Starting the business at 20 years of age, Ben won this award after the first year of trading. Fast forward 10 years to the final year that Ben's considered 'Young' enough to be eligible for this category, and his name is on the top prize again!
The past 10 years BP Milling has helped a huge number of fisheries across the country, many of which have been loyal customers from the first year of trading. In this time there have some steep learning curves in production, supply and understanding the economic landscape of materials which are priced as a global commodity and directly impacted by events around the world. Keeping the ship steady in these choppy seas has shaped Ben into the resilient young businessman that he's become, well worthy of this recognition.
Ben posted to his social media channels about receiving this award:
"When I saw the award advertised, I realised it was my last year to be classed as ‘Young’. Never in my life will I EVER be labelled this again! The ‘Young’ part meant more to me than the ‘E’ word!
In that case, why did I go for the award? These awards have an intangible lifetime value, it will forever exist on the internet with my name tied to it. I’m always coming up with awful ideas, but one day I might come up with a belter and I might need the backing of investors. In which case i’ll show up in a google search and awards like this give credit to my name which shows that i’m not just a business owner!"
"I feel like the business hasn't changed much at all over the past 10 years, it's become much bigger and more efficient of course, but the purpose is exactly the same now as it was on day 1.
As the business has matured and grown, the brand has become quite controversial amongst industry professionals for being unapologetically off piste with the way that I market my products. The results that my clients are achieving, and what we're achieving here with our own fish, it's silencing the narrative that you need premium fish feeds with excessive protein and fat for optimum fish performance.
If it wasn't for these results, I wouldn't have a business. Being good at marketing will get you off the starting line, bit it's not enough. I've learnt that the business has become successful because the results align with my promise. The longevity of the business is secured in the enjoyment I get from seeing my customers fishery businesses thrive.
YouTube has been pivotal in growing the business. In recent years I've been learning the algorithm and investing time in creating content for the YouTube channel. It's exposed BP Milling to new audiences and installed deeper confidence in my current audience. It feels like a thankless task at times, but it's a valuable tool in my skillset that competitors would require a team to execute this content to the same standard.
Aside from BP Milling, my creative mind has put me in the pursuit of various projects which I'm incredibly excited to announce in the future. All of these commercial activities have contributed to winning this award and i'm hugely proud to have this work recognised by Wiltshire Life."
]]>In this thought provoking video, we delve into the growing threat posed by Cormorants to UK Coarse Fishing and explore the future of fishery management. If you're an avid angler or simply interested in the conservation of our aquatic ecosystems, this video is a must-watch! Join us as we address the ever-increasing presence of Cormorants and the detrimental impact they have on Coarse Fishing. Discover the challenges faced by fishery managers and anglers alike, as these skilled predators exploit our valuable fish stocks. Gain valuable insights into the importance of sustainable and effective management practices to ensure the survival of Coarse Fishing as we know it. Throughout this comprehensive analysis, we examine the various strategies employed to mitigate the Cormorant threat. From protective netting and decoys to bird-scaring techniques, we explore the effectiveness and implications of these methods. Are Cormorants an environmental menace or simply a natural part of the ecosystem?
Join us as we tackle these thought-provoking questions and offer practical insights into the harmonious coexistence of Cormorants and Coarse Fishing. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more exciting discussions on the future of fisheries, Coarse/Carp Fishing tips, and the preservation of our natural resources. Don't miss out on the opportunity to stay informed, engaged, and be part of the conversation.
Together, let's ensure a sustainable future for Coarse Fishing enthusiasts and the incredible aquatic biodiversity of the UK.
Follow the link below to head over to the channel and share your thoughts in the comments. Please share your cormorant dodging techniques with us too!
]]>(There's a link at the bottom of this article for the YouTube version)
If you're a diversifying farm business or you're investing in land to fulfil that dream of developing your own fishery from scratch. You have a perfect opportunity to create a progressive business, saving yourself time and money by understanding what makes a healthy, fertile and manageable environment for fish.
Ignore that creative designer inside of you that wants to over-engineer a fabulously complicated fishery. Avoid them costly mistakes and needless design features that we see restricting long term fishery success so, so often.
