jemsue5

The old man has gone Tee Total since new year

A 19 is a good fish off the Withy.

Now i used to hate this place with a passion, never seen a place with so much rubbish. However i will give credit where credit is due and Neil the lad now running it has made major improvements in regard to the rubbish. A mate of mine dragged me down there kicking and screaming in November after telling me i would be surprised. Much to my amazement no rubbish and i saw him ban somebody for dropping a coke can on the carpark. Still not a place i would want to fish on a regular basis as i dont do busy commercial fisheries but over the winter it might be worth a day. As for how it was fishing i cant answer that but it will certainly be hard going with these temps even after a thaw.

Yep thats another way.

Basically what i said above but i use the new korda hooklink sinkers instead of float stops as they just help to hold the pop up down to the lake bed a bit better. Still both systems nice and simple and pretty safe.

17 lb x-line or another heavy fluoro main line. Slide one of the new small size korda hooklink sinkers about 4ft up the mainline, now slide a soft 4 or 5mm rubber bead onto the sinker this will act as the top bead for the chod and not move for the cast but will release easily under pressure from a fish in the event of a line break releasing the hooklink. Below the chod you can either add another korda sinker + bead and have a fixed chod or just use it running with a bead above a short weak lead link at the line end. Fish it slack and it's a safe and effective chod rig without the use of leadcore or a fused leader.

Chasewater might be free of ice but i cant think of to many others that might be, even Belvide was froze last week.

Its a syndicate and mainly fished for the Pike and Bream never been a carp water. To fish it properly you need a boat as quite a lot of the banks are reed lined and inaccessible. Its a nature reserve run by English Nature so access is restriced to parts of the water. http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/AqualateMereleaflet_tcm6-1251.pdf

I doubt you will find any in Telford free of ice, -6 last night and the same tonight. In fact i doubt you will find many in Shropshire ice free at the moment.

Chasewater deffo has some decent carp but location could be a nightmare. Two winters ago i was piking down the left hand bank past the waterski club when a group of 5 carp swam under my lines about 2ft down in the water. All of these fish were 20+ with the two biggest easily 25lb+. I do know of a couple of captures from the water but to be brutally honest i aint got enough breath left in me for a campaign on the place.

It's not the Blue pool. The one next to the kids play area is the Withy pool it is run by the council and day ticket money is collected by the park rangers. Deffo no night fishing no matter what you've been told. Plenty of carp and cats but it's about 20 years since it did a 30lber. Lots of cats to mid doubles with the odd 20 and the carp are about the same size. Easy water and a good bet for someones first cat if after one. The pool next to wonderland with the open air theatre is Randley pool, lots of small carp and hardly any cats and night fishing allowed run by TAA.

As above or go to 30mm hookbaits

As i said no publicty and at least 4 or 5 years waiting list.

I'm a member. It's a no publicty venue with a long waiting list if you really are interested you will need to contact the number on the notice boards. All i will say is it's very hard and not for the feint hearted.

Fish pools 2 and 3 and they like a mixer or two

Affliated tickets are £21 non affliated are £42, buy it from rod and gun who have there own small club which is affliated and total cost is £24.

Chairman is Mal Kelly 01952 244272 Membership Mr D. Carpenter 01952 411157 Rod and Gun in Dawley also sell the tickets 01952 503550 along with other local tackle shops

LK have a look at Burton Mutual they have some nice waters.

No mate you get to them by going up Hinkshay road which comes off finger road in dawley. Drive up hinkshay road until you come to the wreck of an old pub and turn right down the track next to it, this track leads down to the pools. The large water i think you are on about is Holmer lake which is right next to the dual carrigeway before the Stirchley exit.

Near the Horns pub at Bonningale out side of Albrighton

well done but that's a long way off a 40

Well done mate 17.5lb is still a decent carp in my book.

One way of doing it is to get one of those small wooden kebab skewers and to then tie it to your hooklink using pva tape. When it disolves the skwer floats away leaving the hooklink out stretched from the lead.

Some of the waters in all honesty for £24 a year aint that bad with some cracking carp in them. Yes i have done a lot of time on Trench and had some really nice fish with plenty of 20s to go at. The old scaley fish you are on about did get relocated to a retirement water for it's own good as it got caught about 6 times in a couple of weeks and was dropped on the rocks which did it the world of good. Wouldn't normally agree with moving it but it was done for its own good. It lasted a few more years having a peaceful existance until i found it dead about 5 years ago. I have never had any trouble with my van while fishing Trench which i have done a lot these last few years just park on the pub carpark. Some stunning looking scaley mirrors and big commons in there at the moment. Still lots of crays in the water and plenty on Tench we have had them to doubles while carping. The pool at Horsehay you are on about is Simpsons pool, not supossed to be any fishing and to be honest there are only two fishable spots on the pool but yes their are some very big carp in the water which do like a mixer The pool in the village is the one full of bream but it does have a few carp in it. The pool up part the golf course we used to fish for Rudd and Roach many many years ago never had any of the carp though. Your point about the North Shropshire waters and the likes of Merrington is a fair one but the big problem is that most anglers just dont have access to those waters and in most likelyhood never will so they have to make the most of what is avaiable locally. For £24 quid a year you have access to carp over 30lb in 3 or 4 waters ie the Blue, Trench, Middle which has done a 32lb this year and some whackers in the Severn and maybe one or two surprises in other waters and lets be honest that aint bad value. Jez

Seems you haven't fished the local waters for some time as the guy with the small bait company is a very good friend of mine and he sold it a long time ago. Now lets have alook at some of your other comments. Apley now has a lot of doubles which have come on since the fish kill it even does the odd 20+now which have been caught in matches etc. The blue pool common you are refering to is the mug which is now about 28/29lb i have posted pics of this fish on this forum at 25+ a few times. The blue also has a few other good fish with the slate grey mirror at just over 30lb and the long common another big 20 possible scraper 30. I will agree that this water is rife with idiots and rubbish though. Your 20 out of the Dandy is only the second one i've ever heard of in over 25 years of fishing the water, i doubt anything that size in there now. The scaley 25 from the wide died along time ago 10 years at least although it does now have some nice low 20lb commons. Two 20 commons from hinkshay that's a right result that as i only ever saw 2 20s out of the place in 20 years of fishing it so well done on that one. As you say a clear water but badly run with stupid rules and it has suffered various fish kills over the years. Seems to me you think all Telford waters are crap with your car getting done and tackle nicked funny that as other than the Blue i've never had any problems in 25 years of carp fishing the local waters. Perhaps keeping up to date with what ius being caught and actually spending time on the waters before posting helps eh.