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Crayfish Cruncher

Posted: 19th Mar 2013

I have just completed the Zander pond drain down and transfered the adults into their spawning pond for the spring. I lot of you will think what have Zander got to do with carp fishing because that's why you come to France each year to catch Carp. I have put all manner of subjects other than carp on the blog this winter and to be frank there is nothing going on with the Carp because they are getting their winter rest ready for the new year ahead and it just gives you all an insight into running a fishery and what's involved.

If the lakes were natural and left alone by man they would find their own equilibrium with fish spawning, dying and different species dominating over others. But with the lake being unatural in respect to myself trying to make conditions ideal for big Carp this intervention needs constant monitoring each season. I don't always get it right and some years I have made cock-ups but on the whole things are moving forward as we hope. Some of our first clients will remember when we first opened in 2007 that the lake was choked in weed and very difficult to fish, this has become a thing of the past now with the introduction of Grass Carp keeping the weed at bay, you will only find a few small beds if you're lucky throughout the year these days. Then the Crayfish became an issue after I had cleaned the lake bed with machines in 2009, which allowed the crayfish to explode in numbers due to increased hiding spaces under rocks/stones once the silt was removed, this is where these tooth fish come into play. I introduced 100 Zander around 1kg in size  in late 2011 ready for the start of 2012, and the results speak for themselves with only the odd claw mark on the hookbaits last year and nobody getting bait taken off the hair, I knew these new introductions had done their job!!! I now breed them each year so I have a constant supply to top the lakes up and keep the balance between predator and prey, so with some hard work and dedication I have managed to control issues that have become a problem to the Carp angler in a natural manner, without having to resort to chemicals, etc which is surely the best route to take!!!

I'm making it all sound very rosy and easy but just these 2 simple measures have taken 6 years to get right and what works for one lake does not work for another and as time goes on I'm starting to "Feel" the balance of the lakes and become more intune with what I can & cannot get away with each season. No doubt this season I will get a heard of Hippo's working their way up the stream into the lakes giving me and the punters a new headache!!!LOL

Water temp is still only 6oc today so we are a couple of weeks behind last year so I don't think the fish have woken up completely yet and it will need a good week of sunshine before they do.

Flag Iris are pushing up shoots and the blackthorn is just starting to bud which tells me spring is not far away. The first Cuckoo will be arriving in a weeks time followed by the Nightingales and then once again big Carp will be crashing over your baits, does it get better than that? I think not. Roll on Spring I cannot wait.

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