Is the Teme back in business?

In my last blog, I mentioned the Teme was in my thoughts. My last barbel from the river was exactly 6 years ago, a small fish of a few pounds that came at last light. I've visited most seasons since once or twice each summer to keep tabs on progress. There had been little to report with blanks or chub the usual result. 

Many will know that the Teme was once a prolific barbel river with multiple catches normal. Then the demise set in. Much has been written as to what the cause was with major flooding, otters, over extraction and pollution all blamed. To be honest, they have probably all contributed in some part. The outcome however could not be disputed. There have been far fewer barbel in the river in the last 15 years than before. 

So, my latest visit beckoned. I had been ill recently and not really up to speed with things. I knew we had seen a weekend of rain that had ruled out the test match but it had made little impact on the Avon so assumed there would be little effect on the Teme as well. On arrival, I saw the river was coloured. It was up but not by a great amount. If I had anticipated these conditions then I'd have gone with a meat approach. As it was, I had to adapt. I saw a swim that I'd never fished before. In normal conditions, I'd just keep walking. In these conditions it looked too good to ignore. A smooth, steady glide. I settled into the swim and decided to bait with one and a half boilies on a size 8 hook and a PVA bag of crushed boilie and pellets. In summer, coloured water usually means barbel will be quick to the bait if they are present. They also don't mind moving so I was hoping the scent trail would pull any nearby fish in and onto my hookbait. I cast and sat back to take in the tranquil surroundings. The Teme valley is beautiful and if you have never visited before then I'd recommend it. It's part of the reason I've continued to visit even though the fishing has been less than successful in recent years. It's a river that has very little interference from humans. Trees have fallen into the river and been left there, the banks are wild as the river runs over shallow gravels and into deeper pools.  

A first Teme Tiger since 2016

Back to the fishing and I was about ten minutes in when to my surprise the rod wrapped round and I was into a fish. Was it a barbel or a stubborn chub? The longer the battle went on then the more optimistic I became. A sudden run confirmed a barbel was definitely the culprit. It was safely netted and looked around 6lb. What a cracking start. After all those years, it had taken ten minutes to succeed where I had failed before. 

I decided to have another cast to see if this was just a lone fish and I'd got lucky or whether the conditions had seen a few congregate in the swim. I attached another PVA bag and cast to the same spot.

A second barbel in as many casts

Again, the bait had not been out too long when I was connected to another spirited Teme Tiger. This fish put up a determined resistance, one that its predecessors had made the river famous for, but it was a little smaller than the first. I had been fishing for less than half an hour, made two casts and now had two barbel for my efforts. I was in total surprise. 

Catching two fish so quickly made me decide to give the swim a rest so the fish could regain some confidence and maybe even see something larger move in. I went for a walk to check out some possible swims and then returned and deposited some hemp and pellet into the swim with a bait dropper. I then took my essentials to try another spot. The next swim gave me some twitches but it wasn't really deep enough to give me huge confidence. By the time I returned to my original spot, an hour had past since the second barbel. Out went the same bait and a small PVA bag and you've guessed it, another bite and

The biggest of the three barbel

another barbel. It was larger too, probably 7lb or so. Another cast saw another rod bending bite but this time a chub was the result. The chub signaled a halt to the frenzy and for the first time, the fishing was quiet. I decided that I'd deposit some more bait into the swim and try another spot. The new spot was very different but my options were limited by steep banks that were now wet following an earlier shower and also overgrown. I settled for 40 mins or so but there was nothing to report and it saw me return to the original swim at around 8.30pm. The river had dropped quite quickly, about 6 inches judging by the lines on the trees. This had certainly switched the chub on and a few had been crashing on the surface. It seemed to have the opposite effect on the barbel who had now appeared to have gone into hiding. As the sun finally dipped below the horizon, I was hoping for one more bite. It did arrive, another slam on the rod tip but the level of resistance told me it wasn't the big barbel I had hoped for. Another chub was added and with it I decided to call it a day. 

