Panning the camera around the lake, looking for the Geese this morning, I caught sight of a large Crucian Carp, just under the surface of the water. As the Geese had done a bunk again, I spent a little time looking at the Fish. The water was a little bit scummy, that is caused by last years rotting reeds and Bull Rushes. I could still see a lot of big fish through the scum. As well as the Crucian Carp, there were a couple of very large Mirror Carp. The place where I could see them on camera, is only two feet or so deep, allowing the water to warm up, the fish seem to like it there. At the far end of the lake, there is one place on warm summer days, when the fish come to the surface and sunbath, for very long periods.
We stocked the lake with about a thousand fish, nine years ago. We put in Mirror Carp, Crucian Carp, Tench, Roach and Rudd. Although a thousand sounds a lot, believe me for a acre lake, it is a very small amount. None of the fish we put in were very large, but we made sure that there were a number, that were breeding size and age. We fed them for about three years, and you could see they had grown to a good size. The fish knew when I was approaching to feed them. A few times people were by the lake, at the place where I fed them, they had not seen any Fish until I was in sight of the lake, the Fish could not have known it was me, but were waiting before I got to the lake for the feed. I should think that they must of felt the vibration, of me walking towards the lake.
After three years I stopped feeding them. The Carp had grown very big in that time. A couple of years back a twelve pound Mirror Carp was fished out of the lake. There would have been larger Fish, but in the second season of us stocking the lake, an Otter decided to have her puppies in the field that the lakes are in. At first I thought that it was a Mink, but after talking to people who knew, I realised that it was an Otter. The Otter does not eat the scales of the fish, and their droppings have a very sweet smell to them. It was depressing walking around the lake of a morning. For weeks there were large fish scales on the banks where the Otter had eaten the fish. For sure the Otter was taking the largest fish. The Fish stand no chance of getting away from an Otter, and they always take the largest fish, as well as duckling and voles. They will also kill the fish without eating them. They are very vicious killers. Although it is good to see them returning, after nearly becoming extinct, I can understand why many years ago they were hunted.
Years back, country people ate the fish from the rivers, streams and lakes, the Otter was their competitor, they were not welcome. Having lakes you realise what predators Fish have. Otter, Mink, Heron and if you are near the coast and are really unlucky, you may get the Cormorant fly in.
The Bull Rushes and Reeds are starting to shoot up around the lakes. The Marsh Marigold and other Marsh Plants are coming into flower. This warm and sunny weather, in the past few days, has made the lakes and area around them, come to life, it looks great, and at 7.30pm one pair of geese flew back in.