BBC reports pike eating roach, rudd and tench in Cornish duck pond

DODGY journalism is not hard to spot, especially when it's about a subject with which you're familiar.

A prime example comes from today's bbc.co.uk 'Most popular stories now' list and concerns pike making life miserable for the other residents of a Cornish pond. So what's new...?

'Killer pike removed from Par duck pond' reports that pike have been eating roach, rudd and tench in the pond near St Blazey and snatching fish being reeled in by anglers, again, nothing new there.

Numbers of the species – not native to Cornwall according to the story – have been “getting out of hand” and Environment Agency Fisheries Officers have had to use “electronic devices” to stun the fish so they can be removed.

Presumably this refers to electrofishing, a widely used method surely not too difficult for the journalist to convey to the reader?

The article goes on to paint a portrait of the pike as a vicious killing machine capable of taking out ducklings and water voles, but fails to mention the important role it carries out in the ecosystem.

I guess it must be a slow day at the BBC as I can't quite work out where the news is in this less-than-insightful account of the situation. I wonder what will happen when the BBC finds out what perch, zander, chub and catfish get up to...

Click here to be amused/bemused/confused by or just to read the original.

Canal work to finish in time for new season?

ANGLERS on the Basingstoke Canal will be pleased to know that the recent low water has been caused by work being carried out to repair long-standing damage to the banks.

A section of the waterway between Crookham Wharf and Double Bridge in Dogmersfield has been dammed so work can be carried out to repair several long-standing breaches.

But the two kilometre (approx) section will have to be drained which poses the question of what will happen to the fish that currently reside there.

The Basingstoke Canal Authority has said that work will be finished in time for the start of the new season but there are those who are sceptical of this and questions remain unanswered.

I'm currently looking into the situation and will publish more information here when I have it.

Final fish from frustrating season

THE final river session has come a little early for me as a trip to see my girlfriend's parents has put the kibosh on the final weekend of the season.

But I did manage a few hours on the bank yesterday and was rewarded with a decent chub just before dark. The 4lb Whitewater resident put a welcome bend in my rod as a cheese paste wrapped pellet proved irresistible.

The memory of it will now have to satisfy my running water urges until the - hopefully - glorious 16th and marks a reasonable end to what's been a difficult season.

Summer drought conditions hit Basingstoke Canal in March

I WAS met with an alarming sight today while walking the dog along the Basingstoke Canal where the water has dropped to well below summer levels despite recent heavy rainfall.

As the pictures show, the near-side shelf is clearly visible and it's the same on the far bank. Most of the stretch I walked between the Farnborough Road bridge and Iron Bridge would be awkward to fish as the angler would be so high off the water.

I must admit that I was thoroughly confused by the situation particularly as there has been so much rainfall during the past week. That was until I spoke to John Campbell of the Basingstoke Canal Angling Association (BCAA) who was chatting to an angler optimistic enough to fish the stretch in its current state.

He explained that there had been a breach at Dogmersfield where water had been escaping over the banks. To stem this flow the Basingstoke Canal Authority (BCA) has dammed the section to try and prevent any further loss of water.

But as a result water has been prevented from moving out of the dammed section to replace any that is lost further down. This means if a lock is opened and water rushes out nothing will be available to replace it from higher up.

This seems to be the most likely explanation for the severely depleted levels, as Ash Lock is not far away and a recent opening would force water to flow out of the stretch with nothing able to flow down and replace it.

It will be interesting to see if the Newtown Angling Club match scheduled for tomorrow between Farnborough Road Bridge and Iron Bridge goes ahead and if so, what the results will be.

As for the fish, oxygen levels should remain sufficient and not cause them a problem as they don't have scorching summer heat to contend with as well as the low water levels.

Hopefully they will have found shelter elsewhere to replace the bank-side cover they've lost and levels can be restored before they start to spawn. The margins play an important part in this process and the Basingstoke Canal is still subject to a closed season in order for the fish to reproduce without harassment from anglers. It doesn't bode well for the new season and the next year class of fish, however, if this problem drags on and they find themselves with nowhere to do it.

Promising results from new stretch of Blackwater

A TRIP to a new stretch of river threw up some interesting results today and has seriously whetted my appetite for a return visit.

I recced this particular bit of Blackwater that offers free fishing a few weeks ago and returned today armed with rod, rucksack and stool for a bit of roving in search, yet again, of a chub.

A likely looking overhanging tree on the far bank saw my cheese paste flicked in its direction and before it hit the deck, my 3oz tip sprang into life and my target species was on.

Bear in mind that this was my first cast on a new stretch of river – I couldn't believe what was happening. A short but spirited fight and a difficult netting in the strong current ended in a chub of about a pound-and-a-half on my unhooking mat.

I slipped the fish back to its watery home and my confidence went through the roof. Could this be the dream small river swim from which I could plunder a bag of chub?

Well... no. The following bite-less hour saw the realisation dawn on me that I'd been lucky enough to hit the only chub in my swim smack-bang on the head with a stinking lump of high-vis paste, a situation that ended in the only plausible outcome but one that was not to be repeated.

