mactabilis

Hi Rich, I fished Tokenham years ago and recently (2 years ago) joined again as I wanted a lake to teach someone else who was just getting into carp fishing and it is perfect for that. I only fished it at the start of last year before I moved off to where I was focusing my efforts for the year, not very successfully may I add. I was using boilies, not nuts though, but I was unaware that both baits were banned, can you let me know where on the website it states they are banned. I even let one of the baliffs try some of the boilies I was using and never got told not to use them, so I am hoping they aren't recently banned as I am predomantly a boilie fisherman. The lake does contain mainly commons, I get about 1 mirror for every 10 / 15 commons I catch. The average weight of fish I catch is normally around 12lb, with the occasional 9lb and the occasional 15lb fish. One of the bailiffs told me of the 30lb fish that was caught and where it was caught from and when, although pictures were taken and were going to be sent to me and put on the website it never did appear. It may be because there are so many small carp in the lake that the big one never comes out as they pounce on the bait but my personal opinion is that there isn't a 30lb carp in the lake. I have seen fish to 22lb on the bank with my own eyes so I would only be willing to say they go that big in there. I find that near the start of the old fishing season you get a few carp anglers on the bank because they want to get out on their syndicate lakes but they aren't open yet so go to Tokenham for weekend or two to get back into the swing of things. I may be one of them again this year..... Feel free to PM me any specific questions you may have and I will try to give you a response - as you can probably tell by ho wlong it has taken me to respond to the message I don't check this site every day - but will make an effort to do so over the next few days to see if you have PM'ed me. Thanks Lee

I am due to meet up with my mates in a few weeks time as Ilive in Bristol and they live in London and we are meant to be making a decision on when we want to go next year and where. This was on the list of possible places I came up with. I will let you know in a few weeks hopefully what the outcome is. I know the dates can be a bit of an issue as one of my mates is one of the Met's finest and he has issues booking time off of work.

Hey Smufter, I haven't been there unfortunately, booked up for this year already but this is on my list of possibilities for next year. I couldn't find much info either but the place looks really nice. I would be going with two mates who have dabbled with the odd bit of carp fishing on small runs waters in the UK in the past. Any chance you could post a bit about the place when your back? Thanks

Maybe ask them?

Have you thought of writing him a letter/email asking for a full refund and any other money you spent or missed out on during this trip (days off of work)? On the grounds that - they did not give you enough notice for the change of venue. - the facilities were not as advertised. - the facilities were in your opinion against health and safety regulation. - you were made to vacate the lake before the time agreed on the booking. - distress of finding the facilities not as planned and the upset it caused etc. I would advise the owner that you intend to take the matter up with trading standards and Health and Safety and any quick closure of your request for the payment in full will satisfy you enough to not take the case further. You could always say that you did not bring it to his attention at the time as you felt isolated being camping on the side of a lake and wouldn't know what would happen if you asked for your money back on the spot etc. I would also state that you are going to seek legal advice on how you would proceed with a case at the small claims court if payment is not forthcoming. Remember you don't have to, you you are seeking advice. Before you write any letter I would check if you can obtain any legal advice through any insurance policies you may have or if you or your wife are a member of a union etc. Speak to them to get a good wording etc and so your basing your letter on facts etc. Once all done and settled I would then advise a quick phone call to health and safety to make them aware of the issues in the hope that they may actually force him to pull his finger out and make the facilities safe for future customers.

http://www.carp.com/carp-forum/viewtopic.php?t=56385 Any good?

Actually as it is my first trip and the fact that it is meant to be a relaxing break the lake I have booked doesn't have a huge head of large carp - although it does have a chance of just beating my PB. I just wanted somewhere quiet peaceful and where we could get away from it for a week with few interruptions etc. I haven't told her yet but if this trip goes well I intend to try to make it a yearly event, maybe trying out different lakes each time.

Wife???? I have managed to avoid that sentence - so far. We did look at a few UK venues but it was weather and how busy I thought some of the places might be that put me off most. She wants to sunbathe and is quite big up top and I don't think she would fancy sunbathing on a lake where she could have others walking past etc.

Weather, crowded and cheaper. As the original post said the other half is due for an operation and we want to go somewhere that will allow her to sunbathe and simply chill out and read books. You cannot guarantee the weather in the UK at any time of the year, we have hired a whole lake to ourselves so she can lounge around in the sun in a bikini without having to cover up should someone come to chat fishing etc and we got it for what I think is a bargain price.

Thanks for the pointer will have a look at it for future trips. I have booked somewhere now for September.

Looking for some advice please. The other half is having a major hip operation later in the year. I want to take her away for a week somewhere hot with a nice little cabin/cottage/chalet - she won't be up for walking or site seeing etc. She will just be happy reading books, using her tablet, sunbathing etc. I want to try to co-incide it with a fishing trip. I have never been fishing to France before, so I don't want a hard water, in fact I wouldn't mind a runs water. - I don't mind if I don't get the lake to ourselves, but would like a designated swim. - Ideally the accomadation would be close enough that I could sleep inside whilst fishing, or bivvy up near enough to be easily shouted at by the other half to get up if she wants help etc. - I would prefer a small lake, just so I can go stalking and always be nearby. - Toilets and Shower/bath is a must. - Would prefer to go Sept/Oct. I haven't worked out a budget yet, or how we will get there (fly or drive). Just purely fact finding at the moment. I do think I have left it to late for this year now but no harm in trying....

The Avid Carp bag loader is also very very good.

