I believe Cumbria hold some huge old characters, im afraid they would be EXTREMELY difficult to locate and would take a lifetime of effort to even scratch the surface. Ive heard rumours of carp in some of the big glacial lakes, feeding on the bread intended for the ducks but?...
Commercial fishery wise, i have a book somewhere written by a local guy (Chris Sodo) and he lists all the fisheries in the area, trout,carp, rivers etc. Ill dig it out.
I do remember contacting him about one particular water my uncle and i'stumbled' across whilst on holiday in the lakes. The water was called Holehird Tarn if i remember rightly? Anyway it was the stereotypical carp lake...Lily pads, clear spots, a little waterfall with perfect natural surroundings............
Chris Sodo had praised it in his book, old warrior carp pushing 30lb, stunning mirror carp, big tench etc. It sounded perfect.
Sadly we were told that not long after the book was published the water, and several others in the area were ravaged by Otters Its never recovered.........