Sorry for the delay in getting this out but it has been a mad couple of weeks getting everything ready for the start of the season and the final things done that we wanted to do. As we write this we are already one week in and you will have hopefully read the first catch reports from the lakes and seen some great fish on the bank. The second week is going just as well.
The day after Jo’s family left the second of our new huts arrived, ready to put up on swim 3 on Kingfisher and we set to work on that. This one was a lot easier as we had already done our practice run and after a few more trips to the woodyard we had it up and painted and Nigel finished the edges of the swim. We are quite proud of how they look and they were definitely the two swims that were first picked by our first guests.
After this was done we were able to finish the last bit of pruning and shredding and finished the wood chip path along the main bank and also the dam wall where the digger and dumper had done some damage. The grass will grow back eventually but everywhere was looking very bare. Our neighbour had had one of their trees pollarded as well so they had lots of lovely smelling linden tree chippings which we took off their hands for them.
Nigel put another dose of calcium carbonate in both lakes to try to reduce the silt and improve the oxygen in them which will hopefully pay off in the summer along with the new aerators we have. He did get rather messy and ended up even greyer than he really is! And we apologise to our first guests of the season who used the boats as the rain had not washed all of the chalk away!
With the weather warming up the birds have been singing and the spring flowers coming to life. It is always good to see the daffodils coming into bloom and the trees starting to bud. We now have banks of bluebells coming into flowers and the irises will not be long either. With the temperatures rising the fish are feeding and Nigel has been feeding both lakes over the winter when the temperatures have been ok. It is good to see those bubbles rising and the silt being stirred up and the carp starting to show.
Our new bait boats were both with us by the middle of March. As we have said previously we decided to trade in the old Angling Technics Microcats that we had inherited when we moved here for their brand new Ultracat S boats. These come with GPS, Autopilot and saved spots and for those of you who follow us on social media you will have seen us having a bit of a play with them. These will be available for our anglers to rent whilst they are with us to ensure that their lines end up where they want them each time. We are sure we will learn more about them as the season goes on but their battery life and reliability is certainly better than what we had.
And before we knew it it was time to get the chalets cleaned and ready. Kingfisher has had new curtains made this year and with a bit of assistance from Jo’s sisters they don’t look too bad. Nigel finished the back splash in the kitchen in Kingfisher and we got a new bed and bedside tables for Lac Lucie to make things easier in there.
Nigel got all the grass cut and the strimming done around the lakes, avoiding the wild flowers. Unfortunately the day before the season was due to start he managed to strim a hole in the liner of the dip pool on Kingfisher, a schoolboy error and an expensive mistake but we ordered a new one which has arrived so will be up and ready for June for our summer guests.
Finally, thank you for everyone who has read our blogs over the winter season and kept up to date with what we are doing here. Best of luck for the 2026 season, wherever you may be fishing and if you are coming to visit us we will look forward to seeing you very soon. Tight lines, bonne journée et à bientôt….