Summary of a wet week !

The lads this week have endured some seriously wet weather that started when they arrived and continued through until Saturday morning so I was pleased as punch with the results they achieved. As the first week of fishing after our oxygen crash of a few weeks ago we were unsure as to how the week would develop so it was a pleasant surprise the finish the week with some cracking fish banked and the lake looking it’s best once more. The total bag for the session was 39 fish comprised of 34 carp and 5 sturgeon. From the off it was evident that the carp had spawned heavily in recent weeks and with thin flanks and lower weights in evidence the average size was lower than earlier in the season but there were still some big girls landed and all the fish were in stunning condition. Top of the list must be Andy’s capture of the ‘Drop Scale’ mirror at 66lb 10oz closely followed by Keith’s wonderful brace of commons at 62lb and 58lb 8oz. Final tally was 2 x 60’s, 2 x 50’s, 6 x 40’s 16 x 30’s, 8 x 20’s and the 5 sturgeon up to 46lb which in the cold wet conditions was a catch that the lads can feel proud of. Keith had a fabulous week and used his experience gained from his many previous visits to amass a bag of 23 carp including a 60 and a brace of 50’s. Jim managed to catch 9 carp up to 46lb from the main lake and also christened his new cane rods in Poppy’s lake with carp into the low 20’s (as did Andy I must add). Our new lads struggled with the tough conditions but kept cheerful and both managed to get a bend in their rods. Dave have three lovely commons up to 39lb and young Liam soldiered on game-fully and finally bagged a sturgeon to save his week. In fairness it was a tough baptism for Dave and Liam with appalling weather and rapidly cooling lake temperatures meaning that the carp were keeping to the deeper water rather than the shallows where they were fishing. This morning the water temperature was 19c due to the amount of cold rain water that has brought it down from 26c where it was a week ago. Poor conditions for the carp as well as the anglers ! All in all it was a week that I was well pleased with with some great carp banked and lots of laughs and fun at mealtimes to take our minds of the constant rain. Well done all.

This week has also started slowly with Saturday night seeing the rain arrive again after a few hours of dry weather and since then a torrent of cold water has cooled that lake further so it is no surprise that the week is starting slowly. A couple fish have been banked so far with a best of 46lb but with warmer conditions set to arrive today we have high hopes that the week will pick up in the coming days.

After our recent problems we have now installed two more aerator’s and will be monitoring oxygen levels several times each day to ensure that all remains well with the lake whatever the weather. The other benefit of having more aerator’s is being able to boost oxygen levels when it is on the low side thus encouraging the carp to feed with a little more enthusiasm. It seems that carp digest food far better in raised oxygen levels than when it is on the low side, something that I was not aware of ! As our casualties were all caught in the shallows where they were gathered to spawn we have decided to install a mobile aerator in the shallows during the spawning period next year which should help the carp complete their breeding cycle with fewer problems. This business has many lessons to teach us about carp and carp welfare and we now feel that the knowledge gained from recent events will help us develop the fishery to be even better in the coming years. Happy days once again !!