We’ve worked for many fishery owners, diversifying farm businesses and start-up businesses who started with a green field site. We see the same handful of fishery design mistakes made time and time again.
The mistakes stem from designing a fishery with anglers in mind, you need to distance yourself from that mind-frame. Instead picture it through the eyes of a livestock manager. Stillwaters are very fertile environments, particularly newly excavated clay ponds. The fish that you stock are going to grow fast and spawn successfully. Therefore, you NEED to be able to manage the livestock that you have if you want your fish to show positive progression year after year. You can think about the anglers when it comes to managing the fish populations, but not when designing the construction of the lake. So what should you consider?
Depths
Lake depth is the first consideration when it comes to creating a manageable environment. Chest depth makes the whole waterbody easy to manage, any problems and you can jump into a pair of chest waders, no drama. Although the shallower you go, the more challenging management can become also because things become much more fertile with reduced water volume which concentrates any water quality issues and oxygen demand.
Deep lakes are more susceptible to variable water quality, despite what you might think about more water volume meaning more dilution of pollutants and less risk of algal complications, that's true, but it doesn't always mean healthier. You’ll still get algae developing in deeper waters, but it will occur in the surface layers, reducing sunlight penetration to the deeper layers. If sustained for a long period, the depths of water can become void of life and submerged weeds can start to die back causing an oxygen depletion as the bacterial processes digest this dieing weed. The fish then naturally head to the areas of highest oxygen concentration, which is the surface (the layers of water causing the problem where micro-algae have become incredibly successful). Some single celled algae can have a hard exterior which can be abrasive on the gills. This can lead to respiratory distress and further secondary infection or external parasitic loading which thrive off the excess mucus production of stressed fish.
Shallower pools mean that the fish naturally spend much more time closer to the lake bed and closer to the surface, which creates a good amount of water mixing with every movement each fish makes. Every waft of the tail is going to mix the layers of the water so that algae thriving in the upper layers are tumbled down through into deeper layers where they will get less UV energy from the sun. This means the algae presence is more consistent through the layers and naturally controlled by the mixing of the water. This is far healthier for consistent water quality and the food chain in comparison with the earlier deep water example which allows algae to thrive off the sunlight in the upper layers, capping the waterbody with a surface algae bloom without any mixing.
An important note here is to consider your water source and how a dry summer might impact water levels. So consider chest depth during a dry summer rather than maximum winter depth!
Islands
An obvious feature that the majority of fishery designs feel the need to include. They split up areas of water to stop anglers casting into other anglers waters, they have a visual appeal and offer a refuge for birds. However… from a population management angle, they complicate things! Islands make is much more laborious when it comes to netting the fish and controlling populations, which also have a negative effect on the success of the job.
A small island in a large lake is not so much of an issue, but we often see small lakes with big islands. They’re often constructed by digging the pond deeper to obtain the soil required to build the island. We’ve already been over the benefits of shallower waters, but the key point here is that surface area of water is more important than water depth. Although deeper may mean more water volume, the surface area is fixed, therefore efficiency of surface oxygen diffusion doesn’t improve.
Surface area is not only the critical factor for oxygen diffusion, but also sunlight exposure required for algae to photosynthesise and absorb the nitrates produced from the organic digestion of waste materials from fish, feed, bait and leaf fall.
Adding a 0.5 acre island to 1 acre pond makes the pond half an acre, so don’t stock that pond at a density suitable for 1 acre, remember the waterbody is 0.5 acres. Don’t think that by doubling the depth of the pond will allow you to stock double the amount of fish either. Although the deeper you go, the more fish you’ll need to create the same amount of water turbidity to prevent weed, surface oxygen diffusion and sunlight exposure are not improved by increasing depth. Therefore, deeper water and more fish means that:
All of the above leads to more inconsistencies in algae blooms and crashes.
Features
I always used to think creating a complex underwater environment with holes, humps, bars and gullies would create a fantastic playground for your fish and an inviting challenge for anglers to navigate. After 10 years working with fisheries and understanding the importance of being able to manage a population of fish in a water, I promise that you do not want these features!
