Blog

Stronger Than You!!

Posted: 26th Sep 2016

The days are still pleasant at the moment with temps reaching 26oc some days, but the nights are starting to cool off and dropping into single figures at times. This makes way for those lovely misty mornings with the lake steaming like a warm cauldren and the damp dew glistening the spiders webs along the lake margins! I also notice the animals behaviour changing at this time of the year, and with the equinox now upon us the change triggers frantic activity amongst the animal kingdom and the Red squirrels are charging around looking to cache the fallen nuts along with the harsh call of the Jay breaking the silence as they flit from tree to cover collecting acorns. Carp are never far behind and they are also starting to build fat reserves for the coming winter months which can be noticed by the catch reports over the last few weeks.

We had Mike a regular customer booking the lake this week, and despite the fish having lots of room to move around, Mike fished his choosen spots hard and the fish did pass over his baited patches throughout the week in the central part of the lake. It's never easy for one angler trying to cover so much water with so many options but with a little patience and attention to your baiting strategy....Mr carp will soon make a mistake. Most of the fish this week came in the dark but on the wednesday Mike had some busy action taking fish in the day as well, along with a 40lb+ grassie. The better fish for some reason seemed to lie low this week and with it being quiet I honestly thought the fish had just reacted to the lack of lines in the lake and were more than happy to sunbathe amongst the overhanging trees and enjoy the warm sunshine!!

The largest fish of the week also came on the Wednesday in the afternoon, and with Jayne at Yoga & me feeding the kids, a message came through asking for a quick picture so we all jumped in the pick-up and headed down to the lake. Mike landed a deep framed mirror of 45lb 11oz, but due to the depth of the fish it was not the easiest fish to hold to be honest but this did not stop one of my Sons (Lucas) heckling Mike.......something to the tune of "Is it too big for you Mike?" "I think my Dad is stronger than you" soon followed, which at that point we all fell about laughing...magic moment.

With 14 fish landed this week by Mike and a couple under twenty not counted it was a good result despite some of the larger fish hiding away. With the mid 40 mirror and 40lb+ grassie being the largest, followed by 3 fish over 30lb+ & 9 x 20lb up to 28lb.

It appears the 2012 stock fish are now breaking the 20lb barrier and by the end of the year will be around 22lb on average. These fish will be 4.5 years old in December and growing at a steady 5-6lb on average which I have found to be the perfect weight gain each season. I have had fish grow 12lb+ in a season but they just burn-out, you cannot gain that kind of bodymass without it being unhealthy and these fish never have longevity, so I'm more than happy to see gains of 5lb+ each season on the young stock fish. With a reduction in biomass this winter I think we will see the fishery transform over the next two seasons, it's looking very exciting indeed at the moment!

We have 3 chaps booking the lake this week and it's been a slow start so far but a brace of 40s came out today so the chaps are riding high at the moment!

Back Soon

Team Sanctuary