in the Film Footage flag on their website : http://www.avonroachproject.co.uk/

… and to read and see more, visit their blog : http://www.avonroachproject.blogspot.co.uk/

ROACH, WILDLIFE, GARDENING AND TENCH

our wisteria is always a joy but is exceptional this spring

Funny sort of a Spring – wonderful sunny days and beautiful in our garden but cold nights throwing nature into a spin and my fishing plans ‘out the window’.

a vital helping hand for the Avon's beleaguered roach

Firstly roach and the remarkable work friends Trevor Harrop and Budgie Price are doing to help this iconic species. Roach normally spawn on April 25^th  in the Hampshire Avon but as you’ll see if you read the Avon Roach Project blog - and I highly commend it, for they are inspiring others to help roach in other catchments too. http://www.avonroachproject.co.uk/ -  the warm sun and clear chalk stream water encouraged the river’s roach to spawn ten days early. No way that the projects Trevor and Budgie were going to be caught out though, for they had the spawning boards in place and ready for action and as usual, collected prodigious quantities of eggs.

many hundreds of perfect Avon roach were released into the river this spring 

more and more released in several traditionally favourite spots

What followed was again a surprise, for the cold nights caused the roach eggs to delay hatching, something very unusual though not unknown in nature.

‘Delayed implantation’ is a well known strategy for mammals that wait until more favourable conditions before triggering 'egg hatching' … that’s my poor attempt to describe a complex process ; lack of space is my excuse. Anyway, if you want to read more about what happened with the eggs, plus revealing pics, visit the projects Facebook page for regular updates. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Avon-Roach-Project/612983772135291

Sky TV have made a couple of films about their successful attempts to re-instate the legendary populations of Avon roach with Keith Arthur's ‘Tight Lines’ and they can be viewed on their blog too.

Sway on yet another chilly but beautiful dawn

The roach’s breeding schedule was also modified by the glorious weather in still waters, for the roach at Sway Lakes bred early too and scuppered my plans for catching some biggies with friends. They have proved really tricky, even causing me to rescue my swing-tip from the museum to overcome the tentative bites ... and it worked. Sometimes the old ideas are the best ideas.

trying to get a bite that I can connect with using a swing-tip

 

the 'old school' trick did the job, a resistance-free bite indicator

a good one but why are they always an ounce short of that magical number!

spring time is the perfect time to be fishing

I went to try again at Sway yesterday but the violent gale force winds stopped my plans to use a pole and I certainly needed delicate pole tackle to hit the tentative bites. I managed to catch just nine roach, all around a pound from over a hundred bites, all missed, but then I’m good at that.

these three survivors from a brood of nine look as though they might make it, cold nights permitting

The mallard have been breeding well in this warm spring, lots of ducklings paddling about in the sunshine, and in our garden too. I’ve spent a lot of time on projects in our patch this spring, hence the lack of Blogs and fishing, but the work keeps me fit and I love the physical graft involved in creating wildlife habitat and beautiful flowery scenes for Sue and I to share.

our garden is a joy at anytime but particularly when the sun shines ... and not an otter in sight!

The spring sunshine has ensured the flowering shrubs and wisteria have been stunningly flouriferous.

Sue's snakes-head fritillaries in the lawn did well this year

the newly created woodland glade just planted up

about twenty tons of soil went into it's construction with the help of friend David

I did manage a few fishing trips away from the garden. Tim, owner of Sway Lakes kindly took me out into the channel one day and we caught several meal sized fish along with others that I'd never caught before which were returned, including thornback rays, dabs and dogfish. It was all a far cry from shy biting roach and all the better for it. 

I love it out on the ocean waves, the rougher the better, for I once had the pleasure of crossing the Drake Straits from the Falklands to Antarctica in a substantial storm. The size of the waves as they filled the sky and the wandering albatrosses sliding effortlessly past the stern of the boat were most impressive. I was trying to film them for the BBC1 series 'Life in the Freezer' without falling overboard - an unforgettable experience seeing such huge waves but never once did I think I was going to die! 

It was a tad different from a smooth Solent.

a tasty plaice - one of several we caught that sunny day

a perfect day to be out birding in the wilds, even if not ideal weather for roach fishing

In my previous blog about Britford roaching I mentioned that I'd made a bird list, compiled while not catching roach. For those of a twitchy nature, here’s the list. In previous years I could have added goshawk, red kite and most unusual of all perhaps, a couple of hawfinches. But this list is just for the final days of the 2015 fishing season. Nothing remarkable here but you can't beat watching a tree creeper shuffling up a tree alongside you when waiting for a bite.