It had been a really rewarding session, my best on the river for many a year. The barbel were not huge by barbel standards but they didn't need to be. They provided me with as much satisfaction as the 12 pounder I caught last week off the Avon. They also gave me huge encouragement that the Teme is recovering. It may never return to the 1990s numbers but I believe that you can now visit with optimism and it will hopefully keep getting better. 

River Teme Barbel: They still exist

Much has been written about the demise of the River Teme during the past decade. Gone are the stories of multiple catches of the river's hard fighting barbel dubbed the 'Teme Tigers'. I must admit, I had given up on it and hadn't cast a line for a few years. So when a friend suggested he would give

Shallow rapids

the Teme a go for a few evening hours, it gave me the motivation to try again. However inconsistent the fishing, no one can doubt the picturesque nature of the Teme. Fast rapids run into deeper mysterious pools and glides. The banks are lined with overhanging trees and submerged branches. It's an angler's dream and although fish populations have undoubtedly dwindled you cannot help but dream about what might be lurking in the many fishy looking swims.

Paul was fishing upstream and to meet him I had to pass a swim that was one of my old favourites. It was the site of my last Teme barbel, which I reckon was getting on for 4-5 years ago. On that day, I had lowered a pellet hook bait with a small PVA bag the other side of a near bank snag. Nothing had happened for ages when out of the blue my rod was almost ripped from my grasp. A small barbel was the reward. Since then, a handful of visits resulted in chub or blanks.

A deeper glide

The temptation of the swim was too great to just simply walk past. Even if it was fishless, I had to cast a line for old time's sake. I lowered myself into position and threw a couple of handfuls of hemp and corn to drift towards the obvious feature. A few minutes later, several fish were feeding in earnest. The flash of flanks and the clouds of silt filled me with confidence. I could make out several chub and I am sure a barbel or two were amongst the feeding fish. Placing a hookbait into the swim would involve a cast and I knew that the fish would be easily spooked. In an ideal world I would have liked to have lowered a bait in quietly but I could not do this without giving away my presence. The rig was cast in as carefully as was possible but with that act the fish vanished. I persevered in the hope they might return but that opportunity had been blown.

I met up with my companion for the evening as we fished from one of the exposed gravel beach areas. However, the dark, deeper glide failed to produce a bite for either of us. With around 90 minutes until dark remaining, we decided to return to the swim where I had seen the fish. There was another swim just below where I stationed myself so we could still exchange the odd passing comment. I could see no evidence of fish but remained hopeful that they were tucked under the nearside snags and would venture out as some stage. Paul had a bit of chub interest that failed to materialise. I had tried trundling a piece of Spam down the main flow and then tried letting it settle in a deep hole upstream of my position. Each had failed to bear fruit. With time running out, I reverted to the tactic that has seen my last Teme barbel succumb. This time I used a Krill boilie. I didn't want to recast again and needed a bait that would stay put. A small PVA bag of pellets was added and the rig flicked into prime position. It was then a waiting game. I hoped that the lack of disturbance would finally see some fish move from their sanctuary. We had decided that we would call it a day at 10pm.

Not the best photo, but a Teme barbel all the same. 

With about 10 minutes remaining, the rod arched round. I was holding the rod so reacted quickly to prevent the fish finding the many underwater roots. A few runs had the drag pleasantly singing its tune but steady pressure meant the fish was quickly beaten. A barbel of around 4lb lay in the net. Not massive but a true survivor when many around it have perished. It was something of a moral victory for me. Faith restored if you like that the Teme may not be as barren as some would have you believe. Yes, it's still tough and a far cry from the 1990s but they are still there and maybe it won't be 4 years before I visit again.

The declining Teme and a Linear blank

So another break from work comes to an end. I finished off the week with a walk along a BAA stretch of the Teme and a trip to Linear Fisheries for tench.

