Fishery of the Week
A1 Pits also holds quality bream and tench
A1 Pits guide
AS FAR as specimen bream and tench fishing is concerned, Nottinghamshire isn’t seen as a great county to visit if you’re looking for a personal best.
However, Newark’s A1 Pits is a venue that’s helping to redress the balance.
Despite being regarded as a complex for the carp angler, the six natural gravel pits also offer superb sport with bream, tench, eels and perch – and in recent weeks some carpers have caught double-figure bream and specimen tench by mistake.
Angling Times news editor Ian Jones recently moved to the area and couldn’t wait to come down and prove that A1 Pits isn’t just a venue for the carp boys.
TWO-WAY ATTACK
“I’ve been champing at the bit to give A1 Pits a go, especially after hearing about the fish caught over the last few weeks,” he said.
“The day before my session I rang Steve, the on-site bailiff, who told me that the big bream in Pit 6 had been netted out a few years ago and stocked into Pit 4. After finding out that this water also held a good head of tench I was in no dilemma as to where I was going to fish.
“Setting up on the spit between Pits 4 and 3, a quick cast around with a marker float revealed a clear patch of silt and gravel at 12 wraps out, which featured a depth of roughly 15ft.
“In my right-hand margin there was a good depth of 5ft under an overhanging tree – the perfect ambush point for a tench.
“I fed this area with dead maggots and 2mm Dynamite Baits Krill pellets and placed my maggot rig over the top.
“While this rod was fishing I had plenty of time to mix up my groundbait, mould it into balls and Spomb them out on my bream line.
“I was halfway through doing this when the bobbin on my tench rod smashed up to the alarm and sounded a highpitched tone.
“Several minutes later a mintconditioned tinca of 6lb 7oz lay at the bottom of my net – a new pb, so I was over the moon.
“As the day went on my bream rods remained silent, and it seemed that the intense sunlight and 22ºC air temperature were taking their toll.
“I thought my best chance of a bream would be at night, so at 8pm I Spombed out the rest of my groundbait so a fresh bed of feed was laid out for these slabs.
“I had two bites during the night – one was from a 20lb 7oz common on my corn rig and the other fish sadly came off the hook halfway through what was a very, slow ponderous fight.
“A trail of slime up the line told me that a very good bream had been lost. Gutted!
“Morning came, and although the bream didn’t show, I was happy with my tench and carp catch. I knew that my next visit could produce a proper slab.
“So why not get yourself down to A1 Pits this weekend? It’s not just all about the carp!”
LOCATION: A1 Pits, Church Lane, South Muskham, Newark, Notts, NG23 6EQ Prices: £10 a day, £15 for 24 hours, £30 for 48 hours, £90 for a week (seventh day is free), fourth rod £5 per day, £5 a day caravans
CONTACT: Steve on 07970 209433 or visit www.a1pits.co.uk
RULES: No fixed leads or bent hooks, all anglers to have an unhooking mat and landing net, rods must not be left unattended, minimum line breaking strain is 12lb, no bait boats, fires, littering or peanut baits, no braided mainlines (except for spod and marker rods) FACILITIES: Parking, caravans allowed