I am afraid that I have been rather remiss in relying on posting in Facebook and not keeping the blog up to date. I am sorry about that and will ensure that weekly updates will begin once more with all catch reports published with pictures.
Today has been a real joy with warm sunshine replacing the gloom and rain of recent weeks. The whole LMDM team have been working the area behind Deliverance and Island swims where 7 poplars and a willow or two have been felled, mainly for safety reasons. As you can imagine the debris, comprising huge trunks, branches and as well as the piles of smaller branches and twiggy bits has created a mammoth task in clearing and I am pleased to say that as of close of work today I really felt we had broken the back of the task. In the morning Jimmy will be sloshing around in the lake removing the last of the branches that couldn’t be reached from the bank and then we will be getting stuck into the remnants of the huge willow ,that had to be cut back due to getting rather unhealthy, which is currently spread ball over the end of the dam. Another big job that hopefully we can get finished by the weekend.
One lovely aspect of these late winter days is the sound of the cranes. Great skeins of them fly over as they head to Scandinavia and Russia, calling constantly to each other they can be heard long before and long after they are seen. For us the cranes are the first sign that spring is fast approaching and in the weeks ahead we can look forward to our first swallows arriving from Africa and then, a few weeks later the sound of our first cuckoo. With so much work to do at this time of year it is easy to overlook the beauty that the approach of spring provides for us. Already we have the first buds on the tree’s, daffodils have been out for weeks now and this morning we even had a couple of honey bee’s buzzing around us. When the sun shines and temperatures rise so do our spirits, that have been rather repressed during the recent months of gloom. It really is a good time of year.
Earlier today Jimmy put out around 200 kilo of cooked maize into Poppy’s lake (The main lake’s maize is being cooked tomorrow) and my goodness did the fish get onto it quickly. I spent some time sitting on the bank of this little lake this afternoon and there were carp crashing all over. Fish were tearing up the bottom all along the margins where the maize had been spread and really seemingly enjoying a good feed. After the netting, where around 3000lb of fish were removed, it is apparent that the bigger fish are far more active than I can remember in previous years. Some of the carp crashing out were real lumps which really is what the lake is all about this season. From being a runs water the progression to a genuine specimen water has been a steady one although perhaps stymied in the last year by the very heavy overstock of the fishery. Jimmy was adamant that only the really pretty smaller carp were retained with the bulk of the carp now being upwards of 30lb. This season should see a lot of fish coming through to upwards of 40lb with many of the faster growers reaching through the 50’s to upper 60’s. We are all agreed that 2024 will be a wonderful year for seeing the potential of Poppy’s finally being realised. Happy days indeed.
The main lake has also benefitted from the removal of a great many small carp and catfish and should continue to evolve nicely with so many fish now exceeding the 50lb barrier and into the 80’s every run could be a fish of dreams. Very exciting times.
The new shower/toilet facilities will be cracking on in a couple of weeks with our good pals, Ian and Martin, coming over to help with the job. The lads may even get a chance to wet a line so watch out for some interesting pictures.
For the final preparation around the lakes we are hoping that our our old mates, Dave and Chris, will be joining us once more. That said it all depends on whether Dave has recovered enough from his achilles injury as to whether they manage the trip. If not they will be sorely missed as they certainly get through a lot of work whilst with us.
Finally, we have a few weeks free on Poppy’s lake this summer so if you fancy a crack then get in touch asap. Still fantastic value for a lake with such a head of specimen carp.
The main lake has a couple of individual places plus an early June week available. I must apologise as my list of people waiting for a week has disappeared when I changed diaries…. If you were on the waiting list then please get in touch and I will start up the new one.
Well, that’s it for now so be safe, keep happy and we look forward to sharing the delights of Le Moulin du Mee with you once more in 2024.
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