Wednesday 23 May 2012

Fish Spotting

A beautiful day here so I couldn't resist skiving off work for a couple of hours fish spotting. And as usual in the closed season there was lots to see.

I saw a few carp & barbel, shoals of roach and chub and I saw a big group of spawning gudgeon. In a few weeks they will all go into hiding, but they can't get out, I'll know they're there - somewhere.

I saw the woodpeckers and watched the kingfishers fishing - kingfishers have a great knack of sitting perfectly still while you focus the camera, then darting off as you press the shutter - lots of photos of blue streaks!

But I did manage a few photos of a parakeet, another bird species that won't sit still long enough for a photo, this one stayed still while I walked around him to get the old tree as the background.

24 days to go...

12 comments:

  1. Lovely couple of shots Brian.
    I Would certainly agree regarding the blur of electric blue that is the kingfisher, not an easy subject to photograph, always busy darting about and luring you into a fale sense of being able to get a good picture, just glad we have memory cards these days, imagine how much film would be wasted otherwise.

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    1. Thanks. I love your photo of a kingfisher, I've got so many photos of blue streaks and tails - I'll get one eventually!

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    2. Thanks Brian,

      I'm sure you will and if it is anything like your other various wildlife pictures it will be excellent. It took me ages to get some of the one sat on my fishing rod, I remember being gob smacked and in awe at the time, scared to breath, whilst trying to slowly reach for the camera for fear of scaring it off.

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    3. I've had them sit on the rod (and fish from the rod) but never when the camera is to hand. And it's great just to see them, a photo is just a bonus... But I'll keep trying this season!

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  2. Nice pic there, love the way their fins are always laying flat, like wings. Was good to bump into you see you soon,

    Stu

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    1. Good to see you too, 23 days to go...

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  3. ive been waiting to get a photo of a kingfisher i always get there camera out to slowly, you planning any fishing before the river season commences?

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    1. I'm stuck at the stage of spotting them, frame, focus, miss... I've spent hours at Penton Hook repeating that process, just got to press the shutter half a second quicker!

      Been a strong (ie vocal) advocate of the closed season for years, and to be honest I still think it should apply to all waters, so no fishing until the 16th.

      But I am jealous of your tench and carp, and if my fly fishing gear was here I'd probably be after a trout...

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    2. In certain respects I do agree with you, for the sake of the fish to have time to recoup mainly and re-populate, but at the same time if fishery owners thought that people fishing for them would cause there fish harm would they operate a 364 day a year fishery, I doubt it strongly but I believe rivers should have a closed season, but the powers that be, should move in my opinion to january 1st say to april 1st, the 3 coldest months are incorperated within the proposed close season and also most species of fish, ie Roach, Trout and so on spawn from beginning of march to beginning of april in most cases. But changing tact ive seen some lovely roach in Ravensbury park the other day up to 2lb, right up your alley!!

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    3. In recent years my opinion of the closed season on still waters has started to change. I think a well managed pond with a wildlife area is the way forward for closed season fishing. Rivers and canals not so much, I still think they need a break.

      In my opinion the timing of the closed season is spot on, OK the pike will sometimes spawn before it and the barbel after it, but it caters to the majority of fish. And I think it's important to leave the water birds & wildlife alone to breed. And time for the plants to grow back after winter.

      Seeing what you are catching on still waters (nice one with the thirty btw) is seriously tempting me to go after a tench or two next year! We'll see...

      2lb roach? I can't even catch his 1lb brothers!!

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    4. Tench are a fantastic fish, very hard fighting but the Barbel are still my favorite fish followed by the Roach and ill be doing alot more Barbel fishing on the Thames this year work permitting of course. Are you going to be doing more fishing at Penton Hook wier this season?

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    5. Yeah, and probably a few more weirs after the pike and hopefully a zander. I'm sure Dan and Darren will be after the barbel - you're more than welcome to join us

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