gidneyboy

Zander I don't live down there but do spend a lot of time down that way. To find somewhere you can ride a push bike to, you have totally narrowed down your options mate. There are one or two decent waters that I know of but they are a good few miles outside of Bournemouth it's self. Club wise you have Ringwood District anglers association, Christchurch angling club and Wimbourne AC. All have waters that hold some decent fish but are somewhere between 5 and 10 miles away from Bournemouth. Day ticket waters you have none that really spring to mind that are really close. There are 1 or 2 around Wimbourne who's names escape me at the moment but as far as I am aware these are mostly full of pasties. Finally as a wild card you have Rockley Lake, right next to Rockley caravan park in Poole. A very deep, weedy, blue clay lake, that looks very carpy. Quality info is very hard to come by as those who do well on there keep things very close to their chests. But have heard of 30+'s and have personally seen fish to at least high 20's possible low 30's and also rumours of a couple of big cat fish to. Being blue clay it can get very messy there especially in winter and you do hear tales about the local kids not being to friendly but a couple of people have told me these are more rumours than anything to try and keep it fairly quiet. The best thing about it, is that it is totally free fishing so well worth a look.

Good luck on getting a swim mate. Me and a mate went there a couple of weeks ago for a change of scenery and so we thought a dabble for the cats on Roman. Arrived at 7am Thursday morning, no swims at all available on Roman, only 2 each on Kiln and specimen and 3 or 4 available on Plantation. Great looking place, just a shame it's so commercial, the place is a circus. After three nights I could not wait to leave, made me realise why I have not fished commercial day tickets for years and why I won't be fishing one again in a hurry!

Old news maybe but as far as I am am aware, as of last spring the EA had not still given it a clean bill of health. Who knows if they ever can or will? And it still suffers from far more fish deaths each spring than it should no matter what you get told. I have witnessed it and the clear up jobs that go on. The owners have not changed no matter what you hear. The bailiffs are newish and their hearts are in the right place and are trying their best with things that are in their control IE. litter, thefts ECT. And things have got a lot better on them fronts, without a doubt. The problem being stocking is not in their control no matter what you get told. It is still down to the same fella who has been stocking it for years and brought SVC to bowmans and the rest of the valley. Mention this blokes name to any clubs round the area and see the reaction you will get. I am not saying don't fish there but do make sure all tackle is completely dry before moving onto another venue. Even better have separate nets, mats ECT. For fishing there. Better to be safe than sorry.

Not saying you should not fish here guys but be careful as it is a known SVC site.

Think yourself lucky you even got a reply from Korda. I had a problem a couple of seasons back of korda hooks snapping on me. Not just one packet but from three different packets After three emails from me including pictures of said hooks,I did not hear a thing back from the great Korda. All I was expecting was an email back acknowledging that there may have been a problem batch and that they would look into it. So from then on, I have lost totally respect with Korda as a company. I have not and will never give that lot another penny of my hard earned cash. Shame that their customer service department and quality control department, does not work as well and mean as much to them, as their marketing department.

Might be worth having a look at this place . http://www.staffordmoor.co.uk/new/ It's a little further than you wanted to travel but not too much further and although I have never fished it myself I do know a mate who went there with his old woman and loved it.

There are a few waters round here that will suit you and allow dogs. Some quite hard others not so hard. Waters worth having a look at would be Verulam Angling. One rock hard pit, The Leather pit at Moor Mill (only a couple of miles from willows). Around a dozen fish in sevenish acres, the holy grail be Toadless the leather at around low 40's. the rest of the stock does not go much bigger than high 20's. There are also another 3 lakes on the complex that are much easier with much higher stocks of fish, with one or two surprises in the island pit. Pretty sure dogs are allowed on their waters. http://www.verulam-angling.co.uk/ Watford piscators is another that definatly allows dogs and is worth a look, providing you live within 15 miles of Watford town Hall. They have a total of 6 lakes, all of which apart from one, are on the same complex. The most well know of these is Tolpits and although this lake has lost all of it's real monsters over the last couple of years, there are still around half a dozen stunning original 30's still left and a fair few other crackers to back them up. http://www.watfordpiscators.co.uk/ Gerrads cross is another worth a look with a couple of cracking waters that are not easy but the rewards are there, not sure about dogs though. http://www.gxudas.co.uk/fisheries.html All the others mentioned in the first post along with a few other cracking waters in the valley that are accessible, are strictly no dogs. A bit of a left field one is Kings Langley Angling society. They only really have one lake worth targeting for carp and it's still a pretty much unknown lake in regards of stock. Only a small hand full of carp anglers on there and they keep things quite hush hush. I have heard rumors of 30's, but definably a good head of 20's in there but a lot of doubles to. The match anglers move anything they consider too big for them (basically doubles) in the match pond on the same site into the main lake. Word of warning if you look at this club, is when you apply don't say you just fish for carp! http://www.kingslangleyas.org/index.html

Expect plenty of pasties.

