Dinton Black Swan

[Pete Springate's Guns]

Just doing some research before committing to a ticket next season. Any current or past members on here?

Wondering how busy it gets and how necessary a boat is?

Appreciate any replies or PM's.

[emmcee]

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. 

[Pete Springate's Guns]

Cheers for the reply-much appreciated and exactly the kind of information I'm after. I took a look at the complex last week to get an idea of the lay out and the journey - I live up in Cheshire so quite a trek! It was busy with walkers etc then so I can imagine it must be much worse in Summer! I'm not too bothered about the walkers/dogs etc, I'm quite happy to put up with it for the stock and potential. Interesting and encouraging to read your comments about boat use. Have you fished White as well? I'm intending to get a Gold ticket to give me options when I'm down there.

[emmcee]

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. 

[Pete Springate's Guns]

Sounds like a real challenge! Guessing there's not much winter form on either? What are your thoughts on the uncaught fish? Seen a pic of a huge Common in White in snags next to Tripple Row that has apparently not been landed. Also I heard that a couple of real big 'uns spotted in Black that haven't been caught, or certainly not for a very long time?

[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..

[Pete Springate's Guns]

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..

Superb mate-that's exactly what I wanted to hear and thoughts of the unknown will make the long drive down worth it!

[HarriettMopay]

I missed this until now...

How big are the black spots? Any chance you could get a photo?

[emmcee]

I missed this until now... How big are the black spots? Any chance you could get a photo?

you want a photo of the spots on black swan? you'll want me to cast to them for you next lol