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Birmingham Anglers Association

Viewing 1 to 7 (7 Total) Barbel decline and weed
Fishychris Total Posts: 246 Joined: December 1, 2020	I've a theory I'd like to discuss, following a comment about fish being caught in new swims. For years I've had good sport on the middle severn. I'd generally fish fast weedy water. I'm no barbel super angler, but I did reasonably well. I love them on the pin. Last year all of my favoured spots failed to produce. I caught so many chub in the same swims, but not barbel. The biggest difference I noticed was that even the heavily weeded swims are now devoid of plant life. I considered the decline in barbel everyone mentions may be true. It just didn't sit right with me though. One year everything is OK, next year its as if there are no barbel. surely stocks wouldn't dwindle so quickly? I decided at the end of the summer to try different swims. Deeper mainly. Guess what... barbel! Not a lump you'd expect to find in the deep water either, only 3 to 4lb. And not cold enough to be in the proper winter habitats. On the trent, which still has plenty of weed, the shallow weedy swims are still producing. My theory is that the disappearance of the weed has meant barbel need alternative cover, and head to deeper water where they are less susceptible to otters and predators. A lot of people I have seen catch barbel have also found them in less traditional swims. Have barbel really declined so rapidly, or do we (I) just need to find them again? Tags: Posted on March 16, 2021 at 10:20 PM

RiverNovice Total Posts: 373 Joined: August 21, 2018	Re: Barbel decline and weed I think you will find Chris the decline in barbel numbers are down to Otters. Rivers all over the country have seen a decline in numbers of barbel .It appears that smaller rivers have had the biggest impact in the decline of the number of barbel since the introduction of out furry friend . Talk to people who fish the Teme and they will tell you the barbel have all but gone . There has been a call for Otters to be culled . Some thing that will never happen. Barbel anglers are up in arms when it comes to our furry friend the Otter . Posted on March 17, 2021 at 8:34 AM
onelastcast Total Posts: 821 Joined: July 4, 2015	Re: Barbel decline and weed It's a good point you raise, a natural Barbel habitat is gravelly runs that have an amundence of vegetation. Due to farming practises a lot of these areas have been lost, silting of the gravels have also been a factor. In that case barbel have been forced to adapt to conditions that are not entirely conducive to their welfare and breeding potential. Posted on March 17, 2021 at 8:54 AM
Johnny_Care Total Posts: 407 Joined: June 10, 2015	Re: Barbel decline and weed I think you will find Chris the decline in barbel numbers are down to Otters. Only a fool would blame the decline of barbel wholly down to otters. There are many factors at work here. Yes, otters eat barbel and other species, their preferred diet is the European eel,, which of course we are responsible for the demise of, to the point that eels are now a protected species. On top of that, we have abstraction, farming sucking rivers dry in summer to water crops we need. This leads to silting up of gravels, a loss of spawning grounds, and hence a lack of recruitment. The disturbing lack of weed, particularly on the Severn, is another reason. Fish are easy picking to predators, cormorants and such. I don't know what has happened to the weed, but ranuculus isn't destroyed by floods, as some people claim.Then there's pollution, water companies pumping in raw sewage, which they have licence to do, illegal pollution, oestrogen from birth control pills, surfactants, nitrates from fertilisers, it's an endless list. And it's the same the world over. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-56101167... Posted on March 17, 2021 at 11:06 AM
Fishychris Total Posts: 246 Joined: December 1, 2020	Re: Barbel decline and weed Yeah the one thing which puzzles me is how silvers and chub populations seem to have rocketed. A float only comp on the bridgnorth anglers stretch last year was won with 70lb of just chub. So the habitat is not generally bad. Its not like an otter is going to hunt down a solitary barbel when it can just crash into a shoal of chub and get an easy meal. Maybe they're just not as well adapted to our habitats as we thought. Maybe the longevity of barbel is to the detriment of other species, hence why they're booming whilst barbel are suffering a demise. I love barbel, they're so good on the float, but in my heart I can't help but feel we should protect our native species, and if the habitat can't sustain both, then barbel should lose out. The severn has also seen a lot more bream caught than previous years. Maybe this shows it is indeed losing its flow... Posted on March 19, 2021 at 5:50 PM
Johnny_Care Total Posts: 407 Joined: June 10, 2015	Re: Barbel decline and weed The Severn is a curious beast Chris, the bream on the Lower have all but disappeared this season just passed, whereas last season they were crawling up the rods! I've often said that fish species have peaks and troughs, twenty years back perch numbers dwindled, but not they seem to be back with a vengeance. The indigenous species argument is a fair one, let's be honest, the barbel population in the Severn has NEVER seen a natural population of otters, and the species exploded in the 70's and 80's, just as they did in the Teme. Now otters are everywhere, and numbers have fallen, although they're not the sole reason for the barbel decline by a long shot. I believe, that left alone, ecosystems find a balance though, and modest populations of all species can co-exist. Now we have a situation where barbel anglers are jumping up and down, as they want the native otter gone, so the non-native barbel can thrive. It's a proper can or worms. Posted on March 19, 2021 at 6:50 PM
Fishychris Total Posts: 246 Joined: December 1, 2020	Re: Barbel decline and weed Yes good points. My bream comment was based on captures on the middle, odd then that the lower has seen a decline. Or again maybe they just adapt to different conditions, but we don't. Let's face it, someone catches a fish, everyone else just follows and repeats. So until someone realises they need to change something everyone just carries on. How many anglers can truly say they read a water or conditions, and how many just do what is known to work? Posted on March 19, 2021 at 7:23 PM

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