The lead line on the net (the bottom of a seine net which pins the bottom of the net to the lakebed as you pull it in) maintains a lot of tension from the drag and arc created when you pull it in. It doesn’t dig into holes or recesses with any aggressive inclines/declines of depth. These features create escaping opportunities for the fish. Shoal fish like Roach and Bream don’t explore these opportunities as much as carp and tench, but you can easily lose 100% of the carp haul to an annoying hump/bar/hole.
If you can’t effectively control your populations, don’t expect to be able to control the progression of your fish. A fertile environment reaches it’s holding capacity very quickly with successful fry recruitment and growth of mature fish, it’s crucial to be able to crop fish to re-balance the biomass. The easier you can make your fishery to net, the more successful netting becomes and the more control you gain over your population.
Remember that anglers generally pick a venue based on the quality of the fish and the fishing, nobody picks a venue based on the features regardless of the stock.
If you can’t control your biomass, fish progression will be heavily restricted, angling demand is reduced and managers become desperate to attract business with constant re-stocking. That’s poor management costing perscious time and money!
Make it easy for yourself, focus on developing quality stock. Do this, and every year will be your best one, your lake record will be regularly broken, the buzz creates huge angling demand which puts you, the manager, in control of your business. I promise that’s the way to optimise the profitability of your fishery.
Shape
Similar to the piece on islands, keep this simple. We see some crazy designs with the classic ‘Snake Lake’ holding the top spot for the worst design concept for an aquatic ecosystem!
Snake lakes and funky designs limit the positive influence of wind on your water. They also create bays for organic debris to collect, areas that catch the sun more than others etc. You’ll get areas with more silt than others, which creates areas fish like and dislike. These inconsistencies not only create poor angling, but poor recycling of organic materials. These designs concentrate fish into areas which encourage fish immobility, this immobility make it easy for external parasites to leave their host fish to lay eggs and find a new immobile host fish, so parasite numbers multiply faster.
I’m afraid the best shape is the most boring one, maximum sunlight and wind exposure. Sunlight is key for the photosynthesis that’s required of algae to recycle the waste materials from fish, feed and bait into the food chain.
Wind movement helps to mix the surface layers of water for more consistent water quality throughout the lake/pond.
A featureless design creates consistency, so fish mobility is encouraged which forces the fish to burn energy, therefore they need to feed to replenish that spent energy. Feeding keeps the substrate agitated and the whole ecosystem recycling efficiently. Perfect!
Water source
Finally, before you even consider getting diggers on the ground, you need a suitable water source. I'll highlight the obvious first, a consistent flow all year round from a natural spring or from land drains is most ideal, where there’s no risk of upstream organisms, fertilisers or pollutants feeding into your water.
The key point to make in this section is that a steady consistent feed is better than large volumes of water. A strong feed of water more often than not means that your water temperatures are kept slightly cooler than a gentle trickle feed. Temperature is the north star for fish growth, bacterial reproduction and digestion processes. Although a teeny weeny temperature increase might seem like a drip in the ocean, the impact over the period of 1 year is quite significant.
A strong flow of water could be an indicator of an ecosystem upstream which is supporting aquatic organisms that could have a detrimental effect on your fishery. We’ve seen it many times before where stickleback have colonised in stillwaters, these fish carry a nasty parasite and can quickly dominate a population within a fishery.
I hope this has been useful to you, I’ve recorded a video that covers all of these areas which you can view on the BP Milling YouTube channel.
Please show your support to the channel by clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button. That will just ensure that you get notified every time we upload new fishery content. :)
In this article we dive into the external and internal defences of a Carp and Coarse fish, raising some interesting questions around fish care and the impact of angling on the natural defences. Let's start by looking at the layers of the fish and the role that they play.
Mucus
The first line of defence for the fish is their layer of protective mucus. Mucus is far more than a yucky, smelly external lubricant that allows fish to effortlessly glide through the water, it’s full of anti pathogen chemicals!
The mucus serves the purpose similar to how snot serves us in capturing virus/bacteria to protect us from infection.
The mucus forms part of the non-specific immune system, meaning that safe chemicals are combined to create a lethal mix which kill all good and bad pathogens without any specific target.
