1999 Season bailiffs reports on fisheries

Tufnell Mere and Broads Green

New season starts 16th June 1999.
Water levels very high on Tufnell, which seems to have had a good spawning.
Broads Green has had swims and steps improved on high bank during close season.
Many (70+) Carp seen basking on surface.
20th June Carp showing very well again this season with anglers reporting bags of 200lb+.
Bream also showing well.
4th July Carp and Bream showing very well on Tufnell. Today's match (5 hours) produced the following weights:- 1st 97½lb, 2nd 94½lb, 3rd 84¼lb, 4th 65lb, 5th 62½lb, 6th 60¼lb, 7th 53¾lb, 8th 50¼lb, 9th 43½lb, 10th 34½lb.
I very much doubt if there is another water in Essex that can produce, regularly, such excellent bags of fish.
24th July, Match Record broken at Tufnell Mere
10th Sept, 28lb carp caught during August. Still fishing well, all species showing.
Float producing better than lead in many swims
1st November, Its not only carp that can be caught to have a good days fishing. At yesterdays match, where carp over 10" were banned, the top weight was 35lb of mainly other species. To give you a clue of how well it fished, of the 20 anglers who fished I caught 13lb+ and came 12th. This was about 120 roach and hybrids.
Pleasure sessions regularly producing Roach and Bream double figure nets.
4th December Still fishing well, lots of carp being caught 11-18lb, one angler recently had 40 fish 7-9lb.
4th March Water level very high and coloured with recent heavy rain. Not many anglers but most are catching.

Boreham Mere Complex

Nigel Barnes with 22lb 10oz Pike from Boreham Mere. February '99

New Season starts 16th June 1999
4th July Main Lake fishing well. Carp, Bream Tench and lots of Rudd showing. Also Pike.
Back Lake fishing well in margins.
24th July Back Lake still fishing well. Main lake improving after a quiet spell now that the water is cooling down. Small Lake producing small Tench.
10th Sept 29lb carp caught from main lake. Believed to be a fish caught around 20lb mark last season, checks being done.
4th December 29½lb Carp again from Main lake. Most people fishing for the Pike. Good pike of 13½ and 14lb caught last week with plenty of smaller ones. Quality Perch and Roach being caught from Back lake.
21st January 00 30lb Carp caught during December and 28lb Pike. Both fish from Main Lake.
Perch to 2lb from Back Lake.
4th March Main Lake fishing well, particularly for Pike. Bob Johnson had 4 on 26th Feb. 17-4, 16, and 2 around 10lb. Carp pool fishing well for Rudd, Perch and occasional Tench.

Ulting Complex

(Wick, Cants & Blunts Mere's)

New season from 1st May

2nd May (Blunts & Cants) Water level very high. Less than 50% of swims in use. All anglers catching, some almost constantly.
Carp 16lb 8oz, Tench 5lb 8oz, Rudd 1lb 12oz. Larger fish are spawning, not interested in feeding.
One angler had 17 Carp in afternoon from 9lb 2oz to 16lb on Cants. Large shoals of small Rudd in margins of Blunts.
6th June 1999, Blunts Crucian Carp to 2 lb, many Tench 1 to 2 lb and quite a few 5lb+, largest Carp 23½ lb.
Cants largest Carp 21½ lb with many doubles also being caught. Some anglers having 10 fish Carp) per session.
Fish still spawning and not really feeding.
Wick Bream showing well. Some bags of 100 lb+ taken early May comprising Tench, Bream and Carp. End of May saw mixed bags to 70 lb.
Plenty of small fish showing. Catching these attracts small Pike.
4th July Blunts still producing plenty of fish. Largest advised Carp so far 22lb 9oz which came to a new member visiting the water for the first time after he had a 15lb and a 9lb. Wick Mere has seen sport slow down a little, but still fishing well. Plenty of Bream, Tench and large Rudd being caught on a variety of baits.
Anglers are also reporting catching some very large Eels.
10th Sept Loads of small Rudd in Blunts. Impossible to avoid them using maggots. Angler recently caught three 3lb Rudd in one day session. Swims furthest from car park producing best.
Cants fishing well in some swims. Angler regularly catches over a dozen 12lb+ fish in morning session. Others sit with only one or two takes a day.
Wick Mere producing plenty of silver fish on maggots. Better quality roach being caught on sweet corn. Plenty of bream caught on feeder.
Carp to 14lb and Tench to 4lb caught recently. Bread flake is catching bream carp and Tench.
1st November Wick Mere has recently produced carp of 22lb, pike of 16lb+ (see photo of Trevor Wilson's 16lb 14oz) with plenty of pike 2-9lb , and an eel of 7lb.
4th December Blunts a bit slow at times with Carp to 16lb. One angler had 12 Carp in 1 day between 9 and 16lb. Cants fishing well with Carp to 12lb. One angler caught 17 Carp in one day. Lots of Rudd also showing on both these lakes.

