Billingford Lakes, Norfolk

[ryan5939]

Has anybody fished Billingford Lakes, walked the venue today, and looks like it could have potential. But was nobody on the venue, and couldn't gain any advice?

[jay666]

from what i hear its full of cray fish, to the point were its unfishable for carp, its apparently doing very well for pike thow

[muftyboy]

I fished a short day session last summer with my brother in law, he had 5 small carp to 7lb on maggot , i used boilie and the crays wouldnt leave me alone, the bailiff has cray fish traps all over the lake and reckons if you use the tails off the crayfish they can produce some of the bigger carp, im going for a 48 hour session in august so if you go down there before me let know how you get on mate, also go on google earth, gives you a good idea of where the sandbanks are and the deeper areas, cheers mufty

[ryan5939]

Cheers for your help guys, and prob gonna do a few days sessions, looking for bigger carp, will let you know how I do Mufty!

[muftyboy]

no probs mate , good luck,

 

mufty

[muftyboy]

Did you ever get down there ryan?

[ryan5939]

Yeah I did mate, it was a bit to hot, and all the carp were on the surface, so no joy! But there were some very nice fish! Looks an interesting water, but seems to be a lack of knowledge from locals, and bailiff alike! He said the regulars like to keep it a secret! Also big cray problems, like you said! But you can obviously get around that! There is a guy who works in angling direct who apparently fishes it often and does very well, could be worth a call in?

[muftyboy]

Cheers ryan, im going to do a 72 hour in a couple of weeks, went there on sunday for a couple of hours but just got pestered by the crays so i think im going to have to up my game mate,

 

mufty

[davyman]

Hi guys

i have fished billingford a number of times over the last couple of years and yes the crays are too much for me and have given up on the place. i have tried everything to combat them with no success i have wrapped my bait with armour mesh i have used plastics and nuts/corn they will have anything in there they have even pulled my zigs down from 6 feet off the bottom just to get at the boilies(nightmare all night being kept awake by single bleeps until they have had your bait.the last time i fished it i took a trap with me and in 24 hrs i had 124 crays and some are that big you could put a saddle on them...the top lake is great for pike avg size about 14/15lb with the odd big girl thrown in but you have to float fish to keep dead baits away from the crays.

[carp1993]

A mate of mine and me fished this venue last week for 48hrs and the fishing was absolutely fine! Crayfish problem has seriously decreased from what i have heard in this thread, they seem to leave the sweeter, brighter baits alone whilst the carp in there love them! We pulled out 4 fish with none under 12lbs and the biggest being a mirror of 17lb 8oz. I spoke to the baliff and he does reckon they are feeding on the smaller crayfish. I found this to be a peaceful and tranquil place to fish, aslong as fishy baits like, halibut pellets or shrimp and prawn boilies are not used, the crayfish are no problem at all and in my eyes there seems to be hardly any left! Fishing is nice at this venue and I recommend it aslong as you have a sweet or fruity tooth for baits.

[morganash]

Been fishing here a fair bit up till Nov 12. Yes the crayfish are a pain but there are always ways round them if you know your onions. The previous post says they are no problem!? well they woulden't be in November as crayfish are mainly dormant thru the winter! I tried every so-called crayfish proof bait such as garlic flavoured boilies, maize, and tigernuts. The crays here eat them all.. I love this place though because I usually have a lake to myself in the week, which means I can move swims 3 or 4 times a day with no hassle. I haven't caught many carp here so far and it's a real challenge - I've been carp fishing 33 years now and these are the hardest lakes I'ver ever fished, partly due to the crayfish but mainly because the stock is very low.. don't believe what the owner tells you! If your like me and just want a beautiful lake with no hassle from other anglers and no litter with sensible rules then this is a norfolk paradise. I for one hope the crayfish 'problem' remains as 19/20 anglers never come back here after one session.