Riverine species like bream and roach are sensitive to external stressors, so they have a thicker layer of mucus to help them cope with their variable environment where they’re naturally exposed to more external threats than fish in a still-waters.
Research suggests that fish upstream, closer to the water source produce less mucus than populations at the lower reaches of the river system. This is because the water quality closer to source is of far better quality and purity than the water at the lower reaches. Water further down the River system obviously picks up more and more bacteria and viruses in the form of pollution, run off and water discharge. Therefore, the further down a watercourse you get, the more external challenges there are for the fish populations, so the fish will respond by producing more mucus to strengthen their anti fungal and anti bacterial defences.
These non-specific defences of fish are unaffected by water temperature.
Epidermis
The layer below the mucus is called the epidermis. This layer contains goblet cells, these are the pores which produce the mucus. Most fish will continuously produce mucus, shedding any excess into the water in an effort to clean themselves and remove unwanted external parasites.
Dermis
Next we have the Dermis layer. This is the layer where scales are formed which function as physical plates of armour that protect the lower layers of tissue. The dermal layer of skin, including the scales, contain chromatophores which are the pigment containing cells which give the fish their colouration.
Scales can also act as calcium reservoirs which the fish can mobilise in the event of a nutritional calcium deficiency.
We’ve all seen lifted scales particularly on mirror carp and you’ve probably spent time drying the area to apply antiseptic treatment to the wound. A healthy fish will regenerate that scale in a matter of weeks and I’ve already explained the natural antiseptic properties of a healthy fish, so drying the wound and applying antiseptic can be counter-productive…. but I’ll come back to this point later.
Hypodermis
Below the dermis is a layer called the hypodermis which connects the dermis to muscle tissues. The Hypodermis contains sensory receptors, blood vessels and energy storing fat cells. If the hypodermic layer gets damaged then the first line of the fishes defence has been breached which creates a potential site of infection and it’s now down to the 2nd line of defence to come into play.
The 2nd line of defence.
I’m sure we’ve all become familiar with how the specific immune system works with the covid pandemic, but i’ll give a brief explanation of this defence system which is also utilised by fish as their 2nd line of defence.
A response from the specific immune system involves the recognition of the pathogen which sends white blood cells to the site. The white blood cells produce small proteins called antibodies which will form a shape to fit the antigen to eliminate it. The antibodies then remember the shape of the antigen and become far more efficient next time it encounters this antigen.
The specific immune system is less effective in colder water temperatures, although bacteria and virus are also less active so the threat of infection is far lower in cooler months. However, bacteria are fast to reproduce as water temperatures warm up, whereas the fishes immune system is a little slower to respond which is why the Spring is the most vulnerable time for fish regarding bacterial infections.
The other time that the immune system is less effective is after capture. When fish are stressed they produce the stress hormone ‘cortisol’. Cortisol helps fish get through periods of stress by shutting down essential systems including the immune system.
With this in mind we can relate what we’ve learnt here to the impact of anglers on fish condition. If we start with the scenario of carp angling. It questions the benefit of spending time to apply antiseptic to a wound, particularly if mucus has natural antiseptic properties. Surely keeping the fish out of water, dabbing the wound dry to remove the mucus is extending this period of stress, which then makes the fish more reliant on the artificial antiseptics.
My personal opinion is if you can minimise stress on the fish and preserve the natural defences of the fish (ie the mucus) then that’s far more beneficial than spending time preparing wounds for treatment. This further strengthens our argument as to why we encourage anglers to deal with their catch in the water to protect that mucus, only removing the fish if absolutely necessary. Removing that fish will cause physical damage to the external mucus, which is the first line of defence and a key part of the non specific immune system, and the impact of this stress is further weakening the specific immune system therefore making the fish more vulnerable to infection.
Now if we look at how these systems might be affected in the scenario of match angling. Although match venues are higher stock and generally more stressful environments for fish, each catch is usually dealt with and returned far quicker than they are by specimen carp anglers. However, in a match scenario, the fish are then stored in a keep net after capture. This is where the stressful event is extended and where the first line of defence is compromised with the removal of mucus at weigh in, before being released back into the stressful environment of a high stock commercial. So the specific immune system is constantly weakened with the production of this stress hormone that’s only briefly produced at the time of capture in the scenario of specimen carp fishing.
