ginman01

I did a day session last sunday on the specimen lake, and yet again didn't catch or see anyone else catch for that matter. Madly heavy rain probably didnt help, but I am beginning to wonder about this place. I've decided to switch to somewhere different for the winter, as this place is hard enough in the good weather, let alone the frosts. Spoke to another loyal A12 carper on Sunday as he was leaving the main lake - he says on some days he's done well, on others nothing. Like any lake, then....but a guy who'd been there 3 days had blanked, and his mate...and the other guys on the lake....ho hum. I'll be back, maybe, in Spring. Tight lines PJ

Well done pjay - was that on the larger lake? Neil (owner) knows he needs to increase the stock in the main specimen lake, and plans to do that by moving some fish on from the runs lake ("specimen 2"). Longer term he has plans to make the match lake a runs water, then turn the middle lake into a more challenging carp water. He intends to dig another match lake, I believe, behind the current large lake. My last trip turned up a 10lb bream during the morning; biggest snot I've ever seen so some fun in itself, on a 10mm amber strawberry dumbell with a fluoro corn stop. Sunday nights always seem to score well here - obviously as pressure drops off. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep. Ginman.

36 hours might help - they do seem quite 'moody' there and some days seem to go on a sulk and nobody catches. 36 hours at least gives you a chance to work through any sulking they do! If you're there for that length of time, it might be worth thinking about a heavy baiting approach. I was told that two guys fished the far corner swim, road side bank and put out nearly 20kg of boilies over 4 nights. Apparently they had 20+ fish from this tactic. Risky but clearly good for them. Again, that swim is good for the reed margins where I've had most fish. On the flip side, Neil the owner has caught 30s and a 40, and he always fishes nights only with a dumbell bait and small stringer - nothing else - and a leadcore leader. Starting after dark means he doesn't bother with feature-finding much and doesn't believe it really matters here. I think he also said he uses quite a long hair. If you get a chance to choose (sometimes the booking system means you get little swim choice, but you can ask) then I'd advise either of the far corners. If you have a baitboat, all the better (not so much for large bait drops but for precision a rod length out from the reeds, or under the bushes). There's a large willow about halfway between the two corner swims (and sometimes the source of some tension as both swims try to hit it...) that has a deeper hole in front of it. It's a beast of a chuck (take the 3.5 TC) and forget bags, but maybe a 3oz and a stringer. Of course no problems with a baitboat. Hope that helps - let me know how you get on! I'm keen to suss this lake - it's annoying me that I;m finding my catches there so random. Ginman

All fair points. I actually had a cracking time the first couple of trips. If you've not caught them before, taking koi off the top, hunting golden tench and trying to outwit specimen golden orfe (tricky things) is a lot of fun. My advice would be to go, and enjoy (and for these species it's never fished badly when I've gone) but don't go solely for the carp, at least onsite. I also wasn't very intrepid and just fished the onsite lakes, but within a short stone's throw there are more day-ticket lakes on the same complex that offer big(gish) carp, big cats and such. In fact two of the fish I'm most proud of catching came from Angler's Paradise: a 5lb golden orfe and a 23lb mirror off the top (not huge, but I made such a sweet cast with that fake mixer) so I got my money's worth. I even bought a t-shirt and a hoody.... So don't let me put anyone off - I was just concerned about people heading there solely for carp and being dissappointed at not hauling. As you say, that could be anywhere - I think it highlights the difficulty of getting your expectations right on a fishing holiday. But if you head there just to fish his specimen lcarp lake and end up pulling in 2lb fish all day, that could kind of ruin your week, right? Happy hauling Ginman

I've fished there fairly heavily this season and it's true that Specimen 1 is a tough lake. Specimen 2 is a bit too easy for my style, but in the right conditions producing a lot of runs at an average of about 11 - 12lb. In Spec 1 the carp are said to go to 40lb and a few 30s, though they are rarely out. This is quite a hard lake, heavily pressured with a lot of bait going in. There's plenty of gravel (so much so it makes little difference) but otherwise few features. Most fish I have had have come from marginal reeds, though only a couple of swims can hit these easily. Average size is not as high as you might be led to believe - the last week, for example, has turned up a 26lb I believe but also mainly low 20s and teens. Great guys in the shop, well-looked after place and safe, allows 3 rods (if you're not a numpty) and bait boats (ditto), plus you can drive to the swim to drop off gear. Keeps me going back, but it can also be a very frustrating venue. If you want to do a night, book early - weekends get very busy. There are big bream in Spec 1 as well - apparently going 14lb. Fishes best (according to owner) in November time. By Feb everyone will be covering it with pike floats, no doubt. Tight lines Ginman

I have been three times to AP, mainly because it's near the beaches at Bude where the missus takes the kids. First time we had a good week, second time fishing was not so good and last time (this July) pretty poor. In the end, I came to the conclusion that for carp it's just a very finicky place. Easy Access Lake certainly produces small cats and carp. Specimen lake carp almost always come off the top. This year any bottom bait smaller than 18mm was getting snaffled by shoals of 2lb carp - not something that should be present in a specimen lake, clearly. Main carp lake is very variable, judging by their syndicate day catches. I also agree about the commercial obsession of the place - very expensive (albeit very nice) villas and then paying extra to fish seems unnecessary, as does the big drive to sell t-shirts and BBQ tickets. There are lots of regulars who've been going for more than 10 years though, so for them I guess it's a pretty cosy place - I dont think I'll be going back, as I dont really feel like I need another golden tench. Good place if you need a quality base for the family, though - just dont go solely for the carp fishing. Ginman