Rightly or wrongly your faithful correspondent has been interfering with Nature again. The only defence is that the injury to this English fish is NOT natural. The perpetrator was an alien species to these islands and just because this alien is feathered, very beautiful in appearance, can be watched with binoculars and ticked off in some birdspotting book, it is deemed acceptable for this native species to be injured in this way (on both sides of its body).
The hole where the hooked sawbill has dug right through the skin and flesh almost to the stomach cavity is particularly severe. Nevertheless, the fish was feeding hard (it damn well needs to now), so was easily tricked by the PPS . A good dribble of Nash Medicarp Ultra on both sides, making sure there was a particularly thick coating on the deep cut, and this wild brown trout with the "lucky" genes was soon on its way back to take its chances, which, hopefully, might have been improved after its encounter tonight with another predator, Homo sapiens sapiens (the "innocent" predator).
Regular Rod
In a modern world of fishing there are some bonuses !!! No many!! But this is surely one of them...
ReplyDeleteThanks
Glen
I'm with you on this RR - we have the same problem in South Wales :( You're doing a good job & despite what some may think I don't see this as interfering at all. I think i'll have to invest in some of this stuff - where can we get it from?
ReplyDeleteBendino
Good on you for wanting to give it a go Bendino!
DeleteTelephone round your local coarse fishing shops, especially those that cater for the carp anglers. Ask for Nash Endgame Medicarp Ultra preferably in the dropper bottle not the flip top lidded bottle (the lid gets in the way). It's about £7 a bottle and lasts a long time as a little goes a long way. It's an antiseptic gel that makes an instant coating on wounds and helps the repair process get underway a little quicker than Nature alone. Also it reduces the chances of infection or parasite infestation on the wound(s).
There are other products but I like this one best as it is a gel instead of a thin liquid that has to be applied with cotton buds (fancy trying to keep cotton buds in a sanitary condition whilst out fishing). The dropper bottle method is quick and clean, whilst it takes up no more room than a bottle of floatant.
Best wishes
Regular Rod
If I had known this stuff was available, there are many times I would have tried it. I guess next we'll be fishing without hooks on our flies.
ReplyDeleteNature at times can be nasty.
ReplyDeleteI have been enjoying your anecdotal riverside observations and experiences for some months now and whilst I was almost tempted to comment on the matter of another 'alien species'(Himalayan Balsam), highlighted a while back, I eventually refrained as I decided it would have been impossible to discuss that particularly vile ‘invader’ without exceeding my word limit!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I feel obliged to disagree with you regarding your description of the 'perpetrator' in this sorry incident; even as someone who prides himself on having an appreciation for beauty across a wide spectrum If the culprit is, indeed, the species which I think you are referring to, I have always regarded its appearance as unattractive and almost reptillian-like (not to mention sinister).
Whatever one's view on the visual aesthetics of the Cormorant, it is Man's ongoing interference in Nature on an altogether grander scale than the occasional (beneficial) application of some proprietary fish medication, that is to blame for this resulting threat from which our precious stocks of wild trout now face.
You might be right about this but I suspect the culprit was a Goosander...
DeleteRR,
DeleteHaving since spoken with my ornithologist brother, I would concur on your suspicion. And yes, it goes without saying that Gooseanders are quite a stunning looking bird, despite their 'alien' status; although one could argue that their long residency almost makes them indigenous.