I wonder if another 60lb fish or two did turn up (because every fish farmer in the uk is inundated with 60lb fish!) if the owner would loose or choose not to disclose the paper work (depending on who you believe, of course!), like the last pair?

There's four fishable lakes at Moor Mill, The leather Pit, The Island Pit, The pike Pit and The School pit.

Verulum should fit the bill nicely for you mate. Another water on their ticket thats sounds like it could be right up yur street is The Island lake at Moor Mill.

In Smallford? Really? I didn't know that! If you ask anyone in the club offically they will tell you that there's not any cats in there but it is the worst kept secret in the angling world of St. Albans that there is one or two in there. A committee member (no names) has even showed me the pics of one.

Forgot to add in my previous post, there is also one, possibly two cats in there around mid 20's.

Thats the one Crapper, how it managed to sustain a 50 for so long is beyond me.

Selby there used to be a 50Lb common called Herman in Warmwell many years ago but it has long since gone to the big lake in the sky. How the lake managed to sustain a fish of that size and a couple of large 30's, low fortys to back it up, god only knows, as the is lake pretty much a puddle. I have a couple of good mates, who are very good anglers and live very close by and keep quite a close eye on the place and in their opinion it's not got the stock that is advertised but this is only their opinion. There are a hand full of 20's but these are hard to catch and most fish seem to be low to mid doubles. I fished it for about 4 days around 18 months ago and when I arrived I spoke to four lads who had been staying in one of the lodges on the lake side and they had fished it pretty much solid for a week and managed 3 fish between them biggest being 13lb something. I did manage a little better in the four days I fished it, taking 5 fish to 17lb but it was suprisingly hard going. What did suprise me and sticks in my mind was that I saw next to no fish showing themselves , which i found strange for the time of year, late May early June. I did find this video on youtube a few weeks ago that will give you a small idea of the place. http://www.youtube.com/user/spaggage08#p/u/5/EbArPQCOIXE The mark where these two caught their fish is the same mark that accounted for 3 of my fish. There are plenty of other waters within 10 to 45 mins of Warmwell that offer a better chance of catching some fish, if you really want a bend in your rod, especially this time of year. A couple of the closer ones you could try (within about 15 mins)are Arfleet in Corfe, Luckfield lake in Broadmayne and Wally's lake in Osmington Mills. If you wanted to go a little further then you could try Lyons Gate, Revels, Coking Farm or Todber Manor. With the exception of Luckfield which can be a little hit or miss, all of these will offer you a better chance of a fish.

Not fished myself for a good few years, but do know a few lads who have fished it recently. Great looking water with lots of features and a decent stock of carp to high 20's may be a 30 at the right time of year. It can get very busy in the summer months. As for it bring a hard water, let's just say it's not a runs water by any means but it's not exactly rock hard either like a certain other lake on the verulum ticket.

The way i have always set it up, is to have the the stop knot twice the depth of the water you are fishing away from the lead. I.E the spot you are fishing is 4 feet deep so the stop knot needs to be 8 feet from the lead. Also i always find that the closer you can get the rod to verticle the better the rig works.

Plenty of 20's in the GUC from Watford up to Tring. It just means spending a few days walking the banks to find them. If you are looking around Hemel then you a deffinatly have a good chance of finding a few, you just have to put in the leg work, because I can't see anybody who has done that leg work is going to just give you the info they worked hard for

Had a walk around moor mill today, got told that Toadless came out early Saturday morning at 41lb 8oz, chances are she won't see the bank till late August now. Anyway that explained why there was not a soul on the leather pit!

I have just picked up a nice big job (best part of a years work), building an extension and refurbing a decent sized house for a mate who lives out near Nazeing Essex. After a meeting today he took me to a nice looking lake about 5 mins drive away from his place. The lake is very close to Dobbs weir and is called Netherhall or possibly Crown Netherhall carp fishery. There is a sign by the gate saying that tickets are available from Simpsons of Turnford. Now i have spent the best part of 3 hours trying to find out some information about this place and i still know nothing! Now i am guessing as to why there is no infomation on this place. Is it because the place is pants? I am tending to think if this was the case then there would be plenty of info on the place knocking about on the net, slagging it off. Or is it because it's a little gem with a strick no publicity rule? I like to think this could be the reason. So what i am getting at is, does anybody know anything about this lake? If so would you be willing to share a little info with me IE. stock, rules, prices and chances of getting a ticket etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated, and if it does have a no publicty rule then i understand if it has to be PM's Thanks Gid

Craig last few times i have walked round willows, the water levels are that high, the match and farm lakes are now one lake. Jack the fish in all them lakes have seen just about everything bait wise and will eat just about anything. If you just want to catch fish then as craig said fish the match lake, you have got to be really unlucky or just rubbish if you consistanly blank on there.

