Gone Fishing !


Whilst on his school summer holiday in 2006, my son Adam (then 12) spent a night at his grans. When I went to collect him he had my fathers old cane fishing rod in his hand and wanted to get a reel and go fishing. I explained to him that the rod is probably more valuable as an antique and probably would not stand up to the strain of catching a small fish let alone a large carp. Anyway, he had £30 doing jobs for his granddad and we stopped off at Argos on the way home and he purchased a Shakespeare starter kit that came with rod, reel, landing net , hooks etc. We spent the next few weeks at the local lake pulling out small perch and fish of no more than a few ounces.

Having been "hooked" on this hobby, we joined several forums and sought advice on better locations. This page covers our experiences and all the different locations we visit

 
Rockells Farm - Essex

To give Adam something to remember the last day of his school holiday I took him to Rockwell Farm in Essex. Wow what a day. We caught around 20 fish, most of which were 3 - 5 pound, and never having fished before, the rush you get when you have a large fish on the end of the line is really great. The best catch of the day was a Common Carp that was estimated at around 7lb and was caught by Adam. I think that looking at that smile on his face he really enjoyed the day, and will no doubt want to go back again.

For those that wish to know how or what we used, read on.

Both rods are "feeder / waggler" type rods, with standard rear drag fixed spool reels. 4lb line with size 12 barbless hooks and a 2BB waggler. We used "tuti-fruiti" hooker pellets and maggots as bait.

For the fishing, I would recommend a visit as you will not be disappointed. However there are limited swims (24) and they get busy, especially at weekends, so you'll need to get there early. Don't expect too much in the way of facilities like cafe's, tackle shops or toilets as there aren't any (well none that are strikingly obvious)

Day tickets cost £8.00 for adult and £5 for juniors

More info from the Rockells Farm website.

 
Fairlands Valley - Stevenage

The guy next door happens to be a very serious carp angler and has some really seriously expensive fishing gear ! Anyway, one Sunday afternoon in September 2006 we all went down to Fairlands lake (its within walking distance from our home) and John had set up several rods and was in the process of baiting the swim. First cast and was in.. with the 15lb Mirror Carp shown left.

Just as I was putting that back Adam was in and he too landed a fifteen pounder shown top left - He then went on to land the his personal best, a 20lb 1oz Mirror Carp shown below.

Fairlands is really a boating lake, and thus has a cafe, toilets and large car park. Fishing is on a day ticket from £2.50 for juniors and £5.00 for adults
Tingrith Fishery - Bedfordshire

On a foggy September Saturday morning we set off for Tingrith Fishery in Bedfordshire.

The complex has three lakes, the largest is Orchard Lake which is where we chose to spend our day, taking a swim towards the north end of the lake. By mid morning the fog cleared and the sun came out and so did the fish. We lost count of the number of small perch, roach and rudd that we caught, but the number was well over 40 fish, some of which were really nice sized fish. Adam caught the largest perch either of us had caught, where as I landed the roach, best of which can be seen below.

Tingrith has excellent facilities including a cafe that reportedly does a mean all-day breakfast. Day tickets cost £8.50 for adults and £5 for junior for single rods (extra rods are £2.50 ea) - The rules are enforced well and the staff make regular visits and also check you hooks etc for compliance with the regulations

Whilst we didn't go after the carp, the fishery has some really nice sized fish that are 20lb plus, some of which would make themselves airborne from time to time, closely followed by ledgers from all directions !

More info on Tingrith Fishery can be found on their excellent website here
Standbrough Lakes & River Lea - Hertfordshire

This is our most popular venue, being two junctions up the motorway its easy to get to being just off J4 of the A1(M) at Hatfield. As part of the construction of the motorway the contractors required a fair amount of gravel, and by chance found loads adjacent to the site, and working in conjunction with the local council Standbrough Lakes was formed. They were opened in 1970 and over the years have matured into a very welcoming venue.

The only lake that is open to fishing is the 4.5 hectare South lake. The north lake being a small boating lake and the breeding lake for some excellent carp stock. There are 70 pegs around the South lake, plus the added bonus of being able to fish a small section of the River Lea.

The lake provides a host of water sport activities including sailing, which can cause a bit of a problem when they go out of the area and catch someone lines.

My personal best on this lake was a 12lb 4oz Common Carp caught on the Leeder 2xl rod, and boy did that rod bend ! - Adam caught a good sized Perch of approx 1lB and in mid October 2006 caught a Chub just over 1lb 3 oz from the river Lea. I've also had my personal best bream from this lake with it tipping the scales at just over 6lB

Day ticket is just £5 for up to 2 rods (£2.50 for junior)