Trevor Wilson's 16lb 14oz Pike from Wick mere
(Trevor tells his close friends its all down to Watch and Learn tactics!

The Willows

New season from 1st May 1999
3rd May, Most swims in use, but very little being caught. Large fish cruising, but not feeding.
Lots of natural food in water, water flea's particularly.
6th June 1999, Tench to 7lb being caught. Largest Bream 12¾lb, numerous 10lb+. Largest Carp 25lb+.
Large Eels being caught at night.
Blue-Green algae showing. Take necessary precautions.
24th July Algae now gone and water cooling should see an improvement in fishing. Plenty of fish
cruising but have been reluctant to take baits.
Lots of Dace, Chub and Perch from backwater and Weir pool.
Environment Agency to start work on creating new weir, upstream and next to original weir, around mid August,
some of the car park may be cordoned off.
10th Sept some fish coming from margins.
4th December Carp to 25lb, Tench to 7lb and Double figure Bream being caught by the regular anglers. 232lb of Rudd (approx. 6,000 fish) stocked on 28th November.
 

Little Braxted Complex

Front Lake. 23 20 lb+ Carp are "Known" in this lake.
New Season starts 16th June 1999
20th June Reports from Back Lake indicate fish have wintered well.
A Carp caught last season at 32 lb has been caught at 35 lb 2 oz.
10th Sept Recent 4hr match on Front Lake produced weights of 20lb, 15lb, 12lb. None these weights included any carp. Bream to 4lb, Rudd, plenty of roach around 8oz and a quality roach of 2lb 1oz caught by Mark Carr.
November Reservoir fishing well for Rudd and smaller Carp
Front Lake producing Bream and Roach, Back Lake hard but producing quality Carp.
4th December Front Lake producing lots of Bream with anglers getting 20-40lb.
Back Lake producing good carp. Reservoir has lots of 3-5lb carp and plenty of quality Rudd.
4th March Reservoir fishing well for smaller Carp, Front and Back lakes slower but quality fish.
 

River Chelmer

River season starts 16th June 1999
20th June River fishing patchy. Lots of small perch being caught. Pike showing throughout length,
and can be troublesome to anglers.
Today's top match weights at Heybridge, (Heybridge Sq and cemetery) were:- 14lb 4oz,11lb 7oz, 9lb 13oz, 9lb 7oz,
9lb 6½oz, 9lb 4½oz.
51 anglers fished and all caught fish.
4th July Canal at Heybridge still fishing very well.
Yesterdays top 4 match weights were 9lb 2oz, 8lb 3oz, 6lb 15oz, 6lb 12oz.
Main river fishing well through Ulting, Little Baddow and Boreham, where there is always a chance of catching specimen fish while regularly catching smaller fish.
10th Sept fishing improving all along river. Roach showing in good numbers, as are the perch. Bread punch and flake working well.
Carp of 27lb caught between Paper Mills and Hoe Mill. Carp of around 8lb seen cruising around Ulting church.
Paper Mills weir pool producing bream to 6lb. Tench showing throughout river.
1st November The river has really come on form in the last couple of weeks. Quality roach, and big perch are showing well with dace, small chub and bream helping to swell keepnets. Roach of 2½lb caught at Paper Mills.
4th March Recent heavy rain has made fishing difficult, unless you can find an area where they are shoaled up. One such area is the lock cut at Sandford. A match on 27th Feb was won with 9-8-0 and included 3 Tench around 2lb+.

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