FLOODS Will record levels affect your fishing?
With rivers and lakes bursting their banks, we investigate the impact this will have on your fishing now and in the future
“Fish will readily move from one water to another”
MOST of us have probably spent the last month or so indoors, impatiently waiting for some of the UK’s most damaging weather on record to subside.
After being lashed by wind and rain, many of Britain’s fisheries burst their banks, flooding nearby homes and farmland. But what do the fish make of it? Where do they go when the river is raging through, and what’s changed at your local fishery?
Larford Lakes, in Worcestershire, was wrecked by the floods, as owner Phil Briscoe reveals: “After Storm Dennis in February, the River Severn that runs around the fishery reached the highest level we’ve ever seen.
“The Burr Bank separating the Match and Specimen Lakes was underwater, and our landing stages, banks, roads and fencing were completely destroyed.”
While the water levels have now begun to drop, the full extent of the damage remains unknown. “I don’t know what fish stocks were lost,” Phil adds, “but the water level went right over the fence surrounding the lakes. Some fish could have easily escaped.”
Phil has received thousands of messages from well-wishers who appreciate what he’s going through, and he’s determined to get the fishery back on track as soon as possible.
“In three or four weeks I’ll have the place back and ready to go. The only problem is that these floods are no fluke. They’re the consequence of climate change, and as Larford is built on a floodplain, we’re going to be hit with them year after year,” he says.
But losing fish isn’t the only concern for fishery owners when it comes to their stock.
“One of the biggest issues with rivers pouring into stillwaters is the chance of disease spreading, with fish moving from one venue to the other and carrying a
variety of diseases, including the devastating Koi Herpes Virus that rots the fish’s gills before eventually killing them,” explainss fish scientist Dr Paul Garner.
“Over the years, many rivers have been manipulated into narrow channels, offering few areas of slack water for fish fry to dwell in. Consequently, in these venues, small fish are likely to be swept away during floods.
“On big, natural rivers like the Wye, fry won’t suffer quite so much,” adds Paul. Slacks will form at the sides as the river rises, providing sanctuary for young fish.”
In addition, the floods may actually create a better environment for fish to spawn.
“A torrent of water is likely to clean the silt from the gravel in the river,” he says, “which will create an ideal spawning environment for chub, dace and barbel, all of which need clean gravel to lay their eggs in.”
Angling Times has learned that a large number of carp have been spotted in Hampshire’s River Test after an overspill from a nearby lake, and to fish farmer Simon Scott, this comes as no surprise.
“Fish will readily move from one water to another in floods. It’s not just carp that go roaming either – species like barbel and pike will also move in and out,” he says.
For fisheries, this is bad news as they’re likely to lose expensive stock – but the floods can have interesting consequences for anglers.
“Fish coming into lakes from rivers can be an exciting prospect, particularly with pike, as there’s a chance of fish growing to huge sizes in a heavily-stocked water like a commercial fishery.”