‘Carp diem’ at Wroughton Reservoir as angler-friendly fish introduced
Monster carp were swapped for something a little more manageable on Friday to make a local reservoir more angler-friendly.
Wroughton Reservoir is a Thames Water-owned site leased by the nearby angling club but it was, until recently, filled with just a few very large fish, making it unsuitable for the average fisherman.
In a brainwave scheme, Thames Water’s resident fish expert Roo ‘The Rod’ Newby, invited a fish trader to come and take the carp to sell on to a more suitable angling lake in return for a stock of smaller fish that children and adults can enjoy fishing for.
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On Friday (15/04) 300lbs worth of rudd, roach, gudgeon and skimmer bream were welcomed to their new home at Wroughton Reservoir following the removal of 40 carp, weighing up to 12lbs each, that were collected using electro-fishing the week before.
Roo Newby, access and recreation manager, said:
“The lake is a great spot for fishing but numbers at Wroughton Angling Club have seriously dropped in recent years because it was hard to catch anything in numbers.
“The carp were too big and were dominating the reservoir so they’ve gone to a more suitable home and we’ve now got some great little fish to catch and hope that kids and adults will come down and enjoy fishing at this picturesque location.”
Phil Sloan, field operations specialist and member of Wroughton Angling Club, added:
“We’re really pleased that we’ve managed to restock the water without any cost to the club because we are such a small club, it wasn’t financially possible on our own.
“The next step is to build some platforms around the water and landscape the area a bit more so we can offer some exceptional fishing here for everyone to enjoy.”
