That's a good video highlighying the plight of this particular river. Dread to imagine how many other rivers and waterways around the UK are suffering.
@domgarnettfishing
Жыл бұрын
Great video. Credit to you for doing some investigating. Time and again, it's citizens who have to act where a stretched EA cannot or will not.
@JasonAllenSomerset
Жыл бұрын
Well done for making this video and raising awareness of the situation, Charlie. I think the EA need to revise their stance on matters such as this. The recent floods have had a significant effect on the watercourse upstream too. Heavy silt and sand deposits and large numbers of branches and trees jammed against bridges. The Chew needs some much-needed EA attention to remove some very large trees from the channel. Angling clubs simply don't have the resources to carry out work on this scale. Keep up the sterling work.
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Jason. Bashed together in a hurry but needed. Would be good to walk upstream as it’s been a long time. The fallen trees are having positive and negative effects on the river. Its worrying how little scrub and how few sapling there are on the banks that are now clear.
@Spyridon1980
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for this video Charlie. This makes me so sad. These stretches were my go to places for solitude , and some decent fishing . I managed a 5lb plus chub there on the wild stretch about perhaps 8 years ago. Went again couple years ago and I thought I d forgotten how to fish. Barely any water , all looked different and debris everywhere . I love the wild fishing , but as you document the place is now decimated . Tried a few more times after my last trip and have up , it's just not the same river any more .very sad not much else to say
@samuelpitcher4680
Жыл бұрын
Really informative video Charlie and just goes to show that a friendly chat goes a long way.
@dannyharris3580
Жыл бұрын
Great video charles 👍 the chew is a local river to myself also and the management of this and other rivers locally is just shocking! We pay to get club memberships but in all my years fishing I've rarely seen anything positive done to our rivers. Really great to see you raising awareness and speaking out about the state of our local waters. 👍
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Danny. There’s no way the local club could manage all those trees. The EA could though - especially with their flood prevention budgets. I received an interesting email from BART in response to this and hopefully things will improve. Hopefully!
@dannyharris3580
Жыл бұрын
@@Fishwish I agree there's alot the EA should be doing but I also think the clubs could do more aswell. When visiting other rivers that have day tickets and I see the amazing job some of these other clubs do on there rivers. I've stopped fishing on some of my local stretches because I refuse to buy the memberships. I only predator fish and fly fish so I spend alot of my time fishing on the rivers and I honestly feel like our local clubs could do alot more, I haven't even seen a bailiff for years! The EA really need to pull there finger out but some clubs could be doing more. Anyway.. your doing great things charles in raising awareness about the sewage and the problems on the rivers if you ever need a fishing partner then let me know 😉 I could take u out on my little boat for some lure fishing 👍
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
@@dannyharris3580 interesting perspective. The clubs have to serve their members and the majority of them apparently fish the ponds, so it’s not surprising the rivers get neglected. But how much effort goes into actually finding out how many members fish the river? I’m always hearing people say that the rivers don’t get fished any more, yet I see loads of people on social media saying that they only tend to fish the rivers. Doesn’t add up so I can see where you’re coming from. Perhaps the clubs need to stop making assumptions and find out how much the members use and value the rivers
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
@@dannyharris3580 …and boat - yes please 😁😅
@dizzyfish
Жыл бұрын
Good work. On a separate note, I had to call the local constabulary the other night, as I spotted 2 deviants loitering in KMP shining torches and behaving in a manner not in keeping with gentlemen of a certain age 😅😅😅
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Ian. I shall keep an eye out and if I see any middle aged gentlemen in KMP, I shall be sure to steal their wallets.
@MikeyPSurf
Жыл бұрын
I just don’t like the uncoordinated management of river. Hatches can be good and bad about 12 years ago WBT were spawning above Bye Mills as there were riffles and runs. The fishing club at the time raised the hatches and water level, canal like, chucked in a bunch of Rainbows, cut the trees down and called it a fishery. The ongoing issue is lack of water flow being released from the reservoir which has rendered the Chew a mere trickle of its old self.
@lucamotor4195
Жыл бұрын
good work
@matt01506
10 ай бұрын
Superb video ! Thank you for shinning a light on this issue, it speaks volumes about yourself as a "true" angler. The chew is one of the most beautiful rivers to fish especially the secluded stretches where you can be at one with nature. In all my years of fishing some of best specimen sized perch and roach have come from the chew and it was all the better playing them on a quality light bomb rod thats needed for a river like that ! I sincerely hope the chew gets the maintenance it deserves. (Just found your channel and subscribed) !
@Fishwish
10 ай бұрын
Thanks 😊. I actually feel a little sorry for the owner of the Compton keynsham manor as he was a nice bloke and hadn’t been advised properly on how he has to manage the sluice. It’s great to hear from people like yourself, who really see the beauty and value of the river. Secluded is definitely the right word. I’ve lost myself in that shrunken channel, watching the wildlife. It’s got it’s own little micro climate that the invertebrates thrive in. One of my favourite memories was watching two stoats tumbling around in a fight in the winter. Can’t say I’ve ever caught any decent roach or perch but I’ve been told that chew magna used to have some good ones. Thanks for commenting with the kind words and subbing - making the vids takes time and effort so it’s always really good to know that they’ve been well received and that I’m not wasting my time.
