[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/ROIN_ED...082010.docx.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/catchre...0-11Aug2010.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/20TH_JULY_2010.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/8TH_July_2010.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/19TH_JUNE_2010.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/7TH_JUNE_2010.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/newslet...TH_MAY_2010.pdf

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/MAY1st2010.pdf

[Foxy]

will do Col, cheer matey (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb.gif)

[colin333]

Have a good one mate give Keith and family my best regards.
A great set up well worth a visit. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb.gif)

[Foxy]

im off to moorlands again for 5 days sunday night, and fishing monday to saturday.

will let you coooornts know how im getting on (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup_anim.gif)

[colin333]

http://www.moorlandfisheries.co.uk/Newslet...dApril_2010.pdf

[colin333]

NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2010
Hello everyone and welcome to the start of a new Moorlands season. As I sit here typing this
there is still snow over the ground (16th February) and it was extremely cold again this
morning. However, the sun has been trying to break through and the forecast suggests that we
are in for some rain but much warmer conditions from tomorrow on.
Obviously I don’t have a lot of fishing to report on but thought that there are some snippets of
news that you should be aware of and also a small cost saving suggestion which may help
when phoning here, or anywhere else in France for that matter. I have shown below our landline
telephone number coupled with and “Ex-pats” link line which will reduce your calls to
France to 1p per minute.
Dial 0844 759 9542 03 85 92 29 53
Hope that proves useful.
As some of you will know I have recently had a brief visit to a French hospital for a leg
operation to clear a blocked artery and I must just say how impressed I am with the medical
service out here. Single private room, spotlessly clean, lovely young nurses ………………….. I
might go back and have the other leg done. Lol. Anyway, I now can’t wait to be back out on
the lake and getting ready to see how the big girls have done under all this ice.
The other change will be to our chosen bait this year. I have been asked to become a
consultant with Infinity Baits and am pleased to have this opportunity to work with Jamie to
produce a bait specifically for our high pH water. Let me just say that I have not fallen out with
CC Moore and they have produced some excellent baits for us and I’m sure that these will
continue to work well but they have a range of baits and field testers which they need to
concentrate on whereas I am able to be in at an early stage with Infinity. My initial thinking is
that I start with their “caviar and black pepper” and “plum and pineapple” baits for my own
test fishing and then tweak these to get the best out of them. Who knows, they may not need
adjusting at all and could take the place apart straight out of the box. After all they have
already been very successful on some of the English lakes.
For more details of their range and to order direct please contact Jamie on 01268 729494
Or visit the web-site at www.infinitybaits.com
Keith

[colin333]

I would certainly recommend it,different to the Les type of holiday(i am not knocking Les),certainly different to Mssion Lac Bleu,the owner wants you to catch and does everything he can to help you,if the vindage works as well as Keith expects it will be some place,and the first tme i fished anywhere with no rats......

We will be back at some stage more than likley fly drive. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup_anim.gif)

[taff]

If effort = reward then the man does deserve one hell of a fishery (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup_anim.gif)

[colin333]

