River Ribble

[stoater]

Wow, they sound bad critters! Won't normal agents like Rotenone(Derris root)wipe out the entire foodchain though? Or is the threat that serious to deem this worthwhile?
I'd have thought it quite hard to get a licence to poison an entire area...... but then again they are the EA

[wilbert]

There is virtually no life in the beck thanks the signal crayfish, yes its a drastic step but it has to be done to ensure 100% eradication as these critters bury into the bank to make their home which makes them difficult to catch plus it causes erosion and siltation etc. It is very expensive but is high on the agenda for the EA, with the Ribble salmon fishing valued at over £11M they cant afford not to sort it out. They are fairly confident that the £200K can be obtained through grants, land owners, fishing clubs and the EA.

I have forgotten the exact poison that is to be used but it either breaks down over 24hrs or can be neutralized then disposed of away from the water course.

Lets hope 2007 has no major dramas on the river other than an excellent run and lots of fish caught throughout the year.

[wilbert]

A young harbor seal has been spotted as high up the river as Ribchester but has not been seen for a couple of days. There is to be an attempt to capture this seal and return it to Northern Ireland where the only population of harbor seals on the west side of the UK is found.

[wilbert]

Once again there is to be a Falkus Evening in support of the Hodder Consultative. If you fancy attending here are the details below.

HODDER CONSULTATIVE “FALKUS EVENING”
BY CONSENT OF B.G.F.A.

THE HODDER CONSULTATIVE ARE ONCE AGAIN HOLDING A FALKUS EVENING TO RAISE FUNDS TO CARRY ON WITH THEIR OUTSTANDING CONSERVATION WORK AND SALMON STOCKING PROGRAMME BUT “THEY NEED YOUR SUPPORT.”

THIS POPULAR EVENING WILL THIS YEAR BE HELD ON THURSDAY 19TH APRIL AT THE BRITISH AERO SPACE CANBERRA CLUB AT SAMLESBURY START TIME 7.30pm.


TICKETS ARE PRICED AT £10 EACH INCLUDING A HOT SUPPER, ALONG WITH A GENEROUS RAFFLE AND STAND UP BINGO.

PRESENTATIONS ON THE EVENING WILL BE GIVEN BY BRIAN WELLS AND ANDY BLEZARD (ON THE WORK OF THE CONSULTATIVE) AND Dr. NIGEL MILNER (ON SALMON STOCKING WORKS?) ALSO A PRESENTATION BY DAVID CRAWSHAW (ON THE BOWLAND UPLANDS)


IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ATTEND AND SECURE TICKETS PLEASE FILL IN THE FORM BELOW WITH NUMBER OF TICKETS YOU REQUIRE AND FORWARD IT WITH YOUR REMITTANCE TO THE ADDRESS SHOWN BELOW, NO LATER THAN APRIL 6TH. PLEASE, AS PLACES COULD BE LIMITED. THERE IS ALSO THE OPTION OF PAYING AT THE DOOR ON THE NIGHT.

THE EVENING WILL BE SUPPORTED BY “THE RIBBLE TRUST,” “UNITED UTILITIES”, “THE GRAYLING SOCIETY”, “COOKSHILL FLY TYING”, “THE E.A”. AND “MR.JOHN CLARKE LOCAL COUNTRY ARTIST”.


------------------------------------------------------CUT HERE -------------------------------------------
APPLICATION FOR TICKETS

I WOULD LIKE ( ) TICKETS FOR THE FALKUS EVENING AT THE CANBERRA CLUB AND INCLUDE A CHEQUE FOR ( ). CHEQUES MADE PAYABLE TO
“THE HODDER CONSULTATIVE”.

NAME…………………………………………………..

ADDRESS………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………………..
………………………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………………………..

PLEASE FORWARD THIS COMPLETED FORM TO.

MR. ROGER BOWKER.
STAND FARM.
CHAPMAN LANE.
HODDLESDEN
DARWEN.
LANCS.
BB3 3QS.

[carrowmore]

Thanks Wilbert , I'll go along to that

[wilbert]

The 2 fish limit and salmon carcass tagging scheme has been given the go ahead by DEFERA and the EA and anglers wishing to fish the Ribble or any of its tributaries need 2 numbered tags and the numbers writing on their licence and their licence stamped. If your club is not issuing the tags directly then you can obtain these from the following tackle shops:-

1. Ted Carters - Preston
2. Ken Vareys - Clitheroe
3. Anglers All - Colne

Or you can collect them from the EA office at Bamber Bridge Preston.

Lets hope we get some good water in May as this is when the Ribble gets the most of its small spring run and the sea trout will be starting to show too.

[wilbert]

Ribble at Clitheroe is running at 2' and is rising and carrying heavy colour I have not seen big Ribble but would expect the Hodder and Calder have extra water in them and are raising the levels of big Ribble. When the rain will stop and the river begins to settle is anyones guess. There were a number of salmon caught on the last rise of water and on the 16th June the first of the salmon carcass tags were used in accordance of the EA pilot scheme. There have been some big fish caught in the recent weeks, the biggest that I know of is 22.5lbs and there seem to more fish in the system than in previous years. Is this down to the Irish drift nets being off, is the habitat work starting to pay dividends or are we just experiencing the natural cycle of good years and bad years?

Lets hope the high water brings in more fish and with the tides starting to get bigger there is every chance. I hope the summer is not a dry one and that the fish come in good numbers. Tight lines to all out there.