[muftyboy]

Been fishing here a fair bit up till Nov 12. Yes the crayfish are a pain but there are always ways round them if you know your onions. The previous post says they are no problem!? well they woulden't be in November as crayfish are mainly dormant thru the winter! I tried every so-called crayfish proof bait such as garlic flavoured boilies, maize, and tigernuts. The crays here eat them all.. I love this place though because I usually have a lake to myself in the week, which means I can move swims 3 or 4 times a day with no hassle. I haven't caught many carp here so far and it's a real challenge - I've been carp fishing 33 years now and these are the hardest lakes I'ver ever fished, partly due to the crayfish but mainly because the stock is very low.. don't believe what the owner tells you! If your like me and just want a beautiful lake with no hassle from other anglers and no litter with sensible rules then this is a norfolk paradise. I for one hope the crayfish 'problem' remains as 19/20 anglers never come back here after one session.

 

i agree that it is not an easy lake but i think its more due to the lake not being fished for so long and the carp feeding on naturals for so long, the majority of carp we have had from there have been caught on maggots.

a couple of weeks ago i had a look around with my boat and sonar and trust me there are plenty of carp in there.

 

mufty

[salokcinnodrog]

runamrk

Posted: 22nd Feb 2014 11:42 Post subject: Billingford lake Norfolk

Hi Just wonder if anyone has fished it recently.

I went yesterday for the first time and had absolutely nothing not even a knock so I am wondering what baits are good up there as i am looking to go again soon

 

thanks

Mark

[muftyboy]

hi mate , bait wise the laet couple of times i fished it i caught on cell, its worth getting the marker out as there are so many bars and gullys and getting to know the features will really help on this lake as the fish very rarely show themselves, ive also done well on maggots this time of year.

 

mufty

[newmarket]

hi mate , bait wise the laet couple of times i fished it i caught on cell, its worth getting the marker out as there are so many bars and gullys and getting to know the features will really help on this lake as the fish very rarely show themselves, ive also done well on maggots this time of year.

 

mufty

 

So their still on the naturals muft ?

 

 

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[muftyboy]

hi mate , bait wise the laet couple of times i fished it i caught on cell, its worth getting the marker out as there are so many bars and gullys and getting to know the features will really help on this lake as the fish very rarely show themselves, ive also done well on maggots this time of year.

 

mufty

 

So their still on the naturals muft ?

 

 

Natural coconut liver enzyme liquid

 

you cant get more natural than that mate , im heading up there for easter so i will try magot on one rod and cell on the other and see what the fish prefer.

 

mufty

[dalthegooner]

hi mate , bait wise the laet couple of times i fished it i caught on cell, its worth getting the marker out as there are so many bars and gullys and getting to know the features will really help on this lake as the fish very rarely show themselves, ive also done well on maggots this time of year.

 

mufty

 

So their still on the naturals muft ?

 

 

Natural coconut liver enzyme liquid

 

All soaked in to a bit of bread

[idonteatcarp]

Hello,

 

I was fishing with my friend at Billingford recently. I thought I need to share my experience.

This was the first time fishing for us over there. As we didn’t know the place and it is a quite big area we decided to speak to the bailiff to get some advice. W found Mr “K” (not sure if I can give names here) and asked for advice. He replied by asking “Where are you from?” noticing we speak with an accent. We told him that we are originally from Poland. He then made straight away racist comments. He said: What are you doing with the fish? We told him that that we are here to relax and not to steal carp. He said he had previously problems with eastern Europeans and that f..ing Lithuanians taking fish and he was called racist etc. By making these remarks he was being racist now and then. I understand that he might have had some bad experiences with eastern Europeans, but you can’t treat people like this and put everyone in the same bucket. How does he know who I am? What are my ethics? We were pretty shocked but not surprised we’ve had similar story before. We told him what we do with fishes caught and he decided to give us a chance (like some little boys, we are both reaching 40). We were desperate not to let him destroy our weekend away together, so we decided to stay. My friend came all the way from London and we were preparing for this trip for quit few days like anybody else. We also spent about £200 for gear food etc. I wander if he really had these stories with eastern Europeans or maybe he just herd some gossips from others or TV propaganda and he was just over reacting. Obviously he is just a simple man jugging his behavior and the way he greeted us. It’s hard to believe anyone would be interested in stealing carp, risking being caught, when there is plenty of cheap, fresh, cleaned sea fish available from supermarkets. Like Morrison 2 x sea bass or sea bream - £5, cod fillets are extremely cheap - £3.50 for big peace, enough for family of 4. Why would you want to steal, clean and eat stinky carp? Regarding the fishery itself I wouldn’t go back even if I was born here and didn’t have this story. Someone here has mentioned that this is a tranquil and peaceful place. Maybe it was in 2012. You have cars being driven behind your back all the time as people are searching for suitable spot to settle.

