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Post by teignager on May 24, 2015 8:16:14 GMT
Very concerned to discover no less than 6 dead or dying sea trout in the middle reaches of the Lower Teign yesterday. All decent fish of between 2 & 4 pounds at a rough guess, and all showing evidence of disease/fungal growth. Also a salmon of about 30" lying on the bottom in an inaccessible stretch. Couldn't get close to confirm that one - but a big fish, and bright silver too.
As a new member (after being on the waiting list for x years) - should this concern me? I'm no expert. Is this to be expected - perhaps post- spawning, or something to do with the low flow just now?
I gave up spinning and reverted to dry fly for brownies - and had a good day's sport. But it was disconcerting wading each pool and finding yet another corpse or half-dead fish underfoot!
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Post by morendat on May 24, 2015 15:34:07 GMT
Probably UDN (ulcerative dermal necrosis), a disease found in migratory fish- salmon and sea trout- which can occur soon after entering fresh water. Infected fish show grey white lesions on head and body and appear distressed and unwilling to move far if disturbed. These lesions will bet bigger and bigger as the disease progresses. Not always fatal. Found most years in the rivers of the south west to a certain extent and the East Lyn was closed last year and I believe also this season on some parts of the river after a major outbreak last year. Heard reports of UDN in the River Dart and also the River Exe this year, "Should this concern you"- yes, probably and I would report it to your club, they may be aware of it, also you could report it to the Environment Agency local office. The EA person handling the outbreak on the East Lyn is Mike Holland at mike.holland@environment-agency.gov.uk and he is local and would be interested. Hope this helps.
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Disease
May 25, 2015 7:23:52 GMT
via mobile
Post by jezney on May 25, 2015 7:23:52 GMT
I was walking down there yesterday. A nice pod of big fish in junction pool where the Bovey runs in and all clean with no signs of rot.Then on the far bank,I see one covered in UDN trying to get through the shallows and failing miserably. Further up I spot another lone fish with rot and filmed a fish further up again in the fields on the surface that looked albino it was so Ill. There were quite a few fish seen that were fresh tho so I might get a day ticket this week and have a crack for seatrout one night. Fish with disease are coming into Totnes weirpool on the dart fresh on the tide with UDN.
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Post by kevzim on May 25, 2015 14:34:10 GMT
Dead sea trout of 60-70cm on the bank upstream off Hexworthy Saturday, covered in fungus. Conversation with an angler upstream revealed he had hoiked it ou and onto the bank to try and stop the spread (it was dead when he found it). Too late probably. Went out for the evening rise yesterday on a Tamar tributary and saw two peal sized (30 - 40 cm)with cotton wool heads circling in a back eddy. Rather took the edge off a wonderful spinner fall.
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Disease
May 25, 2015 15:37:29 GMT
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Post by teignager on May 25, 2015 15:37:29 GMT
Reported incidence to LTFA Sec - they've already had several reports apparently. This is all very disappointing. Rather puts me off fishing, seeing good fish in such a distressed state.
Seems particularly puzzling that (according to Environment Agency) no-one really knows what causes UDN. I should have thought that, with our salmon fisheries in such poor nick - and after what I seem to recall was a particularly nasty outbreak in the 70's - EA would have made it a priority to investigate and come up with an answer.
I'm less than keen to be hauling in diseased fish after dark, once I kick off night fishing. Does anyone know whether UDN-affected sea trout will still chase a fly - or are they no longer able or interested?
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Post by robmason on May 25, 2015 18:10:17 GMT
I don't think it is UDN. Saprolegnia is the fungal infection in question, or so I have been told. Obviously that is fairly academic, what we need is water, and plenty of it, to disperse the fish and prevent further infestation.
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Post by flyingcman on May 28, 2015 9:49:25 GMT
the Tavy is effected by this infection es well. I have been told that the fish damage themselves trying to get upstream, and with the higher water temp and low water they are prone to disease, or is it the ea with sloping shoulders again!!
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Post by kevzim on Jun 28, 2015 21:20:56 GMT
Had a day on the Tamar over the weekend - the shine was rubbed off by finding two dead salmon (1m+ in length) and also twso dead grayling - both of good size (well over 30cm). All had the white fungus, on the salmon it looked like it was growing over tissue damaged by sea lice or some sort of abrasion (nets???).
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Post by lepirate on Jun 28, 2015 22:03:04 GMT
Same problem on the Plym, fresh in to the river in bad state, E.A. informed. We are stopping fishing for them on a voluntary basis until things improve. Rain really needed...
