Big Carp Water

BREAKING NEWS - BRIDGE POOL OPENING ON 30TH APRIL 2010

This is our second big carp water which is approximately 13 acres ranging from 8 - 14 feet deep. It has 10 pegs all on the same bank about 30yards apart with a double peg in the middle if you want to be together!

This will be a bivvy water to cater for the anglers that don't like fishing from huts. You will have to bring your own bivvy, large carp landing net, weigh sling and large unhooking mat which must be completely dry. The rest of the rules and prices will be the same as our existing carp water.

As with our original big carp water this has not been fished before, so we are not sure what size the fish will run to. Stocking took place in 2005/2006 and we are expecting the carp to be 20lb plus, but the pike are an unknown size.

The Specimen Carp lake opened on Friday 15^th June 2007, and the current record is 39lbs 10oz. On the 17th January 2008 four more large mirror carp of around 30lbs were delivered by Mark Simmonds and more followed in February. You can see photos of these fish at the end of this page.

The lake is a mature gravel pit, set away from the rest of the fishery. It currently holds 20 single pegs, and each has its own individual fishing hut, complete with staging onto the bank, which is large enough for anglers' beds. An unhooking mat, landing net and weigh sling are supplied with each cabin and we ask anglers not to bring their own to reduce the risk of disease.

The water is deepest close to the railway bridge where up to eight feet of water can be found just three rod lengths out before dropping to a maximum of 12 feet along the spine of the lake. Whilst the banks are shallow between Pegs 7 to 11, they shelve steeper along the railway bank from Pegs 1 to 7. Although much of the bottom is gravel and sand with some silt, there is a large open bed of gravel out from Pegs 16 to 18. In summer there is also a weed bed out from Pegs 14 and 15 which tends to hold a lot of fish.

So far most baits have produced good results. In calm weather floating baits do well, particularly with anglers targeting fish in their swims or luring them to the surface with free offerings of dog biscuits or bread crust. With boilies, the fruity flavours such as pineapple or tutti fruity have produced the best results, although fish have been caught on every flavour. At other times the faithful old maggot also does the trick, with a maggot clip loaded with 15 to 20 wriggling baits on a medium sized clip on a D-ring taking plenty of fish in the right conditions. Because of the size of the fish, anglers must use at least 15lb line and a minimum Size 10 hook, although most anglers use anything between a Size 4 and a Size 10.

The price is £30 for two rods per person per 24 hours. Access to the big fish water is between 12pm and 2pm and you must be ready to depart by 12pm the following day. For security reasons it is a lock-in water. Bookings must be made and deposits paid in advance to secure your peg. The age limit to fish the quarry is 16. No visitors or companions are allowed and all baits to fish this water must be purchased from our Reception. All the big fish are tagged and we reserve the right to carry out spot checks on cars on departure. Click here for rules.

To ensure fairness, pegs will be drawn from a hat in the morning and if you are fishing adjacent to a friend the adjacent peg will be issued to him/her where possible. If you are fishing for more than one day you will not be required to draw again.

If you look below you will see pictures of some of the fish that have been caught, the lake, and an example of the fishing hut.

We have now moved our offices into the main clubhouse, where breakfasts are available at weekends. We also have shower and toilet facilities available during office hours.

For new Carp pictures scroll down the page.

In April 41 fish caught with 5 being 30lbs and over

In May 168 fish caught with 16 being 30lbs and over

For any other information or if you have any other enquiries please ring in on 01785 850313.

Fish caught so far in 2010:

26lb 10oz

21/04/10

Caught by Mark Booth on KG1

18lb 8oz

16/05/10 - 21/05/10

Caught by Mark Dimmock on pineapple

17lb 12oz

16/05/10 - 21/05/10

Caught by Mark Dimmock on pineapple

12lb

16/05/10 - 21/05/10

Caught by Mark Dimmock on SBS corn

22lb 4oz

16/05/10 - 21/05/10

Caught by Mark Dimmock on Tutti pop up