Big Fish Column: Catfish taken on light lure gear with split tail shad as bait

Catfish from local venues have made headline news for much of this summer and nationally the species has been making big waves too, especially with the reported capture of a 94lb beast from the River Severn by Neil Bridges earlier in the season – the first fully authenticated giant caught from a UK river.

Locally the species got another big boost last week with the capture of a 13lb fish by Wokingham big fish man Ian Crook.

Nothing special about a 13lb catfish I hear you say but… Ian’s fish was not from a local stillwater but from the middle reaches of the River Thames and was taken on light lure gear with a split tail shad as bait.

Thames cats are rare but for one to be caught on a lure in the UK is rarer still and the fish is thought to be the first ever landed from the Thames on the method.

Lure fishing for cats is very much in its infancy in the UK but it is a widely recognised method of fishing for the species on the continent, indeed my own personal best for the species is a Spanish monster of 153lb taken on a small yellow shad bounced on the bottom of the River Ebro – don’t ignore it!

Staying with cats, the species has long been on the non-native list and no longer commands a place on the British record fish list but the Catfish Conservation Group (CCG) has launched a campaign to change the status of the species on the basis that they have been resident in the UK for some 150 years, without having a detrimental impact upon the environments into which they have been introduced.

The national governing body for angling in England and Wales, the Angling Trust, has picked up the baton offered by the CCG and their head of freshwater, Mark Owen commented: “At the request of the CCG we have asked Government to carry out a risk assessment on wels catfish.

“This rigorous scientific process will examine the level of invasiveness of this non-native species, and when completed will assist policy makers in future decision making.”

It could well be good news for one of the most fascinating fish species in the British fauna.

Of less good news last week was the release of Environment Agency (EA) figures that showed a massive decline in the number of junior rod licences sold during the past five years.

The newly-released statistics show that from a peak of 126,000 licences sold to 12-to-16-year-old anglers in 2009/10 just 64,000 were sold to the same age group in 2014/15. Adult sales have dipped sharply during the same period with 1.5 million sales in 2009 to just 975,000 last year.

Leaving aside the debate as to whether or not angling should be licenced in the first place the year-on-year decline of licences sold to young anglers is very worrying indeed but it is hoped that a new £1million contract recently awarded by the EA to the Angling Trust will help to bring more youngsters and newcomers into the sport.

EA head of fisheries, Sarah Chare, commented: “We are working hard with the Angling Trust to encourage more young people to give fishing a go and increasing participation amongst existing and new anglers is an important element of our new contract with them.”

Chare continued: “Fishing is an excellent way to enjoy the outdoors, has great health, welfare and educational benefits and is important to our economy.”

I’m sure all anglers will echo Sarah’s last comment but encouraging youngsters away from their keyboards and the instant gratification of the multitude of online entertainment opportunities available and into the natural environment is going to be a huge challenge.

Sadly if the EA and the Angling Trust fail the future of our great sport is somewhat uncertain.

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Any anglers wishing to report catches may contact me at ian@bigfishtrail.com