On the top of this Mr “K” does his regular rounds in his 4 X 4 checking on those potential thieves. Is this a place to relax? Not for me. And by the way we didn’t catch anything so there was nothing to steal. After this experience I decided not to go to carp fisheries in the UK ever again, and as I mentioned before I had even worst story before were I was kicked out from one place in Laddingford near Maidston for being polish and the key for the gate was taken from me.

 

 I love nature and fishing. I’ve been fishing since I can remember as my father is also a kin angler and fishing for me most of all is about outdoors and fresh air. I’ve been living in the UK for the past 15 years. I’m also British Citizen but I never talk about it. I don’t feel like one and I don’t think I ever will because of people like Mr “K”.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tomasz

[muftyboy]

Hello,

 

I was fishing with my friend at Billingford recently. I thought I need to share my experience.

This was the first time fishing for us over there. As we didn’t know the place and it is a quite big area we decided to speak to the bailiff to get some advice. W found Mr “K” (not sure if I can give names here) and asked for advice. He replied by asking “Where are you from?” noticing we speak with an accent. We told him that we are originally from Poland. He then made straight away racist comments. He said: What are you doing with the fish? We told him that that we are here to relax and not to steal carp. He said he had previously problems with eastern Europeans and that f..ing Lithuanians taking fish and he was called racist etc. By making these remarks he was being racist now and then. I understand that he might have had some bad experiences with eastern Europeans, but you can’t treat people like this and put everyone in the same bucket. How does he know who I am? What are my ethics? We were pretty shocked but not surprised we’ve had similar story before. We told him what we do with fishes caught and he decided to give us a chance (like some little boys, we are both reaching 40). We were desperate not to let him destroy our weekend away together, so we decided to stay. My friend came all the way from London and we were preparing for this trip for quit few days like anybody else. We also spent about £200 for gear food etc. I wander if he really had these stories with eastern Europeans or maybe he just herd some gossips from others or TV propaganda and he was just over reacting. Obviously he is just a simple man jugging his behavior and the way he greeted us. It’s hard to believe anyone would be interested in stealing carp, risking being caught, when there is plenty of cheap, fresh, cleaned sea fish available from supermarkets. Like Morrison 2 x sea bass or sea bream - £5, cod fillets are extremely cheap - £3.50 for big peace, enough for family of 4. Why would you want to steal, clean and eat stinky carp? Regarding the fishery itself I wouldn’t go back even if I was born here and didn’t have this story. Someone here has mentioned that this is a tranquil and peaceful place. Maybe it was in 2012. You have cars being driven behind your back all the time as people are searching for suitable spot to settle.

On the top of this Mr “K” does his regular rounds in his 4 X 4 checking on those potential thieves. Is this a place to relax? Not for me. And by the way we didn’t catch anything so there was nothing to steal. After this experience I decided not to go to carp fisheries in the UK ever again, and as I mentioned before I had even worst story before were I was kicked out from one place in Laddingford near Maidston for being polish and the key for the gate was taken from me.

 

I love nature and fishing. I’ve been fishing since I can remember as my father is also a kin angler and fishing for me most of all is about outdoors and fresh air. I’ve been living in the UK for the past 15 years. I’m also British Citizen but I never talk about it. I don’t feel like one and I don’t think I ever will because of people like Mr “K”.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tomasz

Its a shame as when it 1st opened it was a beautiful place to go fishing.

Never more than 3 people on the whole complex and looked stunning.

I haven't been for a while now but the saw the signs of things to come the last time I went.

A lot of trees and the bankside were chopped down to make extra swims and it was really busy.

[newmarket]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience Thomas .

 

Mud sticks I'm afraid and we are all guilty of it at times but not all fisheries are like that mate .

 

May I suggest a visit to any future lakes to introduce yourself before you fish in the future ?

 

I know you shouldn't have to but once the bailiffs see what a decent fella you are in sure there won't be a problem .

 

Best of luck in the future and don't let the bigots grind you down .

[jeremy]

been fishing here for years, all the talk off crayfish is not accurate.

the bailiff, (Kevin) has got on top of the issue.

Colchester carpers!