The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Phil Arnott wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:04 pm

A friend of mine who does marine surveys informed me that he caught a lot of perch in the Humber at Grimsby. I've personally caught pike, bass and thin-lipped mullet in the Frome at Wareham and a guy next to me was catching roach and dace. The Baltic is well known for having sea and coarse fish living together.

Tolerance of salinity is bound to be species specific and I don't know where barbel fit in. So an interesting question.

I've witnessed or caught 24 species of fish in the Frome at Wareham. Other sea fish (on top of the bass and thin-lips) I've caught there include thick-lipped mullet, plaice, sand gobies, sprats and flounders (once very common in autumn). Look hard on a map and find where the Frome widens out at Swineham Farm and I've had dace there mixed in with the bass and mullet. In the great Pallington carp escape of 2012 the carp went down the Frome and back up the Piddle. I can remember someone catching a pouting at Wick Ferry on the Stour.

Thank you for all the replies so far chap's really enjoying this discussion

Dave Burr wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 9:51 am Are you sure those 'huge chub' weren't mullet Flobtheboat? It often takes a second look to identify them.

As for barbel, like carp, roach, bream etc they will tolerate brackish water to a degree just as flounders and even bass will venture well upstream. Barbel, identified as having been caught in the Hampshire Avon, have turned up in the Stour and visa versa, they obviously enter Poole Harbour and swap rivers and often do the reverse journey.

Hope this helps

I'm sure you meant Christchurch Harbour

JAA wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 6:13 pm

Dave Burr wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 9:51 am Are you sure those 'huge chub' weren't mullet Flobtheboat? It often takes a second look to identify them.

As for barbel, like carp, roach, bream etc they will tolerate brackish water to a degree just as flounders and even bass will venture well upstream. Barbel, identified as having been caught in the Hampshire Avon, have turned up in the Stour and visa versa, they obviously enter Poole Harbour and swap rivers and often do the reverse journey.

Hope this helps

I'm sure you meant Christchurch Harbour

I know, I know. I can't always be perfect you know.

DaceAce wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:34 pm I've witnessed or caught 24 species of fish in the Frome at Wareham. Other sea fish (on top of the bass and thin-lips) I've caught there include thick-lipped mullet, plaice, sand gobies, sprats and flounders (once very common in autumn). Look hard on a map and find where the Frome widens out at Swineham Farm and I've had dace there mixed in with the bass and mullet. In the great Pallington carp escape of 2012 the carp went down the Frome and back up the Piddle. I can remember someone catching a pouting at Wick Ferry on the Stour.

A cracking river the Frome Mark, I wished I lived near it.

DaceAce wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:34 pm

Phil Arnott wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:04 pm

A friend of mine who does marine surveys informed me that he caught a lot of perch in the Humber at Grimsby. I've personally caught pike, bass and thin-lipped mullet in the Frome at Wareham and a guy next to me was catching roach and dace. The Baltic is well known for having sea and coarse fish living together.

Tolerance of salinity is bound to be species specific and I don't know where barbel fit in. So an interesting question.

I've witnessed or caught 24 species of fish in the Frome at Wareham. Other sea fish (on top of the bass and thin-lips) I've caught there include thick-lipped mullet, plaice, sand gobies, sprats and flounders (once very common in autumn). Look hard on a map and find where the Frome widens out at Swineham Farm and I've had dace there mixed in with the bass and mullet. In the great Pallington carp escape of 2012 the carp went down the Frome and back up the Piddle. I can remember someone catching a pouting at Wick Ferry on the Stour.

Flounder will go a long way up a river - when I lived in Anglesey they were regularly caught in a stream 6' across two miles from the sea, hand-sized was good, but postage-stamp fish were often seen in the shallows. Not by any stretch of imagination was that water 'tidal', although it had a decent run of sea-trout as well. The first fish I caught in the UK were sea-trout, flounder, seatrout, from a pool now on the north side of the expressway.

I admit I began to wonder if I'd imagined them, but I had a couple of folk contact me via my own site and confirm they'd caught them as well.

They go way up rivers do flounder, usually at least as far as the first weir. They are caught at Naburn Lock four miles downstream of York. I've caught them at Sutton on Derwent on the Yorkshire Derwent 16 miles upstream of Goole.


The weir at Sutton on Derwent



The one below weighing 1¼lb was taken in Driffield Beck part off the River Hull system and 20 miles from where the river meets the Humber. This fish had got past a weir!



I was actually after catching these Brook Trout and this one was caught the same day it weighed 2lb 11oz. I've had trout, grayling, dace and big pike from the same spot

will never foget the Kent Stour sessions with my Dad at Plucks Gutter. Flow left to right and lots of roach and bream caught.Then flow stopped and restarted right to left ( fast) and then small eels every cast. Never thought ( or stupid enough) to dip and taste a finger to check salinity

Phil Arnott wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 8:21 pm

DaceAce wrote: ↑Thu Jan 04, 2024 4:34 pm I've witnessed or caught 24 species of fish in the Frome at Wareham. Other sea fish (on top of the bass and thin-lips) I've caught there include thick-lipped mullet, plaice, sand gobies, sprats and flounders (once very common in autumn). Look hard on a map and find where the Frome widens out at Swineham Farm and I've had dace there mixed in with the bass and mullet. In the great Pallington carp escape of 2012 the carp went down the Frome and back up the Piddle. I can remember someone catching a pouting at Wick Ferry on the Stour.

A cracking river the Frome Mark, I wished I lived near it.

I think I've posted this picture before but here's a big Roach I caught some years back at Wareham. I fished off The Quay with floodwater almost topping the quay, casting a legered worm into a small slack behind the first bridge stantion. My Very Lucky "Lucky Strike" the rod coupled with a Trudex. One bite in four hours! I fished that spot three times in all and only had little Sea Trout on the other two occasions.