Works update and what's coming up!
I thought I would update you on the progress we have made over the last few weeks and what is left to do. So dad and I started work a few weeks ago by preparing the site for the coming work. We removed lots of branches and the jetties that used to be in all the swims. The following weekend the team arrived...
And we got ready for a tough week ahead. We started work with a 20t digger, and a 10 and 2 t dumper.
We started by digging the 2 new stock ponds. The 1st in our paddock behind the mobile home, the second in the long field at the top of the site. They are intelligently named pool 1 and the swimming pool. Pool 1
The Swimming Pool
We filled both pools up in less than a day. We then fitted a pretty clever little system from the main lake into pool 1. We dug a 5 ft trench and installed a low level extraction pipe with a valve on the end so that we can drain the lake from a low level, and use that water to fill, turn over and oxygenate pond 1 whilst stopping the main lake flooding. The swimming pool is filled directly from the spring. It is already gin clear. When this lake is full it flows back into the main lake. After these new pools were completed and tidied as best we could we moved some slate around the site helping to level swims, create paths and build a more solid entrance into the fishery. During all this time the rest of us had been felling trees and clearing snags from the lake. You can see some of the cleared areas behind me in this picture.
On Wednesday we swapped the 20t digger for a 7t digger so we could get into smaller areas, rip out old trees, stumps and snags, tidy swims and more. In my absence on Wednesday the team also completed a project that was high on my wish list. Since digging the new section and extending the lake the point that I used to stalk off became an island that was very hard to access so I wanted to get some good quality bridges onto the small island then onto the large island where you could easily do an overnighter.
On Friday we were forced to do the netting a day earlier due to a cock up by the people we had booked. The guys that did arrive were poorly prepared for our specific lake and the results were nothing short of rubbish. My target of moving 15 fish to the stock pond and removing 400kg of silver fish was missed by a country mile. We did move 4 upper doubles to The Swimming Pool as well as these 4 cracking little Hungarian shaped commons which we moved to pool 1.
The site is now very wet and muddy and I hope to let it settle over the coming week and then we have a few fairly simple chores to get done, including the final snag removal, some adjustments to the lodge layout, some grass seeding and the building of the outside summer shower.
Finally I want to say a massive thank you again to Huw, Brinn, Lily, my dad and of course Sharon who kept us very well looked after all week.
There are more exciting things happening over the next 6 weeks, so stay tuned 😉
Nic #coronvibe
