Jim Roper

For about 20 years, I had a chap coming to my place with the thought of catching a 4lb eel. About 8 years ago he was diagnosed with a terminal cancer, and survived longer than anyone else had with that type of 'the big C'. Last Summer, I told him I had lost what I thought must be an eel, short run and then solid, three times in the same place. He set up one night, casting to near where I had been snapped and caught one that weighed 5lb 6oz, his PB. He died 2 months later, but I got him his PB eel! Still getting eels caught from time to time!

Telephone, Telegraph, TellaWoman.

Eddie Jordan

I had someone fishing with some horrible looking maggots yesterday, quite big, he reckoned they were Black Fly maggots. They were brownish in colour. When I saw this thread title, I thought it was about the same things, but it wasn't.

Had a chap trying to catch a 4lb Eel at my place for about 20 years. I tipped him off about getting busted three sessions on the trot by what I suspected must be a big Eel and he caught one that weighed 5lb 6oz. He had been suffering with cancer centred on the Adrenal Gland for 8 years and died about 2 months after catching it!

I've got a few regulars who catch carp with floating dog biscuits on a fly rod. Rudd take normal flies sometimes.

Mine has got another 140lb to go, then.

Had a small match yesterday. The carp were spawning! 58lb of 90% silvers won it. Back to the old days!

My blackbirds seem to be pretty happy now that there aren't so many magpies around.

From the bridge, all the way to Poole Harbour, I believe. There is another free stretch in Dorchester where Grayling are often caught in numbers.

Bakers Meaty Chunk dog food seem to be working well at the moment. Slightly boyant to start with, then sink, so not likely to sink into the silt!

There was talk of a Roach of over 4lb being caught on the free stretch of the Frome at Wareham a couple years ago.

Can they be damaged by handing like mackerel can?

IF!

You haven't seen all the evidence! Only a few people have.

All sorts of reading being done on this. Dangerously high oxygen levels can be the result of too much Hydrogen Peroxide, it seems. When D-DAS tested, the oxygen level in Lavender was a lot higher than the other lakes.

This Golden Algae is sometimes found in estuaries where there is salt water or closed lakes very close to the sea, so it seems. I wonder if it could be spread by sea birds like Cormorants!!!!!!!!! I doubt anyone would admit it!!!!!!!!

As far as I can see, the tests so far are on the water samples. Waiting for test results on the dying fish! They have to be tested while alive. The dead duck was burned, so no post mortem possible. People who saw the dead fish are sceptical about the initial EA findings. Not sure if there are likely to be survivors yet. The lock that was glued up was definitely down to a Churchill operative!

EA initial test results suggest Golden Algae is to blame, Prymnesium Parvum, very rare but often the cause of deaths in lakes close to the sea. "We have now received preliminary results from our water quality and algae samples that were taken from the fishery last week. The water quality and chemistry results show nothing out of the ordinary or anything that would suggest that there has been any polluting matter introduced to the lake that could result in a fish mortality. Analysis of the algal sample found a high algal abundance with some spiky form diatoms present and also golden algae and dinophytes. The latter two have been associated with unexplained fish kills in very low abundance. That coupled with an overall high algal abundance will most likely be causing dissolved oxygen fluctuations which can also result in fish kills occurring. Our visual checks of the fish also suggest that the most likely cause of the mortality was the algae present in the lake at the time. As we receive final confirmation of all results we will let you know. Kind regards,"

A further issue:- CEFAS thought they found a couple of Prussian Carp among the dead fish, seems there have been other reports of this invasive species that appears to have very dominant genes that take over from whatever others they hybridize with. The EA are trying to find out where they are coming from. I have never bought any Crucians at all.

It was me, not the Police, that were called Good Friday morning. Plod are waiting for EA test results, before they do anything. It has got a crime number, though!

I have a sign on the gate that reads "Beware of sudden gunfire" in Polish.

I was fairly sure they do council work!

Carp, no Catfish! A chap was kicked off about a month ago and the gate lock was glued up a week later. He works for a toilet cleaning company named Churchill !!!

Suspected fish poisoning incident near Weymouth, Dorset. Beware of someone driving a van with Churchill, a cleaning company, on the side.