I think the efficiency of the immune system is crucial in the protection of fish condition and key to the repair of hook damage. If fish stress is kept to a minimum then the specific immune system will functioning well and strengthen. If the fish are exposed to a stressful living environment then cortisol will be produced more frequently, therefore weakening the immune system and allowing infection to compromise the successful repair of mouth tissues. This infection will lead to scar tissue upon scar tissue with poor repair and ultimately lead to deformed mouths. So reduce that stress and make anglers responsible for the safety of their catch and you will have healthy immune responses of both the specific and non-specific immune systems.
]]>Bankside trees provide a mature aesthetic that creates a sheltered angling environment which we all prefer to fish in. When we highlight the hinderance of these trees on the aquatic ecosystem, we’re often met with the argument that our management plan destroys that mature feel.
Let’s start with why sunlight is so important, the sun is a crucial element of the nitrogen cycle which is required to allow plants and algae to photosynthesise. It’s this photosynthesis process that’s needed to absorb the nitrates produced by the nitrogen cycle.
Limiting the sunlight allows the nitrogen to build up without sufficient absorption from plants, algae and weed. This build up of food for the algae can create a situation where the algae can bloom aggressively. This algae bloom can become so successful in exploiting this nitrogen opportunity that they quickly exhaust the supply causing the algae cells to die. Oxygen will crash very quickly in these circumstances because aerobic bacteria are extremely reactive in processing these single dead algae cells, in doing so they demand oxygen and therefore quickly exhaust the dissolved oxygen supplies in the water.
Allowing UV energy to reach the water ensures consistent photosynthesis to keep those nitrate levels controlled, reducing the risk of opportunistic algae blooms which thriver and dive.
The Sunlight is also carrying valuable heat energy which the trees on the southern and westerly banks will intercept and absorb to grow. We want the water to absorb this heat energy! The temperature contrast between sunlight and shade might only be 1 or 2 degrees, which don’t make much of a difference in a day or a week, but those degrees hours over a year all accumulate and contribute substantially to the 10 year growth trajectory of a fishery.
Temperature’s not only key to the efficiency of the digestive enzymes related to fish growth, but also another crucial element to the nitrogen cycle. The warmer the water, the faster the bacteria will reproduce and recycle organic debris into the food chain.
So we’ve briefly explained the importance of the sun and how trees compromise the organic recycling process, but trees not only hinder the efficiency of the nitrogen cycle, they’re also the main contributors of organic litter entering that very same cycle! Imagine the tonnes of leaves deposited into the water every year from these trees, you’re going to need a very efficient nitrogen cycle to process that lot!
So if the sun travels from East to West, it’s the southern to westerly trees that block the strongest hours of sunlight. Now think about all the leaf contribution from these trees!
The prevailing winds that sweep across the UK more often than not come from the south west. Therefore, the leaves and branches from the trees on the south west banks will most likely all end up deposited into the water.
We would ideally up-root bankside trees where practical and replace that space with marginal plants like Carex which absorb nitrogen without stealing that all important sunlight required to work its magic on the ecosystem. Every daylight hour of sunlight counts!
]]>We all love to see Lily pads when we're fishing, a stunning asset to any waterbody and always worth a look when you're having a tough time catching one!
However, their contribution to the aquatic ecosystem is not great, in fact I believe that they are more of a burden than a blessing to the productivity of the water. Click the link below to see our latest YouTube video which explains all. Don't forget to subscribe to the channel whilst you're there!
]]>PH stands for Potential Hydrogen, generally most freshwater fish like a pH value of between 6.5 and 8.
Limestone soil territories are often areas of hard water thanks to the alkaline soils that filter and calcify the water, so generally the source water in these areas is likely to be more alkaline. Naturally acidic water is generally found in areas of peat soil, identified by the growth of sphagnum moss which grows in acidic soils.
There are 3 key ways in which the pH has an influence over your fishery which we will go into a little more detail.