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Post by BarleBlanker on Jun 29, 2015 21:32:38 GMT
All had the white fungus, on the salmon it looked like it was growing over tissue damaged by sea lice or some sort of abrasion (nets???). That sounds like typical UDN. The fungus is a secondary infection on tissue affected by the UDN. Very sad to hear that it is around again especially with salmon stocks being so low generally. Is the EA water on the Lyn open this year? Andy
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Post by kevzim on Jun 30, 2015 7:11:27 GMT
Must admit it felt "wrong" fishing for salmon after I'd seen the dead fish... so focused on trout and picked up a couple of bonus grayling. What I found worrying was seeing the dead grayling with fungal growth as well. Let's hope this warm spell breaks into some serious deluges on the moors.
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Post by JB on Jul 2, 2015 7:51:59 GMT
Seems like this is a bad year for all the south coast rivers. The Dart appears to be empty of sea trout after the bad outbreak earlier this year. I know the Fowey has the fungus too. If the Tavy and Plym are affected then presumably the Walkham is too.
Can someone remind me exactly what it is the Environment Agency do with our licence fees?
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Post by lepirate on Jul 2, 2015 16:32:54 GMT
Seems like this is a bad year for all the south coast rivers. The Dart appears to be empty of sea trout after the bad outbreak earlier this year. I know the Fowey has the fungus too. If the Tavy and Plym are affected then presumably the Walkham is too. Can someone remind me exactly what it is the Environment Agency do with our licence fees? Not very much it would seem. Even liaison with landowners seems beyond them. Last week a couple of National Trust workers (on N.T. land) came across a chap, wetsuited and snorkel'd, with a spear gun in a pool. He already had 2 salmon and 2 sea trout on the bank (about 30lb of fish)... Response? Well, they informed him that he really shouldn't be doing what he was doing and let him toddle off.... with the fish!!! This on a pool that had, 2 weeks before, been reported to the E.A. because of regular night poaching! Bloody joke!
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Post by boisker on Jul 2, 2015 22:13:36 GMT
It's not really for me to defend the EA, but they do make an easy target, if you wanted to get after someone to blame you need to start with the government. Cameron came in on a 'we are going to be the greenest Gov' ticket and then promptly started to slash budgets... 30-50% staff reductions over the last 6 years equates to no fisheries team on the ground. Unfortunately as EA have a number of statuary responsibilities that have to be carried out the fisheries and biodiversity teams got hit proportionally higher than other teams. Unfortunately the days of 20 odd people in fisheries are long gone... No staf, no budgets.... What can you expect.
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Post by JB on Jul 3, 2015 11:26:27 GMT
It's not really for me to defend the EA, but they do make an easy target, if you wanted to get after someone to blame you need to start with the government. Cameron came in on a 'we are going to be the greenest Gov' ticket and then promptly started to slash budgets... 30-50% staff reductions over the last 6 years equates to no fisheries team on the ground. Unfortunately as EA have a number of statuary responsibilities that have to be carried out the fisheries and biodiversity teams got hit proportionally higher than other teams. Unfortunately the days of 20 odd people in fisheries are long gone... No staf, no budgets.... What can you expect. I don't disagree at all, you're right that it's the Government that is responsible for slashing the budgets. However, we all pay a fair amount of money into the EA and surely that should be used to support fisheries. My understanding is that because they've lost their fisheries experts they hire consultants instead, not that there is anything wrong with fisheries consultants just that this is surely a false economy. I expect a lot of their efforts go on stillwaters because that's probably more popular, but the migratory fish licence is considerably more expensive and so surely we should see some action on issues such as the recent fungus outbreaks. Something that goes beyond a shrug of the shoulders which is what it feels we're getting. You are quite right to say that it is the Government's fault but as an agency of that Government I think it's right to question the EA. If I'm wrong and they're actually working hard to solve the problem then I'll hold my hands up and apologise, I just suspect they're spending the revenue from fishing on flood defences and I don't think that's right.
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Post by lepirate on Jul 3, 2015 12:37:31 GMT
I actually spoke to the fisheries inspection/bailiff chap. Now, I don't expect him to be on the river every night for a week but, I would think that impressing on the land owner that you take details/car number of anyone poaching and report them. Not just let them wander off with the fish they have taken. Half an hour spent getting through to the land owners that they have some duty to protect the river would actually achieve something worth while. It would also be a cost effective use of his time!
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Post by morendat on Jul 3, 2015 17:45:06 GMT
The E.A. have issued a briefing note and advise to anglers re the recent outbreak of the fungal infection and/or UDN re salmon and sea trout and can be read on www.riverexereta.co.uk follow Alert and News link and headed New Posting- Updated 3rd July. It didn't fill me full of confidence!!
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