MOORLAND FISHERIES
DIARY OF A VIDANGE, AUTUMN 2009
PART TWO
15th November
We have now completed the strimming and burning of the reeds to the meadow bank
and eastern arm.
With the lake now down to about 8 acres of water I have slowed down the flow of water
leaving through the gate and fish trap. It is necessary to walk a bit of a tight rope for the next
week or so because we don’t want all of the big carp in the holding pools for too long but we
also don’t want them left in the shrinking lake along with thousands of fry for too long either.
It is a matter of monitoring the situation each day
and trying to get the water level just right to be
able to start lifting the fish out and moving them
to the holding pools at the end of next week. This
then gives us a week of moving as many as
possible before we have the last 4 days of sorting
and removing all of the fry and keeping the perch
and bass. That’s when it gets fairly manic but I’m
pleased to say that we have some very good friends arriving to help.
This afternoon we managed to strim and burn the reeds from the North bay to the
pampas swim and found a large depression around the lily rhizomes where the carp have
obviously been feeding before the vidange started. We also found a couple of muskrat
channels which they dig to enable them to enter and leave their burrows without coming to
the surface. My Jack Russel (“Jack”) thinks that this is great fun and he immediately lets me
know which burrows have Mr Musky present.
22nd November
Yesterday we completed the strimming and burning of the reeds to the western bank including
the whole of the southern arm. The entire margin of the lake is now cleared of dead reed
stems and should look really clean and fresh for next spring.
I have opened the gate slightly to let the water down further so that we can start
moving some of the bigger fish today or tomorrow.
I plan. If there is time, to construct a small island from the reed clumps that have broken
loose. The island will be between the reeds and dog-leg swims to give both of them an
additional feature.
23rd November
The lake is now down to about one acre of water between 2’ and 4’ deep at the dam
wall. This morning I waded out and positioned two small boats with unhooking mats laid in
them ready and a landing net in each one. They also have weigh slings in each boat and a set
of Ruben dial scales hanging on the tripod
adjacent to the deck.
While I was wading I disturbed
several fish but there is still just a bit too much
water to be able to catch any yet. I am
expecting to be able to catch quite a few from
tomorrow onwards.
24th November
With the gate still cracked open and water running out I woke at 04.30 this morning
with the worry that the lake would be dry and the fish dying on the mud. I dressed and walked
out onto the deck with a torch and found that my fears were totally unfounded and the water
was gently dropping so no problem and back to bed.
At 08.30 I was up and dressed in waders ready for work. Before I start the results I
should explain the method that I use to move the fish.
I have two small plastic boats which are fitted with unhooking mats and moored to long banksticks
in the places which we expect to be able to catch the fish. These boats allow us to
leave landing nets and weigh slings in them ready for each capture. Once a fish is caught in
one of the nets it is lifted into the boat and placed on the unhooking mats. We then transfer it
to the weigh sling (in the same way that we do when we catch one by rod and line) and it is
then lowered back into the lake and hooked to the mooring pole while we catch another. Once
two are landed we lift them both back into the boat and then push the boat gently back to the
bank so that they can be weighed and checked over. They are then placed on a very large
unhooking mat which is mounted onto a farmer’s bale barrow and then both fish are pushed
across our field and lowered into the holding pools which we dug into the lake bed of the
eastern arm back in 2002. The fish then remain there until the lake re-fills and they swim out
into their normal home.
Today we were able to start catching some of the carp and cats and the results were
very pleasing. Before I go into weight details I should also explain that we have monitored the