[wilbert]

The river has dropped overnight and has continued to drop all day and is in tip top condition now, just under 2' and not too coloured. I would expect the river to drop further tonight so make the most of the water before its back down to summer levels.

I was out for 6 hours today and could only catch trout, I saw 1 sea trout jump clear out of the water right in front of me and am sure it gave me the 1 finger salute as it went past. Didn't see any salmon but I am sure that with this water there will be a few about.

[wilbert]

With all the rain we have had its no surprise that the river is big and coloured. Its showing 5' at grindleton bridge this afternoon and I cant fish for the next 7 days so I am contemplating drowning a few worms in desperation, the temptation of the dark side is hard to resist.

[wilbert]

Proposed Ribble Barrage

For those of you out there that don know about Preston City Councils proposal to create a barrage in the Preston area here are some links with further info.

www.angst.org.uk/
www.lep.co.uk/ViewArticle.aspx?SectionID=73&ArticleID=1501675
www.wildburro.co.uk/2006/09/15/save-the-ribble-plots/


These proposals have been going arround for some time and there is plenty of people and groups that object to these plans. Fishing bodies on the Ribble system have joined forces are are completely opposed to the barrage, at present the Ribble Fisheries Consultative, Hodder Consultative, RCCT and Lancashire Consultive are all sharing information and have met with members of PCC.

Any barrage on the Ribble would be disastrous for Salmon and Sea Trout and the prolific bird life on the Ribble estuary. It will also cause a major flood risk which should set alarm bells ringing after the recent events throughout the country

There will also be some support for this development from greedy developers who only ever see £££££ plus the councilors who get back handers in one way or another.

There is too much info to put in this post so google the subject and then write to your local MP etc.

[al44]

This is no surprise at all. Let's make a complete mess of everything and to hell with the consequences.

Reminds me of the plan a few years ago to 'convert' the Tyne and I believe the Eden into a Suez Canal equivalent allowing ships to pass from the Tyne to the Solway. Thankfully that stupid idea seems to have disappeared.

[salmonfisher]

I have today heard the sad news of the passing of Bill Birtwistle of Dunsop Trout Hatchery after suffering a massive heart attack this morning. Bill will be sadly missed by all who knew him throughout the fishing community as he stocked trout and smolts throughout the majority of the ribble and hodder as well as many other fisheries in the North West.

[sedgeking]

Hi guys! ;D
Anybody actually fishing?
Called in at stainforth a fortnight ago fish were running (on way back from Annan)but didnt fish.
Was out Saturday night in near perfect ST conditions and blanked
Trying an early start Monday to see if that does the trick.
Is it just me

[wilbert]

Managed my first salmon off the Ribble for this season, a 6lb bar of silver which was returned. A little later than normal but my fishing effort has been a little sporadic this season and so far I have missed most of the best water. Today I fished at Balderstone and there were a few grilse showing in the pools and all appeared to be fresh. Water was almost at summer level. I took the fish on a size 12 silver stoat and had to do a little bit of hand lining to keep the fly moving, I lost another fish shortly after hooking it so never got to see it.

[wilbert]

The rain has swelled the river and it is running at just below 5' at Grindleton so big Ribble below calder foot will be 7 or 8'. This is the flood that we have waited a good few weeks for as it should give the river a good clean out and bring up the fish that have been waiting in the lower river. There were reports of good numbers of fish below Preston last week and these should now be moving up the river and will provide some good sport for the next few days depending on how much more rain we get.

[wilbert]

Its a big river again which is no surprise considering the rain we had last night. The river started off at about 18" this morning and steadily rose all day. It was about + 4' when i took this pic.



Not exactly ideal fishing conditions but at least someone was managing to fish.



I would expect Sat and Sun to fish well as I cant get down to the river due to family commitments. I am sure there is a conspiracy to stop me fishing this year as i have only managed about 12 outings so far this year which is rubbish considering the amount of water that we have had since May.

[wilbert]

The salmon are still running up the river and quite a few fish have gone well up river on this water. I lost a good fresh fish of about 10lb yesterday as I was about to beach it and managed 2 fish today of 4 and 12lbs. I also managed to christen my 12 footer which I have not used since buying it over 12 months ago. So a brand new 12 foot rod catches a 12lb salmon, I'm off to buy a 35 foot rod to see if the trend continues.

The water seems very clear at the moment is this due to the continued high water for most of the year that has washed most of the sediment away?? Most of the fish that I know about have been taken on dark patterns such as Silver Stoat, Munro's Killer, Blue Charm and not the normal orange patterns which work better when there is colour in the water.

[severnfisher]

Hi wilbert,
Not a bad way to christen a rod. Well done.
Wish we had your clear water on the Severn, plenty of fish running, but it is still dirty brown at the moment.

[wilbert]

I seem to be on a bit of a roll at the moment, I got another 12lb fish today which took a stripped sunray in spectacular fashion.

The river is running at approx +10" and is slowly falling back to summer levels. There was a good run of fish on the lower river yesterday. Big tides this weekend so they should bring in some more fish.

[speers]

hi wilbert i was fishing sale wheel( not sure of the spelling) on LFFA water and saw no singh of any fish on thursday although one of the guys had a 14lb but it had been in a few days , you fished yesterday and the river is +10, where was this ? and where have you seen or heard of new fish coming in ? i seriously hope so because i haven't touched a fish this year yet, every time their has ben a flood i have generally had to work. My mate had four in 4 casts about a month ago and he has now had a totall of around 11 fish. me i just can't seem to get the look in . Anyway enjoyed your reports on the river. tight lines . regards speeers