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News & Updates This page contains information about all the catch reports, changes & improvements to The Sanctuary Fishery, and other important updates.Update October 2007 Our first season is coming to a close and it's given us chance to inform you of the progress this year. We have started to update the gallery page with new pictures and remove old mug shots of myself. We will use this update page to inform you of any changes here at The Sanctuary, great catches, lake records or any other interesting news. This season has been busier than expected with most customers catching new pb's and having a superb holiday. We do not make claims to have the largest fish in France or ridiculous amounts of fish being caught every week but if you are prepared to work hard and think about your fishing you could well have a session of a lifetime, but one thing we can guarantee is The Sanctuary will live up to it's name and the fish are there to be caught. We are still sticking to our pledge to provide an honest service with no false advertising, customer service that is hard to find these days and to maintain a true passion for the sport. This season has seen some memorable catches with numerous anglers catching a dozen 30lb+ fish over the week. The lake record common came out in late April at 44lb 6oz which was the first time this fish had ever been caught and has not been banked since. Also the lake record Mirror has avoided capture after being banked at 50lb 7oz in April, there are still fish that have yet to be caught this season which is really exciting for 2008. The unique 'Black and White' fish has just been banked at 32lb 10oz which you can see from the first photo in the Gallery, she looks stunning! This fish is one of many that keep growing and we have recorded weight gains of 11lb+ for some fish in a season which is staggering. So where is The Sanctuary Fishery heading? and what are our future plans? The opening of the 15 acre lake has been put back to around 2010, we expect there to be over 200+ fish in the 30lb+ bracket with some beautiful heavily scaled lumps to boot!! This lake is being drained for the time in the last 10 years this winter, which we hope will reveal some stunning originals like the fish on the homepage. We will be keeping the anglers to a minimum with a maximum of 6 anglers. We have a breeding program in place using some of the original true fully scaled and heavily scaled mirrors which we hope will cement our future with some unique stunning carp. If you are looking to escape the maddening crowds, fish a lake in unspoilt tranquil surrounding with minimum angling pressure and don't want another hole in the ground venue, with loud and rowdy anglers we maybe what you are looking for. Please feel free to ask any questions via the contact us page and we will be happy to help. Happy days ahead The Sanctuary Fishery Team Adam & Jayne Update February 2008 A warm welcome to you all & a Happy New Year. I have managed to pry myself out of my waders and get chance to put pen to paper, I have spent so much time in the water this winter I think I have grown gills. The 15 Acre lake has now been drained and filling up as I type this. I think the scale of the job was completely underestimated by myself and we have learnt so much from this drain down, because the lake has not been drained for 10 years there was a heavy clay sediment build-up near the culvit end which prevented us from removing all the water. All the fish held-up out in an area near the centre of the lake near the 'old tree line' in about 2ft of water. Now 2ft of water sounds like nothing but you would be amazed how big fish can hide in the smallest puddles of water, and they just dig down in the lake bed and can be missed so easily!!! The sheer number of fish that were out there is hard to comprehend unless you can see it with your own eyes, I could not even walk out into the 2ft of water without falling over & when your neoprene waders get full of water, I was wallowing around like an elephant seal in distress!!!! Over 7000lb in weight of carp alone were placed in holding tanks and pools while we removed half tonne of tench, but there was still dozens & dozens of carp left but the task was too great. The weather had been kind up until this point but it changed very quickly and it was time to make the decision to call it a day. With temperatures dropping to -5 it was time to start refilling the lake & return the carp back to their home asap. The fish stocks added in early 2006 had on average gained 10lb+ and had all reached the 21lb-23lb bracket, these fish are all young (5 seasons old), so they will be over the 30lb bracket in the next couple of seasons. Over 50+ original fish were caught with the biggest unknown being 44lb 12oz, these fish are all heavily scaled specimens, with some lovely "fullys" to boot!!. Two dozens old warriors were removed that had seen better days, and a handful of the originals were placed in the 7 Acre lake, the rest of the stock was returned to the 15 Acre lake. Also some Zander up to 10lb+, Black Bass up to 4lb 8oz, Perch up to 3lb 2oz were all returned along with a handful of Tench over 7lb+. The wheels are now in motion with a clearer picture of what the 15 Acre lake now holds, and we can start to look at forming a plan to shape this lake for opening in the future. This is a long term plan and will not be rushed just to make a quick buck!. We are going to turn this lake into the jewel in our crown for the Sanctuary Fishery. So it's bye for now, with new pictures and newsletters to follow soon. Happy days ahead The Sanctuary Fishery Team Adam & Jayne Update June 2008 We are now into our 10th week of the new season and I have managed to put pen to paper and update the site with some new pictures and give you a quick update on how the season is progressing. The first week of the season started with a "bang" when Simon and Dave bagged 25 fish for the week despite the freezing temperatures, and Simon who had set his target for a 30lb fish also broke the lake record with a mirror of 51lb 7oz. The second week was even colder with temperatures down to -2 degrees but the fish were starting to wake up even though the rods were freezing to the buzzers!! This didn't stop the lads from 'Fatbaits' catching, and by the end of the week they totalled 44 fish, with some lovely fish gracing the banks. Neil the owner of Fatbaits had one of the original Scaley fish and his mate Chopper managed to bank the Black & White fish at the end of the week, but the highlight was Dan in Peg 1 with a total of 27 fish (13 x 30lb+, 2 x 40lb+), best being a 47lb 12oz Mirror followd by a 40lb 12oz Mirror, 39lb 8oz Common and a 39lb 8oz Leather. He managed 5 x 30lb+ fish in under 24hours back to back which gives you a insight into what the lake can produce if you hit it right. Each week has continued to produce 40lb+ fish apart from the last 2 weeks, which have done spawned out fish of 39lb 8oz and 38lb 2oz Common. Spawning started week commencing May 3rd, which continued for 4 days and the fish are now feeding well and gaining weight. The Lake has produced 99 fish over 30lb+ since opening this year, so it looks set to be a great season ahead. The weed has come up again this season despite all the work we carried out over the winter! but we are working hard to remove it on a weekly basis, for all the customers that have booked this season, please take this into account before your trip (ie small "break away" leads, & 15lb main line with size 6 hooks will all help). other highlights this season have been one of the lads from the 'Spencer Crew' had his first 40lb+ fish in over 10 years of Carping in France, so well done to him. Also Dean, Dan & Mark (who have become good friends) had fish up 41lb 8oz & they all broke their PB's. Dean is still hot on the heals of the Website Homepage "Scaley Original" which came out for the first time 2 weeks ago to Steve Alan at 31lb+. Here at The Sanctuary Fishery we are proud of the progress since opening in 2007, and we will carry on striving for our dreams to produce a fishery with a unique experience all of its own! For all you nature lovers out here the Osprey has been back hunting the 15 acre lake and we are sure it is nesting in the vicinity, along with the Black Kites, which are now raising their clutch along side the lake. For the season of 2009 we will be reducing the maximum number of anglers from 5 down to 4, the price will not change (the price for 1 angler will remain at £249, and £1000 for a lake booking). We have worked out that 95% of our customers are groups of 3 or 4 anglers, with only 5% taking up the offer of the 5th angler coming for free. Over the long term this decision will reduce the pressure on the fish and provide more room for you to enjoy the venue, while most venues are increasing the number of anglers we`are reducing them to show our commitment to the business and the welfare of the fish. We will keep you updated with anything special and any new developments, in the mean time enjoy your fishing and we hope to see you soon. Happy days ahead The Sanctuary Fishery Team Adam & Jayne
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