Acidic water has a negative effect on the reproductive rate of aerobic bacteria. Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are the two aerobic bacteria that we need to convert Ammonia into Nitrite and then into Nitrate, so their presence is key to the organic digestion of waste materials in the water. If the reproductive rate of the bacteria is reduced, then this will have a knock on effect to the recycling of organic matter such as fish waste, leaf fall, silt and fish food.
Creating a healthy environment for the bacteria to thrive is going to make the organic breakdown process much more efficient and therefore quickly converting waste into forms of nitrate that seed a thriving food chain of plankton and the start of a fertile aquatic ecosystem.
Acidic water dissolves trace metals in the water which become toxic to invertebrates and damaging to fish gills. Therefore, the diversity of the ecosystem and food chain is immediately compromised especially in areas where metal leaching occurs. The gill irritation can cause the cell wall of lamellae to thicken which will reduce the efficiency of oxygen diffusing into the blood, causing respiratory stress and poor fish performance. pH5.5 - 6.5 is harmful to fish and invertebrates where aluminium or mercury leaching occurs.
This term is given to the variation of pH in a 24 hour cycle related to the photosynthesis of weeds. The process of photosynthesis during the daylight hours absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, the respiration of the weeds at night absorb oxygen and produce carbon dioxide, when carbon dioxide mixes with water, you get carbonic acid. As the name suggests, carbonic acid will lower the pH during the night, until UV rays hit the weed and begin to photosynthesise to absorb that carbon dioxide and increase pH. This pH pattern over 24 hours is referred to as 'pH pulse'. As you can imagine the values will vary more in lakes with significant established weedbeds, and less of in impact in waterbodies with less weed.
Calcium carbonate applications will help to neutralise the pH of the substrate and water to create an environment more suitable for bacteria to thrive. However, you should take advice on whether this is the right option for your fishery, and only apply at the right time of year (ideally autumn/winter). The reason for caution is because you're creating a pH environment for bacteria to thrive, this will increase the oxygen demand and make more nitrates available which will feed weed/algae, another reason why Autumn/Winter applications are advised when bacterial activity is reduced and weed/algae are not thriving.
Removing bankside trees will reduce the organic load when the leaves fall in the autumn. Paying special attention to the southern and western banks where trees block the most sunlight and contribute the most to the leaf fall from prevailing south westerly winds. By maximising the light and air exposure to the waterbody, you're killing 2 birds with one stone by optimising the natural organic digestion and full nitrogen cycle of your water whilst reducing the organic load from the leaf fall.
Watch our YouTube upload which explains all by clicking here.
]]>Incredible transformation of their stock fish after reporting incredible growth of their big common last year which is now displaying immaculate condition and healthy consistent growth.
Things we love to see and hear!
]]>Here we look at what micro-algae offer and how we maintain a consistent algal presence in our ponds without the need of aeration. Minimise the threat of a dangerous, aggressive algae bloom that can end in an oxygen absorbing crash
Check out our latest YouTube video where Ben explains everything you need to understand about micro algae and you can safely yield the cost-free benefits that they can offer your stock.
]]>The results from record feed sales during the lockdown of 2020 are really beginning to show themselves with new customers reporting their fisheries reaching new milestones for there stock!
This was from a new customer who came to us last year for his feed supplies to feed a private syndicate venue...
"The fish love it, the biggun has gone from sitting at 35lb for ages, to 42lb and the rest at the same rate"
Here's to another great growing season! 🍻
]]>We're pleased to finally have what we need to bottle up the next batch which will start this week just as night fishing is allowed to resume!
Simply dose your feed ration with 20ml/kg and allow to absorb overnight, and see how they respond! The garlic aroma really helps to stimulate fish into feeding, boosting appetite to help fish shake off that winter slumber, coupled with the parasite repelling properties, there's no wonder it's drawn so much interest this Spring!
Some great feedback already from Matt Mole...
"I thought I'd try adding some of BP Milling's Natrepel today. Wow! Fed a little spot at 10.30am and when I checked at 3pm there was fizzing, rolling carp, great plumes of particles and silt coming up from the bottom." - Matt Mole
]]>We narrowed the all the entries down to 3 and let our follows vote on their favourite.
