emmcee

winter form is very dependant on weather. if its a mild winter then both are certainly worth fishing, especially white swan. my best year on white swan was all down to an exceptional winter not just that i had but most anglers that fished there that winter caught carp. normally you will hear 10-15 anglers planning on doing the winter but when it comes to it probably 5-8 anglers actually do it. can certainly be a good time to catch the big ones. my best winter on white resulted in 10 fish from nov-march, 5x40+, 4x30+ and an upper 20 but that winter was exceptionally mild with lots of low pressure storms. i wasn't on white last winter but it fished the same which once again was a mild winter. there maybe 1 or 2 uncaught lumps in white, ones which have been stocked on the quiet from another lake on the complex. as for black there are at least 3 uncaught lumps and these things are proper lumps. a number of the anglers have seen them so not just a made up story. ive seen 1 of them and they are serious lumps. the one i saw was literally under my feet one day in the close season. it was next to a known 40+ common and dwarfed it by some considerable size. been a few stories of fish lost on black that were unstoppable. i lost a couple from there that i just couldnt stop or do anything with. without being big headed but after catching a number of big fish you kind of know your hooked into a lump so im adamant i lost a couple of gooduns from black, whether they were these uncaught fish who knows but there in there..

yes i fished white swan for many years. i fished the complex for 13-14 years on and off. most of that being on white swan. white swan is nowhere near as busy with the public but angling pressure can be immense. if your a weekend angler and you don't get down til late friday the chances of getting on the fish are slim to say the least. but like black swan there is some right lumps in there. a fair few have sadly passed away in resent years but the stocking policy on the lakes see's that there are always fish up an coming to take the place. white swan is definitely the hardest lake ive fished, especially seeing it has a good head of carp. ive seen anglers come and go on there with their tails between their legs after struggling for not just a season but sometimes seasons. on a weekend some 20-30 anglers will be on there but 9 times out of 10 only one angler will catch. but the rewards are in there. 40lb common, 40lb zip linears and other awesome looking carp make it a special lake indeed.

i fished it for a couple of years. now to answer your question's, Angling wise it can be busy through the spring, especially since they banished the close season. it only closes now when the fish look or start spawning and then it will shut for about a month. if your not used to the public being around your fishing lake then this isn't the lake for you. dog walkers in there 100's throwing balls and sticks in next to your swim ( and sadly you have to tolerate it as any foul and abusive language towards them may well see you banned, most are ok but there are a few who i swear do it on purpose to wind you up), public hiring out boats and then proceeding to go through your lines or move your marker float etc . when the weather is warm and sunny or when the school holidays are on the lake can be an absolute nightmare. it has broken many an angler believe me (it broke me after 2 season's, that said i am a weekend angler when it is 100x worse than mid week). if you can handle all that then it is a special lake with awesome fish in there, some which still haven't seen the bank. proper lumps at that. now as for boats, me personally i didnt feel the need to use one and in my short spell on there i was top rod for 1 of my 2 seasons on there mainly fishing at no more than 40yds out when most others were 100yds plus . only time i did use a boat was to extract a fish that weeded me up. the weed can be massive problem, fortunately it wasn't that bad when i fished there. anything else you would like to know then don't hesitate to ask. im still in touch with a few of the lads down there and i only live 5 mins away and often walk round to see mates so i know most of whats going on down there.

im pretty sure you do get the match lake on the farnham ticket but it is absolutely rammed 24/7. i often drive past during the week and the car park is always full and that is spring,summer, autumn and winter. that said it is busy for a very good reason and that is because it holds some right chunks with a few being yateley originals. a fair few 40's in there to go at along with plenty of 30's. another lake on the ticket (mill lane) is also well worth a visit with a number of big fish which a couple have done 50. the only good thing is if you did drive 3hrs to fish then you have 5-10 lakes all within minutes of each other, so plenty of swims though maybe not on the lake you want.

well ive never had an issue with the mouthtrap. i use the 25lb version and nothing else and its been spot on.

