Article - Coarse
The Diary of a Lake - Two Lumps or Three
By Mike, added on 25/05/2008
Stardate Captains Log 19 May 2008
Two Lumps or Three
“Daad?” Ellie my little girl asks, in that way by which you know an awkward question is coming along. We are incidentally, inside a family changing cubicle at Redon swimming baths. She points in one of those innocent pointing gestures, hand close to her body but index finger outstretched.
“One ball is bigger than the other”.
I have always believed in giving your kids an honest answer, but where did this come from? I started explaining to Ellie about click-clacks, which were the craze when I was at school. Two balls the same size on equal lengths of chord, joining at a hoop. I never mastered click-clacks, even with a glove on, still managing to end up with bruised & sometimes bloody knuckles. For my elder sister however, it was a breeze.
I tried to apply this theory to my undercarriage. Balls of the same size & height would just clatter together & be uncomfortable whenever I sat down. If one were either larger than the other, or of a different size, the said objects would automatically move side by side whenever I sat down. Maybe a distorted explanation, but true enough isn’t it? Think about it – what do you think?
When Ian & Paul rolled up on Sunday morning, you have never seen so many balls. Boilies, pellets & baits of every colour, aroma & diameter. Some serious planning had clearly gone into this trip. Both were seasoned visitors here & I was very much looking forward to what they would catch this time.
It’s so interesting when you are a fishery owner, just experiencing how the habits of fish change. Last year, maize was the bait the carp seemed to love. Boilies were certainly low on the desirable menu. Maize & lots of it, in fact most baits, as long as they were in good supply, would attract the carp last season. Right throughout the year, the fish seemed to feed most regularly; late morning around 10 to 11am & late afternoon around 3 to 4pm. After 11pm ish, very few fish were caught during the night at all. Things this year seemed to be changing. So far, first light was certainly beginning to show as a regular feeding time. Why? If we knew all these answers, it would probably be time to pack & not bother again.
I love May. Everything is so fresh & green & full of growth. Everything suddenly comes alive, all the insect life in particular. Time at this time of year, in the spring, swings between full on outdoor work to weeks of lake relaxation. I never take bookings on consecutive weeks, I would hate to even risk spoiling things here. So there is usually one week of chopping, lopping, strimming, mowing & cutting back brambles & cutting out gorse. Then followed by a week totalling enjoying the place, no work going on with anglers present. In spring, brambles can grow over one metre in seven days, requiring constant hacking back. On a sixteen acre site, to completely eradicate them, would be nigh on impossible. Hack out, turn your back on an area for more that a few days & they are back growing rampant again.
Anyway, back to Fishing. Ian had landed a forty one pounder last year & I think was hoping to latch into a bigger one this trip. All the signs were still there, that the accelerated growth rates of the carp were continuing. During the second day, Ian hooked & landed a 41lbs 10oz mirror, which certainly gave cause for a tot of fine whiskey in the evening. My favourite whiskey is Balvenie 12 year Doublewood, but recently a work colleague had introduced me to 12 year Highland Park from the Orkney’s. Whiskey is a very personal thing, but my two guests & I were thoroughly enjoying this fine whiskey, sitting aside the lake under the stars. The rods were out. Ian & I had our guitars & were putting our best efforts into Led Zep’s Stairway to Heaven & Rod Stewart’s Sailing. Apart from struggling to remember some of the chords, this was as good as true & complete relaxation got. Being in London one week later, mingling amongst the empty & sullen faces was an infinity away.
Ian landed a few smaller fish, then on my walk around on the third morning, another very large mirror had been hoisted on the scales, this one at 39lbs 12oz. Repeat prescription the next morning; another lump at 40lbs 7oz. I had a few goes, tried stalking a few fish at first light, but managed just one fish, a 16lbs common.
One week later, a few days after the departure of my guests, the carp spawned big style. Not just a few fish playing at it like they sometimes do. This days spawning was to leave marginal weed festooned across two of the fishing platforms at Place de Tuyau & Point de Chasse. Five days later & there are enormous shoals of tiny fry tingling the surface, the Perch charging & chasing them to oblivion. This was an early spawning, the last time the fish spawned this early, was the drought spring of 2004. Normally, the first week of June is favourite. However, the weather has certainly warmed up since a very cool & wet March & April. Looks like we could be in for a hot summer - I wonder.
I’m in London. The phone rings at 9am, that’s 8am for Sally, has to be significant news. Yip; a fellow motorist has changed the streamlined shape of Sally’s car & now it looks all kind of wiggly & twisted. Eight hours later, the phone rings again ‘theres a dead smell near the overflow’. Further investigation by Sally & she finds a dead common. Her estimate is 10-12lbs, a post spawning casually perhaps. It is out of reach for her to net it out, probably a relief to her really. So first job when I get home tomorrow, is fish out the common. I’ll leave it on the bank, it will be completely devoured by the next morning, bones, scales the lot, all gone.
So thousands of fish hatch, a bigger fish dies. But he provides a meal for the local wildlife & everything carries on as normal. With this successful hatch, I wonder if the grebes will return. Not seen them for four seasons.