Coming in first place was Simpson Valley Fishery who won themselves 500kg of our prototype feed that is yet to be released, their entry was an old linear which has transformed into a beast with beauty! Check it out...
Coming in a close 2nd place was Carpenters Syndicate with their entry of one of the mirrors which was stocked at 1lb, some of the fish from this initial stocking are nudging 40lb now! A small amount of our feed keeps these fish feeding and growing, and some fish in this venue go 3 or 4 years without capture! Exciting!
Coming in third place was a late entry from Park Fisheries who posted this lovely common that has clearly been on the feed! Lewis also added “2nd season of supplementary feeding the gold. Just one of the many stories for us”
We also had plenty of other great entries which will be posted on a social media over the coming weeks, so make sure you're following out Facebook and Instagram page!
]]>When new customers come to us wanting to see more progress in their stock, it's great to hear back from them after they've followed the advice given. Eliburn Reservoir came to us wanting more from their stock as the growth rates were slow, then 12 months later they have their new lake record which has clearly been given a boost!
Here's what Jason from Eliburn Reservoir had to say:
"'Colin’ the common. (Our biggest fish)
Stocked at 18lb in 2016 into our 2 acre Scottish park water Eliburn Reservoir.
Up to 15th May 2019 Colin had put on 4lb 3oz (22lb 3oz).
We started feeding BP milling from the 14th May 2019 and Colin was caught for first time in 12 months at 25lb 12oz!
4 years no BP Milling = + 4lb 3oz
12 months feeding BP Milling = + 3lb 9oz
It’s not just the weight gain of Colin where we are noticing a difference off the feed, the Tench are growing at such a rate and the quality of all our fish is amazing!
Thank you Ben for your endless advice and support. Our club can’t speak any higher of your feed and fully recommend it to everyone."
Great work!
Ben
]]>
AE Fisheries take care of the silver fish population every couple of years, and Neil keeps a small amount of our feed going in throughout the year, and we all know how succesful this combination is.
Neil has a great collection of photos from the original stocking of his lake in 2006, and captures since, now just check out the progress of this one that broke the lake record this week at 38lb! WOW!
]]>
Lots of great work going on at Lac Soupir by new owner Aaron who is keen to take the venue to new levels. John Flewin of 'Tales Media' is a close friend of ours at BP Milling, John introduced Aaron to our products in the Spring.
Aaron was looking for a supplementary feed to encourage the old stock at Lac Soupir to feed and graze the substrate regularly so that they progress into beastly proportions for years to come. After a few conversations with Aaron we had his first order of BP GOLD shipped to him. After just a few weeks this is what Aaron had to say...
“Since being introduced to Ben at Bp milling, the knowledge of Ben and this company is outstanding!! After placing my first order not only was it a great price and delivery service but the quality of the product is fantastic I’ve started feeding my lakes and I can happily say the fish are already on the pellet, not only feeding but polishing spots, they can’t get enough of it!! In my opinion this the future of feeding and moving forward. I personally will not go anywhere else, the fishes reaction to this feed is truly incredible” Aaron Townsend, Lac Soupir
]]>
- The BP Milling premises will be managed and operated by Ben who is living on the premises and will be the only working member of staff during the period. Ben is following government advice with a special focus on personal hygiene to ensure production can continue safely as normal.
- BP Milling is sited with access only via a half-mile private drive in a rural setting, the building is a private stand-alone unit which is not accessible to public.
- Cash or cheque will not be accepted as payment to prevent handling of potential contaminants during this time.
- Large material orders will be placed and order collections will be made less frequently to minimise lorries visiting the site.
- There will be no site visits from contractors or collections from customers during the lockdown period, access to the site only by authorised suppliers and Ben.
- Materials are delivered by rigid lorries that will be tipping materials on site, vehicle operators are taking preventative measures of their own whilst on site.
- Materials are then handled mechanically through the plant and only handled onto pallets by Ben, where protective equipment will be worn.
- Feed deliveries will be made by third party haulage companies who are operating responsibly and following their own preventative measures during this time.
