Millers Thumb

[twenty]

Found a lovely looking Millers Thumb, (Bullhead), when removing rubbish from a stream yesterday, haven't seen one for years.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Blimey I used to catch those with a net in the Chelmer in the last century!

[ditchman]

is that what they call a bullhead ?

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 minute ago, ditchman said:

is that what they call a bullhead ?

Yes, depends where you were brought up I guess.

Cottus gobio as Jdog might say!

Edited April 5, 2020 by TIGHTCHOKE
Additional Information.

[Centrepin]

On a really bad day many many years ago, I remember catching my first and only one on rod and line. The only fish of the day.

[pigeon controller]

Still catch them in the local Grand Union canal if you fish hard on the bottom. 

[twenty]

7 minutes ago, pigeon controller said:

Still catch them in the local Grand Union canal if you fish hard on the bottom. 

The one I had yesterday was about 60mm long,( 2.5 inches ), a decent size I reckon. 

[stumfelter]

Me and my brother used to catch those and stone loaches in the local brook, gently turn over big stones and they'd stay still long enough to catch them.

[washerboy]

Big chub love to eat these. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, another one you do not see being caught much is the Gudgeon , lovely little fishy

[twenty]

8 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, another one you do not see being caught much is the Gudgeon , lovely little fishy

Yeah, the Thames was full of them when I used to fish it around Clanfield in the  1980's.

 

[washerboy]

Loads of gudgeon and ruff in my local canal. Up until 15 yrs ago I had never seen or caught a ruff then a young lad asked me if the strange little fish he had caught was a tiny perch. Within a few minutes I also had caught a few on maggots 

[oldypigeonpopper]

10 minutes ago, twenty said:

Yeah, the Thames was full of them when I used to fish it around Clanfield in the  1980's.

 

hello, yes but sadly has declined over the years in the Thames, must have all gone to Washerboys canal😀

[twenty]

9 minutes ago, washerboy said:

Loads of gudgeon and ruff in my local canal. Up until 15 yrs ago I had never seen or caught a ruff then a young lad asked me if the strange little fish he had caught was a tiny perch. Within a few minutes I also had caught a few on maggots 

 Used to be loads of ruffe in our local canal as well, the match anglers used bloodworm to catch nets of small fish, Gudgeon, Ruffe and small perch making up the weights.

[twenty]

2 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, yes but sadly has declined over the years in the Thames, must have all gone to Washerboys canal😀

Yeah I noticed the fishing went downhill on the upper Thames stretches in the 80's-90's'

Used to regularly fish Lechlade, Newbridge, Radcot, Clanfield, Kelmscott, Northmoor and Bablock Hythe..................happy days.

All the best.

[oldypigeonpopper]

5 minutes ago, twenty said:

Yeah I noticed the fishing went downhill on the upper Thames stretches in the 80's-90's'

Used to regularly fish Lechlade, Newbridge, Radcot, Clanfield, Kelmscott, Northmoor and Bablock Hythe..................happy days.

All the best.

hello, i only pike fish now and thats not often, did you ever partake a beer in the Ferryman ?

[washerboy]

I only lure fish now, can't be ***** sat on a box all day. 

[twenty]

1 hour ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, i only pike fish now and thats not often, did you ever partake a beer in the Ferryman ?

Yes, and have eaten there as well, remember losing a big barbel along that stretch.

[wymberley]

11 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Blimey I used to catch those with a net in the Chelmer in the last century!

Yep, in the first half!

[islandgun]

12 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

Blimey I used to catch those with a net in the Chelmer in the last century!

So did I ! ..what part of the Chelmer

[enfieldspares]

Gudgeon. Used to catch them as a kid. But didn't know they were most tasty too. Had some in France fried like whitebait. In 2004 or so I was staying in Tours on the Loire and went down to it to fish. Met some French guys one of whom was trying not very well to practice fly casting. I showed him how to do it. And as a "Merci" was invited back to chilled white wine and deep fried gudgeon. Delicious. And why the word "goujon" is used for a strip of fried fish or now more often fried chicken. 

Edited April 5, 2020 by enfieldspares

[twenty]

8 hours ago, enfieldspares said:

Gudgeon. Used to catch them as a kid. But didn't know they were most tasty too. Had some in France fried like whitebait. In 2004 or so I was staying in Tours on the Loire and went down to it to fish. Met some French guys one of whom was trying not very well to practice fly casting. I showed him how to do it. And as a "Merci" was invited back to chilled white wine and deep fried gudgeon. Delicious. And why the word "goujon" is used for a strip of fried fish or now more often fried chicken. 

That's interesting, I have not tasted any myself but most of our coarse fish are edible, although quite bony apparently, Pike seems to be eaten regularly, also Carp, which I've seen on a fishmongers slab in Gloucester.

I have tasted eel, and also used to eat elvers (young eels), which were netted locally from the River Severn,.........before commercialisation made prices prohibitive.

[JDog]

Elvers. Oh yes, that once a year bounty for local fishermen on the Severn ruined by greedy commercialisation.

As a boy I spent my summers with my Grandparents in Hartpury. The strange looking long handled nets stored in the garden shed would make their brief annual appearance after dark when the secret places were revisited in the hope of coinciding with the elver run. Good catches for family use only ran into tens of pounds in weight. Fried with eggs it was the food of Gods.

[ditchman]

i must admit a grilled perch is nice..............

[twenty]

1 hour ago, JDog said:

Elvers. Oh yes, that once a year bounty for local fishermen on the Severn ruined by greedy commercialisation.

As a boy I spent my summers with my Grandparents in Hartpury. The strange looking long handled nets stored in the garden shed would make their brief annual appearance after dark when the secret places were revisited in the hope of coinciding with the elver run. Good catches for family use only ran into tens of pounds in weight. Fried with eggs it was the food of Gods.

I live 5 miles away from Hartpury, and my son used to be the keeper on the Agricultural college Shoot some years ago.

Never got involved in the dark arts of elvering myself, but a lot of my mates used to go, and very often supplied me with a feed,

In the 1960's/70's there used to be a glut of them at this time of the year, Loads of people would be out on every night tide (they only run upstream in the dark).

Today, the lads that still go, sell them directly to the Glass eel company At Minsterworth, and they mostly get shipped abroad.

Prices became ridiculous when this practice started, a few years back it was £60-£80 a kilo !...........some lads were clearing 3-4 grand over the month of April.

Full moon this Wednesday, so  spring tides for a week, the elver boys will be in their element,

All the best

Edited April 6, 2020 by twenty