Abstraction - Waterways thirst for hydration

So far summer has been a rather dry one, although I am sure a few anglers will have set their alarm clock for the heavy downpours predicted this coming weekend and I would say many of our rivers would dearly benefit from a drop of rain, not because it might make any anglers wet dream come true, but for the fact that many rivers are quite painfully low and in need of replenishment.

It does make me wonder how severely abstraction is harming the habitat and species that co-exist along our riverine environments and how easily abstraction licenses are handed out. Going back to 2010 I remember reading the wwf report which stated that a third of river catchments were being threatened by over abstraction, the likes of the Kennet and Itchen amongst others mentioned in this, has much really changed?

From looking at my local network of rivers, nearly if not all of which are feeders and bloodlines to the Thames, I would have to say that no might be the answer to that question. This leads me on to ponder a few other things, such as how much damage to our rivers is caused by Thames water and their malfunctioning, dare I say archaic sewage system/treatment plants.


For example a few seasons ago on the Blackwater I had packed up from an enjoyable fishing trip, the rain had been heavy and constant enough to cause surface flooding, whilst waiting to be picked up I could see two tankers on the road, cleaning up excess water, from the stench it was obvious that it was more than just surface water. On driving by we took the time to stop and ask one of the guys working the tanker, he did not want to answer any questions and asked us to move on, however we did get a response from one of the other chaps further down the road and he admitted that it was indeed sewage that was being cleared up.

Fast forward to this season and a sewage pipe that crossed above ground to an opposite side of  riverbank began to leak raw sewage during the close season. Thankfully it was spotted early on by one of the clubs officials and the environment agency were soon at hand. Meanwhile Thames water called in two tankers and closed the pumping station. Swift action you might think, but weeks went by with Thames water claiming that they could not commence any reparation due to not being able to hire scaffolding, yet there is a scaffold company local to the site of the incident. In the end Thames water chose to replace said pipe and run the new one under the river bed instead, I can't help feel that the term "hear no evil, see no evil" or in this case smell no evil comes to mind.

You might think I have a bit of a dislike for Thames water and you're probably right, but it is fuelled by the fact they have wiped out a few good reaches of rivers and brooks over the years and got away like so many companies do with just a fine and a slap on the wrist, I think that would perhaps peeve most people.

So far this season I have done seven trips on the Loddon mainly for barbel and of those trips it has been a reasonable balance between captures and blanks.

One of my recent trips resulted in a double hook pull, now I like to think that such things balance themselves out, especially having been lucky in past seasons to land fish to mid double on a lot lighter tackle when I probably shouldn't have. I must admit despite thinking this through I did still go home with a rather rueful smile etched on my face.

Getting down to the river late one evening I was greeted by a friend who had journeyed from Swindon to my neck of the woods and was just setting up, we had a chat and ended up fishing fairly close together, he planned to fish till 11pm and just as he was getting ready to pack up had his first Loddon barbel of the season. This was quite surprising given how unsociable their feeding patterns can be. He was very happy and I duly did the honours with the camera.

A smile speaks a thousand words

I decided to stay on for three more hours, thoughts in my head gnawing away about the recent hook pulls, that and wondering if bats could one day be tamed and used as portable anti mosquito devices.  Don't ever say I don't use time on the bank to think pro actively..

At 1am I started receiving a few delicate line bites accompanied by the odd heavier rattle, forty minutes later and the rod departed the front rest, saved by the butt grip and my hand as I lurched forward, it had to be one of the most violent takes I have had in a while and it was evident I was connected to a very powerful fish that was intent on putting the pacey water to good use.

flashbacks of hook pulls had me playing this fish very gingerly, it was a real scrap and everything that could go wrong nearly did which included the ledger weight lodging in the landing net mesh with  fish sliding back out over the lip, thankfully the weight dislodged and the fish slid into the net on the second attempt.

fighting fit torpedo (10lb)

This was a great way to exorcise those hook pull demons. Although if I am honest I can still hear them whispering to me.

The Uknown

I have been considering my options these last few days with much pondering and thanks to the amount of very good quality and interesting fishing blogs that people take the time and passion to write, such as the one written by Jeff Hatt, I have been considering doing a spot of roving on a very small stream. Having taken the time to look at it during the summer when the water was very low, I can't say I saw that many fish, the odd Chub of two or three pound, some small Roach and Perch, admittedly it was fairly choked with weed as well, but there was some interesting deeper areas and some lovely gravel runs, the last few days has seen us have a nice drop of rain, perfect for giving many of our rivers down south a good flushing, although that term is a dubious one, as I will lead on to explain.

I had passed the stream by for  many years, whilst on the way to fishing the local pits, I am guilty for having neglected it. I remember chatting to a chap on a damp, November afternoon, he was roving about and was very forthcoming about the fish that the stream contained, Chub, Perch, Trout, Gudgeon, Roach, Dace and the odd Barbel. I should have followed my instincts back then and spent time fishing it, alas I was more into stillwater fishing and the thoughts of this little stream, were left to gather dust at the back of my mind.

Flick ahead to the here and now and I found out that during July 2010,  Thames Water which operates Silchester Sewage Treatment Works in Hampshire, had two storage tanks used to store sewage sludge, which  failed. Two redundant storm tanks were used to store sewage sludge and these were isolated from the sewage treatment process to prevent stored sewage sludge being pumped back into the works. However, on the morning of 20th July 2010, the two storm tanks were full and needed to be emptied and  released  a "flushing" of sewage into the stream. The enviroment agency estimated 7500 to 22000 fish were killed,  Thames Water pleaded guilty and were fined a paltry £61,049.

This would explain why during this summer I only spotted a few fish, what's left is anyones guess. That being the case, I have decided to spend my next  couple of  fishing trips doing some roving on this tiny waterway to see what remains, hopefully there is still some life left in what was once a very special ecosystem.