BOONEYS LAKE MANOR FARM FISHING

A mature and beautifully-landscaped 16-acre lake which holds a healthy stock of mirrors and commons to well over 30lb

MANOR Farm Fishing in Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, boasts a number of specimen carp waters – and it’s the 30-year-old Booneys Lake that is one of our favourites.

This wonderfully landscaped water is a treasure trove of undulating depths, bays, troughs and islands, making it a carp angler’s paradise.

On top of the ‘dark and handsome’ original stock, the fishery has introduced around 200 carp, so spotting signs of fish shouldn’t be too much trouble! If it is, then the guys at the on-site Tackle Barn are always willing and able to put you on the fish if you’re struggling to find them.

The fishery owner told Carpfeed: “We acquired Booneys in 2011. The banks were very overgrown and have been cut back to create swims. A road on the river side of the lake provides easy access to some of the pegs, where it is possible to park next to your chosen swim.

“It is the largest of our lakes, at 16 acres, and is also the most natural – still with lots of mature trees around the lake as well as marginal reedbeds.

“There is also a healthy growth of Canadian pondweed with an abundance of natural food, alongside clear patches with silt beds and gravel bars as well as several islands.

“In the shallows around the islands, carp can often be seen basking in the summer sun, often within feet of the bank. Stealth is required if you choose to target these fish with surface baits, but the tactic can bring big rewards.

“The carp in the lake are often caught from the gravel bars and islands throughout the year, although in the colder months you want to be targeting the open water with scaled-down rigs, bright pop-ups and small PVA bags of pellets.

“CC Moore’s Northern Specials always catch carp on Booneys, and anglers who fish them on chod rigs enjoy the most success.

“In the summer, surface fishing can work very well, particularly in the warmer, shallow water.

“Boilies always work, but natural baits such as maize or corn seem to produce the better runs of fish.

“The lake record stands at 34lb 12oz – a mirror that fell to Jason Hadwin in October 2017. He fished a bunch of maggots and fake corn with a solid bag of maggots into a silt bed.”