The Teme is a majestic river that ebbs and flows from Wales, through Worcestershire to the meet the mighty Severn. It WAS once renowned for its hard fighting barbel dubbed the 'Teme Tigers'. Sadly

If only it contained barbel

however, the last few years has seen a sharp decline in barbel catches. The banks are deserted and those that still persevere only have hard luck stories to tell. My last Teme barbel came during the summer of the 2011/12 season. During the following season, I didn't even see a barbel let alone catch one and my walk was my first visit since then. It was a bright day ideal for fish spotting and I hoped to see signs of a recovering river. First stop was to visit a downstream swim that used to be home to a shoal of resident barbel. When the river was clear, it was a super spot to observe the fish and the overhanging trees on the near bank provided a safe haven for both barbel and chub. You can imagine my surprise and disappointment that those very trees had been hacked down so that only a few branches remained. Of course, there were no longer any signs of fish. It was pretty devastating really. Why did these trees need cutting away? The river is not navigable, not that they would have interfered anyway. On a river that has suffered from water abstraction and otters, taking away the security of these trees only compounds matters. On a brighter note, the Teme still looked its

Angling Trust Demand Action

It has been announced that the Angling Trust (AT) have written to the Environment Agency to demand action be taken to address the decline is fish stocks on the River Severn and its tributaries, most notably the River Teme. 

Clubs and pleasure anglers have highlighted declining catches over the past few years and the AT claim it is now affecting clubs and businesses financially. From a personal point of view I have noticed a huge decline in Barbel stocks on the Teme, so much so that I haven't even seen one, let alone catch one during this season's several visits. The Severn has seen Roach stocks hit over the past decade and match weights are not what they once were. 

Will the Severn throw up Roach catches of this quality ever again?

Local clubs have written to the Environment Agency to urge action themselves but have found their concerns have not been echoed. Andy Jones, Secretary of Montgomery Anglers Association stated, "We have been asking the Environment Agency questions about the downturn in match and pleasure angling for over five years and not one representative from the Agency has been able to answer us or seemed willing to do anything to improve the situation. The Environment Agency just will not admit there is a serious problem and they continue to ignore a simple fact, which is how good the fishing has been on the river Severn in the past and how poor it has become now. Local anglers fully support this letter from the Angling Trust and hope that now, at last, something will be done to improve things."

These comments beg the question on how effective the Environment Agency actually are at safeguarding our waterways. After all, a great proportion of their revenue comes from anglers' licence fees yet time and time again we appear to be let down by them and their apparent reluctance to protect our sport when our rivers seem to be under attack from all angles. Their attitude in this matter is similar to that concerning 'Kevin', the River Severn seal, where an Agency spokesperson said, "We understand the concerns of anglers, but one animal in a large river like the Severn is unlikely to have a significant impact on fish stocks." Add to that the many stories of the Environment Agency removing specimen sized fish from Midland canals to send elsewhere and it makes you wonder who they are actually serving. On the other hand, a thumbs up must go to the Angling Trust who appear to have become a little more vocal on matters recently. A copy of the letter the AT sent to the Environment Agency can be found [here] and it will be interesting to see if anything comes from it. 

As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to add me to your site or click follow. Thanks, Lee

Whose line is it anyway?

With the clocks going back and the nights drawing in, miserable weather and a six month old baby suffering with a cold, which in turn is making me feel less than 100%, I have to admit I'm struggling to get out and fish at the moment. Fortunately, it's half term meaning I get the week off so I'm hoping to dodge the showers and get out at some stage although a half term break usually sees the wife adding a little pressure so a bit of compromising and negotiating will be the order of the day.

Anyway, I thought I'd add an article I wrote during the close season this year which was subsequently added to the Barbel Fishing World website. I would like to be able to write more articles but a busy job, coupled with new commitments at home means time is of a premium so perhaps shorter blogs are the way forward.