In reply to Post #45
There are record breaking fish out there in some of these stately ponds.
There are record breaking fish out there in some of these stately ponds.
In reply to Post #46
And some very big ones on golf courses
There's still a few about, I'm certain
There's also places that are not really viable to fish and would need some serious time and dedication but I am certain the rewards are there, even if they are just uncaught fish, size regardless
And some very big ones on golf courses
There's still a few about, I'm certain
There's also places that are not really viable to fish and would need some serious time and dedication but I am certain the rewards are there, even if they are just uncaught fish, size regardless
In reply to Post #47
A butler friend of mine once showed me some pictures of estate workers holding fish (for a laugh) during the drain down of an estate lake about 20 years ago, 3 or 4 different fish all well over 40 !! Apparently there were much bigger but they couldn't get hold of them
A butler friend of mine once showed me some pictures of estate workers holding fish (for a laugh) during the drain down of an estate lake about 20 years ago, 3 or 4 different fish all well over 40 !! Apparently there were much bigger but they couldn't get hold of them
In reply to Post #48
I could fish for two now, have not got the time or the will to fish there, get quite a few people walking round and when you fish places like this, everybody is an angler all of a sudden, pain in the arse
I could fish for two now, have not got the time or the will to fish there, get quite a few people walking round and when you fish places like this, everybody is an angler all of a sudden, pain in the arse
In reply to Post #46
Personally I've no interest in size, the few that know me and have fished with me will know this and I very rarely weigh or photograph captures. How many fish over 40lb ish are true stunners, in my eyes hardly any. What's important to me and I know I'm in the minority is the look of the fish and condition they are in. A healthy torpedo shaped upper double to thirty pound fish caught on balanced tackle from an old lake the fish has spent its entire life in and know every inch of will fight and challenge the angler more than many of these forty plus gravel pit lumps that plod around with the occasional thump. Just as important is the venue which is why these historic estate lakes and old mill/hammer ponds are interesting to me even though I will never get permission to fish most of them.
Personally I've no interest in size, the few that know me and have fished with me will know this and I very rarely weigh or photograph captures. How many fish over 40lb ish are true stunners, in my eyes hardly any. What's important to me and I know I'm in the minority is the look of the fish and condition they are in. A healthy torpedo shaped upper double to thirty pound fish caught on balanced tackle from an old lake the fish has spent its entire life in and know every inch of will fight and challenge the angler more than many of these forty plus gravel pit lumps that plod around with the occasional thump. Just as important is the venue which is why these historic estate lakes and old mill/hammer ponds are interesting to me even though I will never get permission to fish most of them.
In reply to Post #48
Probably long gone, many places I see have not and never will be fenced.
Probably long gone, many places I see have not and never will be fenced.
In reply to Post #51
Sadly you are correct. Most estate lakes have been ravaged....usually stream fed, unfenced, shallow and lacking in other species. Often emptied by otters within weeks
Sadly you are correct. Most estate lakes have been ravaged....usually stream fed, unfenced, shallow and lacking in other species. Often emptied by otters within weeks
In reply to Post #50
Spot on.
Spot on.
In reply to Post #50
Similar thinking to me
Similar thinking to me
In reply to Post #50
Eh? So there's hardly any fish over 40lb that are stunners? Are you sure?
Eh? So there's hardly any fish over 40lb that are stunners? Are you sure?
In reply to Post #55
In my eyes probably less than 10%, there are loads of 40+ fish out there now, many if they were human would be classed as obese.
In my eyes probably less than 10%, there are loads of 40+ fish out there now, many if they were human would be classed as obese.
In reply to Post #15
Agree, worst carp book I've ever read, not a great author that's for sure'
Agree, worst carp book I've ever read, not a great author that's for sure'
In reply to Post #35
Also the fingerlings would have been graded before Leney arrived at the fish dealers, and then he in turn chose what he considered to be the best. Natural spawning just isn't like that. Nature doesn't 'grade' the fish according to size or looks. That's why Redmires stock regressed into mediocrity over the generations.
Also the fingerlings would have been graded before Leney arrived at the fish dealers, and then he in turn chose what he considered to be the best. Natural spawning just isn't like that. Nature doesn't 'grade' the fish according to size or looks. That's why Redmires stock regressed into mediocrity over the generations.
In reply to Post #58
Yes. The reason we have the fish we have today is purely through unnatural selection. Left alone all lakes would be full of long skinny 12lb Wildie commons.
Yes. The reason we have the fish we have today is purely through unnatural selection. Left alone all lakes would be full of long skinny 12lb Wildie commons.
In reply to Post #59
It's an interesting subject. I know some lakes that contain fish like this, the old cricket bat commons, like peas in a pod. Nobody has done anything with these waters for as long as I can remember and history tells me they have been in there for MANY years
It's an interesting subject. I know some lakes that contain fish like this, the old cricket bat commons, like peas in a pod. Nobody has done anything with these waters for as long as I can remember and history tells me they have been in there for MANY years