BILLY’S LAKE, NORTON DISNEY
One day all top carp fisheries will be like this. Meanwhile this Lincolnshire complex, the vision of Korda’s Danny Fairbrass, is at the cutting edge of excellence
WE SAY
THE Norton Disney day-ticket complex might just be the blueprint for the modern openaccess venue. All transactions on site are cashless and the arrival system involves an automated payment gate that recognises and stores your numberplate.
Billy’s Lake, the largest on site, is stocked full of young carp that are set to grow and grow. After extensive landscaping work in 2019 to create 22 swims and a roadway around the whole water, the lake itself is also maturing with each passing season. There are 1,100 carp to 30lb, and growing, in Billy’s, so multiple hits are possible.
On site are immaculate showers and toilets, a tackle and bait shop, mobile tackle van that visits your swims and a truly helpful team of bailiffs.
DANNY FAIRBRASS SAYS…
“Billy’s is 27 acres with only 22 swims. Early on most of the fish have been getting caught at between 40 yards and 70 yards, where bait has been going in.
“With so many fish in 27 acres you know you could end up with 200 to 300 fish in your swim if you’re on them.
“They do seem to be very affected by the weather, moving around on the wind. When James Salmons and Loz East came down to film a Thinking Tackle episode they had over 100 bites in four days, and they didn’t fish the nights.
“They had one day when they only fed boilies and that was the slowest day, so tactics-wise if you’re not feeding the pellet that we fed them all summer before opening you’re at a disadvantage.
“You don’t have to use our pellet, but in the warmer months high-oil pellet is the way to go because they’ve seen 40kg or 50kg of it every single day for the six months before we opened.
“Over the top I’d be fishing a little PVA bag or, if the bottom is really clean, you can get away with a small bottom bait or wafter.
“However, a lot of people have been fishing pop-ups because there’s a bit of weed out there. I’ve been using the Mainline IBs with Isotonic Goo.”
ALI HAMIDI SAYS…
“There’s a bit of a myth that virgin carp are easy to catch. Actually, they’re quite nomadic. They have patterns that they were used to when the lake was shut, and I actually think lakes that are fished more regularly are easier to catch carp from because they’re used to the sound of the spod and they’re used to people casting out. But that will develop here.
“For me it’s about getting your beds of bait in and then letting the carp follow their nomadic pattern and come into the area, and then you’re going to get bites.
“Choose a rig with a sharp hook, that doesn’t tangle and will reset itself. Carp feeding on pellets will disrupt the area, so a rig like the Ronnie, a Chod or a solid PVA bag is ideal.”