FISHES 



water rat taken from the stomach of a 15 Ib. 

 pike from Rolleston. On the upper Dove 

 the present limit of the range of this fish is 

 Mayfield weir. Above this point none is 

 to be found, although they are common 

 enough below. On the Derwent pike are to 

 be found with other coarse fish as high as the 

 Chatsworth waters. 



In 1887 a large pike was caught near 

 Staveley which weighed 28 Ib. (Journ. Derb. 

 Arch, and Nat. Hist. Soc. 1892, p. 182), and 

 Mr. O. B. Murphy has one of 26 Ib. taken 

 by himself. Mr. A. S. Hutchinson also in- 

 forms me that about 1898 he received a 

 30 Ib. fish for preservation from Mr. Ratcliffe 

 of Burton, and that a 26 Ib. pike from the 

 Trent has also passed through his hands. 



OSTARIOPHYSI 



9. Carp. Cyprinus carpio, Linn. 



This is an introduced species, and only 

 thrives in still or slow flowing waters. It is 

 absent from the Dove and Derwent, but a 

 few are found in the Trent. Mr. Brown 

 says that large ones are occasionally captured 

 in the Trent above Burton, and that one 

 weighing about 8 Ib. was caught at Fradley 

 in 1857. ^ n P or >ds however they attain a 

 much greater size. Glover says that in 

 Osmaston old waters they were taken 14 Ib. 

 in weight, and Brown mentions specimens of 

 12 Ib. 



10. Crucian Carp. Cyprinus carassius, Linn. 

 The goldfish (C. auratus], which may be 



regarded as a variety of the above species, 

 has been introduced into ponds in various 

 parts of the county. According to Mr. 

 Brown it is found in great numbers in some 

 of the engine ponds at Derby. 



Mr. Brown (Fauna of Burton-on-Trent) 

 also states that the Prussian carp (C. gibelid) 

 has been naturalized in some ponds. 



11. Barbel. Barbus vu/garis, Linn. 



Barbel are found in the Trent and the 

 lower reaches of the Dove, Derwent and 

 Wye. In the Trent there are many well- 

 known haunts of this fish, whence large 

 numbers are taken annually. More than a 

 hundredweight are said to have been taken 

 by one angler in an afternoon (Nat. Hist, of 

 Tutbury, p. 1 1 5). Mr. G. H. Storer quotes 

 an instance of two anglers taking over a 

 hundredweight in the Dove, and says that 

 takes of 30 Ib. to a single rod are not infre- 

 quent. 



Barbel attain a considerable size. Sir O. 

 Mosley mentions fish of 10 and even 15 Ib. 



I 113 



in weight. R. Garner mentions one of 

 1 1 Ib. from the Trent (Nat. Hist, of Stafford, 

 p. 295), and Glover says that they have 

 ' been taken in the Trent and Derwent up- 

 wards of II Ib.' (Hist, of Derby, I. 170). 

 Fish of 6 to 7 Ib. are recorded annually. 



The range of the barbel in the Dove does 

 not extend above Rocester weir. In the 

 Derwent they are found as high as the 

 Chatsworth water, and Mr. O. B. Murphy 

 has taken them in the Wye near Rowsley ; 

 but they are absent from the upper reaches of 

 these rivers. 



12. Gudgeon. Gobio fluviati/is, Flem. 

 Found in the Trent, Derwent, Dove and 



their tributaries. It must formerly have been 

 plentiful in the Rother, as on May 14, 1790, 

 the Rev. F. Gisborne killed sixteen large 

 gudgeon by a single shot when after pike 

 (Journ. Derb. Arch, and Nat. Hist. Soc. 

 1892). It seldom exceeds 6 inches in 

 length. One weighing 6 oz. was taken at 

 Matlock in 1901. 



13. Roach. Leuciscus rutilus. Linn. 



The commonest fish in the Trent. Mr. E. 

 Brown says that more than half a ton weight 

 have been taken at a single draw of the net 

 opposite Wetmore, and in 1901 Mr. F. W. K. 

 Wallis took no fewer than 257 roach with 

 rod and line in one day, weighing 150 Ib. 

 Of these forty scaled 45 Ib., and were re- 

 tained. 



Roach are also common in the lower 

 reaches of the Dove, but are not found above 

 Rocester. They also occur frequently in the 

 Derwent as high as Chatsworth, in many of 

 our canals and in the Rother. 



14. Rudd. Leuciscus erythr aphtha Imus, Linn. 

 R. Garner described this fish as frequently 



found in the Trent in 1860. At the present 

 time it is by no means a common fish, but is 

 probably sometimes confused with the roach 

 and consequently overlooked. 



15. Dace. Leuciscus dobula, Linn. 

 Day Leuciscus vulgaris. 



Found in the Trent commonly and also in 

 the Derwent, but especially numerous in the 

 lower Dove, where it is often taken with the 

 natural fly. 



A few dace may be found in the Dove just 

 above Rocester weir, but not higher, while 

 below this point they are common. In the 

 Derwent they are found as high as the Chats- 

 worth water. The maximum weight seldom 

 much exceeds I Ib. 



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