pro diver Mark Barrow reveals his passion for filming our favourite fish

Have you ever wondered what’s lurking beneath the surface of Britain’s waterways? 

What exactly happens underwater? How does our quarry go about its daily life? Would we catch more if we knew? 

These are all questions we ask ourselves, but who can come up with an answer? Professional diver Mark Barrow has dedicated over 28 years to the cause and was happy to give Angling Times an exclusive insight into his work…  

Q) So Mark, where did it all begin? How long have you been diving? 

The seed was planted when I was eight years old, watching survival programmes on sharks. I always found it fascinating that an alien world within our world existed this then got me thinking about my fishing on rivers and what it must be like underwater. 

I finally trained as a diver at 20 years old, and have now been diving a total of 28 years. I’m trained to instructor level, but I left that side of the industry to concentrate on my freshwater filming – that’s where my passion really lies.

Q) When did the filming start? Was that your intention all along? 

The filming started more or less once I trained using a 35mm underwater camera – these days I use digital 4k cameras. My intention was to film for myself and have a video library of memories. It was my wife Julie who mentioned I should start publishing my work – I have to confess she actually came up with the name Beneath British Waters!

Once I published my findings, I was surprised at the positive response I got. Fishery owners started to get in touch and ask if we could film on their waters. 

Q) Are you an angler or just intrigued by what’s underwater?  

Good question! Basically I do it because I love the underwater world, more so if it’s freshwater.

This is not a paid business, and all the filming I do is funded out of my own pocket, but having the chance to film in areas where others would not be able to is truly amazing. 

I am indeed an angler, having fished since I was eight years old. I love my barbel fishing, but I enjoy fly fishing too. There is nothing quite as nice as using a centrepin reel to trot a stick float down my local river. But yes, I have always been intrigued by life under the surface and how it operates.

Q) So, what is Beneath British Waters all about?  

Beneath British Waters is all about gaining footage within the freshwater environment, then showcasing it to anglers, organisations and clubs, giving them a unique insight into their fisheries. 

I’m hoping that in the future I could maybe work on some form of documentary – I would say Blue Planet 3, but that might be pushing it! I also want to film abroad, alligators and other creatures, but that’s the future. 

Q) What’s been your favourite dive? Any stand-out moments? 

I don’t have a particular favourite dive, as each one is different yet unique, bringing something new to each filming session. 

There are a few moments to pick from, but one stands out for me. I had tried to get really close to pike spawning, in the thick of it, and it took me over 15 years to do so – last year at Wykeham Lakes I finally managed to film some stunning pike going through their courtship and spawning. 

To get this close to these huge creatures was a real honour. The anger of the female pike and the attentiveness of the males was amazing to watch. 

Q) What’s been your worst moment? Any scary experiences? 

The scariest moment for me was when I was filming grayling in the rapids against a strong current.

My safety rope clip snapped at the buckle end, sending me hurtling downstream, and I came out bruised and sore – lesson learnt to use two safety ropes!

Another scary moment was finding a porcelain doll on a night dive in a river. The torchlight shone on its eyes, and safe to say it made me jump! I’ve come across a fully dressed mannequin on a dive too, which didn’t do much for my heart rate either.

Q) What’s your oddest underwater sighting in all these years? 

The list is endless! The oddest underwater sighting was diving in a quarry, where I came across a vertical mine shaft which went down to the abyss. Also, diving a carp syndicate and coming across the full mine workings – rail carts and tracks – which were pretty immense due to the history of the place. I also dived in a flooded mine in Derbyshire – seeing the workers’ footprints in the silt was really strange.

Q) Have you ever discovered anything really interesting? 

Yes, we had the option to dive Lochnaw in Scotland. I jumped at the chance, but the clarity had worsened due to rain. 

A lot of anglers venture to Lochnaw for the roach. We are not just talking about ordinary roach, but probably the biggest head of specimen roach to be found anywhere in the British Isles. It wasn’t a wasted trip, though, as we dived and found the Crannogs – artificial islands of rock, stone and collapsed timber that mark the position of ancient dwellings in the water. All in all, Lochnaw was a fascinating place!

Q) What’s the biggest thing you’ve learnt about the underwater world? Is it totally different to what you’d expect? 

Whatever mental image you have of a lake or riverbed, it is completely different to how you would imagine it – the topography can be mind-blowing. 

