I am iinvolved in running several clubs in Yorkshire.Our rivers spate frequently and every time it rains I get a litany of moaning that the fish have all been washed away.I don't believe this as I have often experienced big floods after stocking and caught the stockies where I they were put in the river as soon as flood subsides. Any scientific/anecdotal evidence to back my belief- or to show that I am talking out of my a*8se? Former preferred - but all comments welcomed thanks.

Just out of curiosity. Do you stock fish in the river that are big enough to get caught from day one?

I only thought you did that in commercial stillwaters...

Persistence of stock fish is affected by high water. Swimming against such a constant high flow rate is difficult for trout, who prefer sit out the spate in parts of the river where the flows are lowest. Incidentally all territorial fighting ceases and adult trout gather in numbers in back eddies etc. Fry of wild fish have either the innate ability or the learned behaviour to avoid the slightest current that will other wise have them washed away. Stock fish fry, yearlings or adults are grown in ponds and raceways and have been for a 100 generations. They have lost the sensitive information needed to hold out in floods, amongst other things. Persistence rates plummet through the winter months when river levels are at their highest.

Water~lines article on flooding

My local stream is a deep drain, some 5ft. deep down a 6ft. bank but it still regularly breaks the banks.
After these floods I have still caught trout, roach, chub, perch, and carp ... including an unmistakeable ghost carp. So they do persist.
There is fry in the stream at the moment, so something survived the 6 or so breaches of the last 9 months.
That said, the mayflies are early this year but I haven't seen a single rise.Neither have I had a bite on fly or bait. I just hope they are still there after all the bank work and tree felling I have done.I may have the fishing rights to the prettiest and emptiest river in Surrey

nobby

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YOU PAID HOW MUCH FOR THAT ROD ?

Just tell your members not to worry as whatever is washed downstream will come back as Sea Trout.

Don't know how 'directly transferable' this may be (our rivers to yours) but the better the bottom structure (large rocks/bolders/tree stumps/etc) the higher the probability the fish will stay in place, in numbers.

In high fast water the 'slowest' is right against the bottom. Give the fish something to tuck in behind and it takes a hell of a flow to budge them.

Fred