The initial stocking of carp into the lake was carried out by the original owner in the early 1990s and consisted of 250 two to three year-old carp. By the time Gareth purchased the pits with a view to transforming them into a carp fishery in 1999, the largest of these carp had topped 44lb, with an estimated 60 fish remaining from this first stocking.
Between 1999 and 2008 a large number of carp were stocked into both of the lakes as part of a progressive fish management programme on the venue.
These fish have thrived in the waters, gaining weight very rapidly due to the rich environment and regular feeding with quality carp bait and pellets. They have grown on to make an excellent head of big carp. The largest to date, one of the original fish from the 1990 stocking, has topped 76lb! (This fish is no longer alive but there are many more large carp ready to take its place.)
Each lake now has around 120-150 carp to over 50lb. Other species include the Wels catfish to over 100lb, grass carp to 40lb plus, tench, bream, crucian carp, roach, rudd, pike and perch. The stocking policy for the future is to continue to introduce fish over 20lb progressively to the lakes.
The last stocking took place in January 2009.
Other Fish:-
Catfish:
The venue has a really good head of catfish to over 100lb. These hard fighting fish give a really account of themselves and can be handled on regular carp gear as long as you use a heavy braided hook-link, Dyneema for example. The favoured method is to use Halibut pellets, but live baits work well too. A large number also get caught on boilies.
Grass Carp:
These fish were initially stocked to reduce the weed but there are some really large ones in the venue to over 40lb and they occasionally grace the banks as a pleasant surprise, as they are fabulous looking fish.
Pike:
It is little known but the lakes contain a large head of pike and some really big ones, so if you enjoy a bit of piking don't forget your lures and pike rigs.
Depsite the fact that I set the venue up as a carp and catfish fishery, the previous owners had stocked numbers of pike as these fish are the preferred quarry of most local fishermen. These fish then have seen virtually no pressure in the 10 years since Gareth has owned the place.
Other Coarse Fish:
There are many other coarse species present in large numbers and many of specimen size. These include: Crucian carp, Tench, Rudd, Roach, Bream and a few Zander.
Many anglers enjoy a bit of sport if the carp decide not to play the game and a feeder rod or float rod can be used in conjunction with your regular carp set up.As the rod limit is 3 carp rods, I don't expect you to reel one in if you want to try your luck.
There are no crayfish or Poisson-Chats. Anglers who enjoy the pleasure of watching a float are welcome to give it a go.
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