Dothill Pool in Wellington, fell out of favour as one if the "popular" venues on TAA's portfolio of angling waters. It's saving grace over the last few years has been the locals who frequented the pool and kept the bait going in, which, if I'm being honest, must have been difficult at times.
As you can see by this picture taken a while ago, Dothill Pool suffered from a plague of blanket weed which not only made fishing impossible at times, it also made life for the fish, and wildlife that live on, and around the pool impossible, especially in the warmer months of the year.
When the whether made the mercury rise, so did the weed, and each year it seemed to come back with more, and more fury than they year before, choking the oxygen and light from the water.
When the Oxygen levels dropped, and the low level fauna was robbed of sunlight, Dothill was prime real-estate for Cyanobacteria, or as it's commonly known as "Blue/Green Algae".
Cyanobacteria is not an algae however, it acts like one, and it resides in all natural water as part of the eco-system, and is involved with the natural nitrogen cycle, and the processing of waste and rotten materials that get into the water. Cyanobacteria is harmless and beneficial when at the correct levels; The issues arise when it is given the perfect conditions to multiply beyond safe levels. Controlling water quality in our waters is very much controlled by both nature in the water, and outside of it respectively.
Image by Kelvinsong
As Dothill Pool, and Tee Lake are part of the "Dothill Nature Reserve", and surrounded by large trees around the whole perimeter of the pools, any kind of wind or breeze was stopped from getting to the water surfaces of the pools, which again suffocated the water of oxygen, and in turn, the fish stocks.
Many anglers, and indeed local visitors to the pool will remember the sheer amount of fish that were lost at Dothill due to oxygen starvation, which was devastating to see. Telford Angling Association were very quick to respond to this catastrophe, with many of the TAA volunteer Keepers, and committee members spending many hours during both the day, and night clearing dead fish, and manning water pumps to churn the water and give the fish something to breathe. Without their hard work, and dedication, things could have been a lot worse!
During the height of the problems, the water fowl and Swans were having a very hard time moving around, this was due to the second wave of issues: Duckweed.
The Big Takeover of Dothill Pool.
When the Duckweed took hold, it did so because of the rise in nutrients as a result of the oxygen crash and the fish and other water dwelling organisms dyeing off, and rotting. The duckweed had an almost endless supply of Nitrate and Phosphate (fertiliser), so it flourished, and took over the surface of the pool. Without the wind or breeze to push the Duckweed around the pool, and create open areas of clear water, it really took hold. Duckweed is unlike most other water algae as it removes oxygen from the water rather than introduce it further stressing the wildlife and fish stocks even more. Needless to say, it seemed like a never ending battle with nature, and something needed to be done, and it needed to be done ASAP!
The Future Of Dothill Pool.
As you could imagine, the state of Dothill Pool was causing a lot of stress, time, and money, especially while running water pumps in an effort to save the fish, Telford Angling Association knew what needed to be done to save both Dothill Pool, and Tee Lake, but it wasn't going to be easy, or a cheap affair. With the pools being in an area that is classified as a nature reserve, there were a lot of hoops to jump through, meetings to be had, and compromise when it came to the "non angling groups" that had an interest in the pools.
After many months of lengthy meetings, where Telford and Wrekin Council had sought substantial funding to get the necessary work started, to include groundwork, pumps, manpower etc. A very substantial project indeed, and it is with huge thanks to Adrian Corney, of Telford and Wrekin Council, and his hard work that managed to get to where we are today with the Pool.
If you haven't seen it yet, I'll leave this post here, and let our Chairman Jon show you the amazing progress, and plans that are happening right now for everyone, not just anglers to enjoy.
Dothill Pool will soon be a fantastic venue once again, where you'll have a chance at those fondly remembered Dothill Tench.
Thank You for reading. Tight Lines. TAA.
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