I’ve learnt that fish are not as daft as one might think. They can work things out, and if they sense danger they will react accordingly.

One big insight was watching a pike attack on a shoal of roach. Once the attack was over hundreds of fish formed themselves into a bait ball something I never expected! 

Q) What could we anglers learn from your diving expeditions and what you’ve discovered? Have you got any advice for us? 

I think one big plus point of me filming fisheries is that it allows the anglers to gain an insight into a lake or riverbed, often by showing the various underwater topographies. Seeing how certain fish behave, too, gives an insight which will aid anglers. The best advice I can give is that even when one blanks, the chances are that fish have visited your bait.

I’ve seen it where fish have mopped up bait or offerings, but for whatever reason have left the hookbait. I do think certain species wise up to various tactics, but I can only comment on the lakes and rivers in which I have dived, as each water is unique.

Q) What have you learnt about fish behaviour? For example, how do roach and silvers behave in comparison to carp or pike? 

I have learnt so much. I have found carp to be very social and inquisitive – they get spooked easily, but then they come back to have another look. 

Pike are very territorial. They will happily sit there with prey just inches away from them and not attack, but once another pike comes into view it’s like a switch being thrown and they will turn on one another! 

Roach and silvers work in large shoals and don’t like fast movement through the water. They will disperse and regroup, and they will also quite happily feed, even with predators next to them –they’re fascinating to watch. 

Barbel are a very hard species to film, and will spook very easily, only returning once they feel danger has gone. One thing worth mentioning is that boat traffic, swimmers, divers, or even a dog jumping in the water doesn’t always ruin a swim – fish will often return quite happily. 

Q) How are fish affected by weather, temperatures and times of year? 

Carp like to move around in small herds, so to speak. In winter I’ve seen them all huddled up together under trees, just lying there, and in the summer they will quite happily be on the surface – in situations of danger they always retreat to the safety of cover. 

As for silvers, I have found that in winter the shallow water around 1m deep is often devoid of all silver fish life, which means they are in the deeper areas. 

As it warms, the shallows come alive with an explosion of silvers. It’s quite remarkable where they all come from – I found it virtually impossible to film silvers on natural lakes in winter. 

Pike will rest up in the warm, shallow water, but in winter, when fishing for them, find the prey in deeper water and the pike won’t be far away. I don’t think there is a golden rule for temperatures and weather conditions. What I have read at times I can rewrite after filming certain species.

Q) What’s your favourite fish species to film? 

My favourite species is pike. This stems from fishing as an eight-year-old after experiencing an attack on a roach I had caught. 

I wanted to know what the fish was, so I went to the library and read a book – that’s when I realised how cool it would be to study the pike. I wanted to see how it operated, and what made it tick. 

It’s the big female pike that fascinate me the most, but they are so elusive. I have been very successful filming pike, a lot of which is down to the help of Jake Finnigan at Wykeham Lakes. He has allowed me access to their water on a regular basis. 

The pike filming has gone so well I now do talks for the Pike Anglers Club, which is a real honour. It’s great that angler and diver can work together – it’s taken me a long time to achieve this!

Q) How long can it take to get the shot you’re after? 

I have lots of failed hours with no results, but when it goes right it is immense, resulting in some awesome footage. 

This year I spent nine hours trying to film a 30lb pike. I achieved that with five minutes of footage – nine hours was worth the five minutes of gold viewing!

Q) What’s your favourite type of venue to dive on? And have you ever been anywhere famous?

To be honest, I don’t have a favourite venue. I’m equally over the moon diving in a lake, a river or a quarry. 

I’ve dived some of the famous wrecks in Scotland, such as the Breda, HMS Port Napier and Rhonda – the list is quite long. 

Q) Have you got any exciting plans for the future? 

I plan to film a 40lb-plus pike, as well as filming river barbel during their spawning courtship. I will be filming in some remote rivers around the UK, showing how full they are of wild beck trout. 

I hope to do various projects with pike that will help anglers, and in a few years I’m aiming to travel to film alligators. 

I’m also working on my own documentary on the life of pike, which will be completed once I’m happy with all my footage. I’ve been working on that for the last four years.

Q) Where can our readers follow your expeditions? 

They can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter – all under the name of Beneath British Waters. I’m currently working on a website that will be complete by the end of the year under the same name.