carp free

[mikench]

I am looking forward to seeing and trying the fourth lake on one of my favourite venues stocked just with tench, Chub and barbel! It should be ready by early next year!! Definitely no carp but the owner might just be persuaded to add some roach and rudd!

[daniel121]

Problem is many anglers like the idea of slivers commercials with no carp but when these are made so few anglers want to fish them in reality in comparison to carp waters.

The nail in the coffin of this idea in my opinion comes from the nature of the species and cost of them. Slivers are much more vulnerable and feed much more delicate that carp. Bream are exceptionally fickle they won't cope with the hammering a carp will. Tench are delicate feeders, they won't stir the bottom up to a mud soup like carp will, this means clearer water and more weed. Also there's the price too Tench are very expensive and can be more difficult to catch at certain times, this makes carp are the go to option.

Add these lakes are much more likely to have problems with weed or disease, you can see evidence of this up and down the country where these lakes have been tried, and you see the attraction for the fishery owner to stock puddle pigs!

[Keith M]

Perhaps they should have not stocked the Carp and then lose the water to angling altogether as no one wants to fish it.

There seems to be a growing number of us anglers that get fed up with catching the same old fish all of the time, with every one a faximille of the last one ; just to feel your rod bend. I myself dislike commercials like this with a vengeance and get bored senseless with catching pasties one after another unless I’m fishing in a match.

During my 30 years of helping to run our estate lake I was the Match secretary and our team captain, and whenever I published the match report at the end of a season I used to include a survey of what the membership would like to see stocked into the lake; and out of all the returned slips only around 3 or 4 of our anglers wanted us to stock lots of stunted Carp and the majority of the members much preferred to keep it as a healthy mixed fishery full of Tench, Crucians, Rudd, Roach perch etc. with a light sprinkling of Carp; and the match catches rarely included any Carp at all.

There was always the odd commercial for the members that liked catching lots of pasties, and the estate lake still had enough decent sized Carp in it to keep the serious Carp anglers happy.

Keith

[mikench]

A lake full of tench of all sizes is my idea of bliss! Why do you think Nottskev is such a genial and happy chappy!

[Jelster]

Fish rivers.... Yes Carp are present in many, but nothing like the commercials.

I for one would love a local lake with a good head of reasonably sized Tench, Roach, Perch, Crucians & Rudd. That is what I would say is a lovely days fishing. I grew up, as a young teenager, catching Rudd, simple tactics and bagging up. The chance of catching 1lb plus Rudd & Roach would get me to the bank on a regular basis.