Spotlight on Bob Nudd’s favourite fisheries for a Bank Holiday bag-up!
Follow in the footsteps of a four-time world champ over this Bank Holiday weekend
DECOY LAKES, WHITTLESEY, CAMBS
Decoy is Bob’s favourite commercial fishery and he has fished there for more than 30 years. It’s so good he often takes guests there, as he knows they’re guaranteed a bumper net of fish on any of the 11 lakes. His favourites are Elm, Yew and Beastie – all hold monster carp, F1s and barbel.
The latter is Bob’s favourite as you can catch on the pellet waggler in open water, the Method feeder up to the island and on the pole close in. Fish the margins with maggot and caster over micros to take big roach, bream, ide, barbel to 7lb, as well as carp and F1s. Prices: £7 a day adults, £4 children Contact: 01733 202230 or visit www.decoylakes.co.uk Postcode: PE7 2AD
WESTWOOD LAKES, BOSTON, LINCS
Another superb commercial suited to match and pleasure anglers alike. Bob’s favourite lake is Kestrel, with its big ide and barbel. In open water, fish 2ft deep with maggot for a 50lb net of ide and big barbel to 10lb. Feed plenty of maggots to keep fish up in the water. Prices: £7 a day adults, Contact: 01205 724162 or visit www.westwoodlakes.co.uk Postcode: PE21 7JA
FERRY MEADOWS, PETERBOROUGH, CAMBS
For big nets of bream and skimmers you’ll struggle to find a finer place in the UK. Virtually every peg can produce 40lb of bream on the groundbait feeder at range, although Bob also likes to fish scaled-down tactics on the pole closer in.
Head to the High Bank on Gunwade Lake and fish the 10m pole to find 8ft of water. Fish a 1g float with maggot on the deck over groundbait for bream to 8lb, hybrids, skimmers and roach . Prices: £5 a day on the bank, £28 a year membership, Peterborough & District AA Contact: 01733 380768 or visit www.fishinginpeterborough.co.uk Postcode: PE2 5UU
FIELDS END FISHERY, MARCH, CAMBS
This fantastic fishery has two waters known at The Pit and The Pool. Both can provide big mixed nets as well as specimens. Bob’s favourite is The Pool, with the potential to produce huge bags of chub, carp and big ide on the pellet waggler.
Feed lots of 4mm offerings via a catapult and use a banded 6mm pellet on the hair. Pick a peg with the wind behind you to ensure efficient casting – 100lb can easily be amassed this way. On The Pit, Bob recommends using a controller float or pellet waggler with bigger baits to catch some stunning leather carp well into double figures. Prices: £6.50 a day adults, £5.25 concessions, £3 under 16s Contact: 01354 740199 or visit www.fieldsendfishing.co.uk Postcode: PE15 0TY
COLEMAN’S COTTAGE FISHERY, WITHAM, ESSEX
One of Bob’s go-to venues for big hauls of carp, where 200lb bags are realistic at this time of year. Head to Copse, Pathfield or Wood Lake and fish the bomb and banded pellet up to features to catch carp to 17lb.
Alternate between 6mm, 8mm and 10mm hookbaits to see what the fish want on the day. You can also fish short (up to 15m) if you’re after some exciting action on the bomb. Feed plenty of 8mm pellets, chuck the bomb over the top and wait for the tip to spring round. Make sure you have your clutch set! Prices: £9 a day adults for one rod, £12 for two, £7 a day concessions (midweek only) Contact: 01376 516383 or visit www.colemansfisheries.co.uk Postcode: CM8 3EX
BARFORD LAKES, NORWICH, NORFOLK
The Pleasure Lake is Bob’s favourite water here, where you can catch 25lb nets of quality skimmers and roach to over 1lb on the pole line.
The water is around 10ft deep at 11m and is the perfect area to target the skimmers. Feed lots of 2mm pellets and fish 4mm expander pellets over the top to catch. On every put-in make sure you drip loose 2mm pellets into your swim via a pole pot. Prices: £8 a day adults, £6 juniors Contact: 01603 759624 or visit www.barfordlakes.com Postcode: NR9 4BJ
HAYFIELD LAKES, DONCASTER, S YORKS
Head to Adam’s Lake if you’re after an 80lb-plus bag of carp to 12lb on the pellet waggler. Choose a swim with the wind behind you and loosefeed 8mm pellets over your target area to draw in the fish.
Bob fishes pellet at 8ft deep to start with, then come up in the water as the day goes on. Adam’s is also a superb bream venue, and 30lb bags can easily be caught by fishing dead red maggots over 4mm hard pellets at 11m. Prices: £6 a day adults, £5 concessions Contact: 01302 864555 Postcode: DN9 3NP
TUNNEL BARN FARM, SHREWLEY, WARKS
Tunnel Barn is a fantastic F1 venue, where pretty much every lake offers the visiting angler the chance of catching 100lb-plus bags.
The New Pool is a favourite of Bob’s. He fishes dead red maggots and 4mm expander pellets on the pole up to features and into open water for excellent results. Feed 2mm pellets via the catapult on each put-in and watch the float go under all day long. Typically you can expect to catch 40lb-50lb bag but when you hit it right, 100lb is easily possible. Prices: £10 a day adults, £8 concessions, £6 half-day ticket Contact: 01926 842188 or visit www.tunnelbarnfarm.co.uk Postcode: CV35 7AN
BAG ‘EM LARFORD LAKES, STOURPORT-UPON-SEVERN, WORCS
The prolific Larford Lakes complex has gained a huge reputation over the years as a big-fish match venue – it has the potential to provide truly massive weights over its three waters.
The Specimen Lake is Bob’s favourite, where you’ll find a good head of quality carp to over 20lb, big bream to double figures as well as bonus nets of skimmers and mixed silverfish.
Fish around 30ft out with a Method feeder loaded with dampened micro pellets and groundbait with a banded carp pellet on the hook and watch the tip go round all day long. Prices: £8 a day adults, £6 concessions and juniors Contact: 01299 829373 or visit larfordlakes.co.uk Postcode: DY13 0SQ
LINDHOLME LAKES COUNTRY PARK, DONCASTER, S YORKS
Lindholme is one of Bob’s favourite match venues and a go-to venue where shallow fishing for F1 carp is concerned.
The clean banks, well-equipped facilities and short walks to pegs are also a huge bonus – and when 150lb bags are on the cards you pretty much have the perfect commercial. Any lake is worth fishing for carp and F1s but Bonsai is Bob’s favourite, where you can fish the pole, feeder and waggler and expect to catch a decent weight. Prices: £6.50 a day adults, £5.50 concessions Contact: 01427 875555 or visit www.lindholmelakes.co.uk Postcode: DN9 1LF