ANGLERS received the best present they could have asked for when the Environment Agency carried out re-stocking at a popular spot in the grounds of Raby Castle.
Some 1,800 young fish, including roach, bream, rudd, tench and crucian carp, were released into Raby High Lake, which is run by Scarth Hall Angling Club.
All the fish were reared at the Environment Agency’s national fish farm near Calverton, in Nottinghamshire.
The specialist breeding farm produces between 400,000 and 500,000 fish each year.
Club secretary Trevor Pybus said: “We had about five to six thousand fish brought in during 2019 and we haven’t had a fish out there.
“The cormorants make off with them. It is really hard work to keep it stocked. It is nearly impossible to get a bass to catch. But it is such a lovely place to fish and I’ve spent many an hour here.”
Fellow club member John Brown contacted the agency six months ago requesting that the pond be restocked. He said: “When I was a teenager you could find a pond and you could let loose a bucket of fish, come back a few years later and it would be full of them. That doesn’t happen these days because of the cormorants.”
Fish havens – netted areas in the pond – were installed about five years ago to give the fish somewhere safe to hide.
Mr Pybus added: “It’s not too deep so we also have a number of crates on the bottom for them as well.”
Membership of Scarth Hall Angling Club is limited to ten, though currently there is one vacancy.
Members are entitled to bring one guest along with them when they fish at Raby High Lake, but members under the age of 16 have to be accompanied by an adult.
But those keen on trying out the restocked fishing site will have to wait until May 1 because the fishing season closed on November 30.
For more information on Scarth Hall Angling Club contact club secretary Mr Pybus on 01388 718495.