different weight gains on some of the bigger carp over various seasons and the difference
between late autumn and late spring are simply outstanding. During our last vidange
(December 2007) we saw two carp at 39.00 lb and both of these fish were 46.00 and 47.00 lb
by May of 2008. We also saw “Clover” and “The Eighteen” (both only nine years old at the
time) creep into the ranks of the scraper forties last autumn. During May of this year (2009)
they were 50.04 lb and 48.06 lb respectively. Based on these observations I feel that it is
sensible to expect at least a 6 lb weight gain between now and next spring.
So far we have moved 53 fish into the holding pools and they consist of :-
3 catfish
4 scaly doubles
0 low twenties
16 high twenties (including 6 over 29.00 lb)
20 thirties
9 forties
1 fifty
The known fish which some of you may recognise are:-
“The Eighteen” at 43.08 lb (down in weight but looking in mint condition)
“Waddle” at 51.00 lb (I’ve not seen this fish landed for 2 years)
“The Unknown” at 48.00 lb
“Half Linear” at 46.00 lb
“Clover” at 48.00 lb
“The Long Common” at 47.00 lb (Not been landed since Robin caught her at 44.10 lb
during autumn 2008)
As I said at the beginning, today has been very pleasing and we still have some stunning
fish to find.
25th November
My 61st birthday was spent nether-region deep in heavy silt catching numerous big carp and
barrowing them to the holding pools for safe keeping. The list of big fish grew and grew and it
was obvious that we were seeing a fantastic future for the lake.
26th November
We had already organised for 4 very close friends to arrive at around lunch time today so it
was a matter of carrying on and catching as many carp as possible. Robin, Len, Justin and Steve
arrived at about 2 pm and were immediately donning chesties and joining in with the work.
We had arranged for someone to drive over from Limoges on Saturday morning to collect the
carp that we didn’t want. He has a house with his own small lake in the garden and wanted
some carp to grow on as well as one or two twenties for a bit of instant attraction. I already
knew that I needed to thin out the smaller male fish to reduce spawning damage to the
females and to give them a better biomass balance so he was welcome to collect them rather
than the choice of tipping them into the local river or letting them die.
Anyway we decided that on the Friday we would open the gate wider and drop the water
again so that we could get the last of the fish that we were keeping moved and settled.
27th November (Friday)
Before breakfast and Chris and Rich arrived so we were now 7 strong.
We probably dropped the water level slightly too far and the bigger of the fish that we were
giving away weren’t looking good by mid afternoon and would possibly have died overnight.
We decided to lift them out and sack them up in the holding pools and then place a circulation
pump in the remaining main-lake puddle to keep the smaller fish healthy.
28th November (Saturday)
We were all awake very early and checked the sacked fish and the remaining two year olds still
out in the lake and every one of them was fine. We then had to wait for the tanks to arrive so
that we could get the fish moved as fast as possible.
The two lads arrived for the fish at about 9 am and we immediately lifted the sacked fish and
lowered them into the tanks. It turned out that we
removed 30 male fish with the biggest at 27.08 lb.
The lad that I had made the arrangements with
turned out to be very sound and I think it fair to
say that everyone liked him from the moment we
met him. The other idiot that he had borrowed the
tanks from was one of the most dislikeable people
that I have ever met. He tried to tell my daughter
how to operate the fish trap and then started bossing some of the other lads around and then,
to cap it all, started to say that he wasn’t getting the size and numbers of fish that he thought
that he would. I wasn’t prepared to be messed about so simply told him to empty the tanks
back out and we’d put the fish
back in the lake. At this point he backed down and got ready to leave. He walked round to say
goodbye to everyone. He held out his hand to shake Robin’s hand only to hear Robin say “no