We're happy that we're in a unique position that allows us to continue production as normal, albeit following these strict measures. Should we have any concerns about the health of anybody on site, then we will update you and operations will seize immediately. We hope that you and your families remain in good health during this period and we pray for a speedy passing of this awful pandemic, trusting that you're doing your bit to stay safe and prevent this virus from spreading.
Best wishes,
BP Milling
]]>As well as utilising the fish available accross the park, there has been some great stock ponds developed for rearing fish for the future.
Our feeds have played a role in both the stock ponds and the fishing lakes, and the growth reports have been just as great as we had expected!
Some of the fish from the stock ponds reached 3lb before being introduced into the lakes around the park and are now being caught as double figure fish.
More recently a fish was reported which was moved from one of the boating lakes at 14lb, this fish was looking rather ropey and a little short and stumpy, but since being introduced into one of the main fishing lakes and introducing a supplementary feeding programme, this fish has filled our beautifully and weighing a healthy 20lb+.
Brilliant work by all involved!
]]>Always hugely rewarding starting with young fish and watching them mature, feeding has a huge role to play and I'm glad Neil is pleased with his progress so far! Check out the Testimonials page for feedback from lots of other fisheries supplied by us!
]]>Check it out!
]]>
Take a look at how our fish are looking on their BP Milling diet.
We recently ran some nets through a couple of ponds to monitor fry recruitment within the ponds and to check the progress of the fish. We filmed the day so we can show you what our cereal-fed carp look like, and that video can be found on our youtube channel and social media (see links below). Hopefully the weather willbe good to us into september and we might even get some more growth on these fish before the winter!
]]>]]>
Our feeds are gaining popularity overseas with more and more fish transformations being sent in from customers using our cereal pellets. Nic at Lac Du Coron has recently been in touch to report the following...
“Hi Ben, thought I'd drop you a line, one because of how pleased I am and two because I thought you'd find it interesting.
We started feeding your gold pellet into both our lakes and both stock ponds in late March and I am blown away by the results im achieving.
1st things 1st the fish actually seem to want it, a problem I've always found before when feeding fishmeal alternatives.
Secondly the growth rates we are getting are awesome, especially in Lac Solace where the average weight gain since December is a little over 5lbs, unbelievable when you consider the time of year. The 2 images attached emphasize this. Me stocking it in in December, and it's 1st apparence on the bank in mid April, nearly 8lbs growth, hard to believe, but true.
The lake is seriously packed with naturals and I also feed maize and boilie, but the bulk is your pellet and I can say with confidence I wouldn't be getting these results without the BP Gold.
Both stock ponds are also showing solid growth and condition.
And finally, the impact, or lack of impact on the water quality, especially important in our small shallow stock ponds.
Keep up the good work, I'll be ordering another ton soon. Nic”
Over the last few years we have generally been using the well known fishmeal brands that are readily available and have seen some good weight increases throughout this period. One concern we have always had is the amount of oil contained within fishmeal pellet and the visible oil slicks left on the surface after feeding. This led us to search the market for an alternative and after lots of research and searching we came across BP Milling and their cereal feed alternative. After much consultation with themselves we decided we would trial their cereal feed and run some trials against feeding our standard fishmeal and we have been pleasantly surprised with the results.
We ran some initial trials along side feeding our usual fishmeal pellet and found the fish ate the cereal pellet within 24 hrs of it being Introduced, where as it took up to 72 hrs for them to eat the fishmeal offering. We also tried mixing the 2 pellets together and the cereal was always the one eaten first. When feeding only cereal we also saw the oil slicks we had been experiencing disappear and upon those findings we switched to using BP Milling as our only feed source using the BP Gold in the summer and the Standard Supplement Pellet through the colder months.
So how are the fish doing from it?..... Its almost been 1 year since we made the switch and the fish are doing very well in weight gains but also how they look when gracing the banks. We have seen average weight gains of 5-6lb and maximums of 10lb which is very satisfying in what has been a very tough year weather wise and they are all looking in tip top shape and condition. Obviously 1 year is not a great amount of time in Fishery Management terms and the test's and results will be ongoing but as its stands we couldn't be more pleased with the results.
For the record we are not associated in any way with BP Milling! Just our honest findings being put out there on our findings on doing something slightly different to the normal fishmeal route."
]]>]]>