We suffered our first major scare last week as the unprecidented weather left its mark on our beloved venue
Last thursday we recieved the call that all fishery owners fear the most as the lake struggled to cope with the dramatic drop in temperature after record breaking highs.
As our monthly pass holder, Owen, woke and peared out of his bivvy, he was greeted by the sight of a thousand fish up on the surface, gasping for breath! The Lake had suffered a hugh oxygen crash.
Mick and i arrived at the site soon after and our eyes confirmed our worst fears - pike, roach and perch were on the surface in their hundreds and the numbers on the DO meter (disolved oxygen reader) made for grim reading indeed.
Action stations! Our 4" pump was deployed within the hour and the Environment Agency joined us in the effort very soon after. Within no time at all we had emergency aeration in place to provide an oxygen refuge for the fish - somewhere to sit it out whilst the mother nature did her thing.
A very tense 4 days followed, as the pumps were manned day and night to give the fish the best chance of survival. The team took it in shifts to refuel and maintain the equipment, supported throughout by the steadfast members of the Fishery Team from the EA. For a while it seemed as if nothing was getting any better, but finally on day 4 the saturated oxygen readings started to return to normal.
So, how many fish did we lose? Well, an awful lot less than if we'd reacted any later, thats for sure!
The casualties consisted primarily of silver fish, Pike and Tench. Miraculously, we seem to have only lost 3 Carp!
Now that the scare is over, we look to the future with positivity. The silvers will bounce back in no time, and there is now more food and space for the Carp to grow even bigger. This break from Angling pressure will mean we have a Lake full of hungry fish too!
Edge Angling would like to sincerly thank the efforts of Hugh Bunker, Dean Jones and the rest of the fisheries team at the EA for their fantastic response, help and advice over the last few days. Without them, we would have undoubtedly lost a lot more fish. Thank you guys!
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