The Watersmeet owners went to the Bigot fish farm recently (w/c 21st November) & chose 40 carp to add to their lake.
Just 2 under 20lb (both around 18lb), at least 6 good 30′s plus a few more around the 30 mark… & Mick just couldn’t help adding a 40lb’er when Laurent tempted him with one! Rest were all good 20′s.
The day arrived & Lauren was nice and early… let the netting begin!
We also thought that we would do a stock take at the same time, as disaster had struck back in April. Contrary to rumour and speculation we had lost a third of our fish due to the early hot weather, which made the water temperature rise considerably and as the fish’s immune system had not kicked in it had a disastrous effect. It certainly was not from poisoning by one of the local farmers, which has been mischievously intimated.
Larry at work...
As lunch time approached the net was out and they were starting to gather it in. Larry the bailiff who was supposed to be taking things easy (knee probs) couldn’t help himself and ended up driving the tractor while the others gathered the net in for him to pull up the bank (boys and toy’s comes to mind, see photo).
We had given it much thought and deliberation as to whether we should remove the Cat Fish from the lake, as over the last few years they had grown to some considerable size.
Lunch over the first Cat is out, Lauren is happy he shouts we have the big one, a hefty 74lb.
The other 2 are still in the net, but he thinks they are not as big as the first.
One of the big cats...
Number 2 comes out and behold it’s another 74lb
Number 3… a 75lb Cat!
….. and now I’m on the phone to Mick (he had to stay at home business commitments) what should we do as all three are big.
Talk about putting someone on the spot! Decision made take them all out.
The rest of the carp that were in the net were all in pristine condition, but we were already aware of that as this year’s photos had shown that the fish in the lake where in great condition.
By now it was getting dark. The net team packed away and Lauren came up to the house to discuss the restocking which is due to take place in November.
... all the carp were in great condition
Numbers decided, size and type agreed to bring us back to last year’s stocking levels – they will arrive in early November for next seasons guests.
We will also be replacing the cats but with kittens and hopefully all the same sex!!
Watch this space… we’ll bring you all the news here.
Sad News
June and Mick, the owners of Watersmeet, have reported that the venue has suffered a series of unfortunate events. A few weeks ago the Dam wall suffered some damage due to the exceptionally dry weather and small cracks appeared which meant a leakage of water and consequently the levels lowered. Sadly this combined with an algae bloom and consequently the oxygen levels dropped and some carp unfortunately died. The secondary lake was not affected but the main carp lake was.
A total of 34 carp died. Even more sadly many of them were 30’s. This has meant that the lake stock has now dropped by approx 1/3rd, which will clearly affect catches in 2011.
Action taken
The owners and bailiffs took immediate action and the Dam wall was rapidly repaired and restored. The lake was refilled (happily the lake has its own water source) and the remaining fish are already actively feeding again though obviously in depleted numbers. However for obvious reasons the lake cannot now restocked until the forthcoming winter and this means fishing will be more difficult during the coming months.
As a result of this news all the clients booked on in 2011 were contacted individually with a full report and offered various options; either a full refund and cancellation, transfer to another lake or to maintain their booking but with a £500 reduction to reflect the lower stocking level. I am pleased to say that because of the high standard of accommodation many regulars have stayed with the lake and maintained their booking. This is not entirely surprising to us here at Angling Lines as Watersmeet gets many repeat bookings, year on year.
Additional Stocking
The owners have already arranged for the lake to be netted in October 2011 and then two separate additional stockings will take place a few weeks later. This should ensure that the stocking numbers are back up to normal. A full report of the netting and stockings will appear on our website as they happen. So full confidence for 2012 can be resumed.
We’ve made one or two improvements at Watersmeet for the start of the 2011 season;
We’ve installed a separate shower cubicle in the bathroom which we think will go down very well – it’s a great shower!
In the kitchen we’ve upgraded the TV which now also supports a usb port and has a cd slot.
Internet access has been added so bring your laptops and you can upload your fish photo’s straight to the Angling Lines website.
Finally not forgetting we have put a couple of kids picnic tables out – so get them painting or drawing their surroundings.
One of the new stockies
We took the decision at the end of last season to net the top lake. 2010 had been a good year for fishing on the top lake and kids and grown-ups alike had had great fun. However, we felt the time was now right to get rid of the roach and the very small carp.
On the day of the netting the sun shone… the weather was a lot different than when we netted the bottom lake 2 years ago, it was constant rain then.
Once the small stuff had been removed we added 29 new carp up to 14lb. These are the same fast growing strain that we have in the bottom lake.
We’ll see how they progress… who knows we might be fishing for 30′s in the Top Lake soon!
Here’s a very short video clip of the stocking;
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