mate, I’m not shaking your hand because I don’t like you.” Robin did in fact go into exact detail
of just what he thought of him but I will leave that to your imagination. Pure class. At one
point I thought that he was going to front up to Rob but it isn’t advised. Wing-chung
instructors don’t take prisoners. Lol.
Once they had left we continued to remove the remaining small, unwanted fish and to clear
out the casualties from the fish trap. At this point the ground was still dry so it was possible to
fill my trailer with the fish and then drive it across the field and tip it out. We managed four
trailers full today and we feel that each one weighed at least a ton. Unfortunately it began to
rain that evening so that facility was not going to be available for much longer.
It was very pleasing to note that we hadn’t suffered a single loss of any of the big carp that we
moved and also that we managed to move hundreds of bass and perch so the predator base
looks very healthy.
The only fish that we didn’t find during the movement were The Leather, Gilbert and The
Beast and each of these were of “unknown age” as they had all been bought from the Bren
national park fisheries during our early years. We are now down to all original “born in the
lake” big fish with the exception of Waddle. For so many to have reached the brink of fifty
pounds within ten years is astounding.
29th November (Sunday)
The lads needed to be away after dinner this afternoon so we decided to drag the generator
and pump, on a small boat, up to the furthest lily bin and pump the pools dry, around each bin
as we worked our way back towards the dam wall. By the end of the day we had dried two and
a half of the bins and two other pools which had been caused over feeding areas. So we knew
that half of the lake was completely devoid of fish life. The four amigos departed and Chris and
I planned to do the next bin in the morning.
30th November (Monday)
Chris and I finished off the third bin and then dragged the generator and pump to the last bin.
We also (just) managed to drag the final trailer of dead fish up the field but it was touch and
go whether the Scenic would drive back out so there was no way that I would be using the car
again.
We filled one of the boats with fish and dragged it back to the bank but it was then time for
Chris to leave for blighty. I managed to fill the boat another three times but by the time that I
had dragged it back to the bank and tipped it out I had run out of time and light but the last
pool was completely dry and yet another area of the lake was cleaned of unwanted fish.
1st December (Tuesday)
It rained really hard last night and for the first time in months the forest springs have started
to flow so we have water running in at the top of the lake and scouring through the silt. I knew
that I needed to clear out the remaining fish that had been washed into the fish trap so that
the water wasn’t held back and would start to crate pools for the fish to swim back out of the
gate tunnel and back into the lake.
It took me all day to fill buckets with small dead fish, carry them up the metal stairs, tip them
into a large metal bin mounted on a barrow and then push the barrow into the field. The fish
were then tipped and spread across the field. During the course of the day I managed to move
18 barrow loads and the fish trap was once again empty. Sharon and I then trenched the mud
from the nearest remaining pool and as darkness began to fall the remaining fish were seen to
be being washed down towards the trap.
We are now faced with two small pools to be cleaned out, the fish trap to be emptied again
and the dead fish which we tipped out of the boats to be barrowed across the field and then
the new island to be completed before we close the gate and watch the lake re-fill.
EXACT STOCK DETAILS AFTER NOVEMBER 2009 VIDANGE.
58 adult catfish inc 105 lb, 85 lb, 77 lb, 70 lb plus several fifties and
sixties.
25 hand picked 2 y.o. carp fry, all with superb scale patterns inc. zip
linears and fully scaled.
18 doubles
32 low twenties
42 upper twenties inc 19 of 28 lb plus
79 thirties
27 forties
1 fifty
1 grass carp at 36 lb
within the above list there are 42 carp of 36 lb or more which should all
be forty plus by spring.

