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CARP & THE OLD LAKE Old Bury Hill has developed a reputation for some of the finest big carp ticket fishing, with carp approaching 40 lb available to all.Big carp sport is on offer both on the day ticket Old Lake or the more exclusive Temple Lake, which is run on a membership basis. Whatever your level of carp angling, from the novice to experienced big fish man you will find plenty to occupy your time between the two venues. Action on the Old Lake The Old Lake is a lake for takes, and renowned for multiple carp catches. Numerous doubles and a big head of 20-pounders make for action packed trips. As the weights of Old Lake carp have increased in the previous two seasons, braces of 20s and numbers of 25 lb-plus fish have also dramatically increased. The ceiling weight is still to be reached with at least half a dozen different 30-pounders – commons and mirrors – growing at the same rate. Through 2005 there were 8-recorded captures of 30s, with a number more we know having gone unreported. You can either choose to hire a punt and tackle the snags and overhangs of the Jungle or around the central island, fish daylight hours for the price of a day ticket or for members there is night fishing available for longer sessions.
 Boilie Eaters!
Old Lake carp are straightforward creatures – they are boilie eaters and like nothing more than to be fed. Quality boilies are sold in the on-site shop, with Carp Company’s Icelandic Red and Mainline frozen ready-mades all scoring very well. With a big head of bream and tench that also have a liking for boilies, larger 16-20mm baits will be more selective for the carp particularly during the warmer months. If you are catching bream and tench it pays to keep topping a swim up to be sure that bait remains to interest the bigger carp which will help to keep the swim free of nuisance fish. PVA bags with pellets or chopped boilies score well, especially during the height of the day. Flicking baits in-between the overhangs and under the canopies of the jungle or surrounding the island will always produce carp, as will small scatterings of bait and PVA bags dropped around the extensive lilies that flank the long and island banks. For anglers fishing longer sessions, it can pay to be more liberal when feeding a swim. A kilo or two of quality boilies isn’t uncommon for an initial introduction. Remember there are lots of Old Lake carp and they are of high average size circa 17lb to 19lb, so it doesn’t take long for a dozen hungry doubles or 20-pounders to clean your swim out of bait. By day many Old Lake carp will be caught in and around any bank side or island cover, but as dusk approaches they begin to feed much harder out in the main lake, with open water marks producing multiple catches. Dawn is also a key feeding time, and the first and last hours of the day are a great time to expect takes. Rig Requirements The golden rule is to keep it simple. Knotless knot style hair rigs are efficient hookers and when used with 1.5-3 oz running or semi-fixed lead rigs with some anti-tangle tubing up the line will catch carp consistently on the Old Lake. Lighter leads will sink into the silt less readily for better presentation, but feeling around with a marker float rod or feeling the sensation as a rig hits the lake bed after the cast should help you find slightly harder, smoother areas that have been cleaned of silt by natural feeding activity. Keep hook lengths 8-12 inches long, the new style of combination stiff and supple links are well recommended such as Sufix Skins, or Korda’s Hybrid. A single or double bottom bait straight out of the bag threaded on the hair is more successful than using pop-ups. Click here for more information on day tickets to fish the Old Lake.
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FISHERY REPORTS Bream and carp catches resist weeks downpour! - 13 July 2008 Despite some pretty grim weather, all lakes fished reasonably well with the Old Lake seeing some good bags of bream and carp reported regardless of the weather whilst the two smaller lakes also saw some reasonable action. Picture shows bailiff Eric Bailey rushed off his feet between customers... PHOTO GALLERY
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