Fish

Carp: There are five species of carp to be found at the Lakeland Fishery.

• • Common has a complete covering of small uniform scales.

  • Linear has a perfect row of even scales along its entire length.

  • Fully Scaled Mirror has a very even covering of large scales over its body.

  • Mirror has a very haphazard scattering of large scales over its body and

  • Ghost.

The Carp is predominately a bottom feeder but can often be seen cruising below the surface of the water especially during the summer months, picking at fallen insects. Generally Carp tend to swim in small groups, two or three fish together; the larger specimens though are often solitary. Angling recommendations regarding tackle can be summed up in one word - strong. Even the smaller 1lb fish will give more than its fair share of excitement to anglers.

Rudd: The Rudd is essentially a surface feeder living in shoals in the upper half of the water. Its main diet consists of small crustaceans, insect larvae and fallen insects also aquatic plants. Essentially the Rudd is a shy feeder, therefore angling tackle should be kept light and every effort must be made not to spook the shoal once one of it's members have been caught. A hooked fish needs to be guided away from the shoal quickly.

Roach: The Roach is a member of the Carp family with relatively large scales firmly embedded in it's skin. It has a dark brown or grey back with a bluish or greenish lustre, silvery white sides and a white belly. The Roach is generally found living in shoals and often feeds at all levels. Roach initially tend to be shy and the bites may often appear as little more than a knock or dip of the float but once they become confident the bites will become more positive.

Bream: The Common Bream has a strikingly deep body with highly compressed sides and a distinctive mouth. Its dark back frequently has a greenish tinge with silvery grey sides and a whitish belly. Bream generally are found in large shoals, especially when young, favoring deep, slow or still water. Bream tend to shoal and move casually around looking for food. The Bream has not got a reputation though as a fighting fish, generally coming to the net with little resistance. Once a shoal starts to feed, any fish hooked needs to be pulled away from the remainder quickly, otherwise the shoal will be spooked and will move on.

Tench: The Tench is a bottom dwelling fish feeding on crustaceans, larvae and bloodworms and is generally found in small shoals. A feeding fish often releases a stream of tiny bubbles that can be seen on the surface. The Tench is a sturdily built fish with small scales embedded in it's olive green body. It's eyes are small and it has two barbules, one either side of it's mouth. Tench tend to be cautious feeders and often play with the bait before confidently taking it. A Tench once hooked can present the angler with quite an energetic fight, often diving for available cover and snags therefore tackle needs to be fairly strong.

Hybrids: Cross fertilisation between different species of fish gives rise to hybrids. In Ireland, the main hybrids are roach x bream , rudd x bream and to a lesser extent, rudd x roach . All these hybrid forms can develop into fertile adults producing viable eggs. The bream hybrids are well sought after angling species and are renowned for their good fighting ability when hooked. Hybrids are hard-fighting and well worth pursuing.

Perch: The body of the Perch is high in large fish, rather 'hump-backed', the first dorsal fin has 13 - 15 spines and posteriorly a black spot; the gill-cover ends in a strong spine. The Perch is rather sedentary, living usually in shoals which may include fish of different sizes and ages. Large Perch are solitary predators, eating small roach, etc and as it is very abundant the perch itself, when young, often serves as food for larger Perch.