[colin333]

MOORLAND FISHERIES
DIARY OF A VIDANGE, AUTUMN 2009
PART TWO
15th November
We have now completed the strimming and burning of the reeds to the meadow bank
and eastern arm.
With the lake now down to about 8 acres of
water I have slowed down the flow of water
leaving through the gate and fish trap. It is
necessary to walk a bit of a tight rope for the next
week or so because we don’t want all of the big
carp in the holding pools for too long but we also
don’t want them left in the shrinking lake along
with thousands of fry for too long either. It is a matter of monitoring the situation each day
and trying to get the water level just right to be able to start lifting the fish out and moving
them to the holding pools at the end of next week. This then gives us a week of moving as
many as possible before we have the last 4 days of sorting and removing all of the fry and
keeping the perch and bass. That’s when it gets fairly manic but I’m pleased to say that we
have some very good friends arriving to help.
This afternoon we managed to strim and burn the
reeds from the North bay to the pampas swim and
found a large depression around the lilly rhizomes
where the carp have obviously been feeding
before the vidange started. We also found a
couple of muskrat channels which
they dig to enable them to enter and leave their burrows without coming to the surface. My
Jack Russel (“Jack”) thinks that this is great fun and
he immediately lets me know which burrows have
Mr Musky present.
22nd November
Yesterday we completed the strimming and
burning of the reeds to the western bank including
the whole of the southern arm. The entire margin
of the lake is now cleared of dead reed stems and should look really clean and fresh for next
spring.
I have opened the gate slightly to let the water down further so that we can start
moving some of the bigger fish today or tomorrow.
I plan. If there is time, to construct a small island from the reed clumps that have broken
loose. The island will be between the reeds and dog-leg swims to give both of them an
additional feature.
23rd November
The lake is now down to about one acre of water between 2’ and 4’ deep at the dam
wall. This morning I waded out and positioned two
small boats with unhooking mats laid in them
ready and a landing net in each one. They also
have weigh slings in each boat and a set of Ruben
dial scales hanging on the tripod adjacent to the
deck.
While I was wading I disturbed several
fish but there is still just a bit too much water to be
able to catch any yet. I am expecting to be able to catch quite a few from tomorrow onwards.
24th November
With the gate still cracked open and water running out I woke at 04.30 this morning
with the worry that the lake would be dry and the fish dying on the mud. I dressed and walked
out onto the deck with a torch and found that my fears were totally unfounded and the water
was gently dropping so no problem and back to bed.
At 08.30 I was up and dressed in waders ready for work. Before I start the results I
should explain the method that I use to move the
fish.
I have two small plastic boats which are
fitted with unhooking mats and moored to long
bank-sticks in the places which we expect to be
able to catch the fish. These boats allow us to
leave landing nets and weigh slings in them ready
for each capture. Once a fish is caught in one of the nets it is lifted into the boat and placed on
the unhooking mats. We then transfer it to the weigh sling (in the same way that we do when
we catch one by rod and line) and it is then lowered back into the lake and hooked to the
mooring pole while we catch another. Once two are landed we lift them both back into the
boat and then push the boat gently back to the bank so that they can be weighed and checked
over. They are then placed on a very large unhooking mat which is mounted onto a farmer’s
bale barrow and then both fish are pushed across our field and lowered into the holding pools
which we dug into the lake bed of the eastern arm back in 2002. The fish then remain there
until the lake re-fills and they swim out into their normal home.
Today we were able to start catching some of the carp and cats and the results were
very pleasing. Before I go into weight details I
should also explain that we have monitored the
different weight gains on some of the bigger carp
over various seasons and the difference between
late autumn and late spring are simply
outstanding. During our last vidange (December
2007) we saw two carp at 39.00 lb and both of
these fish were 46.00 and 47.00 lb by May of 2008.
We also saw “Clover” and “The Eighteen” (both only nine years old at the time) creep into the
ranks of the scraper forties last autumn. During May of this year (2009) they were 50.04 lb and
48.06 lb respectively. Based on these observations I feel that it is sensible to expect at least a 6
lb weight gain between now and next spring.
So far we have moved 53 fish into the holding pools and they consist of :-
3 catfish
4 scaley doubles
0 low twenties
16 high twenties (including 6 over 29.00 lb)
20 thirties
9 forties
1 fifty
The known fish which some of you may recognise are:-
“The Eighteen” at 43.08 lb (down in weight but looking in mint condition)
“Waddle” at 51.00 lb (I’ve not seen this fish landed for 2 years)
“The Unknown” at 48.00 lb
“Half Linear” at 46.00 lb
“Clover” at 48.00 lb
“The Long Common” at 47.00 lb (Not been landed since Robin caught her at 44.10 lb
during autumn 2008)
As I said at the beginning, today has been very pleasing and we still have some stunning
fish to find.

