SALISBURY Angling Club has been hit by the death of dozens and dozens of fish at one of its prime coarse lake fisheries.

Bodies of bream, roach and other species have been pulled from the Steeple Langford lakes on a daily basis and it is unlikely the lakes will re-open on Wednesday, June 1 after the close season lay-off.

A club spokesman told Rod and Line: “A significant number of fish of all species and sizes have now died and we were recovering dead fish on a daily basis. Live fish remain in the lake but many show signs of being affected.

“We still have no clear explanation of the problem but Environment Agency experts continue to monitor the water and study the dead fish.

“With only three weeks to go before the coarse season opening it is important that members know that it is very likely that we will not re-open the lakes for some time. Surviving stock need time to recover and any necessary remedial measures need to be put in place.”

Everyone is urged to stay away from the fishery which is under quarantine. This week the club said the death rate had fallen dramatically and it is hoped the worst is now over.

Elsewhere, anglers are enjoying a steady improvement in sport with fisheries reporting big weights and big fish. Chris Knight, pictured, fished the specimen lake at Watergate Farm Fishery at Bulford and landed a 32lb 2oz mirror carp. The lake is also producing plenty of carp in the 20lb range. Its general coarse lake is also fishing well and a recent match there was won with 157lb.

Match weights have also been good at Witherington Farm Fishery. An open mid-week match on Sellwood and Cottage lakes had a number of good bags. On Sellwood the winner was Gary Etheridge with 63lb 10oz, Darryl Mayers was second with 49lb 10oz and Bob Shutler was third with 31lb 12oz. Winner on Cottage lake was James Knight with 106lb 4oz, Mick Aldiss was runner-up with 29lb 4oz and Dave Moody was third with 27lb 10oz.

Last weekend was the final match in the Teams of Four competition at Witherington Farm and for the sixth year running the title has gone to team Reid's Tackle who accumulated 217 points. Runners-up were Reid's Tackle B with 204 points giving Reid's Tackle a clean sweep.

Saturday's match was won by Reid's Tackle who had led for most of the competition. Individual winner on Saturday was John Dewbury, who weighed-in 121lb 3oz from the Inner Snake lake. Martin Rogers was second with 94lb 4oz from the Outer Snake.