SADAC Coarse Lakes Update. August 11th 2019.

We have enjoyed a very warm summer with little real rain and in many ways this is the last thing we would have hoped for our lakes. Some wetter and cooler days recently will have helped our recovery. After the all clear from the EA on the blue, green algae Whitebird Lake at Langford  has been open for since July 12th with fish being caught and no fish losses reported this year.

The smaller Pleasure Lake has remained closed whilst work goes on to clear trees, allowing more wind across the lake and reducing leaf litter build up in the silt. Bank repairs and work to increase aquatic plant life is also ongoing. We will open the lake on August 23^rd, there may still be some finishing up to do at that point but should not inconvenience anglers. There have been no fish losses in the Pleasure Lake.

At Petersfinger we are still seeing a few fish die, it is not clear whether these are fish weakened by the original event or an ongoing problem. Now that the silt surveys are complete we are looking in to the equipment needed for ongoing water quality measurement and need to develop a protocol for its use. We will be sending silt samples for analysis by the EA. This all needs to be done in a controlled way with the correct equipment to avoid contamination. The aerators are being run through the hot weather.

We are not likely to open Clark’s lake this year. Test fishing of Hand’s Lake has indicated the fish are still under some stress and we will be leaving them alone until the cooler months. We are leaving the option of […]

Work has continued at our coarse lakes and special thanks must go to Mike Britten, Bob Badham, Paul Clancy, Paul Barnard, Steve Trevett , Ben Bentley for their efforts at the lakes. Dave George for pursuing extra fishing leads and Dom Longley for his invaluable advice.

The latest position at each of the lakes is;

Steeple Langford 

Blue/green  algae declared clear after latest samples analysed by EA. No fish lost.

Opening of  Whitebird, the big lake, will be July 12^th from  4.00pm.

This will allow works at the site using heavier machinery to be completed and the fish some time to recover from their ordeal in the poor conditions of this spring and early summer.

The Pleasure Lake, the smaller lake, will remain closed while work continues adding cover, reducing trees, adding plants. We aim to rebalance the ecology in the small lake and develop  a true “pleasure lake” with mixed species and a reduced carp/bream population to maintain the balance.

Petersfinger

Both lakes remain closed. No further  fish losses but remaining stock need time to recover. Test fishing showed that the remaining fish are still suffering from the poor conditions.

Silt surveys and sampling are ongoing.  Mapping of the lake bed is complete and samples are to be analysed to assist decision making about how to deal with the silt. Ground water data for the site has been received from the EA and is being analysed but doesn’t look too problematic at this point.

The best case scenario is that we can reopen Hand’s later this year after fish recovery and introduction of plants. Hand’s lake has marginally less silt than Clark’s and with rebalancing towards plant ecology and some stock management should be usable for fishing this season. Clark’s will remain closed […]

Only a few days to the opening of the coarse season and sadly we have to tell you that our two main coarse lakes , Petersfinger and Steeple Langford will remain closed for at least the next month.

The fish kill at PF has ended with several clear weeks now and no further losses. The numbers lost remain as published in our last update. Clark’s lake has lost a large proportion of its stock and Hand’s lake has had a smaller loss. We are unlikely to reopen Clark’s this season but when the stock have had a chance to recover and we have a better idea of fishing possibilities we hope to reopen Hand’s as soon as we can.

Steeple Langford lakes still have an active blue green algal bloom which means we have to keep it closed until we have clear tests through the EA laboratories confirming it has gone. It is not possible to say when this will be but it is being constantly monitored and will be reopened as soon as the bloom has cleared.

Meanwhile the staff, committee and volunteers supported by the Environment Agency are working at both sites  beginning the process of recovery.

One of our committee members who is himself an EA fisheries expert is preparing summary reports on the fish kills and problems at both sites taking in all the data that has been gathered by our own teams and the agencies. The cause of the problems at both lakes is water quality allowing algal blooms that have damaged the fish.  The  “water quality problem” diagnosis is not just a one off kill to be blamed on unpredictable algal blooms but rather it is an ongoing and developing problem with the […]

A small sub group of the committee met on 30^th April to consider the latest position at our two coarse lakes and to assess the mass of information now coming in.  Rob Leachman,  Ben Bentley,  Bob Badham,  John Stoddart and Dom Longley from the committee with Paul Clancy and Mike Britten joining us.  Members are already aware that algal blooms have developed at the four lakes and that fish have died at Petersfinger.   Staff and outside agencies have been dealing with this for the last few weeks and the committee would like to thank the keepers, bailiffs, volunteers and the agency staff who have assisted with this sometimes extremely unpleasant task.  The agencies have deployed some very expensive kit and undertaken a range of tests including post mortems on the club’s behalf.  Particular thanks to Mike Britten who has cared for Petersfinger so well over many years, this has been a very hard time for him and the club values his huge contribution.
The algal blooms appear to be declining at Petersfinger and the fish losses have ended.  We have lost a very large part of the stock of all species in Clark’s lake but fish remain.  We have lost a much smaller number in Hand’s lake where the bulk of the stock remain.  We need to remember that the surviving fish have also been through significant physiological stress and need time to recover.
We have had a confirmed blue green algal bloom at Steeple Langford.  This is dangerous to animals and people so no contact with the water is possible.  There have been no fish losses and the bloom appears to be declining.  Water samples will continue to be tested by the EA and we need to […]

In the last few weeks the club has been dealing with water quality problems resulting in fish losses at our Petersfinger lakes.   Despite the aeration equipment now installed we have lost fish in both Clarke’s and Hand’s lakes. The losses are significant and continuing. In addition water quality at Steeple Langford has deteriorated with a confirmed blue green algal bloom which means that contact with the water can be dangerous for both people and animals. It may yet result in further fish losses.

The cause of the losses at Petersfinger and the bloom at Langford are under investigation by the Environment Agency and are not known at this stage but are very likely to be similar to that which have affected other lakes around the south and which we experienced at Steeple Langford two years ago.   Put simply toxic substances appear in the water as a result of the breakdown of algal blooms which are aided by weather conditions and excessive nutrients in the water.

These are complex biological problems which are not easily solved but clearly result from the slow development of lakes towards an algae based ecology helped by excessive nutrient from silts, ground water, introduced material such as bait, from other diffuse sources and the changing structure of our fish populations.  Many will remember that our lakes at one time had much more weed and that sort of plant based ecology is where we need to be.

This is a known phenomenon and a great many maturing lakes experience this drift towards a higher risk environment for fish. A plant based ecology in the lakes is much more likely to be sustainable and much more likely to avoid problems of toxicity.

We are currently completing improvements […]