[colin333]

MOORLAND FISHERIES
DIARY OF A VIDANGE, AUTUMN 2009
PART ONE
Early October 2009
Following the driest summer in 20 years (even drier than 2003) the water level had dropped
and the original holding pools constructed in 2001 were almost land-locked. This would allow
me to hand build a small clay dam around the edge so that it could be drained and cleaned
prior to the main drain down.
10th October
With the dam wall built I installed a generator
and pump and left the two running overnight and
for the next two days to remove the water.
17th October
The holding pools are now empty and the
small fish removed completely. All of the perch and
bass have been put back into the main lake as well as 18 baby catfish. It will be interesting to
see just how many catfish we have after the drain down.
24th October
Having left the pools dry for a week in order to make sure that there is nothing left alive
in there I have now started pumping water back in to get them ready to hold their new stock
of big carp, cats, perch and bass.
31st October
I am now fishing for a few days as my last chance of the year and will be moving any
large fish that I catch into the holding pools.
By 5th November I had caught 2 doubles, 2 low twenties, 6 upper twenties, 10 thirties and one
forty. All of these except for the two low twenties and one of the doubles were moved to the
holding pools.
6th November
Having already checked and oiled the gate mechanism it was now just a matter of
opening the gate until a trickle of water began to run through the outlet pipe. In order to
secure the gate when closed we tip clay down in front of it and this stops any small leaks
however, this clay needs to be broken when the gate is opened to allow the water to flow.
In order to get the water running I
wound up the gate by 5 turns and chopped
away some clay. I then ran down the metal
steps into the fish trap to examine the flow.
Nothing happening so back to the gate
mechanism and wound it up another couple of
turns. I then chopped out some more clay and
ran back down into the trap. Still nothing.
After repeating this action twice more without any results I was beginning to feel concerned
that the gate might have broken and was not opening. I forced the long graft tool down in
front of where the gate should be and simply wiggled it about to make a hole. I thought that I
could feel a gentle vibration so ran back down into the trap to check. Just as I stepped down
from the trap walls I heard a gurgling sound from
the pipe so bent down to look down the pipe just
in time to be met with a wall of black “gunge”
rushing down the pipe. I just about managed to
leap out of the trap as the sludge arrived. It was
being driven by a huge wall of water and that in
turn was being driven by the weight of 15 acres of
lake water. I rushed back up to the gate
mechanism and quickly turned it back down to reduce the water flow. At least now I knew that
the gate was working properly and the drain down (vidange in French [pronounced “vee –
donge”]) would take place as planned.
With that part of the work sorted it was now time to carry out some of the other jobs
while the water level slowly dropped.
There had been some lilies which were encroaching across the front of a couple of the
southern-arm swims so I took this chance to cut off the rhizomes and dig them out for replanting
as new features for some of the other swims.
8th November
We had seen some anglers casting too tight to the duck hide point of the forest and
then finding that they were landing among the rubble of the duck hide ruins. I decided that
this low water would also give me a chance to tidy up some of the concrete slabs that were
normally underwater and to then plant it out with bull-rush and reedmace so that anglers in
the oaks and boneyard could see exactly where the drop off started.
Started by smashing up the largest of the concrete slabs and throwing the pieces into
the small gaps among the rest of the ruins.
10th November
Replanted some clumps of bull-rush around
the duck-hide point and cut and planted some
spears of reed-mace to mark the edge of the
mound and start of deeper water.
It is now very difficult to drag the rush
clumps across the lake so the rest will now be left
until after the vidange and I will cut out some large clumps and leave them on the opposite
bank so that I can boat them across when the lake re-fills.
12th November
Have now spent the last 2 days strimming away the reeds and rushes from along the
meadow bank and round into the eastern arm. All of the cuttings have been raked up into
piles and burned on the mud flats.
The reason for carrying out this part of the work is that we did a similar project last
winter and found that it was extremely effective in getting rid of the rats and coots. I think that
the reasons are that the rats move home when they don’t have any undergrowth to act as
cover and the coots also don’t have any nesting material. It worked last year so it will be worth
trying again.
Links
We now have a thread running on the Thinking Carp forum, here is the link.
www.thinkingcarp.co.uk.
You can also checkout our FaceBook page at the link below.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=161412936634.
Be Lucky Keith.

[colin333]