      
     

A BRITFORD BIRD LIST  - early March 2015

            -   Jackdaw

            -   Rook   

            -   Carrion Crow

-   Magpie

-      Heron

-      Cormorant

-      Grey Wagtail

-      Pied Wagtail

-      Moorhen

-      Little Egret

-      Mallard

-      Teal

-      Gadwall

-      Tufted Duck

-      Kestrel

-      Sparrow Hawk

-      Buzzard

-      Lapwing

-      Chiffchaff

-      Cetti’s Warbler

-      Wren

-      Tree Creeper

-      Goldcrest

-      Chaffinch

-      Bullfinch

-      Goldfinch

-      Blue Tit

-      Great Tit

-      Black-headed Gull

-      Herring Gull

-      GBB Gull

-      Starling

-      Blackbird

-      Song Thrush

-      Mistle Thrush

-      Wood Pigeon

-      Stock Dove

-      Mute Swan

-      Great-spotted Woodpecker

-      Kingfisher

-      Green Sandpiper

-      Meadow Pipit

-      Snipe

-      Water Rail

-      Long-tailed Tit

-      Robin

-      Dunnock

-      Greenfinch

-      Barn Owl

-      Canada Goose

-      Pheasant

                                           

river keeper Stuart with one of his treasured bars of silver

However, just to prove I do occasionally catch some of river keeper Stuart’s prize roach, here’s a cracker from the end of the season. Roll on June16^th!

Just the other day, Hucklesbrook gave me my first sound of cuckoos and my first sighting of hobbies this year. It's a lovely spot, with or without fish

The start of May usually means my focus falls firmly on tench but again, those cold night have meant that the tincas in the big pits I am targeting have not yet ‘switched on’, so I shall have to persevere with the blanks until I get lucky. My target this year is to beat my PB of 8/9 [from five different waters] but what I really desire is a double – don’t we all!

Mike with his perfect lady tench of exactly 9lbs

I was sat alongside friend Mike at Hucklesbrook the other day and as if to show me the way, [he always catches more than me anyway], he caught this lovely nine pounder. I was delighted to be there to witness it and take the happy snap. What a cracking tench and not an ounce of spawn to add weight to it’s long frame.

waiting for a bite ... and there was otter spraint on the big rock in front of me

I’ve decided to give Bradleys a go this year, mainly so that I can share the bank with long time friend and fishing buddy, Mark Woodage. He is something of a local expert and a very tidy angler, precise casting being one of his skills … and he’s caught plenty of tench in the past. So I’ll be picking his brains and trying a trick or two of my own. I’ll keep those secret of course!

Mark trying to keep warm in the 'spring' sunshine. By 'eck that wind was cold

We went there together last week but with two degrees of frost and a cold wind we were on a hiding to nothing … and nothing is exactly what we caught. To save face we called it a recce and left happy that we had spent some time together for a good chat,  shared a beer and a bun and done some good birding. 

these naughty Red Crested Pochard did their best to remove all the bait from my swim

Mallards have done well in this years warm sunshine, in spite of cold nights

Great-crested Grebes mean there must be at least one fish out there somewhere

Bradleys through my Polaroids - a bit of fun but warning of wind on it's way for sure ... and the clouds of cirrus were right

The night had been so cold in the camper van that I wished I’d packed my Arctic sleeping bag, though being awake most of the night was compensated by the nightingale that serenaded me loudly just outside the window. Pure magic.

this nocturnal serenader has got talent and plenty of 'X' factor

CORMORANTS AND ROACH - AGAIN!

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?

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! 

 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?

the dramatic decline in our fishing on the Stour at Wimborne, compiled carefully from match returns

Hitler didn't make it here but the cormorants did!

the invasion since 1970 and they are still increasing

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? 

nowhere has escaped the invasion, the Fenland drains I've been exploring are being hit badly

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.

a badly bitten 2/1 rudd

horrible wounds

this 1/12 nearly had it's tail bitten off

even the monster aren't immune from attack - this 3/9 rudd shows recent bad damage from those lethal beaks

the other side of the 3/9 with old war wounds by the dorsal

this near two pound Avon roach was nearly a goner

the good old days - a brace of two pounders from the Avon below Downton

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.

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!

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/

netting one of the nine stews with the help of the EA

a couple of future two pounders here perhaps?

one of several sparkling young roach caught in this years charity match

Cynics suggest we are wasting our time and just feeding the cormorants but nature has wonderful powers of recovery and anglers are already catching small roach from swims where they haven’t seen roach for years. 

Avon futures

It’s a numbers game of course and the laws of nature decree that some of the small roach will survive to become big roach.

thousands have been released into once famous roach stretches of the Avon

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.

prime habitat for wildlife

 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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