After 303 days and over 50 000 metres of gill nets pulled, we have caught only one carp this season.

We caught it during November in the warm shallow waters just north of the Silver Plains Marsh.

At 420 mm long and weighing 1.6 kg, this was a mature female holding 118gm of eggs. It is an important fish to remove from the lake.

The fish was small for its age. This continues to support the theory that the carp left in Lake Sorell are slow growers.

Not only are most carp in poor condition, but the jelly gonad condition (JGC) is now affecting 50% of all male carp. The affected fish do not have any apparent external deformities but their gonads begin to develop watery blisters. In the advanced stage of the condition, the fish is completely sterile.

We estimate there are now less than 20 fish remaining from the 2009 population. Add to this the stunted average size, poor general condition, and approximately 50 percent of the males affected with the Jelly Gonad Condition, the odds are not in their favour.

With the water level Lake Sorell dropping and a dry forecast, catching carp will become harder. If the surveys we do for juvenile carp in December and January do not result in any signs of spawning, we will consider an opening of the lake in February 2020.