well you have got to learn somewhere mate. if that means fishing a small lake full of fish and smoothing out any creases in your fishing then so be it. you can get to know what rigs work, baits work and the most important in my book learn your watercraft. you get those 3 right and have utmost confidence in them and you can go anywhere and catch fish be that theale lake or any other , as long as your "on fish " cos if they arent there then you can't catch them. you will always be learning no matter where you fish and no matter how long you've been fishing for. good luck

take a look at RDAA ( Reading and district angling association). like farnham angling they have lakes of varying difficulty so you can choose where according to your ability

so in all i had fish of 48-00, 45-04, 38-00,33-00,27-08 and 19-04. 6 anglers went and we managed 48 fish in total, with my one mate having the biggest and most. he had a 66lb mirror plus 3x50's and 5x40's and the rest of his 18 fish haul 30's and 20's. so despite the bad weather which we had as a group we done ok or at least my mate did

oh and this one at 38lb dead. sorry for the 3 posts but not sure how to upload 3 pics at once. as most will know posting one is a nightmare normally for me

also had this one at 45lb 04oz

well a year has past more or less since i started this thread and ive just got back from this years trip to bluewater lake. i managed 6 fish in total. the biggest 48lb on the button.

just come back from a week in france where from november onwards the lake is looked after by a bloke whilst the owners go home for winter. was talking to him about it and the lake is open but gets very few punters. its as cold as over here if not colder which will be extreme cold and can be extremely wet. oh and rock hard just like over here. winter fishing is winter fishing if your here or over in france. it is also a risk travelling all that way only to find the lake is frozen

korda mouth trap in 25lb. the best chod rig material ive seen and used in my opinion

not trying to put a downer on what has just been said above but id only ever consider fishing a lake that i have spoken to people who have fished the venue in question. nearly all lakes will claim to be this that and the other etc but not all live up to your expectations. so be careful.

3 lads that i know have just got back from a week at bluewater lakes in france. now 3 anglers sounds good but in reallity they probably needed an angler or 2 more on there as the fish just went to the quiet areas of the lake, whereas if there are 5/6 of you on a small venue it keeps the fish moving about and gives you all a chance. bluewater is about a 3 hour drive and the nearest town is a 5-10min drive with 2 big stores. the town is called brienne le chateau. well worth a look, top venue with very nice couple who own it. peaceful and some right whackers too.i'll be going in september for the 3rd year on the bounce and my mates 4th year in a row, its that good.

well a fella i know who is in a wheelchair is currently out in france this week at Bluewater lakes. he fished there last year too. ive been there myself and all the swims are very good. made up with sleepers and covered in gravel. this fella always takes a roll of carpet so as to make manouvering about the swim much easier. also im sure whichever venue you chose the owners would be more than accomodating.

yes cm i have or rather i am. im using your particle on one rod and boilie on another. granted the fish have been in spawning mode the last couple of weeks but these blokes still winkle them out.

its not the cell mr newmarket. anyone that talks to them says that everything is always out of site. when theyve packed up no dropped bits or nothing. this could be a job for poirot or marple . i saw one go to his motor on saturday and all he got out was a pressure cooker with its lid on. so particles is my guess unless he fancied a nice stew at 9 in the morning lol

whatever the carps dietary needs are i think 2 blokes on one of my lakes knows exactly what that is. they are machines, and not blanked yet whilst all around are blanking good and proper, including me and they do this on every lake they fish so im told. if only they liked the odd beer i could maybe get them talking lol

i do still want him to go and he can take a few players with him

ive not been myself but from what ive seen and heard then abbey lakes is probably your best bet

you got it now but if you hadn't i would of suggested the use of korda mouthtrap for your rig material. the best out there in my opinion

when i use inlines which is very rare, i use atomic tackles inline leads. they have a slot built into them so when you get a pick up the lead goes up your line and drops off everytime

thats not a krank hook, its a short shank curve. be that a korda, esp, fox who knows. just a simple knotless knot/coated braid rig. ideal for a bottom bait

i use a few, korda kranks in size 4 for wafter hookbaits. korda wide gapes in sizes 4 and 6 for pops and bottoms and also carporium longshanks in size 6 once again for pops and bottoms. the last 2 patterns depend on which of my lakes im on. and then for chods i use jrc mbt4 in size 4, these are now discontinued but i brought 10 packs when i heard they were to be no more once these are used up then it will be korda chod kranks.