Fishery of the Week
The silvers-packed Bitterwell Lake
NOT every day do you get the chance to manage a 200-year-old fishery, but that’s just what Paul Isaacs has been given the opportunity to do, by taking over the running of Bitterwell Lake in Bristol.
Just a month ago, after the council granted his lease, he took over control of the historic venue and has already made an impact.
Angling Times visited Paul to find out more about his plans for the venue as well as how the Mosella Bathampton match team member goes about fishing it...
LAKESIDE COMMUNITY
Paul’s main vision for the venue centres on the lake as a community asset.
“People from all walks of life have always visited Bitterwell, just to enjoy the rich history, beautiful scenery and peaceful atmosphere,” he said.
“This is going to remain and my aim is to manage the fishery with the focus on keeping it natural, but at the same time a suitable environment for novice anglers to learn the ropes.”
Bringing more people into the sport is another of Paul’s ambitions and on our arrival at the lake the Level 1 coach was showing a newcomer the ropes – eventually leading to them catching their first carp.
From listening to Paul, it’s quite clear there are exciting times ahead for Bristol anglers here.
QUALITY SILVERS
After a quick look around the site, Paul was quick to reveal the quality of the fishing on offer at Bitterwell.
“My main plan for the day will be to target the fantastic stock of skimmers and roach, fish that are often overlooked,” he said.
Paul set up his pole tackle in peg 15, a noted area for skimmers.
“The 11m line is a good starting point for the skimmers, and is a nice comfortable distance to fish.
“My main attack will be two long lines, one baited with groundbait laced with dead maggots, casters and chopped worm, and another with just 6mm cubed meat off to the left of the swim at the same distance,” he added. Pauls approach is typical of a seasoned match angler, with presentation and fine details of paramount importance.
“Minor adjustments can make all the difference – going an inch deeper, adding an extra maggot, changing the shotting pattern, all these things can lead to you getting more bites,” he said.
After a couple of hours Paul’s groundbait line had not kicked off with the bream he expected, mainly owing to the presence of some hard-fighting carp – of which he landed two of four hooked on light tackle.
Quick to look for the next bite, Paul swapped to a top kit, rigged up to fish shallow for roach.
“There are some big redfins in here and it’s possible to catch 10lb on just a top kit,” he said. “It depends on your margins, as these change around the lake, but a float set at about 2ft 6ins is perfect.
“I feed a mix of hemp and casters which is great at getting the fish where you want them – otherwise they move up and down in the peg,” he said.
In no time at all, Paul put a decent net of roach together with the odd perch as a bonus.
MAGIC MEAT
With just a couple hours left in the session, Paul decided to target skimmers on his meat line. He had fed this area earlier in the day with a decent pot of 6mm cubed meat and topped up the swim throughout the session with a catapult.
“When meat fishing for skimmers, a cutter is vital to create baits of an even size which can be fed accurately.
“I like to add a bit of betaine groundbait to my meat to give it extra attraction. It’s great at catching those bigger skimmers,” he said.
This tactic was just what the fish wanted on the day, as Paul connected with a mix of skimmers and carp on just about every put-in.
Paul finished the session with an estimated 30lb bag of silvers and five bonus carp – showing the quality of the fishing on offer at Bitterwell.
“The lake has awesome potential, as its size and shape make it suitable for a variety of methods. We could have bagged up on the pellet waggler today or fished a Method feeder.
“There’s a lot to do to match my vision, but I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Paul concluded.