Blog

It's Getting Warmer

Posted: 14th Sep 2014

It has been a glorious week of weather with the sunshine feeling very warm at times, and you could almost be mistaken for midsummer. The fish this week once again proved very illusive but could be seen clearly throughout the week. The pattern did change with the fish becoming very active and crashing on Sunday & Monday night, making way to fish cruising around inbetween the weed beds in Pegs 1,2 & 3 for the first half of the week, and then it went very quiet with little signs at all. The full moon was like a torchlight throughout the night, which normally affects the fishing, but I did expect more action in the daylight hours. The fish in Peg 2 again this week was obscene to say the least, with fish crashing at night but could been seen bubbling and popping their heads out early morning and most of the day. Paul tried everything but they refused to pick up bait and seemed preoccupied on naturals. Also they were showing no more than 30 yards out and a simliar area from where Tony the week before picked up the 48lb. Kev in Peg 1 this week managed a couple of fish just a short flick infront of the swim, just on a pva bag and nothing else, which told me the fish were just browsing around the small patches of weed and picking up the odd bait now and then. This spot produced the largest fish of the week at 45lb 14oz but after midweeek no more fish came from that spot. John in Peg 5 managed to a few fish but mostly the small stockies, Dave in Peg 4 had a fish very early on but like always he refuses to use nothing more than a couple of moldy pop-ups!!! Also he had issues with the mainline parting blaming it on the crayfish but more to do with him using the same line back in the early 70s when he knew how to catch a fish!!!!

The week ended on a very low total of 8 fish and a couple of stockies but not for want of trying. To add insult to injury the fish put on a crashing display on the last night and even as the lads packed up!! You cannot call it.

The new group this week have settled and and only 2 of the group of 4 put the rods out. They spent time assessing the pegs and had a good look around and hopefully a little planning will pay off. Stacks of fish showing again last night with the fish ripping the bottom up in Pegs 2 & 3 this morning, I just hope the switch to anglers bait happens anytime soon.

I think with the strange season we have had I will put a few measures in place this winter to hopefully combat some of the problems we have faced this year. With the exessive weed growth this season, and now it's starting to die back givingway to algae blooms because of the increased nitrate levels, combined with the huge volume of rain which no doubt has already contributed to the nitrates from the surrounding land, I will install an oxygenator for next year. The oxygen levels have been fluctuating this year with the natural cycle of the weed, but nothing dangerous at all, but adding an oxygenator will help accelerate the breakdown of the nitrate cycle, keeping O2 levels up throughout the night period and can only help the fishing. Whichever unit I choose it will be unobtrusive and as discreet as possible. After the removal of unwanted fish last winter which have in the past kept the sediment in the water turned over more than I realised, this has allowed the light to penetrate early season and cause the weed issue, so I will add a futher 30-40 Carp from my growing-on ponds to replace the Tench biomass that was removed, and also add some young Grasscarp to just make triple sure we have all angles covered. We are always faced with a challenge each season running a fishery and it's never easy trying to beat mother nature, but never one to be beaten we will endeavour to improve things each season.

On the wildlife front, masses of Swallow & Housemartins are gathering over the lakes before their migration south bound, I don't recall seeing so many, it's been a spectacular sight in the evenings. I have also seen a Hobby hawking over the lakes chasing dragonflies along with the Osprey passing through again for a brief time. A friendly hedgehog is doing the rounds each night visiting ecah bivivy in turn for a midnight snack!! Also Red squirrel abound this season collecting the walnut harvest and a Pinemartin is down at the lakes that seems to have suffered a leg injury of some kind. Plenty to see this Autumn and I will be back soon with another update.

Over & Out

Team Sanctuary