Wednesday 15 August 2018

Down to its bones



The picture although clearly not a fish is something that I was very pleased to see.  This Sunday I ventured up the headwaters of a local river although as the pictures show the river is struggling for water and the quantities of rising fish were pretty low. The rivers are generally struggling, which is as to be expected given the long hot and dry summer.  levels of in river invertebrates are very low ,  however in the fields and woods on the banks the insects are thriving.. 



As you see the river is way below its normal levels.  long stretches are barely flowing and only the long deep pools are holding decent volumes of water .  Luckily there are many of these deep slow pools where fish can hold up..




This stretch is usually a continuous riffle about six inches deep ,  as you can see its just about dry now.



There was less rising fish than I would expect .  The level of invertebrates in the water must be having an effect on hatch levels .  However the high number of terrestrials will be offering an alternative food source .




One thing I noted during the day was the number of ladybirds that were visible ,  now that means to me that there are certainly big numbers of Aphids on the trees.   Certainly leaves on the trees are quite sticky from the residue the aphids leave behind. 





The days catches were less than I would expect at the time of year but as the fish were bunched up in the deep holding pools the long stretches of previously " pocket water " were now pretty much devoid of fish .  You can see on the photo below where the usual summer level of the pool is .  We need rain and fast...









6 comments:

Mark Kautz said...

At least you got a couple. That is pretty thin looking water. I suspect relatively warm too.

RM Lytle said...

Beautiful trout despite the low water.

Becks and Brown Trout said...

Mark the tree canopy helps to keep temperature down but yes warmer than it should be,,,

Andy

Bill Trussell said...

This has been one of the wettest summers ever here in Alabama, wish we could help. Glad you made a connection despite the low water conditions. Thanks for sharing

The Two Terriers said...


Looking at the mark for a 'normal level' the stream is millions of gallons of water down on what it ought to be. You must be praying for some heavy rain and then steady rain, not the violent rain that comes and goes quickly. John

cofisher said...

It's sad to see the low water and lack of fish. This has been a tough summer all around. Our weather is starting to cool so I suspect we'll have an early Winter. Hoping you see some moisture soon my friend.

Wykeham lakes Scarborough

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