Skimmers - Wear @ C-l-St

[over par]

Anyone heard if any of the skimmers have been caught on the Wear yet. Sorry forgot to add that the Environment Agency stocked them in the close season by Cricket Club.

 

[over par]

eels

eels

Had a go for a salmon on friday on the worm at ClS. Plenty of fish splashing about, but none interested in my bait. Insead got soaked and pestered by a sucession of eels. Gadgy on the next swim up fly-fishing. Seen him lift into a fish and he pulled out a 9" flattie. First time I've seen that.

 

[Bushwhacker]

What size were the Skimmers that were stocked?.
If they were under 3/4lb the black plague will just eat them all.
They have decimated the Wear of small fish over the last 10 years.
Any fish stocked now should be of a size thats too big for the black b@stards to eat...

 

[super-MAGuire]

What size were the Skimmers that were stocked?.
If they were under 3/4lb the black plague will just eat them all.
They have decimated the Wear of small fish over the last 10 years.
Any fish stocked now should be of a size thats too big for the black b@stards to eat...

is the black plague... cormorants? just never herd of this befor. Thanks

 

[Bushwhacker]

is the black plague... cormorants? just never herd of this befor. Thanks

Yes it is mate,they have decimated all the shoals of smaller fish like Dace and the native Brown Trout have all but dissapeared.
They are also eating a lot of the Salmon and Seatrout Parr.
There are up to 10 Cormorants roosting on the dam at Durham most days.
I have talked to lads that fish a long way upriver and they see them up there.

 

[super-MAGuire]

they'll go for any easy pickings... lack of fish on the coast pushing them further and further up river? or they always been present... either way some sort of management scheme needs to be thought up.... eg safe area or habitats for the smaller fish with more cover so there not as an easy target... or remove the cormorants if they are being that much of a ecological pressure

 

[oldessox]

Maybe the cormarants are only there because there are stocked fish , maybe if we anglers were more responsible and kept the rivers stocking levels at a natural level the cormorants would have to look elsewhere ? Same applies to stocked stillwaters , the cormorants are there because of the abundance of fish , if there were fewer fish there would be fewer cormorants , but we as greedy anglers want easy pickings like the cormorants do , so we stuff the water to overflowing with fish to make them easy to catch ...............which attracts the cormorants


Ray

 

[Bushwhacker]

Maybe the cormarants are only there because there are stocked fish , maybe if we anglers were more responsible and kept the rivers stocking levels at a natural level the cormorants would have to look elsewhere ? Same applies to stocked stillwaters , the cormorants are there because of the abundance of fish , if there were fewer fish there would be fewer cormorants , but we as greedy anglers want easy pickings like the cormorants do , so we stuff the water to overflowing with fish to make them easy to catch ...............which attracts the cormorants


Ray

There are a lot of sections of the Wear that have never been stocked,the Cormmorants have wiped the lot out.
The stretches downsteam of Durham used to be full of Dace and loads of wild Brownies.
Now theres nowt but big Chub and Barbel ,which are too big for the Cormorants to eat.
Eventualy these bigger fish will die and with all the juvanile fish been eaten year after year,there will be nowt left but the Salmon and Seatrout...

 

[oldessox]

There are a lot of sections of the Wear that have never been stocked,the Cormmorants have wiped the lot out.
The stretches downsteam of Durham used to be full of Dace and loads of wild Brownies.
Now theres nowt but big Chub and Barbel ,which are too big for the Cormorants to eat.
Eventualy these bigger fish will die and with all the juvanile fish been eaten year after year,there will be nowt left but the Salmon and Seatrout...

Then the cormorants will either move on or die as well , it called nature , everything balances itself out in the end , unless of course man tries to "fix it" , in which case everyything gets cocked up.
Are there signal crays in the weir? , they are more likely to blame for the decimation of juvenile fish stocks , another man made problem. Seems we just can't leave things alone.

Ray

 

[Bushwhacker]

Thankfully there are no Signals on the stretches i fish,YET!.
But i,m sure they will turn up,since they are overunning most waters around the country.