The River Ribble bailiff team completed a total of 377 salmonid creel censuses by interviewing anglers fishing on the banks of the Rivers Ribble and Hodder during 1994. The study was undertaken for a number of reasons:
(i) , To determine which areas of the river were fished
by anglers.
(ii) To ascertain which fishing methods were used in
these areas.
(iii) To identify the success of each fishing method
within each area of the River Ribble system.
In a limited 1993 sampling programme, 55 censuses were
carried out. Results from these indicated that fishing
with worm as bait was the most common method (39% of
anglers interviewed) and also resulted in the greatest
number of salmon being caught (61% of all salmon).
The 1994 census data were collected from all areas of the
Ribble system during the months of June to October. The
data presented here are for anglers fishing for salmon
only or for those fishing for salmon and sea trout at the
same time. All of the fish caught were salmon