STILLWATERS

ACORN FISHERY, KINGSTON SEYMOUR, SOMERSET

It’s time to get on the boilies at Acorn. Despite the hot weather, fish have been willing to feed on small spreads of boilies and have fallen to pop-ups or wafter-style hookbaits fished over the top. If this approach isn’t working, a switch to a solid bag with crushed baits or pellets will pick up bonus fish. Hot areas at present appear to be peg 5 or around the islands. Anglers have been reporting catches of up to 10 fish in a 48-hour session, with many 20-pounders showing. Contact: 01934 834050 Postcode: BS21 6XS

HARTLEYLANDS FARM FISHERY, CRANBROOK, KENT

Several of the waters at Hartleylands are offering high quality sport to those looking for a mixed bag of fish. On Samson the fish are taking pretty much anything at the moment, and fishing the pole close in will get bites from carp, roach, skimmers and perch. For surface action, Pear Tree Lake has carp to 20lb which love a bait off the top. This lake isn’t to be ignored on the Method feeder either, as it accounts for numbers of carp as well as the odd barbel. Some insane match weights reaching 293lb have been caught off the Reservoir Lake in past weeks. The carp in this lake reach upper twenties and there are some really big silvers too. The pellet waggler is a good tactic. Contact: 07703 825064 Postcode: TN17 3PS

TODBER MANOR, STURMINSTER NEWTON, DORSET

The match waters Hillview, Homeground and Ash all

continue to be in fine form. Match bags of 200lb-plus featuring predominantly carp have been caught by anglers fishing the pole with either pellets or paste. At present fishing shallow or down the margins is the biggest edge. Bags to 50lb-plus of bream and skimmers are a regular occurrence. Dead maggots are the number one bait for the silvers when fished short on the pole over groundbait. Don’t be put off trying the Method feeder either when sport is slow on the pole lines. Contact: 01258 820384 Postcode: DT101JB

UPHAM FARM, EXETER, DEVON

The carp are heavily on the feed across all seven lakes at present. Anglers fishing the Specimen Lake have had hits of multiple fish to mid-twenties. Under current conditions the fish will fall to surface tactics, and a controller float with a mixer hookbait takes some beating. If you are visiting for a longer session it’s worth fishing over a small spread of fishmeal boilies or a solid bag cast tight to the island – just wait for it to rip off. The other pools on site are ideal for floatfishing in the margins. You will find some alternative bonus species to target such as grass carp in pond 4, bream to 3lb in pond 5 and some nice tench in pond 3. Contact: 01395 232247 Postcode: EX5 2JA

UPPER TAMAR LAKE, KILKHAMPTON, CORNWALL

The results of the recent Pallatrax open highlighted that this 81-acre venue on the border of Devon and Cornwall is just full of carp. Big hits of fish are possible in the right areas, so take some time to look around and find where they are showing. A bed of boilies and particles in the right place with a wafter hookbait fished over the top will get the alarms screaming. If carp aren’t your thing there are plenty of other species to target. A traditional groundbait feeder approach with casters, chopped worm and maggots can produce 50lb-plus bags of roach and bream. The venue’s true giants, however, are its stock of perch, which have attained 5lb. Contact: 01288 321262 Postcode: EX23 9SB