With all the other likely looking swims being used or better suited to a float, my dad and I quickly stowed our kit and headed off with the intention of driving to our normal stretch of the same river about a mile down the road.

Reaching a swim that had been occupied when we arrived, I spotted a float attached to a tree within reach of a landing net. So with a precarious lean out over the river, I got the net round it and it slipped off the line to become the latest addition to my float collection.

Buoyed by this success and pleased with my new crystal loafer, I wandered off after a stick float I remembered having seen earlier dangling from another tree, leaving my dad and the kit in the picturesque peg opposite a sewage works.

I returned later empty handed to find my dad having a cheeky cast in the swim you can see in the picture above. He'd taken the feeder off his line to carry the rod and as a result was effectively free-lining a lump of paste in the far side slack water before it was gradually dragged round into the main flow. He assured me this method had resulted in “a huge hit” just moments before I'd returned from my float hunt.

Thoughts of the other stretch of river started to fade as the paste was re-cast for another trundle through the swim, this time starting in the outflow of clean water from the works.

Very quickly, a couple of tweaks on the tip signalled some piscatorial intention and the next thing I knew, my dad was leaning into a fish as his John Wilson Avon rod took on a very healthy curve.

A chub approximately two-and-a-half times the size of my earlier effort soon graced the net and we realised that this swim if not exactly pretty, certainly had some serious potential to produce fish.

With my rod broken down for the car, I was handed the 'John Wilson' and was graciously allowed a chuck in the new killer swim. It didn't take long for a bite to register and I struck into lump that was determined not to be dragged up from the depths. From the way it stayed deep, boring around and around, I started to hope I was attached to a new river record.

But the surface was broken suddenly and violently and my hopes were dashed as the distinctive markings of a pike became all too clear.

It was a good fight however, and somehow the mono hook link held firm. A jack of just over five pounds was safely returned to continue harassing my intended quarry and as the daylight faded, we headed for home leaving the swim we've dubbed 'the aquarium' to recover in anticipation of our next visit.

Lucky escape for predator that became the prey

EVERYBODY knows that nature is dog-eat-dog world and last week I saw a startling reminder that beneath the water's surface fish are constantly fighting to keep their place in the food chain. It also proved that the chub must be amongst the toughest of fish that swim in our waters.

With a few hours on the bank in my sights last friday I headed for the river Whitewater on the Hampshire/Berkshire border. It was a lovely day as I made my way through fields towards the river, with the low winter sun in full blaze and fluffy, picture-book clouds scattered across a bright blue sky .

Normally on a short session, I'd go from swim to swim giving each about 20 minutes for a chub to make its presence known. Time was against me however, so I chose to sit it out in a favourite swim and wait for the sun to drop behind the trees and encourage the fish to feed.

Using a quiver tip with a light-ish running rig, I opened my rucksack to find I'd left the liquidised bread intended for the feeder at home. A quick re-think saw some micro pellets scalded in some hot water from my flask and a pellet cone sitting on top of my cheese paste hook bait, with a small lead replacing the feeder.

I duly cast in and sat back to enjoy the scenery and the sight of a buzzard circling over the field to my right. This particular bit of Whitewater is one of the most picturesque fisheries I've seen and it's always a pleasure to be there. Bites are simply a bonus at such a place, particularly when I had the entire stretch to myself.

A few casts later and an unmissable drop-back snapped me out of the trance induced by my surroundings. It was immediately followed up by some sharp pulls on the tip and I struck into a decent fish that quickly moved into the main flow of the river and out of the slack water where it had found my bait.

After a good scrap that gave away nothing of what I was about to discover, a chub surfaced with what I initially thought was a leaf stuck to its back. I netted it and closer inspection revealed that the fish was missing a large chunk of flesh leaving a cavity so deep that bone was visible.

As the photos show, this chub had had a very lucky and very recent escape from the jaws of death in the shape of what I reckon was a pike. You can see where it was grabbed from the U-shaped markings that start opposite the area where flesh had been removed and fit the shape of a pike's jaw.

I can't believe the fish was willing to feed so soon after being attacked. Not only will chub feed in the lowest of temperatures long after other species have switched off, it seems even a gaping wound won't deter them. Perhaps the low temperature of the water was keeping the wound numb and it appears that no organs were damaged. Hopefully the risk of infection will also be reduced by the cold water and this slightly lighter-than-usual four-pounder will live to fight another day.

No doubt the smell leaking from the wound will be particularly enticing to other predators hoping to pick off an easy meal but I'll still be looking out for a fish with a very recognisable scar next season.

The Big One

I SPENT a good few hours eyeing up bargains at the Big One today and needless to say I ended up going home with a few.

For those of you who weren't there – though it seemed like most of the anglers in the country were – it's a huge tackle sale held in a hangar-like venue at Farnborough airport with hundreds of exhibitors selling gear at knock-down prices.

Lots of the sport's big names were there representing their various interests and it was good to see people like Steve Ringer and Keith Arthur chatting happily with the punters. It's often said that angling is the only sport where an amateur can compete alongside a world champion and there were certainly no barriers in evidence today.

There'll be more of the Big One from me at a later date but for now, I'm off to play with my new kit!