The Clay Pool
The Clay Pool is a man made, reed fringed body of water of approx 1.2 acres with a clay lined base and situated on the south west side of the site. This can be seen on the far right (as you enter the site) directly behind The Gravel Pit. At first glance The Pool could be mistaken as Commercial Carp bagging water but is anything but. The level of this Pool is approx 400mm higher than the surrounding water table and separated from the gravel pits by a clay embankment, this pool included just 7 fishing pegs when we bought the site in 2016.
This water was considered as little more than a muddy puddle with a small derelict trout farm separating it from The Gravel Pit. The first phase of the major works programme was to remove all but one earth walkways out of the old Trout farm and break this area through into the existing pool effectively doubling the size of the original pond to 1.2 acres whilst leaving a wildlife island in the middle of the new lake. The old timber fishing platforms have all been removed and replaced with clay pegs with timber frontage so every angler will be sat on solid ground close to the water. The increase size of the lake allowed us to cut out a total of 15 pegs and set out so no angler is facing another angler and everyone can fish to the far bank.
The average depth of The Pool at two rod lengths out is about 4 feet and drop to 7 in the middle, the newly excavated areas also drop down to 6 feet leaving enough depth and volume to cope with a harsh winter.
After the re-modelling of the lake banks in 2016 there was a lot of young aquatic plants grown and introduced, over the next 2 years these plants have matured into reed, rush and Iris fringed margins and now the lake looks like it’s been loved by mother nature for the past one hundred years.
The Old Trout Fly – is now outstanding coarse fishery
This gravel pit is positioned on the East side of the site and on the left hand side as you drive down the approach road. This water is approx. 4.5 acre and has been left as traditional deep water gravel pit. The Lake has reed fringed margins on all sides, gravel bars and steep shelves that tumble down into depths exceeding 30 feet.
For many years, and prior to us buying the site in 2016 this lake had been exclusively used as a fly fishing venue but now this water is a new edition to the sites coarse fishing from 2018 onwards.
The North bank of this Lake is dense woodland only accessible by boat, the remaining banks originally had 11 wooden jetties erected specifically for the fly anglers and over the Autumn months of 2016 all of these timber structures were dismantled and replaced with solid clay hardstanding and large areas flattened off for safe access. We also opened up new areas on the South bank in the dense woodland to gain access to the water. The lake now had a total of 20 good pegs with gentle ramps but the decision was made to leave a large portion of this lake off limits to anglers giving the Tench and Carp a safe sanctuary away from angling pressure.
The average depth of water at one rod length out is around 10-16 feet, the middle of the pit averages around 22-25 feet and in remote areas the depths plummet down to beyond 30 feet. Part of the long term works programme is to map and record lake bottom and underwater features.
The Gravel Pit
The Smaller of two gravel pits is positioned on the West side of the site and on the right hand side as you drive in, this water is approx. 2.5 acre and is a traditional deep water gravel pit. The Pit has a shallow a bay at the Eastern end, reed fringed margins on all sides and shelves that tumble down into the depths so half an hour plumbing around the swim is time well spent to find these features, and asking the owner is always good place to start.
For many years and prior to us buying the site in 2016 only 20% of the Pits bank side could be accessed and just 6 pegs on the whole lake. Having purchased additional land behind the south bank the second phase of major works has opened up this bank and the approach road bank generating a further 17 pegs. In addition to this work the old timber platforms were removed and re-built in clay with timber frontage so every angler will be safely sat on solid ground close to the water.
The north bank including the far end of The Pit is being been left as a dense woodland and wildlife habitat and inaccessible to anglers so regardless of the Pit peg you settle into no one will be fishing on the opposite bank. A large section of south bank between pegs 16 and 19 (around the reed fringed horseshoe) has been left as a restricted area to give the Carp and Tench a safe sanctuary away from anglers.
The average depth of water at one rod length out is around 8-12 feet, the middle of the pit averages around 22-23 feet and part of the long term works programme is to map and record lake bottom and features.