MOORLAND FISHERIES
DIARY OF A VIDANGE, AUTUMN 2009
PART ONE
Early October 2009
Following the driest summer in 20 years (even drier than 2003) the water level had dropped
and the original holding pools constructed in 2001 were almost land-locked. This would allow
me to hand build a small clay dam around the edge so that it could be drained and cleaned
prior to the main drain down.
10th October
With the dam wall built I installed a generator
and pump and left the two running overnight and
for the next two days to remove the water.
17th October
The holding pools are now empty and the
small fish removed completely. All of the perch and
bass have been put back into the main lake as well as 18 baby catfish. It will be interesting to
see just how many catfish we have after the drain down.
24th October
Having left the pools dry for a week in order to make sure that there is nothing left alive
in there I have now started pumping water back in to get them ready to hold their new stock
of big carp, cats, perch and bass.
31st October
I am now fishing for a few days as my last chance of the year and will be moving any
large fish that I catch into the holding pools.
By 5th November I had caught 2 doubles, 2 low twenties, 6 upper twenties, 10 thirties and one
forty. All of these except for the two low twenties and one of the doubles were moved to the
holding pools.
6th November
Having already checked and oiled the gate mechanism it was now just a matter of
opening the gate until a trickle of water began to run through the outlet pipe. In order to
secure the gate when closed we tip clay down in front of it and this stops any small leaks
however, this clay needs to be broken when the gate is opened to allow the water to flow.
In order to get the water running I
wound up the gate by 5 turns and chopped
away some clay. I then ran down the metal
steps into the fish trap to examine the flow.
Nothing happening so back to the gate
mechanism and wound it up another couple of
turns. I then chopped out some more clay and
ran back down into the trap. Still nothing.
After repeating this action twice more without any results I was beginning to feel concerned
that the gate might have broken and was not opening. I forced the long graft tool down in
front of where the gate should be and simply wiggled it about to make a hole. I thought that I
could feel a gentle vibration so ran back down into the trap to check. Just as I stepped down
from the trap walls I heard a gurgling sound from
the pipe so bent down to look down the pipe just
in time to be met with a wall of black “gunge”
rushing down the pipe. I just about managed to
leap out of the trap as the sludge arrived. It was
being driven by a huge wall of water and that in
turn was being driven by the weight of 15 acres of
lake water. I rushed back up to the gate
mechanism and quickly turned it back down to reduce the water flow. At least now I knew that
the gate was working properly and the drain down (vidange in French [pronounced “vee –
donge”]) would take place as planned.
With that part of the work sorted it was now time to carry out some of the other jobs
while the water level slowly dropped.
There had been some lilies which were encroaching across the front of a couple of the
southern-arm swims so I took this chance to cut off the rhizomes and dig them out for replanting
as new features for some of the other swims.
8th November
We had seen some anglers casting too tight to the duck hide point of the forest and
then finding that they were landing among the rubble of the duck hide ruins. I decided that
this low water would also give me a chance to tidy up some of the concrete slabs that were
normally underwater and to then plant it out with bull-rush and reedmace so that anglers in
the oaks and boneyard could see exactly where the drop off started.
Started by smashing up the largest of the concrete slabs and throwing the pieces into
the small gaps among the rest of the ruins.
10th November
Replanted some clumps of bull-rush around
the duck-hide point and cut and planted some
spears of reed-mace to mark the edge of the
mound and start of deeper water.
It is now very difficult to drag the rush
clumps across the lake so the rest will now be left
until after the vidange and I will cut out some large clumps and leave them on the opposite
bank so that I can boat them across when the lake re-fills.
12th November
Have now spent the last 2 days strimming away the reeds and rushes from along the
meadow bank and round into the eastern arm. All of the cuttings have been raked up into
piles and burned on the mud flats.
The reason for carrying out this part of the work is that we did a similar project last
winter and found that it was extremely effective in getting rid of the rats and coots. I think that
the reasons are that the rats move home when they don’t have any undergrowth to act as
cover and the coots also don’t have any nesting material. It worked last year so it will be worth
trying again.
Links
We now have a thread running on the Thinking Carp forum, here is the link.
www.thinkingcarp.co.uk.
You can also checkout our FaceBook page at the link below.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=161412936634.
Be Lucky Keith.

