As the summer seems to be coming to an end we thought it would be a good time to look back at the high and lows of our first full year, and what a great year for us it has been at Bletiere .
The Highs…
As expected the early weeks produced some really good catches with most parties catching up to 60 fish in a week. In that total a lot of high 30’s came out which was an encouraging start for us.
The first party we had in April started the year with a bang with Steve catching the lake record mirror at 39lb 8oz so the target for the year was already set at a high level with Lesley and I waiting for our first 40lb’er to come out. During the early months a lot of fish were caught and a lot of big catches were made by most groups. It didn’t seem to matter what bait was used, but very quickly it became apparent that the Quest boilies were producing most fish due to the amount going in as bait.
The fishing continued into the hot summer with Peter in August catching the lake record common at 39lb. However, with the heat the fishing did start to slow down, but still 20 to 30 carp a week were coming out.
What has been pleasing for us, and even more so for our guests, is the number of over 30’s that have been caught and it showed the fish are putting on some really good growth rates. Up to now this year over 70 at 30lb+ have been caught.
We have had a few surprises along the way because although we had the lake netted before we restocked you never know what escaped the net. Although no monsters have appeared we have had grass carp up to 16lb 12oz and a 15lb pike… both of which we did not stock.
The only cat that was caught all year was by Glen and weighed in at 48lb. Although they were often hooked Glen was the only angler to bank one, so a big well done to him.
The only disappointment for us was that up to now no one has banked one of the 40’s but there is still time. Hopefully one will come out soon, as the weather is looking good and the last bookings may just sneak one out and win that free weeks fishing!
We now also have another puppy called Daisy and she is a German Shepherd cross. Like Wisper our lab she is as daft as a brush and is always happy to meet new people. Just like wisper I’m sure she’ll be happy sitting watching fish being caught!
The Lows…
None! How could we have any living here in our little piece of paradise and meeting some really nice people and making new friends with many of them!
This winter we have a lot of work to get through as we want to get the place looking even better for next year; Lesley is busy planting out loads of shrubs and bulbs and already the bank behind the gite is filling up nicely with an assortment of flowering plants.
We are removing the chipped bark beside the BBQ as this became a play area for all the local moles, and we are putting down decking to make it safer and more comfortable.
The biggest job is clearing all the tops of the 250 trees we had to have cut down this year… the mess they left has to be seen to believed! Once cleared we are going to replant with a mixture of trees and flowering shrubs. The plus side to the trees going is that the light levels have gone up and the sun now stays longer on the swims, and with more sun on the water hopefully the feeding season will be longer. We also now have a view across the fields and beyond.
We would like to thank everyone who stayed here this year and hopefully we’ll see you all again next year. We look forward to meeting even more anglers and their families.
Tight lines and all the best,
Lesley and John London, Bletiere
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