Natural fisheries are never going to compete with commercial waters as far as weights are concerned but they do have a good following from anglers that enjoy big matches, the countryside, running water fishing and the knowledge that every day can produce something a little different.

However, a patchy season so far on our local river in the lower section culminated on Saturday with a disaster beyond anyone's comprehension.

In the NFA Individual National fished on Middleholme and North Bank the fishing was abysmal with 53 dry nets and the majority of the field failing to break a pound.

That is totally unacceptable. Those fishing were the cream of England's anglers yet they struggled to catch a single fish on a venue that was once recognised as one of the best in the country. So what's gone so badly wrong?

It is hard to say it's one particular problem, but I can put my own theories forward. The weed growth over the past few years has got so bad that several sections of the lower end of the River Nene are unfishable.

We get very little if any flow on the river through the summer months. The river stays clear, in fact so clear you can see the bottom right across it in many sections. When it does colour up it only lasts for a day or so as the water is pushed through and out to sea before you can blink an eye.

Finally, and not for the first time, we have once again got seals in the area. I am convinced there are two, possibly even three, devouring stock fish at will. Anglers can do nothing about it but watch in horror as the sea creatures ruin the fishery from the Dog and Doublet up to Orton Locks.

Will the Environment Agency address the rivers problems? No, I think not. Will they keep taking anglers money in rod licence fees and rents? Yes they will.

A few years ago I went to a private meeting and was asked by some fairly high ranking EA personnel what anglers would like more than anything else apart from lots more fish and I replied "colour and flow" to our rivers once again.

I never did get an answer, so do not hold your breath waiting for anything to change soon.

I can see the river getting choked with weed, silted up in many areas and gin clear for some time to come. There seems to be no river management any more.

I fear it will go the same way as the River Welland. It will possibly become a playground or breeding area for lost seals – it certainly will not be much use to anglers for much longer.

Peterborough DAA have worked long and hard to bring big events to the area which in turn provides revenue for the city's hotels and retail outlets.

Just a few short years ago there was even talk of a European or even a world championship of some sort being hosted on our river.

Only last week I was in discussions with a senior NFA man with regard to a big international match being hosted by PDAA. Unless we see a rapid improvement I fear for the local club and indeed anyone that used to enjoy fishing the lower sections of our river.

For the record there can rarely, if ever, have been a worse result than this one on the River Nene. A flat calm river, no flow, gin clear and very weedy in some areas saw anglers blanking all too often right along the match length. Even the usually productive Middleholme section failed miserably.

As in every match though there has to be a winner and in this year's event the title went to Nigel Goddard with a modest 2.69kg. The odd better fish together with plenty of smaller fish saw Goddard the only angler to break a kilogram.

Result: 1 N. Goddard, 2.69kg; 2 G. Mumby, 930gm; 3 S. Fry, 580gm; jt 4 S. Rowe and B. Lucas, both 550gm; 6 I. Sharratt, 490gm.