Like so many other stillwaters, Willow Park fishes much better on a windy day than when it's flat calm. It also fishes much better on a cloudy day than a bright sunny one. Therefore if you happen to fish on a warm cloudy windy day, then you're set fair for a pretty good days fishing. Start it with one of Maria's breakfasts, and end it by taking a picture of your biggest ever, fin perfect, beautiful carp and you're in heaven. We'll try and put you right on the very best areas, let's start with the big lake.
Big Lake
Looking at the lake from the car park, and walking down the right
hand bank, pegs 80 to 67 are called the culvert bank, around the first small
bay we come to the bungalow bank (pegs 66 to 55), we then have the next big
bay (54 to 46), and then we're on the canal bank (45 to 31), round the next
corner and we're on the road bank, with the Blackwater Valley Relief Road behind
it (pegs 30 to 10), and finally the short causeway bank (pegs 9 to 1).
The Culvert Bank (Pegs 80 to 67)
Starting on the Culvert bank, the first few pegs amongst the willows are
very popular with the carp anglers, but much less appealing to the match angler,
since the water is very shallow, and fishing the feeder is the only viable option.
I always try and let other anglers draw these swims. Once we get down towards
the actual culvert (pegs 74 to 76) prospects are much improved. There are some
good bream and crucian swims, fishing the pole or open end feeder, and there's
always a chance of a stray carp or two.
The Bungalow Bank (Pegs 66 to 55)
Unless the wind is blowing straight into it, I would avoid the little bay until
peg 64 on the bungalow bank. These next three pegs (64 to 62) are excellent
pole pegs, with tench, crucians, bream, roach and perch all prolific along here.
Pegs 61 and 60 are not quite so good, they're just about the deepest swims on
the lake, about 10 to 12 feet deep on the pole line. Pegs 59 to 57 are shallower
and are again very good. This whole bank is my favourite section for casting
a big feeder over the pole line in the later stages of the match (see the Willow
Park methods page for the full story). Big carp patrol
the pole line here towards late afternoon / early evening, and a couple of these
brutes can double your match weight....you've just got to land them !!.
The Big Bay (Pegs 54 to 46)
The next big bay has some wonderful looking swims, but unless the wind is blowing
straight into the bay, they can often fail to produce. Having said that, I would
still love to draw the concrete swim, just round the corner from the bungalow
bank, I've never seen a fishier looking swim. However, it's a different story
in the winter, when this little section becomes the hottest area on the lake.
There are lots of roach and perch caught, together with the occasional carp.
Pegs 53 and 54 are highly recommended by Kenny, he thinks that they are the
best two winter pegs on the lake.
The Canal Bank (Pegs 45 to 31)
This whole section of bank just screams fish. There is plenty of cover, and
many big weights have been taken from this area. The swims around the point
(pegs 38 to 40) are particularly good, and there are lots of carp in the area,
so it's quite feasible to set out your stall just for them, but beware, it's
an all or nothing gamble, and you can come unstuck big time. The next corner
( pegs 31 and 33) can be brilliant in the summer when the wind's into it, and
dire when it's not....that's the trouble with corners, they're real s**t or
bust swims.
The New Road Bank (Pegs 30 to 10)
This was always thought of as out and out feeder fishing, but on a club match
earlier this season there were about ten carp caught between pegs 15 and 25,
and most were caught on the pole or down the edge on a running line. See the
photos for more details. The area around the point (pegs 17 to 20) is the
best of this section, with many fine carp caught by both the carp anglers and
the match fishermen. As you get nearer to the end of the lake, on pegs 15 to
10 you once more need the wind to be blowing that way to have much chance of
good weights. This area is often flat calm, and can be very hard in such conditions,
if by chance the wind is in the right direction, then you can have a brilliant
days pole fishing for crucians, bream and tench, fishing about 8 metres out.
The Causeway Bank (Pegs 9 to 1)
Similar in many ways to pegs 15 to 10 on the New Road Bank, these pegs can
be very good in the summer when the wind is blowing into the bank, with pegs
4 & 5 being particularly good summer pegs.
Discussing these swims with Kenny, he wanted to emphasise once again that in the summer you must fish with the wind in your face, and in the winter exactly the opposite, with the wind on your back (although perhaps that's only to stay warm!).
Middle Lake
This lake, although heavily stocked, does not contain the numbers
of large carp found in the big lake. It is however a lovely mixed fishery, containing
bream, tench, roach, crucians, perch and small carp. It's ideal for a small
club match, having 27 very fair pegs, you simply can't tell where the winning
weight will come from. Favourite areas are pegs 4 & 5, 11 & 12, 15 and
20. Once more, the fishing is much better when there is a warm wind blowing.
Small Lake
Although it is used for some small matches in the winter, this lake
is normally reserved for the pleasure anglers, lucky
people !!. With depths averaging five feet, there is about three feet of water
and two feet of crucians, tench and carp!!. There are about 30 swims on the
lake, and very big bags of fish have been taken from all of the banks. Since
it's just outside the window of the cafe / tackle shop, Kenny should be able
to give you the very latest information on what's being caught, and where the
best swims are at the moment.
The Stock Pond
This little reed fringed pond has half a dozen swims, and is stuffed
full of roach, perch, skimmers and small carp. Being right beside the cafe /
tackle shop, it is the perfect place to take a youngster when he is starting
out in the hobby, you can keep an eye on them whilst having a relaxing cup of
tea.
