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WEST COUNTIES REPORTS BY CLINT WALKER
Catch reports
South Wales venue White Springs Fishery is
on fi re at the moment. The Specimen Lake is
throwing up big fi sh from all over, and anglers
are taking full advantage. Last weekend saw
John Flewin and others doing a social where
they shared 18 carp, including two in excess of
30lb! Ethan Thomas caught one of the new fi sh
at 30¾lb and called it Scarface, while on peg
seven, Steve Allsopp had a new personal best
with the Turk at 32¼lb. Stephen Maddick
returned for another 48-hour session off peg one
and also landed a personal-best 31lb 6oz mirror
after landing a 21½lb back-up fi sh. John Cooper
can do no wrong at the moment, and he bagged
another of the A team in the form of Hobnob at
34lb 6oz, which tripped up to a Coconut Creme
pop-up over a bed of 4G Squid freebies. (www.
whitespringsfi shery.co.uk)
Many anglers struggle a little when trying toVenue of the week
Leamington Lakes in Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire. There are four fi shable lakes at
Leamington, with at least three holding specimen carp, but fi shing has now been discontinued on
Bishop’s Lake. Westminster and Abbey Lakes are perhaps now of most interest, with carp to
almost 30lb in the former. Leamington Lakes also offers excellent accommodation for the whole
family, and you can choose from tastefully appointed chalets, B&B in the stone farmhouse, or
even just roll up in your own caravan. All options are catered for, and with some outstanding
facilities, including a well-stocked tackle shop and huge cafe, it’s a complex which has something
for all.
On the four-and-a-half acre Westminster Lake, corn hemp, bread and meat can often out-fi sh
boilies, but Dynamite Baits products are sold on site and are recommended. Surface fi shing
scores well in warmer months. On Abbey, all baits and tactics work well, so be prepared for a
rod-bending day. Find out more at http://www.leamingtonlakes.co.uk.gain confi dence with zig rigs, especially at long
range, but angling coach Andy Ormrod and his
mate Lee Dunning used both tactics to good
effect during a session at Linear Fisheries’
Brasenose One. The lads landed 16 fi sh
between them (Lee is eager to point out that he
had nine, while Andy had eight, and the session
was a social and most certainly not a tutorial)
during their stay. Both were fi shing zig rigs at
various depths between 4ft and 7ft in around
14ft of water at ranges of around 96 and 108
yards. Andy told me he spodded a sloppy mix of
maggots, sweetcorn, crumbed Mainline
Essential IB boilies, Tiger Nut Stick Mix and a
healthy glug of the Pineapple Particle Syrup,
and Lee used identical tactics. (www.linear-
fi sheries.co.uk)
In Staffordshire, at big-fi sh venue Baden
Hall Fishery, Quarry Lake has fi nally woken
from its winter slumber, with a run of good fi sh
gracing the bank. Single yellow hookbaits seem
to be the current favourite, with fi sh of 20lb,
28lb, 29lb and 32lb all caught after picking them
up, so hopefully some of the very big commons
will soon put in an appearance too. On the Dam
Pool, carp to more than 20lb have been caught
on brightly coloured baits, and Middle Pool is
fi shing extremely well, producing lots of chunky
doubles and fi sh to around the 20lb mark. For
pricing and updates, visit http://www.badenhall.com/
fi shery.
Down in Devon, Creedy Lakes must be
carp soup judging by the catch reports. Zig rigs
and pop-up baits fi shed over a scattered bed of
bait have proved the most popular methods
lately. The heaviest fi sh of 22lb 7oz wasrecorded by Shaun Hurrell. The Tiverton angler
fi shed midway up the right bank and fi shed into
open water. He also tempted a double-fi gure
common of 12lb during his recent session.
Exeter angler Chris Haydon returned with his
son Chris for his second session of the season
and this time they both banked one common
carp each. Steve was top rod thanks to a nice
plump common weighing 20lb 2oz, while Chris
went on to tempt a nice double of 15lb 10oz.
Wayne Higgins enjoyed his fi rst visit of the
season, fi shing at the top of the right-hand bank,
and he was well pleased with his solitary catch
in the form of a 20-pounder. Calum Hawkins of
Exeter had experienced a slow start to his
session but it picked up as the day went on,
fi nishing with a lovely specimen common of
20lb. The best bag this week was a six-fi shcatch taken by Vince Conibere. The Exeter
angler tempted an all-common catch with the
biggest weighing 16lb 9oz. Crediton angler
Mike Izzard hooked fi ve fi sh, again all of them
commons. Starting on the far bank, Mike felt
like a move was worthwhile after hooking one
fi sh, so he moved to the upper end of the right
bank and there he went on to land a further
four commons. There have also been plenty of
other decent carp out around the fi shery, so
take a look at http://www.creedylakes.com for details.
Phil Locke enjoyed a visit to Fisherwick
Lakes in Staffordshire last week, and he used
a D rig baited with a wafter to tempt a 20lb
mirror. Also doing well was Matt Harris, who
took a 24lb mirror, Stu Langle, who tagged
commons of 21lb and 24lb, and Mick Duffy,
who chipped in with a 21lb mirror. I have no
details about bait or tactics I’m afraid, but they
will tell all when you arrive on site. (www.
spanglefi sh.com/fi sherwicklakes)
There has been plenty of action at Town
Parks Fishery in Devon this week, with Rod
Metcalfe leading the way with eight fi sh to 15lb
in just two hours. Rod used a mix of worms,
maggot and corn to tempt his fi sh. Over on the
Specimen Lakes, Dan Stevens used Mainline
Cell baits to pick up nine fi sh during a 48-hour
session, but he also managed to lose fi ve
more! (www.townparks.net)
At Stafford Moor Fishery, also in Devon,
Alex Charlton did a day session on Lodge
Lake. Alex used a Pepper pop-up just an inch
off the bottom in 9ft of water to connect with a
nicely marked 18¼lb mirror. He offered hisHobnob, landed by
John Cooper at
White SpringsShaun Hurrell
with one of his
Creedy commonsDean Latimer with
28lb of gorgeous
Horseshoe mirrorAlex Charlton
has been
catching at
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