Park Lakes
This week Liverpool City Council’s Ranger Service and the Environment began a head count and quality check of fish stocks in Calderstones, Greenbank and Walton Hall park lakes.
It is part of a planned “Fish Stock Management” programme to achieve a balance of species and number of fish that will eventually provide outstanding angling.
And anglers shouldn’t be alarmed if some fish have to be removed to produce good fishing in the long term.
The current programme started last year with the removal of stocks from Stanley Park Lake when the water was being drained for refurbishment, with fish redistributed to other lakes and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.
Fishery Officers from the EA and officers from the Ranger Service organised a public forum to explain their plans and those who attended agreed that unwanted carp hybrids overstocked fish should be removed.
It meant that prime fish could be released into Larkhill Park Lake and a fish transfer of large mature fish (of several species) released into Sefton Park, could be balanced by the removal of thousands of small fish.
Worked well so far.
It has worked very well at Sefton Park where throughout autumn and in the recent milder weather, anglers have caught plenty of fish and generally of a larger size – especially roach.
Local anglers also know all about the superb fish that now exist in Sefton, because those who attended the fish transfer saw them in the nets.
They included common and mirror carp nudging 20lb, tench 4lb, crucian carp, bream (existing stocks go to 10lb), roach to 12 ounces, perch and some pike.The only problem is that some anglers have been doing their own restocking by moving carp from lake to lake and bringing fish in from waters outside of the city.
Besides being unlawful, it is dangerous in the sense that transferring fish can introduce diseases that could wipe out the whole fishery, besides upsetting the balance of fish stocks that the Environment Agency fishery experts are trying to achieve – for the benefit of everyone.
Just a fish count.
The new stock survey at Calderstones, Greenbank and Walton Hall Park is merely a head count for the moment with a few fish being taken away for sampling purposes.
Park lake regulars are predicting the result on all three lakes – too many carp and some monster fish that could take the scales at 25lb or more!
When all of the information has been gathered and fish stocks assessed, consideration will then be given to restocking Walton Hall Park and releasing some more fish into Larkhill Lake.
Dave Houghton
www.leisureangling.co.uk
