Blog

15 Acre lake Opening

Posted: 13th Sep 2016

How it will work is both lakes will be run separately with a gated access closing one off from the other, that way no noise of people traffic from each lake, therefore respecting our regular customers who have been coming for years on the 7 acre lake, also not spoiling the magic/ambience each lake holds, so no need to fear anyone who is booked on the 7 acre lake next year will see no change regarding the opening of the 15 acre lake.

Regards basic figures, we will be allowing a max of 7 anglers on the 15 acre......with 8 or 9 double swims along with stalking areas here and there, you will be spoilt for choice with each swim containing stacks of features, including islands, bays, causeway, gullies, far bank margins, close and long range options.....plenty for everyone indeed.

Regards facilities it's going to be basic for the first half of the year......I'm going to be totally honest about the whole project so you can make a decision that you either want to get on straight away next year or hold off for 2018....that will be upto you. Fresh water and basic elec charging facilities will be available along with toilet facilities. Once the paperwork has been given the all clear we will continue with the main lodge straight away and hopefully it will be fully functional for late summer. All pegs and paths will be complete, along with a new parking area for easy access, footings for the lodge will be down this winter, so even though it's not as we envisaged for the start of next year it will be well underway and functioning as a fishery.

Both lakes will be drained this winter so it's going to be very busy winter right through for us......it's been 3 years now and the longest I have held off draining the lakes since we started the fishery. With lots of Roach and Tench needing to be removed from the 7 acre lake, along with the first time being able to now tailor each lake for different clients. I will now start to look towards pushing the fish in the 7 acre to larger sizes, fishing will not be easy but the rewards will be massive in the next few years. It's hard at times trying to balance the number of anglers against stock and length of your season to minimize pressure, but at long last you will start to see a big change in the fishery for the better and I'm sure the best is just around the corner.The 7 acre lake will start to appeal to anglers looking for a challenge, if it's numbers you will be more interested in fishing the 15 acre lake, which will send you home exhausted but happy. You just cannot have it all regarding fishing with a small area of water producing large catches of solely big fish week in week out, it's impossible to maintain. I now have to find the right balance for the smaller lake to allow the fish to continue to grow without stopping at mid 50lb, give them enough room to feel they can behave naturally without too much pressure and the rewards will be waiting for the more serious angler, happy to be tested but with the hope of catching a fish that leaves you shell shocked! This is only possible with the larger lake opening so we can function as a business but at the same time start to implement small changes to the lakes which will allow me to achieve the above.

The 15 acre lake has a massive stock of fish....450 minimum and close to 500 fish is more accurate. The only down side is they have bred like rats while the lake has been split into two for the last 3 years and this has held the fish back more than I hoped. I'm currently feeding 150kg of feed PER DAY....I have been feeding 100kg for most of the last 3 years but with so many mouths to feed it's been hard to maintain much growth without spending all of what little cash is left from the business on feed alone. I have had two anglers test fish the lake a couple of weeks ago....this is the first time they have been fished for and it appears the average weight will be around low 20lb for next year. Big fish have always been present over 50lb+ which I have left for maintaining the genetics for each years spawning so some big fish will be caught next year but the main shoal are just young, virgin carp that are eating everything in sight. With over 100 fish being caught on the test fishing I would expect catches of 200+ fish for most weeks when we first kick-off. Its going to be ridiculous sport for anyone wanting to catch large amounts of pristine carp with mouths that have never seen a hook....nothing difficult about it and simply a case of large beds of bait and trying to stop the shoal as they come through.

You have to appreciate that's the first indication for myself in the last 3 years what the average size is going to be, once I drain down this winter I will have a much more accurate idea of weights and some of the better fish but I would rather use the test fishing as a marker until this winter, so at least you can decide if it's the kind of fishing you want for 2017. I would think once all the small carp are removed this winter which no doubt will be tonnage, along with a continuing with the feed program & anglers on the lake next year,we will be looking at a lake teaming with average fish of 30lb+in a very short space of time and adding another dimension to the fishery. The lake is stunning, by the time it settles down for the start of next year it really is an anglers paradise for anyone wanting to fish in beautiful surroundings, spoilt for choice regarding the wildlife & lake, fishing for completely untouched carp. I myself have not even been hassling the fish so the mouths are as carp should be, fin perfect and fighting like uncaught carp should fight like....animals.

The price across the board for next year is £300 per angler. We have maintained our prices for the last 10 years but only this year after doing our homework we realised we haven't moved with the times regarding pricing for other fisheries and what you get for your money. I have always said we are not charging anymore than heavy pressured waters with many times more anglers on their waters each week, full facilities, surroundings, fishing, customer service and so on....I truly believe it's a little slice of heaven at The Sanctuary Fishery where you can kick-back and have the lakes to a very small private group who want to enjoy all aspects of angling, not just counting weights and numbers like match fishing. This is why we have maintained such a loyal group of regular customers who have supported the fishery and our family over the years and we are very grateful indeed for your loyalty. Also it's something I have wanted to do for many years and now both lakes will be open we have decided the fishery will close for the month of July across the board. It's always been a tricky month regarding fishing, also with spawning complete around this time I think it will benefit the fish massively to be left alone which will only improve the fishing for when the doors are open.Just to break it down we will be open for the months of APRIL, MAY, JUNE, AUGUST, SEPT, OCT so each season we will be "OPEN" for 6 months and "CLOSED" for 6 months....and we don't think many fisheries can claim that.......it shows once again we have never put profit over the business/customer.

So from this point today the doors are open, an email is going out to all our regulars today regarding the lake opening...it's a first come first serve basis and if you need to know anything else or what to ask further questions feel free to contact.

I think once the lakes are drained and stock sorted you are going to have a shock regarding what the future holds....I have extra young/growing on fish that will be brought on site this winter after growing on for the last 5 years from the stock ponds and a further larger growing on lake....these fish are just that little bit special to add to our existing stock!!!