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Hello All
A question for Hugh, I would like to know what camera system you are using for your under water video scenes in the river? can it be used from a small boat at sea? I have looked on the internet and there are loads ranging from 200 to a few grand,any help or advice would be greatfully recieved.
Cheers
Colin

Yes Hugh Miles is a legend and has not only shot great underwater freshwater footage but has been shooting some of the greatest wildlife footage for as long as I can remember. The subject of fish spotting is also some very dear to me as I have been obsessively peering into the water since I was very young. I don't know what started this fascination, because none of my family were anglers, but as soon as I was old enough to walk that far I have been peering into every stream, river, pool or lake I could see.

The most difficult thing for the beginner is getting your eye in, as I find that even when you point out fish to people not used to it, that they struggle to see the subtle signs I can see.

There is a spectacle that people should look out for at this time of the year, especially on still waters. Cyprinids (the carp family - most of the freshwater fish except for Trout, Salmon, Pike, Perch, Grayling and a few others) are spawning. It can be a spectacular sight with fish thrashing in the water, and some of the larger fish can truly create a commotion. Several males will pursue a female, jockeying for position as she is about to lay her eggs. Even when the fish are not spawning you will often see pre-spawning behaviour with the fish congregating and milling around. Most of the really frantic spawning activity is likely to take place at night or early in the morning. Early in the morning is a good time to see this. Scan the water near reed beds and other weed areas. Look out for dorsal fins breaking the surface. When the fish are gathering to spawn they circle around. It is also the only the time of the year when you can tell the difference between the males and females. The males of fish like the Common Bream (Abramis brama) will have their heads covered with white spawning tubercles (they look like white spots).

Also it is possible on still waters to see signs of the fish on still days, even at distance. Fish break the water in a number of ways. Some, especially the carp will leap right out of water and fall back with a crash. However, many just come part way out of the water in a porpoising motion - "rolling" as anglers call it. This can be constant when fish are feeding and there is much speculation about why they do this. With a shoal of feeding Common Bream you can often track the direction the fish are moving in because the rolling fish always come out of the water heading in the direction they are moving. The best time to watch for this movement is early in the morning. Sun rise on a still lake with no one else around is the most magical time. It is something everyone should experience. If you sit quietly at the edge of the water preferrably by some cover and stay still, you will not believe what you can see. Not only will you be able to see all the fish movements and with practice know what is going on below the surface, but at 4:00am in the morning these lakes are different places. If it is a lake where no one fishes or it is still the close season for fishing you will be on your own. The water will be covered with wildfowl far more confident that at any other time. You will see foxes and hares come down to the water to drink. The animals are confident there are no people about and so don't notice you if you stay still by cover.

A long time I used to be an angler although I haven't fished for many years. Before the season started I used to be at the waters edge every morning before sunrise. I used to cycle so as not to disturb the pristine silence of the morning. I did this to learn about the fish, but also because it was so lovely. I used to call 4:00-6:00am the magic 2 hours. The water would be alive with moving fish and all the wildlife was about and confident as you will never see it at any other time. Then at around 6:00am you would hear the hum and activity of the farms starting up. On a still morning far from a busy road it can be so quiet and sound can travel such a long way. The first sound of human activity results in all the wildlife fading away. The spell is broken an everything returns to as most people see the countryside. It was like one of those fantasy films where all the toys come to life when people go to sleep. The wildlife was like this. Above all else it makes me realise what an effect we have on the natural world. The wildlife is far more aware of us, then we are of it. On these earlier morning fish spotting trips I have stood in shallow water where a great shoal of the big bream I fished for were spawning. They were totally oblivious to me and collided with my waders or wellingtons. When then males chased the females I got sprayed with water. To be so close to such magnificent fish that were normally so wary was a magical experience. I used to smile because all the famous angler of the day that fished this water would discuss how many big bream were in there. About 30 was the consensus, but the hundred or more huge fish in front of me made chuckle as I thought how little we know about what lives below the surface.

What a great post SteB, tells us all the reasons why visits to the waterside, especially in the early morning are so magical.
Take up fishing again mate.
I shall be looking in on Hugh's part in the programme tonight,spawning I hear, and at the weekend his new series on channel 4, just as you get home from your dawn patrol.

has hugh got any footage of EELS ?would love to see them on springwatch,or mabee he can find some in the wensum while you've got him there!
eels i beieve heve declined hugely recntly,perhaps the team could highlight and inform us on the latest info about these fascinating slippery critters.

What is the practicality of having a fish cam on springwatch. From what we saw on Hugh's films, they seem to be reasonable numerous and approachable. I imagine that, with a little bait, we could get some good live shots.

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