Fishery management continues to be a challenge.

We have had some really good fish caught since my last update, some of which have already been shared through Facebook, and some which are featured here. I particularly like the photo of Nigel Stirrett with a stunning 31-08 heavily scaled Mirror above.

I will confess that I am continuing to stress about the on-going drought. Our lake levels continue to slowly drop and are at the lowest level in our 14 years here at Cherry Lakes. The River Churn has long ceased flowing. We are seeing parts of the lake bed that we have not seen before. It is interesting to see how the bunds were made up when the original Lake 2 was subdivided into 3 different lakes.

I can see that we are obviously not alone in worrying about lake levels and water quality with a number of other fisheries closing.

At the moment our water quality is testing OK. I have my fingers and toes crossed that we don’t have to shut one or more of the lakes due to water levels and/or water quality. So far we have been able to keep open all areas of Cherry Lake, but if we loose another 6 inches or so, then we may need to close off the shallows in several areas of the lake. We will obviously keep you informed and contact anyone directly affected if we need to take action.

In previous years we have often had heavy autumn rain following Hurricanes in the Caribbean/east coast US working their way across the Atlantic. Hopefully Hurricane Erin will be the first of many. It would be so good to stop being stressed and grumpy (Judith’s words, not mine!).

We have lost several Carp this summer which I am sure have been caught within a week or so of being found Dead. Whilst this might have been caused by poor care and handling by their captors, I am not sure this has been the case.
As well as low water levels we have had very high water temperatures, by which I mean 23C and over. I have not previously worried about high water temperatures, but this summer I have become more aware that high water temperatures do make the Carp stress, which is never good for them. Being caught and in particular being lifted out of the water, in hot water conditions is most definitely an issue for them.

Given global warming and the increased likelihood of heat waves and droughts in the future, I am not sure it is sensible or good fishery management to ignore these observations and not to address the issue of high water temperatures and weighing/photographing big Carp out of the water.

Whilst we do not yet have practical solutions yet, we are investigating several options. One or more of which we will probably introduce for 2026 and beyond. Indeed I am off to France next month and will be fishing a big fish lake where the Carp never leave the water. Hopefully they have some ideas which we can copy. After all plagiarism is the highest form of flattery(or something like that!).

As regular followers of this Latest News page know, I have been struggling to keep up with the number of 30+ Carp being caught. This year’s 30+ catalogue is not as representative of what has been caught as in previous years. This is principally down to my lake of diligence in chasing down photos as well as my increasingly poor memory. I cannot see this improving in the future!

Whilst it will take a reasonable investment, as well as a lot of effort on our part, we are actively considering ‘chipping’ our stock, starting this winter. This has the potential for us to better track the stock levels and progress of individual Carp.

We would hope through a combination of netting and new stocking, to have potentially chipped around 50% of the stock by next Spring. Whilst conditions are favourable we would then ask anglers to ‘scan’ the captured Carp. If it has a chip, we simply need to know the number and weight (photos will still be appreciate). If it has not been chipped, then it will need to be retained and one of us called to undertake the ‘chipping’.

We have some more research to do on this and are likely to take a decision on whether to move in this direction by the end of September. We will keep you informed.

All of the lakes have had their moments over the last few weeks. Cherry Springs has been particularly productive. From memory Craig and Andrew Salvin shared over 30 Carp in their stay including 8 x 20’s topped by this fantastic 36-08 Mirror above.

Three generations of the Prest family made their annual pilgrimage to Cherry Lakes, and this year chose to fish from Kingfisher Lodge. They shared over 40 Carp during their frenetic weekend including this stunning 27 Mirror to Adam below.

As you know, I have got a real soft spot for Ghost Carp, so I could not resist finishing this update, with Colin Earl’s cracking 32-08 Ghost Mirror. What a lovely brace of 30’s Colin caught.

Well done and thanks for the photos for all the anglers here and those guests who have sent through any not used by Simon or myself.