Fish in lakes

[ll_billym]

This is probably a dumb question but why have lakes all around Britain have the same types of fish in them? How does a fish species get from the Highlands to Kent? The simple answers are that humans have stocked lakes or severe flooding, it this how?

Cheers.

[jason.p]

I would imagine most lakes have been artificially stocked for angling. These vary from game fisheries with Brown and Rainbow Trout, to coarse fisheries with a mixture of usually Carp, Tench, Bream, Roach etc. Some coarse fisheries specialise in just Carp which can grow to up to 60lb. Over recent years there has been a growing trend to introduce species not naturally found in our lakes such as Catfish and Sturgeon. All fish transfers have to be licensed and supervised by the Environment Agency.

[wildwood]

and in the olden days friars in monestries used to breed fish - mainly carp - and restock many waterways.

Many smallish lakes are the remains of previously huge meandering rivers where the sides have silted up in the bank of the bends and the water found a shorter straighter route, effectively leaving the bend full of water which, became a lake. This is replenished with rain water and, providing the lake is large enough, the fish are the progeny of the river fish.

[heathfield]

The eggs of carp and pike are sticky and can become attached to aquatic birds and mammals who transfer them to other bodies of water. Fish can be caught by a predator and carried to another body of water before being dropped accidentally while still alive. Eels will travel across land.

[ll_billym]

Thanks for all the answers, most informative...!