I am a newcomer to fly fishing, having been turned on recently whilst fly fishing in America for Largemouth Bass.

I bought a fly outfit a couple of weeks ago and decided to head to Chigboro fisheries in Maldon Essex, after perusing this, and the old, forum. It was reccomended as a good beginners fishery and was relatively close to me so I thought it would be a good starting point.

I fished for 6 hours on Friday afternoon/evening, starting out at the small beginners pool and later moving to the larger Rook Lake. I could see a great deal of fish in the small Pool, many of which kept jumping, but despite landing every fly in my tackle box right in the middle of them, I did not have one bite. I saw a couple of dead fish in the margins as I headed over to the Rook Lake which I thought was strange but did not know if this was usual. I did not see one bailiff all day so I thought no one had noticed the fish yet.

At the Rook Lake I had slightly better luck, with two takes on a black buzzer which I lost, however, the fish here were jumping constantly too. I only saw one man catch and when i spoke to him, he said he fished there a lot and it used to be very productive but the fish he caught that day was his first in four weeks.

I left when it was too dark to fish anymore but decided to return on sunday with more flies and with a plan to fish just the rook lake. Once again i saw many fish jumping and had no bites in the four hours I fished the lake. I decided to head over to the small pool again and was a little upset to see the two dead fish still in the margins. I began to realise something was wrong as the fish kept jumping and I saw, noticably distressed, fish patrolling the margins. Some looked like they had a silvery white disease on there flanks and backs. The final straw came when I saw a fish struggling in some weed; I thought it may have become caught up but when I retrieved it with my net, I saw it was covered in small lice and a couple of leech-like worms. It was obviously very close to dieing but I did not know what to do so I put it back and it died about fifteen minutes later.

Has this fishery become infected with the Argulus disease? I saw a bailiff first thing in the morning but could not find anyone to report this to as I left. I can't believe the owners of the fishery would allow people to fish (and pay for it) in a lake that is infected with Argulus, as from what i understand, it could very easily infect the other lakes. I don't know if this has happened as a result of neglect but the owners obviously didn't seem too interested in the health of the lake.

Should I call the fishery to inform them of my suspicions? What should I have done with the fish? I felt bad putting it back but I did not know what else to do.

Needless to say i will not be returning to Chigboro for a while.

Argulus is a parasite & is widespread through many waters in England & Wales. Some fisheries are affected worst than others, in the very worst cases when the fish get heavy infestations of the lice mortalities can occur.

Managers have had to come to terms with dealing with Argulus during the summer months, some close, others reduce their stocking levels, others suspend catch & release & at last we can purchase fish fed on slice which helps control the numbers of lice.

My advice is always speak to the fishery manager / owner if you have any concerns regarding the fishery your visiting.