NEW DAWN AT OXLEASE
Records tumble soon after the reopening of this popular day-ticket water following a six-month shutdown
ANGLERS at one of the country’s best dayticket waters have reaped the benefits of the stocks being given a six-month reprieve from angling pressure, with a raft of big fish hitting the bank soon after its reopening.
Oxlease lake, which is part of the Linear complex in Oxfordshire, was closed last October following a number of unexplained fish deaths so that the management could conduct tests. With nothing untoward found, the lake was reopened last month, and just 27 hours later one of the jewels in its crown – The Big Common – was banked at 47lb 6oz.
Further proof of the beneficial effects of the shutdown emerged soon after in the form a new lake record mirror of 44lb 12oz.
This week Linear’s management took the forward-thinking step of announcing that all the complex’s day-ticket waters would now benefit from a ‘Lake Resting Programme’.
It said: “From this summer, we will close all the day-ticket waters for the last two weeks in June as we feel our stocks need a break.
“There will also be a rolling three-week closure for every lake in late autumn. Combined with other rest periods for maintenance work, each water should get around a seven-week annual break.”
England international carper Kev Hewitt is a regular at the Linear complex and he fully supports the idea.
He told Carpfeed: “It’s exactly what’s needed and I’m 100 per cent behind the plan. It strikes the perfect balance between running a brilliant fishery and looking after the fish. Hats off to the Linear management team.”