My first 30 from Cherry Lake!

Well we are still here.

We have all so far been lucky enough to miss the virus and have even enjoyed having the place to ourselves. Indeed over the last week I have even spent a few days fishing on a slow Cherry Lake. More of this in a minute.

Firstly, the Coronavirus lock down. We are somewhat frustrated by not being able to be open over the last six weeks as our Lodges are all isolated! I have lost count of the many phone calls I have had from people almost begging to come. Given we are closed, essentially because people cannot travel, this has been a frustrating irony for us!

Just in case restrictions are relaxed at the last minute (and I can understand why the Government is being coy about telling us their plans), we are ready to open from 08 May. The key of course being our guests ability to get here.

We do have vacancies in May and June as the result of cancellations etc, so if you are suddenly able to visit please give me a call on 01285 869887

My back and shoulders are certainly looking forwards to our guests returning and fishery manager Dave returning to full time work. Why?...........because feeding four lakes 3-4 times a week (normally it is twice a week) is hard work. As a life long pen pusher I was not built for heaving 20-25kg sacks of pellets and other goodies around! Given how heavily stocked our lakes are, and the high average size of the Carp, we have needed to replace the feed that anglers would normally have introduced. This is principally to keep the Carp healthy and in good condition. Expensive, hard work ..........but absolutely necessary.

Last week whilst we had the lovely weather I really indulged myself by fishing from the lawn/deck in front of the house whilst sitting on the patio with my family drinking wine and having BBQ's. I was even in shorts and felt like I was on holiday. This was the first time(s) I have ever done this. A real upside of being closed!

I even managed 4 Carp over 5 sessions. Given 3 of these came in one afternoon you can see it was typically patchy.The biggest of these was a 26-08 Mirror caught on pop-up sweetcorn. My daughter Victoria, as you can see in the lead photo above, took over, and claimed the rights to have her photo. Not the best ever shot of a Carp but clearly a pretty thing!

This week both Dave and I thought we would fish 'properly' from the Lodges and take advantage of the drop in pressure. On Tuesday the Carp were active and we both managed a nice Carp each. Dave had a lovely Ghost Linear Mirror at 21-08 from Grebe Lodge (see picture two below), whilst I managed a good looking Common of 29-04 (pictured above) from Heron Lodge. At first I thought this was one of our 30's from last year down in weight. I was very pleased to determine when I checked my catalogue that it was not and is a good looking Carp coming through.

We both thought we would get a lot more activity, but we did not take into account the sharp drop in temperatures that came with the rain and winds. In fact on Tuesday around mid-day (rather than at dawn!) when you can see the lake 'steaming' as it leaches heat, experience tells you you are in trouble!

Over the next 48 hours for me and 24 hours for Dave, I managed the only one run as the Carp switched off. I did not see a Carp roll from Wednesday in conditions which temperature aside were perfect! Still my Carp caught around 18.00 on Wednesday evening was worth the wait as it is my first thirty from Cherry Lake (which probably indicates how little I have fished the lake overt the last 3-4 years). Judith came round with Victoria (and this time I held the Carp!) to do the honours with the photos. At 31-04 I now have the right to wear the 30+ Cherry Lakes polo shirts as a genuine rather than honorary member of the club!

This Carp was last caught by Steve Martin last June at 30-02, so he is nicely up in weight. Despite losing 6 weeks of prime fishing time, it was still the 15th different carp over 30lb+ caught from Cherry Lake this year. I hope this number shoots up when we re-open (soon).

Take care and stay safe.