I went for a walk this afternoon to have a look at a couple of the weirpools on my local river. After seeing trout attempting to jump the weir in the top most picture on Friday, i thought it might be interesting to see if they were attempting to get up any of the others.
My photos don’t really give you any idea of scale, but the weir in the topmost picture is about 16ft, then about 18ft in the second picture, 6ft in the third picture and about 10ft in the last. We saw fish jumping in the first two weirs pictured, but no fish in the other two. There has been conjecture that there are now migratory fish in the river, but i cant see how as the lock gates, sluices and hydro electrical turbines on the lock gates of the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam make it virtually impossible for fish to migrate upstream from that point. The only way fish can get upstream is if they are actually in a lock when a ship is passing upstream through the ship canal at Irlam so whilst not impossible it is improbable.
The fish i saw today were all brownies, which must have some sort of genetic desire to migrate upstream to spawn. Hopefully there will be more periods of heavy rainfall in the near future which will make these seemingly impossible obsticles passable allowing the fish to find suitable spawning sites.
An amazing sight.
manchester fishing Irwell Ribble Trout
Love , hate relationship with weirs myself as i suspect most anglers do. the fishing below them can be excellent yet once they exceed a reasonable size they become such a formidable obstacle to any fish with migratory instincts. though good to hear of the perseverence of the resident trout , may nature eventually overcome all.
….Dynamite anyone? lol.
I admire your perseverance! This is what fishing is about for me. Trying to achieve what others think impossible. I’ve decided i’m gonna catch a barble from the mersey near me in cheadle. i know they must be there because i’ve caught them in the goyt. I’m gonna wait for the warmer weather to return and start my project. Good luck in your quest i will be checking back to see how you go on.
I would love fish ladders to be put in at the weirs so that fish could negotiate to the Ship Canal and Irwell tributaries. Salmon and Sea trout around Bolton and Bury in my lifetime would be something.
The Mersey is amazing, theres no reason why the barbel cant be caught downstream of Stockport. I have my eye on a couple of spots near Flixton that could fish well next summer.
As to migratory fish on the Irwell, i just cant see either the EA or the Manchester Ship Canal Company doing anything about it. The cost would be prohibitive as there are something like 14 weirs between the ship canal and Bury.
I have found that the fishing on the Irwell has been in decline over the last couple of years – probably due to the large cormorant population.
Thanks for everyones comments and input, it is very much appreciated.