We have experienced another very mild winter, with an incredibly low average rainfall, the effect compounded by the long hot and dry summer of last year. Now in early April, the water levels of the Whitewater are extremely low, it is conceivable that in certain places there is just enough water to keep a decent trout wet ! Already the bankside wild garlic is visible with periodic hatches of olives present, spring is springing. Lets hope the rain soon tumbles from the sky. We do hope you all have a pleasant time in the company of the River Whitewater this season.
During our recent working parties, with the help of the farmer, his sons, and their tractor we managed to cut down several dying alders along the stretch from the roadbridge to the farm bridge. We intend doing more along this stretch in the coming years, the coppicing needs to be carefully phased, cutting back a few trees per area each year to provide the best habitat improvement.
We had last electro fished parts of the Whitewater in Spring 1999. This year we electrofished right up from the River Blackwater to the top of our stretch including the backwater. Electrofishing is an approved technique for fish removal and surveys. The electro probes put a light and controlled charge into the water and has greatest effect on fish with the larger lateral line, hence good for bringing up pike, barbel, the larger trout and chub.
As we came up from the Blackwater to Riseley Mill, we discovered eight barbel from around three to seven pounds, a small number of chub and pike to an estimated twelve pounds. This lower stretch is unmanaged by our fly fishing maintenance and conservation group. The responsibity for the lower section falls to the coarse group of F&DAS. We could only just pass up through this stretch with the small flat bottomed boat due the the number of fallen trees and bank subsidence, and would advise that it requires knowledge and continued effort to bring back into an order to enable the potential for sustained indigenous fish and aquatic species habitat.
On our route I had discussions with the owners of Riseley Mill, who allowed us to pass through with our electrofishing boat, however without revealing any fish. From Riseley Mill up to the Hatch Gate Bridge, this yielded slightly more chub, a few trout, and several pike which we carefully removed.
The stretch from the Hatch Gate bridge to the weir produced chub, trout and only three pike of around five pounds. The short stretch above the weir and our limit fence revealed a further four pike to around six pounds. The main river was seasonally very low, and whilst we went down the backwater it contained just inches of water, finding just one pike of about three pounds and a couple of chub.
From the days electrofishing the biggest pike was around twelve pounds, in total 150 lbs of pike were transferred to River Valley at Yateley via aerated tanks. We transferred just ten brown trout from the lower stretch to the upper stretch. In general this survey yielded less fish than previous operations, and also in terms of pike removal where in the Spring 1999 electrofish some 250lbs were removed and transferred, amongst which included a beautiful 21 lb pike.
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In the seventies mink were imported into this country from America. When the process of importing commenced there appeared to be little consideration by the those that allowed it all to happen that the mink could one day be introduced into our wildlife society. Mink farming started to provide the fur for high fashion coat furniture, however when this did not produce the riches to sustain the entrepreneur greed, the low cost and no brain option was to effectively let the mink wander off into the wilds of Britain. Similarly, in more recent years the animal rights campaigners raided the mink farms to release the once contained creatures to be set free into our countryside. Mink are fierce predators and continually kill birds, mammals and fish, they are the American weapons of mass destruction. We have observed their decimation first hand along the River Whitewater over many years.
There are Environmental Agency regulations that we are obliged to follow that restrict techniques that can be used to cull mink. It is reverse logic that an uncontrolled imported predator seemingly has greater regulatory protection than our own indigenous wildlife species. A solution maybe in sight, following experimentation by the Game Conservatory Trust, who have developed a mink trap which is essentially a small raft, having an appearance not unlike that which Robinson Crusoe would have set sail on. This mink trap has been piloted along the Fordingbridge stretch of the River Avon with a reported success. We would like to construct our own mink culling raft, and seek Environmental Agency approval to trial on the River Whitewater. In the future should you come across our small harboured mink rafts, please do not disturb them to ensure they are safe and effective in operation.