yonny

Very worrying. I'm supposed to be out fishing tomorrow night so hopefully they're looking better by then. Another decision I have is whether to take the bivvy or not given that it looks like rain on Saturday morning.

Action stations at home. The last few days 2 of the koi have started sitting high up in the water in the flow of the filter return. No probs I thought, it's just because they like the flow of the water over their gills. Then a couple of days ago those 2 fish stopped eating. I've checked pH, nitrites, ammonia, phosphates..... all fine. Then last night a few of the others started sitting in the flow of the return. They're still eating ok but I'm obviously getting worried. I already have two air pumps feeding several air supply systems but they're all in the filter. This means the freshly oxygenated water is all coming out of that filter return and it's looking like the koi are desperate for it. None of the fish are gasping at the surface but they're opening/closing their mouths quicker than they normally do. Not yet gulping, but it looks like it could be on the way. Obviously the heatwave has elevated water temps considerably so it's becoming clear I need more oxygen as soon as possible. I'm picking up a new air pump later with a new air stone... both the biggest I can get. On paper there's loads of oxygen going in already but it's a big old pond with big old fish. Hopefully the new air line will sort it.

I bet you are. What a result.

Jesus!

Can you get away with fishing it?

Good'n's for sure.

This is that "mycamoalien" guy on Insta I believe. I think he is, or was, a bailiff on the Wraysbury waters? He's had most of the bigguns over there and did well at Wingham too. His dusted bottom baits look good but I've not tried them. The pop ups seem expensive to me but the attractor combos sound good. You'd be surprised.

Same. The original and best.

I'd always go for leadcore unless distance is an issue in which case I'd go leadless. One thing I would say is get some Korda No-Trace beads, regardless of the type of leader you're using. An underrated product which imo doesn't get the praise it deserves.

You know what... you're right mate. I ditched them on Northey because it's all close in stuff. They'll be great on the big pit.

Yes! I have a couple of sets of these. They look great but the heads are very heavy. No good for close range stuff. I ditched them for some of the original Solar heads. So, so light.

Your issues will get worse as the koi grow mate. You might need to bite the bullet and upgrade the filtration.

That's a more serious problem. Are you sure the filtration is up to dealing with the koi? I've not tried Envii stuff I'm afraid.

The only concerns would be A) the rat smashes your koi food, and B) the rat poos in your pond introducing parasites (unlikely). I've never heard of rats having a pop at the fish themselves. Just get rid of it and you should be fine mate.

I have a photo at home of me with Bobby Kerr and Jimmy Montgomery - the captain and keeper from the '73 team. Bobby owned a pub a few miles away from where my Grandma lived so I'd visit quite regularly and often see ex players. The Stadium of Light has a stand named after Jimmy nowadays, harking back to that incredible double save in the final.

I'm just back from a few days away and mine's looking murky. I gave it a real good clean last night but I'll need to do it every night this week to get it back to what it was. They still haven't spawned.......! Any plant life will be smashed to bits unless protected. Might be worth removing the silt altogether then you should just get a thin layer of blanket weed that's easy to keep on top of.

My family moved down south a year before I was born. Sunderland is in my blood (I obviously wouldn't have chosen to be a Sunderland supporter 🤣).

No signs of the koi spawning this past weekend which has surprised me. Water temps are 19+ so should be getting frisky any time now.

I would have preferred to see Spurs go down but WHU will have to do😅 To see my beloved Sunderland go to Europe for the first time in my life (and I'm 47 years old tomorrow!) is absolutely mind-blowing. Still can't quite believe it.

We have a cat. She sits on the side of the pond watching the fish, she loves it. This keeps all the other pests like birds away. I have a fake heron next to my smaller goldfish pond, wouldn't recommend it. The cat couldn't care less about it and I suspect none would. We had a heron visiting this pond despite the plastic one, but not seen it for months now.

Exactly..... I'm a hero really 😁

My pond is raised with a good drop to the surface so not accessible for pests (and so far no issues with herons either). You could try a feeding ring which would keep food away from the edges but the koi might take a while to get used to it. The floating hexagons might work if they keep food away from the edges. It is defo worth keeping pests away. If they come to the pond to feed they'll end up pooing in the pond and that can introduce parasites.

Persevere. Koi will generally be slow to accept any new foods (although mine loved boilies straight away too 😅). Once they're used to it, they'll be fine. I chatted with a koi keeping mate about my koi's reluctance to eat the dried shrimp/silkworm and he said they'd take a while to get onto it. They have done now... they love them all of a sudden.

Quick night on the local day ticket on Friday. Managed to get on them easily enough but a bit disappointed to just catch the one. I put a bucket of bait out about 30 yards in front of me and got continuous liners on it from about 9pm until 3am. Bizarrely, the only rod to go was the one chucked under the bush in the near margin. I can only assume my hinges were not the one..... should have put bottom baits out. Still, better than a blank and a very pretty little patchy common. I'll not get out again until the end of June which is a killer.

I remember baulking at 20 quid..... then 30...... I agree 40 notes just disappears as soon as you walk into the tackle shop.