Alright mate have a look at this place http://www.carpruns.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=1 Bley lake is stunning, 11 acres with 8 swims and around 300 fish up to mid 50's maybe a little bigger to have a dabble at. It's not uncommon to catch 40/50 fish in a week, my last week there i had 21 fish to 46lb 9oz plus 75lb and 61lb cats as well, and i did not really have many fish in front of me. Top rod for that week had 40+ fish to just under 50lb. Tony the owner is a top bloke and and is always on hand to give great advice. He runs tours including travel there and back and i think he will do food as well if needed every other week. There's a nice social area with decent showers etc, Tony will normally do at least couple bbq's a week and also will do any shopping you need daily and deliver it to your swim. Well worth a look.

I used to be a member of VAC a few years ago before they obtained Moor Mill pits, but i did fish Moor Mill as well. Smallford A great looking deep lake (30 foot in places),with lots of bays, bars and other features. Stock wise it has a good head of carp, with 1 or 2 at the right time will go low 30's. Also a couple of mid 20 cats in there that the club try to keep hush as they have no licence for them, but i did here a rumour they are trying to give these to a water in Bedfordshire. It does get busy in the summer months with quite a few noddies as well as the tight group of carp anglers on there, but a very nice place to be. Moor Mill There a 4 fishable lakes on The Mill, The leather pit, The Island Pit, The School pit and The Pike Pit. When it was run by the LAA security was a problem but i am told this has largly been sorted out now. The Leather Pit A tough water of around 7 acres, stuffed full of weed with only around 12 carp to target, including the famous Toadless, the 2nd biggest leather in the country. Toadless tends to get caught no more than 2 or 3 times a year and she used to be like clockwork getting caught April/May and August/September time. Most of the other carp average around the mid 20's with the odd one going a little bigger, but to catch any carp is an acheivment. It also has some huge tench 12lb+ and a couple of shoals of huge bream 17lb+ The Island Pit A great looking lake, again it is full of weed and as the name suggests it has numerous little islands. Vac stocked it few years ago with around 100 carp up to mid doubles from one of there noddie waters where they had grown too big. It also still holds some big originals, i know of a 38lb common caught around 3 or 4 years ago but again the regulars don't let on too much about the big one's and rightly so. The School pit A small shallow lake at the very far end of the complex, again full of weed. Not a lot of carp in there but i do know of a high 20's two tone mirror that used to get caught from there every now and then. Whether it is still there who knows? The Pike Pit I don't really know too much about this one. It used to be a good pike water but i have never heard of any decent carp being caught. I have been told there is some good tench in there but i cannot confirm that. Hope it helps mate.

Spoke to one of the regulars on the deep a week or so ago. The odd mid double stockie getting caught at the moment but not a lot else. Bait wise them fish will eat anything, from what i hear Dynamites squid and octopus catches a good few and in the summer it's well worth fishing with particles. The fish don't really react well to big beds of bait so a little and often approach is the way to go, unless they are really having it. As for the theft side of things, I have not heard of anything like that happening on the deep for nearly 2 years, but i don't fish there a lot so i might not get to hear about everything. The regulars are a fairly tight bunch down there now and keep quite a close eye on things, so most days and nights you will normally find at least one of them on there fishing. It you are going to target the deep then it would be a good idea to get in with the regulars like Rob, Noel (the mad paddy)and Dave the baliff. All nice enough blokes but be prepaired to have your ear chewed off cause them blokes can talk lol. It is easy to spot Rob and dave as they have satellite dishes on a poles outside their bivvy's and in the winter dirty great big gas bottles outside to. In the summer the place is always packed, and you will have to get lucky to get on any of the so called hot swims from the pipe down to premier. I always find if there are lots of lines in the water then the swim to fish is isolation in the far corner, especially if the wind is blowing into that corner. I would fish 1 rod tight to the bush at about 100yards on the back bank. There are also a couple of nice gravel spots to the left (roughly in line with the far end of the island) and out about 20-30 yards that seem to be on a patrol route in the summer that are well worth finding. I have caught numerous fish off these patches and all of them have come between an hour before and an hour after dawn. One of the better ones from the gravel patches i was on about. 28lb 12oz One other thing don't put your rods too close to water as the water level can go up 2 or 3 feet overnight if they are pumping in, and you could well wake up with your alarms under water. Seen it happen more than once Hope it helps mate and good luck

Absolutly no need to glue a splice, infact glueing a splice actually weakens it. The glue stops the outer skin of the splice tightening around the inner piece as it should, thus weakening the splice.