NEWLETTER 2024

Welcome to the Pavyott’s Mill Fisheries second annual newsletter.

We have achieved quite a lot over the last two and a half years but there is still a huge amount of work still to be done.

During April we purchased 90 C4 Mirrors.  35 were put into the Kingfisher Lake and the remaining 55 went into the Woodpecker Lake.  All of these fish are stunning and as they pile the weight on some will be moved into the Maze Lake.  There are a few pictures in the next section to wet the appetite.

We were due to net again late November but this got cancelled due to the amount of rain during this period so this is now rescheduled for early February.  On top of the 3 ton of silvers we removed during the previous netting, removal of additional silvers will help to improve the water quality further.  It is evident that this is having benefits as we are seeing an increase of weight in a good number of fish.  The completion of the return card have enabled us to see this so please continue to fill them in.

The pegs and swims are again being tidied with more stone being added to the pegs and trees and bushes being cut back.  Overhanging snags are being removed from the water.  Most of this work should be completed by the end of January.

We are looking to replace all the Portaloo’s on the Maze during the springtime.

The bounty fish (Ghost Common) has proven to be allusive.  Whilst many people reported seeing it on the surface during the Summer he is avoiding the net. Pot currently stands at £6300.

If you are a new visitor to Pavyotts, please read the rules which are on the rules page of our website. If you have been to us before the only change from last year is that we now no longer allow fishing with a Zig Rig.

Big thanks to Anita for all her hard work and continued support in running the fisheries.  Also thanks to Billy Haigh and our Billie for manning the Facebook page. 

Happy New Year to you all.

Tight Lines

  Welcome to Pavyotts Mill Fisheries first newsletter.  For those that haven’t met me my name is Graham and along with my family we purchased Pavyotts a little over 18 months ago.
 

We knew when we purchased Pavs there was a huge amount of work to be done in both the fisheries and the other part of the business the equine centre where we have facilities for up to 40 horses that includes indoor and out arenas, indoor walker, solarium, stabling and paddocks.
 

A little background on us as a family.  My wife Sandra comes from an IT and Training background.  We have two sons Callum and Kasey.  They are always helpful with anything and everything around Pavs particularly when we have a tethered fish or a bait boat that is stuck.  Billie (Keyworth not Haigh) who is Callum’s girlfriend/partner has grown up with horses all her life and runs the Equine centre at Pavs.  Billie also helps to run the Facebook page along with Billy Haigh as moderators.  You may also see and talk to her on the phone along with Sandra and Anita who run the office.  I have spent the last 35 years as a Commercial Pilot within British Airways and Thomas Cook and have developed a few properties along the way as I enjoyed doing it.
 

From the fishing point of view fly fishing for both trout and salmon along with sport fishing around the world has been my passion.  You might then wonder why we purchased a carp fishery!  The answer is very easy.  The poor reputation Pavs had, along with the huge potential and the challenge of turning this fishery around to try and make it the best carp fishery in the country.
 

So what have we achieved in our first 18 months?  Firstly we are a customer service industry so all contact with us should be friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.  For those of you that have spoken and visited us since Anita has become the fisheries manager will I’m sure vouch for that.  Anita has been at Pavs for a good number of years and is incredibly knowledgeable.  Anita is happy to offer advice to you all.  
 

We have retained the Maze Lake name for the specimen lake where fish sizes fluctuate up to 52lb have been caught.   Josh’s and Jade lakes have been renamed to Kingfisher which has fish to mid 30’s and Woodpecker to mid 20’s. 

What work have we undertaken since our arrival?  The water quality and control of the water at Pavs was our very first challenge.  Historically the Maze Lake which is approx 8 acres had flooded a number of times and oxygen levels were not consistent.   We introduced multiple 300mm twin wall pipes and new water falls throughout the complex including new exit points for the water at the far end of the Maze this improved circulation. The result being a much more stable dissolved oxygen level and between about 10.5 and 12 parts per million consistently.  Even during last summer where many fisheries struggled with oxygen levels and a lot of fish were lost throughout the country we had stable water and oxygen levels.  This is obviously very important as the fish will do well under these stable conditions.  
 

The condition of the huts, pegs and swims had to be addressed as they were poor and overgrown.  We decided to remove the beds from all the huts on the Maze so anglers could use their own bed chairs.  The huts were tided and a wood preserve applied. In due course the existing huts will be replaced.  A couple of ton of stone has been put into the swims on the left hand side of each peg providing a water platform allowing you to take water photos. They are generally two to three feet deep.

New sleepers were installed on the front of the swims. The road planning’s and wood chip has been replaced with the more aesthetically pleasing lighter Cotswold stone.  
 

De-snagging the swims has been completed again this winter.

The toilet, shower block and old office along with the fisheries annex have been completely modernised internally and externally.  (see pic at the top)
 

Planning permission for the cafe, barbecue area, new office and shop has been granted and we hope to construct this in the near future.
 

About a twelve month ago we also introduced a system of returns cards for all fish caught. Anglers are issued with a scanner along and a returns card so that fish can be identified and weight recorded. This is a really useful management tool for me as I now have a system to track how fish are progressing.
 

Last November we netted the lakes.  Challenging as it was with all the islands, a large number of new fish were caught on the Maze, chipped and returned. Approx. 40 sub 20lb fish were relocated to the Kingfisher lake along with a couple more larger fish.  We also netted and removed approx. 3 ton of silver’s from the Maze.  This in turn will have a positive impact on the lake allowing the carp to grow further.
 

Lastly, for a little bit of fun we put a bounty on a ghost common. The pot started at £1000 and I believe it is past £1500 now as I write this newsletter.  Some lucky angler will go home with a smile on their face.

We have de-silted and dug out the very top lake that historically was used privately.  This will be our new stock lake.  We intend to buy in new fish that will be fed to bring on for the future.  Some will be introduced to Kingfisher and Woodpecker lakes.  Carp with the potential to push on in size will be introduced to the Maze