Soar at Cossington, September 2006.

Not only do the extensive Floating Pennywort beds make fishing difficult but they can have a major impact on fish populations and other wildlife by blocking out light, covering microhabitats and potentially affecting Oxygen levels, amongst other things.

With the club now having access to the Soar at Rothley PLEASE :

Check kit (particularly nets, platform feet and boots) when packing up, for any plant material.  If you do have anything attached to kit please remove it and leave well away from the water.  Being largely composed of water the plant material will quickly break down.  Drying nets thoroughly after fishing will also help, but it is best to remove and dispose of any bits of plant you find.

Please be particularly careful if you’ve been fishing the Soar and decide you’ll ‘just have an hour’ at any other venue.  (Floating Pennywort prefers Stillwater but will also colonise rivers).

If you think you’ve seen  Floating Pennywort at ANY venue you fish in the area  (apart from the main Soar downstream of the city) PLEASE INFORM THE EA (contact number 0115 846 3625); we can then check the reported sighting out and build up a better picture of its whereabouts in the East Midlands.  Presently it is largely confined to the Soar but it has also been found in the Trent, from Red Hill Lock to Nottingham, and ponds in Derby).

Note the leaf shape and the split in the leaf (distinctive).  The plant creeps across the water surface but also grows upwards later in the season.  It is most obvious in the late summer when beds are extensive but it is present in the river throughout the year.

IN GENERAL :

IF YOU ARE CLEARING OUT A GARDEN POND please COMPOST the plants.  It might seem like a waste but it is believed that Floating Pennywort got in to the Soar by being ‘introduced’ from a garden pond.

IF YOU ARE CREATING A NEW POND please only introduce NATIVE species.  Good garden centres will be able to help you chose native species, as will a Google search for something like ‘British Native Aquatic Plants’.

Please be aware that once Floating Pennywort is present in any water body it can be very destructive and is nearly impossible to completely remove

Thank you for taking the time to read this article