Planting and Snag removal at Roseau carp lake
Ready to be moved to their new home…
During the last week at Roseau I have been working hard trying to create something that the Large lake lacks slightly. In my opinion the bank between pegs 9 and 10 isn’t too kind to the eye compared to the rest of the lake which in comparison has rather lush bank side vegetation all the way round come the summer months. I wanted to change the appearance of this bank for a few reasons. The prevailing wind on the lake seems to be south westerly which blows directly into the corner between 9 and 10, With the bank side here being very bare the erosion is twice as fast as it should be.
Snags safely removed
After consideration I decided I needed to create a barrier along this bank to help with erosion but ideally look the part and help the fishery in other ways. I have access to a lot of mature bull-rushes which are resident in a small pond onsite that used to be used as a trout fishery by the French many years ago. The plan was to remove the bull-rushes from the small pit then re-plant them all along the bank in question, but first I wanted to wade the margins to remove a couple of the snags that had become evident in recent weeks.
The work begins...
Having ripped my waders whilst peg building I decided to brave it and work in just shorts and t-shirt, although the weather was horrible with driving rain and wind the water was surprisingly warm and quite comfortable to work in. Once all the snags were removed I drove the jeep up to the small pit and began removing the bull-rushes carefully so I could transfer all their roots to give them the best chance of surviving in their new home. I proceeded to plant for 3 days, the effect was almost instant as the reeds gave the bay character and a very carpy feel. I also planted up the point between peg 1 and 10, like the bay between 10 and 9 the point had an instant effect to the eye, all of a sudden the area looked much more inviting to the anglers.
Looking much better
These reeds will hopefully take successfully and grow back nice and thick next year. They will help the fishery in so many ways, firstly they will be a lot kinder to the eye than the clay bank that was previously visible to the anglers around the lake. Secondly they will help with erosion, the reeds will slow the water down from crashing into the bank side in so making the banks stronger, The roots of the reeds will secure the ground around the banks, again this will help with erosion. Finally the reeds will act as an excellent habitat for all natural life in the lake, it will encourage small invertebrates to breed and thieve in the waters along with giving the carp somewhere to spawn comfortably and hopefully successfully in years to come.
Jack – Fishery Manager
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