Hi Ken, Welcome to the Forum!!!!! I live in Kingswood Bristol (also south glous). Happy to try to help if I can but I would need a few more details..... Send me a PM with some information in, like - Day Ticket/Club/Syndicate - Only Carp, or other fishing also? - Distance to travel - Size of fish - Whether you want an easy, medium or hard type water. - etc Heppy to help out with any other questions you may have with the area in general - although I don't know chipping sodbury that well (other than the plethora of great pubs down the high street). I probably won't be able to answer any questions until Sunday night/Monday morning as I am volunteering to help out take donations for sport relief tonight, finishing at 2am and then going home for 2 hours sleep, up for 4am to pack the car and head to the lake. Cheers Lee

Oh and if I was to go back there I would be using flurocarbon rigs if they really have banned all braid.

Are you 100% sure they are banning all braid including braided hooklinks and not just braided mainline? If I had had to use my mainline as a hooklink I probably would have worked something out to go straight through with a running weight setup or something similar.

I am based in Bristol. Not made it back out onto the bank yet this year - that will change in the next few weeks though. Currently I am fishing the South Cerney lakes but will probably be joining another new club this year once their tickets go on sale. My personal best is 29lb 10oz mirror, however that was caught some time ago and I have had a long break from fishing since then, having gotten back into it from the middle of last year I am having a huge learning curve but I am hopeful that this year things will be better. Best of luck with your trip tomorrow, let us know how you get on. Lee

Hi Terry I fished Longleat a long long time ago a few times, if I am honest I never really got on with it there had a couple out but nothing to shout home about. Therefore I doubt I have any useful information for you from back then and even if I did it is probably well out of date now. With regard to the amount of views and the amount of replies, given that there are tens of thousands of registered accounts on this forum from people all over the world, I actually don't find it surprising at all that with such a small amount of views hardly anyone is able to help you given most of them have probably never heard of or fished the lakes sorry Cheers Lee

Anyone else with some feedback?

I believe AK - Ashton Keynes which was another option for me. Thanks for the input Nige. I hadn't thought about getting membership for both - I will actually look into prices etc.

Hey Bish, Thanks again for the quick reply. The lakes look really nice and I am sure no carp water is easy anyhow I am more worried about the pressure from other anglers, or in fact turning up and not being able to pick and choose a swim and having to grab anything. I guess I kinda like looking around the lake and finding a swim where the fish are rather than having to find a swim and then hoping the fish come to me Although in saying that these lakes are massive. Hopefully someone with some first hand experience may be able to give me some input or steer me towards a more suitable location. At the end of the day, I may even join and give it a crack and if its not what I am looking for carry on looking elsewhere, its not like the tab will break the bank.

Thanks for the welcome guys Bish - I think what you said is actually worrying me a little I hate it being to busy as well, I guess in my position beggars cannot be choosers though. I do indeed need a few weekends on an easier water to get my confidence levels back up. I do hope that I haven't lost my watercraft, so the skill part of that will still be okay I hope I will need to practise tying up a few rigs and try out some of the new things since I quit though, so that will require some practise, indeed. I would happily take a water that was maybe deemed to be harder if the whole feel of the place was quieter and more in tune with what I am looking for. I would be quite happy to do a few weekends on easier day ticket waters before moving on once my confidence levels are back. What syndicate did you join in the end Bish?

I was wondering if people could give me a bit of info with this Angling Club as I am thinking of joining it. - How busy are the lakes, mainly on weekend Fri evening - Sun afternoon. - How clique are the other members? - Is there a lake I can do to get a load of runs to get some confidence back in my approach before moving to a harder water and going after some bigger fish? (if not I will probably find a day ticket water do a few days and then try these lakes out). For those of you brave enough, I have added a little about me below, in the hope that if South Cerney Angling Club is not going to match my requirements you may be able to suggest another club or syndicate that may suit me better. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I am looking to get back into carp fishing after a sabatical of about 8 years due to work commitments and buying my first house and having to do it up. After fishing just day ticket waters within cycling distance from my house in and around the Bristol Area. My first club was Alcove angling when I was 18, which I liked but the main lake "The Lido" was just too busy during the summer. I ended up mainly fishing "the clamp" which is a tiny lake also in the club, but the carp were all under 10lb. However for my first lake - I learnt a hell of a lot there about rigs and different methods to catch carp etc. After 2 years in the Lido club I joined a private syndicate about 10 - 15 miles outside of Bristol, which was about 1.5 - 2 acres in size but had a head of about 30 carp between 18-30lb in weight. The thing I liked most was the fact that the lake was very quiet, in fact even mid summer I could do a whole weekend and see nobody else. Just after I stopped Carp Fishing, the other members of the syndicate who were mainly match type anglers voted to remove the carp and transfer them away to another lake so sadly there are no carp left in the lake now. Due to my circumstances and the fact that I had no reason to rejoin after 5 years fishing this lake I let my tab slip. During the same periods I would still fish the odd weekend/day ticket venues - longleat, whelford pools, tockenham etc Based on the above I think I would prefer a quieter lake, maybe where I have a few other anglers to talk to and socialise with from time to time, but not that the lake is stacked out all the time. I am a pretty easy going guy and like to help anyone and will do if I can, therefore I don't really want to get into a club and be the outsider with no chance of getting in (if that makes sense). I am hoping to get into a club where I can fish and get to know a lake (or set of lakes) and fish it for a number of years. Eventually I want to target the bigger fish in the lake(s) and work on getting them out etc. I wouldn't say money is no object, but I certainly don't have to scrimp and save like when I used to carp fish, so I am willing to pay a reasonable amount for a tab - although given I am replacing a lot of my old carp gear this year may be an expensive one for me. Thank you in advance for readin my post and any advice or suggestions that you may have. Many Thanks Lee