Free Line 109 — October 2026 - Flipbook - Page 149
ALEX HANSON
sweet effluent back into t h e r ive r. T h e Ayl e s fo rd pa p e r mi l l
u s ed to pump red warm wa te r b a c k i n to th e rive r, wh i c h i n
p revious years I had seen c a rp a n d c o c k s a l m o n b a s k i n g i n .
B o th of these are no more .
There is another commerc i a l wa te r o u t le t i n t h e t i dal s t re tc h
n e ar New Hythe, which is o n ly f i s h a b le f ro m b o a t; t h i s c a n b e
a risky adventure for eve n s ea s o n e d b o a te rs a n d f i s h e rm e n ,
s o not advisable for the in ex p e r i e nc e d .
I remember there were b i g f lo o ds i n D ec e m b e r 2 01 3 , wh i c h
c a used mass damage to p ro p e rt i es i n Ya ld i n g v i l l a g e. T h i s ,
c o llectively with floods f ro m p rev i o us ye ar s , i s l i ke ly to b e
re sponsible for adding hu ge s to c ks o f c ar p a n d o t h e r s p e c i e s
e s caping from stock pond s a n d f i s he r i e s i n to M e dway a n d i t s
t ri butaries around the St ap le h urs t , To n b ri d g e a n d Ha d l ow
a reas.
I believe that the River M e dway ex p e ri e n ce d f i s h k il l s in t h e
p a st from the introductio n o f K HV, p o s s i b ly f ro m t he s e l a ke s
o r private ponds. There we re s ad ly hu n d re d s o f d e a d c a rp
s e en at the last lock sectio n o f t he rive r by t h e Ma l ta I n n p u b
i n Allington with some of th e o ld s c h o o l c a r p a n gl er s c l a s s i n g
t h ese as “the original stoc k ”.
Personal ly I would estim ate t h ere to b e a b o u t 1 00 c ar p i n
M aidstone town stretch, 5 0 ca rp i n Fa rl ei gh to Te s to n a n d
1 5 0 carp in Teston to Ya ld i n g s tre tc h. I c a n o n ly co mm en t
f rom photos I have seen fro m o t h er an gl er s a n d f i s h I ’ ve s e e n
i n other sections, but the re a re p l en t y o f c a rp i n t h e u p p e r
s t retches. The upper stre tc he s a re m uc h s h o r te r d u e to t h e
n u mber of locks. Fish sto c ks i n a s t re tc h m i gh t te m p o ra ri ly
d e cline when the EA drop s t re tc he s by o p e n i n g u p t he s l u i c e s
i n preparation for future f l o o d s . I b el i eve t he c a r p q u i ck ly c a n
FR E ELINE 35