[colin333]

MOORLAND FISHERIES
DIARY OF A VIDANGE, AUTUMN 2009
PART ONE
Early October 2009
Following the driest summer in 20 years (even drier than 2003) the water level had dropped
and the original holding pools constructed in 2001 were almost land-locked. This would allow
me to hand build a small clay dam around the edge so that it could be drained and cleaned
prior to the main drain down.
10th October
With the dam wall built I installed a generator
and pump and left the two running overnight and
for the next two days to remove the water.
17th October
The holding pools are now empty and the
small fish removed completely. All of the perch and
bass have been put back into the main lake as well as 18 baby catfish. It will be interesting to
see just how many catfish we have after the drain down.
24th October
Having left the pools dry for a week in order to make sure that there is nothing left alive
in there I have now started pumping water back in to get them ready to hold their new stock
of big carp, cats, perch and bass.
31st October
I am now fishing for a few days as my last chance of the year and will be moving any
large fish that I catch into the holding pools.
By 5th November I had caught 2 doubles, 2 low twenties, 6 upper twenties, 10 thirties and one
forty. All of these except for the two low twenties and one of the doubles were moved to the
holding pools.
6th November
Having already checked and oiled the gate mechanism it was now just a matter of
opening the gate until a trickle of water began to run through the outlet pipe. In order to
secure the gate when closed we tip clay down in front of it and this stops any small leaks
however, this clay needs to be broken when the gate is opened to allow the water to flow.
In order to get the water running I
wound up the gate by 5 turns and chopped
away some clay. I then ran down the metal
steps into the fish trap to examine the flow.
Nothing happening so back to the gate
mechanism and wound it up another couple of
turns. I then chopped out some more clay and
ran back down into the trap. Still nothing.
After repeating this action twice more without any results I was beginning to feel concerned
that the gate might have broken and was not opening. I forced the long graft tool down in
front of where the gate should be and simply wiggled it about to make a hole. I thought that I
could feel a gentle vibration so ran back down into the trap to check. Just as I stepped down
from the trap walls I heard a gurgling sound from
the pipe so bent down to look down the pipe just
in time to be met with a wall of black “gunge”
rushing down the pipe. I just about managed to
leap out of the trap as the sludge arrived. It was
being driven by a huge wall of water and that in
turn was being driven by the weight of 15 acres of
lake water. I rushed back up to the gate
mechanism and quickly turned it back down to reduce the water flow. At least now I knew that
the gate was working properly and the drain down (vidange in French [pronounced “vee –
donge”]) would take place as planned.
With that part of the work sorted it was now time to carry out some of the other jobs
while the water level slowly dropped.
There had been some lilies which were encroaching across the front of a couple of the
southern-arm swims so I took this chance to cut off the rhizomes and dig them out for replanting
as new features for some of the other swims.
8th November
We had seen some anglers casting too tight to the duck hide point of the forest and
then finding that they were landing among the rubble of the duck hide ruins. I decided that
this low water would also give me a chance to tidy up some of the concrete slabs that were
normally underwater and to then plant it out with bull-rush and reedmace so that anglers in
the oaks and boneyard could see exactly where the drop off started.
Started by smashing up the largest of the concrete slabs and throwing the pieces into
the small gaps among the rest of the ruins.
10th November
Replanted some clumps of bull-rush around
the duck-hide point and cut and planted some
spears of reed-mace to mark the edge of the
mound and start of deeper water.
It is now very difficult to drag the rush
clumps across the lake so the rest will now be left
until after the vidange and I will cut out some large clumps and leave them on the opposite
bank so that I can boat them across when the lake re-fills.
12th November
Have now spent the last 2 days strimming away the reeds and rushes from along the
meadow bank and round into the eastern arm. All of the cuttings have been raked up into
piles and burned on the mud flats.
The reason for carrying out this part of the work is that we did a similar project last
winter and found that it was extremely effective in getting rid of the rats and coots. I think that
the reasons are that the rats move home when they don’t have any undergrowth to act as
cover and the coots also don’t have any nesting material. It worked last year so it will be worth
trying again.
Links
We now have a thread running on the Thinking Carp forum, here is the link.
www.thinkingcarp.co.uk.
You can also checkout our FaceBook page at the link below.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=161412936634.
Be Lucky Keith.