Christmas and January Fishery Report
As we predicted, the end of 2018 proved to be prosperous for the fishery. Many anglers ventured out over the Christmas period and had their fill of some quality fishing with Cat’s Whiskers, Blue Flash Damsels, Montana’s, Buzzers and even size 16 dries doing considerably well!
Ben Bangham’s annual competition was very successful, with 26 anglers competing. Largest fish verified was 9lb 8oz rainbow trout (RB) by Cullen Beckwith. However, it was young Alex Jaffrey who stole the show and won the competition! Very well done Alex.
January turned out to be a quieter month with colder weather setting in, and less anglers braved the water. Anglers that did venture out experienced good fishing, with many ‘topping up’ to 6 fish tickets and catching on a variety of lures and small nymphs/buzzers.
Recent notable catches have been; Tamsin Foy (6lb RB), J. Donlin (6lb RB), R. Howard (6.6lb RB), D. Hull (6.8lb RB), B. Hicks (5lb 12oz brown trout), and M Lester (8lb RB and 7lb 4oz RB).
Site Improvements
De-silting of the fish farm was completed during October, removing years of sediment and silt build up. Various ponds, inlet channel and sediment ponds (old catch and release lake) were all cleared and ready for current and future use.
I should mention that the old catch and release has now reverted back to our settlement ponds for the fish farm and are not for fishing. Instead, Squires is now used for catch and release.
Our recent CEFAS fish farm inspection of stock health, transport and management records was completed and we received a 100% pass. We are looking forward to 2019 on the fish farm and maintaining high quality production for our fishery and external customers.
On the fishery itself, myself and Malcolm have been tidying around our lakes, clearing the brush from around Manor and Squires. We have opened up the back-casting space of multiple swims on the North Bank, along with strimming through the nettles behind the swims and clearing the ground of dead branches etc., for ease of maintenance during the summer. We have also completed similar work around Squires, and the two lakes are looking much tidier for it, whilst still keeping their unique characters.
Our new fishery signs are up, with rules and prices signs, opening times and maps of our river and lakes. Along with these, we have installed used leader pipes around the Manor Lake to encourage anglers to dispose of used leader in a responsible manner.
Just a polite minor comment to all anglers: – Please can every angler ensure that they fill out the return sheet inside the lodge before leaving. We have had a few cases of large fish being caught, but no return filled out by the angler. We require correct catch returns to effectively manage the stock of the lake.
From myself and Malcolm, we wish you all a prosperous 2019, and hope to see you soon!
Tight lines,
Fen
