Sunday 23rd March 08 Open Lookout
Conditions: Hard overnight frost, then Sunny and calm then Sleet, Snow then Partly cloudy, Ambient Temp: 5 0C, Dew: -2 0C, Humidity: 61%, Wind: Calm to snow blizzard NNW 22 mph, Barometer: 999+ mb (low) Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous, Sunrise: 6.00 am, Sunset: 6.26 pm
Water temp dropped to 3.6 to 3.9, DO16.1, ph7.86, Conductivity-87
1st John Foster Angel 16lb 13oz Peg 27
2nd Terry Guthery 14lb 4oz peg 29
3rd Anthony Longstaff Angel Jnr 12lb 2oz peg 8
4th Neil Brown 12lb 1oz Angel 12lb 1oz peg 1
5th Richard Crabtree 6lb 5oz peg 13
6th Ralf Nailer Washington 4lb 2oz peg 4
John fished feeder first, then pole @ 9 mtres using micro pellets, maggots, groundbait then double white maggot on hook.
Water temperatures dropped considerably with all the sleet, snow, and hailstones also high winds this week, and today’s (Easter Sundays) weighing in was done in a white out snow storm.
Monday 24th Pairs Bowes
Conditions -5 heavy overnight frost, Partly Cloudy then sunny, then snow, and repeating sun, cloudy and snow all day. Ambient Temperature 2 deg (wind chill feels -3 deg), Dew -4deg, Humidity 65%, Wind NW15 mph, Barometer 998 mb (low), Moon Phase waning gibbous, sunrise 5.58am, Water temp 3.7 deg, to 3.8 deg, PH 7.83, DO 16.1 ppm, conductivity -85, .
!st pair Steve Mc Court & Gordon Robson
2nd pair Andrew Mc Neil & Terry Guthrie
3rd pair Dave Foster & Keith Fenwick
4th Pair Derek & David Potter
Match won on Bomb Maggot to island
Matches
Open Sundays on Lookout Island
General
This was a very different Spring Equinox on Thursday from previous years, & a very hard Easter with such adverse weather this week, however some rather good size fish have been caught in very harsh weather. Conditions showing fish are feeding and adapting to lighter daylight for longer periods, and brave anglers not only locals but visitors as well trying their hand to catch. .
Bream to 6lb 2oz, skimmers now averaging 1lb 3oz, Golden Orfe to 1lb 7oz (Terry Guthrie), Roach & Rudd to 1lb 10oz (John Foster), Carp to 21lb ( Billy Evans), Ide to 1lb 8oz, no reported Crucians, perch, Koi or tench caught this week.
Lookout
Fishing with the wind, fish moving even though the big drop in water temperature, some cracking size and condition fish being caught even though not in massive numbers.
Lots of smaller Angel bred fish of all species are also being caught which holds well for the future and shows aquaculture is well balanced.
Bowes
Brian Hall had a cracking day caught 32 fish also on last Monday also Alan Hepple on last Monday using pole at 10mtrs he ended up with over 14 carp nearly all caught in the later part of the day. Water temperature dropping proved tough for catches later in the week, Billy Evans using hair rigged pellet 10mm caught a common Carp at 21lb 1oz in excellent conditions he just decided on the spur of the moment to go fishing and was well rewarded.
Bassetts
Fished well this week until it partial froze on Monday it then recovered in the afternoon when it melted and fished exceptionally well again. With water temperatures so low it was a surprise to see fish topping on Monday morning in the unfroze half.
Coaching
Coaching has started up on Saturday and Sunday Mornings brave souls turned up in poor conditions anyone wanting other times please phone to arrange times and which coaches.
Junior Club & Intermediate Club
Junior club also is Saturday mornings at 9am till 12 noon coaches present,
News
Fisheries Accreditations
We are exceptionally Proud to announce we were awarded the top accreditation a fishery can get of a GOLD award.
The Stillwater Fisheries Accreditation Scheme
CRITERIA: The criteria for meeting the accreditation standard are based on eight assessment areas, focusing on different aspects of the fishery. These are habitat, nutrition, stocking, water quality, fish health, predation stress, competition angling and exploitation rates. Each of these aspects is carefully assessed and an action is agreed with the fishery to either improve or maintain standards.
Physical Habitat: The habitat of stillwaters should be as natural and diverse as possible and include: submerged water plants; emergent and marginal vegetation; overhanging trees and bushes; wood in margins and sunk in deep water (out of fishing range) for added cover; deep water (>2m) to provide sanctuary for temperature extremes; shallow water for spawning and as fry habitat.
Nutrition: Plant presence in the margins, bait and fish diet, over/under feeding of the fish are all assessed.
Stocking: The assessment encompasses species suitability to the habitat, the stocking policy of the fishery and compliance with legislation and bio-security.
Water Quality: Water quality criteria to be considered include dissolved oxygen content, ammonia concentrations and aeration techniques, monitoring and record keeping.
Fish Health: This section covers bio-security measures, species suitability, stock introduction and water quality monitoring.
Predation Stress: The fishery must provide adequate cover and refuge for fish from avian, mammalian and other fish predators.
Competition Angling: It will be necessary to have a competition policy in place, if appropriate, covering the equipment in use and other fish-related welfare matters.
Exploitation Rates: The fishery owner or manager must be able to make good estimates of exploitation rates based on records of angler visits, stock density and average catches. This will help in assessing standards based on good record keeping.
Securing fish welfare by raising fishery standards
