Improve Your Coarse Fishing (UK)
Where silverfish take centre stage
Will Reynolds visits a prolific day- ticket complex where huge stocks of roach, bream, perch and chub are the biggest draw for countless visitors
NO MATTER where you live, there is bound to be a commercial fishery that has diversified its stocking policy in recent years. Gone are the days when carp and F1s are the only species to be caught, with silverfish also present in the vast majority of venues to keep the float going under.
Despite this welcome change, carp and F1s still remain the main focus for many. Catches of them are widely paraded on social media and fishery websites, with owners convinced such promotion is the way forward to attract new customers.
Silverfish, on the other hand, tend to be something of an afterthought and are only spotlighted in the depths of winter when nothing else will feed.
Things are a little different at Cambridgeshire’s Lawn Farm Fishery, however. The owners here actively promote the huge carp- free hauls on offer.
Four day- ticket lakes offer over almost 120 swims between them and the silverfish stocks in each are well worth shouting about.
Crab Tree and Cherry Tree are located in front of the tackle shop and the roach fishing is simply stunning. Nets to more than 40lb are possible, with quality chub and perch also thrown into the mix.
Head over to the onsite snake lake – Honeysuckle – and it is the bream that will pull your elastic out, with thousands of fish to 4lb present.
Last but certainly not least is Willow. This is a real mixed gem on the silverfish front and one drop could produce a chunky redfin before a big chub shows up on the next.
It was to this lake that IYCF sent Will Reynolds in order to find out more.
The Guru- backed star had never set foot on the complex before and he was aiming to show what would be possible should you follow in his footsteps and enjoy a debut at Lawn Farm.
Deep water delight
Willow Lake has 38 pegs, with a range of different options available to anglers.
The lake is effectively split into two, with the majority of the pegs in the main section where two islands can be reached with a feeder. The rest are in the smaller bay where the margins and open water are the best places to plunder. With silverfish firmly on Will’s mind, he settled down in the main area of the lake on peg 34 with plenty of open water to go at.
“My first impression of the place is great. All of the pegs are well- kept, it is only a short walk from the car and I’ve seen a few fish topping already despite it being freezing cold,” said Will enthusiastically.
“I’ve gone for this peg because you can guarantee that an open water zone like this will be home to lots of silvers so it should be good for some bites.”
Plumbing up at 13m, Will found 9ft of water and planned to attack two swims with the same rig.
A couple of small nuggets of groundbait laced with freebies would go to the left, with maggot and caster being loosefed sparingly to the right.
“There is plenty of depth to go at and that’ll no doubt help settle the fish when it is cold.
“The water level also looks like it is down slightly and I can see the bottom close to the islands because of the water clarity.
“That means the fish won’t be tucked up against the island and will be out in open water.”
Given the runaround
When Will began setting up there was a chilly breeze cutting across him and light drizzle pattering down. By the time he was ready to start, conditions had taken a turn for the worse, with the wind now hacking directly into his face and sleet showers frequently breaking out.
“You really can’t guess what you are going to bank next here which keeps it really exciting.”
“There’s no doubt the water is going to be freezing cold so I’m going to take it lightly on the feeding front,” he said.
“Two small balls of Mainline Match Sweet Marine groundbait will go to the left and a small cup of maggots and casters to the right. It is better safe than sorry. You can always add more but never take it out.”
A 1g pole float was lowered in and this reasonably heavy set- up enabled him to anchor the rig in place despite the squally winds. A single maggot was the opening hookbait and, against all odds, the tip dipped on the first drop in and upon striking the tiniest length of elastic appeared.
A miniature perch was the culprit and several others came in quick succession. It was clear there were lots of these nuisance fish and they were hungry so it was time for a change to avoid their attention.
“I need a bigger and more durable hookbait otherwise the better fish are never going to have a chance to take it before these greedy little perch.
“I’m going to try half a dendrobaena worm and hope that does the trick.”
The move instantly paid dividends – the float didn’t dip straight away which was a good sign!
Lifting and dropping the rig occasionally brought about the first proper bite on worm about 10 minutes later and this time a small perch certainly wasn’t attached to the other end.