It’s safe to go back to the water... but anglers are gonna need a bigger net!
MANY of us have piled on the pounds in lockdown. And it’s not only humans who risk breaking the scales.
Anglers returning to their favourite spots after three months have been left stunned by the size of the fish.
Fisheries have been closed since January, meaning fish which would normally have been caught have instead been left to balloon in size.
Species such as trout have had three months’ uninterrupted feeding.
Some anglers who returned when lockdown rules were eased on Monday had catches of up to 20lbs each.
Stuart Barrett, fishery manager at Dever Springs in Hampshire, said he hoped the larger fish would help to lure more anglers back following the lockdown. He has been feeding the fishery’s rainbow and brown trout himself with high protein and high fat pellets, and has warned members to bring bigger landing nets. Mr Barrett said: ‘We have got some especially quick growing trout at the moment and not being fished has helped.’ He said lockdown meant they had spent an extra three months in stock ponds, where they are fed intensively, before being moved to the main lake to be fished. ‘Even the smallest fish will be a few pounds heavier than usual and our biggest ones are now in the low to mid-20s,’ he added.
Fishing was classed as exercise under lockdown rules. It meant while anglers could carry on, organised venues had to close. As fisheries are classed as ‘outdoor sporting facilities’, like golf courses and tennis courts, they were allowed to reopen on Monday.
Mr Barrett said: ‘Lockdown could actually end up doing well for us. Bigger fish definitely appeal to more anglers and once pictures get around on social media I am sure more will come. But they will need to bring a bigger net, bigger scales, a very strong rod and they had better hold on tight.’
The largest rainbow trout on record was a 34lb 12oz fish caught in 2016 in Perthshire. The biggest brown trout was a 31lb 12oz specimen caught in Loch Awe, Argyll, in 2002. Neither came close to the largest common carp, caught in Shropshire in 2018 – weighing 64lb 6oz.
‘Better hold on tight’