Troughing Like A Pig
Posted: 27th Mar 2013
This week we have seen a couple of nice days of 17oc which has brought the water temp up to 8oc and really has burst the lakes into life. The fish are feeding well over the free feed that's going in each day and the water has become quite cloudy with the sudden change in fish activity, along with fish crashing and even spooking directly infront of the pegs while doing my rounds.
I have just checked last years diary and we were getting temps of 20oc in the day and the water temp was 16.5oc, so there is a big change this year from last, and it looks like we are a couple of weeks behind so far, which will not last long I'm sure and with a quick change of the wind direction it will be feeling very warm and spring like in no time??? We are very lucky with the weather in this part of the world, and for most groups throughout our entire season will experience blue skies and warm sunshine, which is something we all see very little of back in Blighty!!
This morning I was treated to a site I have only seen twice while running the business, a family of Wild Boar. This animal gets some bad press about being savage, which most of the time is initiated by hunters who love to use dogs while hunting this beautiful creature, and any animal when cornered will fight for it's life just like a badger will, but given the choice would rather be left well alone and not come into contact with humans. I was walking up to the far end of the big lake when a family of 11 were trotting along the edge of the far bay in the mud, 1 large adult male at the front, 2 adult females behind him and the remainder of the pack being youngsters of all different sizes. They cut into the reed beds, so I ran down to the far end to try and get a closer look, I dropped down holding the dogs collar knowing which route they would take, and sure enough I could hear them approaching all grunting and communicating with each other as they came closer!!! They walked no more than 10 yards in front of me and without moving a muscle they walked right past, very special indeed!!!
I have just given the wild flower meadow behind the back of pegs 1,2,3 a hair cut which I try and do every couple of years just to remove the old flower stalks and spread any seed heads that are left behind, this limestone slope will burst into flower this spring with a myriad of flowers ranging from Marsh Orchid, to Wild Carrot and even the Bee Orchid which is a rare flower these days.
We are just about ready and it's all looking as neat as it can be for the time of the year and we cannot wait for the first arrivals this Saturday!!!! Happy days
Next post will be all fish related I hope!!! and lets see how the lads fair?
Back Very soon
Team Sanctuary