Waterfront News

We have endured the heat, downpours of rain and are now ready for whatever August has to offer. There is talk of more hot weather to come but we shall have wait and see. Suprise is always the beauty of UK weather.

So, July has been an eventful month for various reasons, not all good. The old chestnut of litter has raised its ugly head again and needs to be nipped in the bud before it becomes a major issue. Empty drink cans have been thrown into hedges and sides to swims, along with bait bags and other items of rubbish. Carrier bags from a butchers in Sudbury have been filled with leftovers from a fishing session and been dumped for responsible anglers to pick up. Redundant items of tackle i.e. hooks, line and other items of end tackle are turning up in swims. There is a simple message to everyone who uses our lakes, " if your brought with you, take it home, your membership is at stake".

One of the Life-rings on Alresford Lake has had its rope taken. These are safety items and should only be use for emergency purposes. Your life could depend on them so please do not use them for purposes they were not designed for or take them from the confines of the lakes.

The movement of fish between lakes is an issue that only the committee can decide on and authorise, along with permission of the Environment Agency. Any other movement of fish is not permitted and will not be tolerated at all. This especially applies to Carp that are finding their way into waters where they do not belong.

Those of you that are members of the Angling Trust will be aware of their involvement with the European Management Plan for the control of Cormorants. A species that in the 1970's was at a level of 50.000, now stands at 2 million and are responsible for the loss of 274.000 tones of fish, costing recreational fishing clubs, who stock their lakes, 100m euros. Hopefully, some better form of control will be put in place to reduce their numbers and give angling clubs and fisheries a freer hand.

At this time of year, water levels tend to be on the minus side rather than the plus. When making a decision on where to fish, please consider the depth of water at the edge or if there is a gap between the waters edge and the bank. Please do not drag fish through shallow water before netting or across exposed mud or soil. This aught to be common sense, but this does seem to be a sense that is not always common.

Last months matches went off without issue with Ged Spurgin winning the first of the OAP matches fished on Worcester Lake with a lake record catch of 76lb 10oz. The last of the Westlake Trophy matches was fished again on Worcester Lake, with Adrian Loughton winning that leg, but Nick Austin winning overal by beating Adrian by one point. The second OAP match,fished on Cox Lake, was won by Ged Spurgin with a hefty 159lb 13oz. The Pairs match fished on Bramley and Worcester Lake was won by Steve Baynton and Ged Spurgin on overall weight, despite tying on points with Graham Pinnock and Steve Sibbons. The 3rd OAP match of the month was won by Graham Pinnock with a weight of 25lb 3oz from Bramley and finally the Bareham trophy was won by John Shepard fishing on Cox Lake with a weight of 166lb 6oz to win.

This months matches are:- 4 Float Challenge on Worcester Lake/ OAP on Alresford Lake/ The Wigley on Worcester/ The Ron Tickner Float on Cox Lake/ OAP on Worcester / A.Robbins, a pole only match fished on Bramley. Please watch out for changes and information on the notice boards.

As you can see from the notice above, the level in the Abbey Lake is deemed safe to return to fishing. Water is no longer being abstracted for crops and the rain and continued input from the stream has brought the level back up. Please be careful when netting fish as the level is still not up to 100% yet. Water levels seem to be holding at present with Alresford and Cox Lakes at their lowest, but holding so far this season.

All three lakes on the Orchard complex seem to be fishing well. Alresford is defintely a lake that fishes well if you are in the right place at the right time and the Abbey will be a case of watch this space.

Some of the swims on Alresford are having their steps repaired along with overhanging branches and brambles. The pathways and swims on the Orchard complex continue to be maintained ,along with the accesses around the Abbey. Once again, can all members remember to take a drink to re-hydrate yourselves and wear a hat or keep in the shade. Just to be boring, please remember that alcohol does not constitute re-hydration and can affect you quickly in hot weather.

And finally, the school holidays are in progress,which means a meeting of young and old. For the older members of this club, remember you were young once and for the younger ones, be patient you will reach that age quicker than you want to.

As always, stay safe, enjoy your fishing and look out for one another.

Tight lines