Lac de Villedon Netting 7th to 10th January 2017
After months of planning and preparation Lac de Villedon underwent a
FULL draindown and then netting on 7th January 2017. The lake had
gradually been drained over the last 2 weeks to leave a large basin at
the deeper dam end of the lake.
Following coffee and breakfast at 7.30am on day 1 the 25 strong
Villedon team comprising of Villedon owner and staff, fish farmers and
dedicated local supporters of the venue were greeted by the site of
the main basin being frozen following a night of -4 temperatures.
I really expected the fish farmers and owner to have to abandon until
the following day but NO, boats were rowed independantly across the
basin in straight lines 10 metres apart to form channels in the ice,
it was then time to get into the water and 3 independant sections of
ice were pushed back underneath each other to leave a deep basin free
from ice.
The netting of Villedon is a very organised and complex process. Damien
David took time to explain to the team their individual
responsibilities and re enforced the golden rule 'If you dont have a
job, get out of the water'. This is important as it keeps to a minimum
the amount of silt disturbance in the basin. At the rear of the basin
a small neck of water had formed with a tiny pool located behind it
and 10 fish had become stranded in this bit of water. Loading the boat
with un hooking mats it was pushed toward the pool of water and the 10
remaining fish loaded safely into the boat. It was very interesting to
find that this small pool had a polished sandy base that had been
cleaned by the carp (it is approx 100 yards in front of the villa swim
1.) With any carp outside of the net rescued the main netting process
could begin. Several sweeps of the net were undertaken over 3 days
incorporating Monday. Once a small purse had formed at the back of the
net and support posts added on each occasion the selection process
could begin.
Firstly nets were run around the perimeter to remove silver fish as
these are most vunerable to the drop in oxygen created by the silt.
Four hand nets worked tirelessly throughout the morning removing
poisson chat and silver fish to crates that were then presented to the
pre assembled sorting stations for the dividing of Poisson chat,
roach, small carp; perch, sander and black bass. Once sorted by hand
these fish fish were then delivered to their nominated oxygenated
stock ponds and the roach went to the fish farmer into his holding
tanks. By 2pm we were requested to make our way to the Villedon
restaurant, a welcome opportunity to dry waders, gloves, boots etc in
front of the roaring wood burner. Our sincere thanks go to Mimi for
the excellent cuisine.
The afternoons were the event most held in eager anticipation as the
net was drawn closer and the carp picked out by hand, placed on
cushioned floatation mats and floated to two nominated persons who
transferred them to padded trailers linked to tractors, this process
ensured the fish were handled to a minimum and moved as quickly as
possible to their allocated stock ponds. ALL carp under 20lbs were removed to one of the rectangular aerated
ponds by the restaurant and ALL 20lb plus carp were taken to the
larger stock pond located closer to the car park.
This report is accompanied by 85 pictures of this process and the
movement of these immaculate fish and also some video. These can be viewed on our Facebook page.
Over the four day period 10 tonnes of roach were removed and 2.5
tonnes of poisson chat. The large carp remain in the stock pond until
21st January (water and rainfall permitting) when we are able to spend
several days recording their return to the main lake.
On Tuesday 10th afternoon with ALL carp removed the monk was opened
fully to allow any remaining poisson chat to filter through from the
lake to the stream which is grilled completely at two different
stages. Two netsmen then cleared the grills of any fish by hand to
waiting containers for onward transportation to stock ponds.
Any silt pools together with the dam wall are now being limed and the
lake level will be allowed to rise a few feet and then re flushed a
further two or three times.
The four days has been murderously hard work and our heartfelt thanks
goes to EVERYONE involved. This report has not been written as a
promotional marketing tool, it is simply our best efforts together
with the venue to give our customers old and new as much information
as possible to be able to make their own individual decisions and
should you choose to visit Villedon we very much look forward being of
service to you.
The bookings are very busy, just a quick heads up to help you plan
your Villedon trips, April is now booked solid and May is also going
the same way as well as September. Please contact us now with dates
and amount of anglers in your group to ensure we can accommodate you
on the swims of your choice. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Full pictures of the netting and flushing can be seen on our Facebook
page, together with pictures of some of Villedons beautiful big fish!
Paul and Carmen
Armfield Angling Limited