@matt01506
10 ай бұрын
@@Fishwish chew magna was spot on ! I haven't seen stoats but i saw (what I'm pretty sure) was a mink in that steep field going down from the Wells way. Anyway tight lines and I look forward to future videos.
@soultrader57fishingandmusi25
Жыл бұрын
Well done Charlie, for raising the awareness of this problem! There must be lots of tailwaters (rivers and streams shackled by the vagaries of reservoir compensation flow) in this situation, including my own local stream, featured in a few of my vids. EA can be helpful but staff there have admitted to me that you have to be VERY much of a persistent nuisance to get anything done! Utube - a force for good!! Maybe I won't jack it in after all.....👍👍👍
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
Thank you - especially for those last two sentences! This and the recent sewage issue on the the Bristol Avon have really affected my feelings. It’s all too easy to become distracted and blind to the damage we do to our environment. Think I’m a born again environmentalist now! ✊
@soultrader57fishingandmusi25
Жыл бұрын
@Fishwish I did a video on the tailwater section of my local stream last September, above the point where a larger tributary enters, its a pathetic spectacle, the compensation flow is all that's running through it most of the year but in winter, after a couple of days rain they open the sluice and it runs artificially high for weeks or longer. So it's usually one extreme or the other, fishing wise! We continually check for storm drain pollution, I think EA are having me across for the staff Xmas party next year🤣
@soultrader57fishingandmusi25
Жыл бұрын
"Beck fishing" was the vid, look at the size of that trickle!
@dopeyfish5353
Жыл бұрын
good to see the local stretch on KZitem. so far there's been a oil spill at the lock gates hopefully something can be done soon.
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
No way!? You mean at the lock keeper cut?
@ks-eq3yx
Жыл бұрын
I've been fishing the lower chew well over 50 yrs so have seen many changes, from lethal floods to extended droughts ,different fish species predominating and declining in Thier natural turn , but never before have I seen such poor maintenance by the various agencies , as usual licence payers are treated as cash cows. I have given up coarse fishing and now only fish our coasts .
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
I’m seriously considering doing the same for 2024
@henrybennett6432
Жыл бұрын
Brilliant work Charles! The chew is in a dire state as it is, hopeful the owner at Chewton place has taken on board the advice and appreciates the importance of that sluice
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
It’s largely done to Rich staying calm and just talking to the land owner. The leat on the mill that he wants to fix is part of the river’s heritage so it’s great that he wants to do the work and he clearly does care about the river and wildlife. It’s down to the likes of the EA, Wessex Water and BART to do their bit. The last thing we need is members of the public becoming the fall guy for any organisations failure to do their duty responsibly. With any luck karma will give one of us a fat salmon or sea trout that’s managed to get up river as a result of all this!
@mauriceharvey4476
Жыл бұрын
Well done for this. The lovely river chew needs defending. Could Angling Trust help?
@gaiusbell3309
Жыл бұрын
The AT is in the pocket of the EA as they provide 60% of their funding 😢
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
@@gaiusbell3309 Hi Gaius, it’s the angling development arm of the AT that takes EA funding. Fish Legal would still challenge the EA on behalf of angling clubs. The club may have a case for restocking but that’s down to them to pursue if they want to. Above everything else, I just wish the river had water in it - especially over summer. I’m not sure how many abstraction licences there are in the catchment of the Chew but I shall try and find out. The place needs a miracle of the direction it’s heading in is to ever be reversed.
@gaiusbell3309
Жыл бұрын
@@Fishwish Hey Charlie! Ok I didn’t know that. It saddens me the way that such a vital little river has been neglected and now is reduced to a trickle. Makes the case that all trout streams should have a keeper - not just the chalk streams in the south. Perhaps they could be funded by the EA ….
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
@@gaiusbell3309 wouldn’t that be a fine thing. Or just river wardens like they used to have on every section of the Thames
@johnfuller4920
Жыл бұрын
Well done, it is heartbreaking to see the environmental damage on the chew which is really starting to effect river life.many of the stretches I fish no longer contain the amount of fish of even 3 or 4 years ago,in fact the stretch immediately below chew reservoir seems absolutely devoid of fish up to 6 years ago this stretch held prolific stocks of roach perch and wild brown trout,I am sure the sewage works increased output at this site has been a factor in this as have pitiful flows,I recently did a " rough" kick test there and the total score was 3 ! An indicator of the dismal water quality and siltation.
@paulroddan6446
Жыл бұрын
Hi Charlie, I have been fishing the river Chew for the last ten years or more with small fly set ups and waders. I too share your concerns and would be interested in having a chat with you sometime to see if I can offer any help in getting the stretch of water managed properly. All the best Paul
@Fishwish
Жыл бұрын
That would be great. Even getting a work party together for the forthcoming season would be good.
@andrewgamble5332
Жыл бұрын
Getting the EA to consider any other view brings you head on to the arrogance and indifference of people who enjoy the job security to mismanage with impunity.
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