Fishery of the Week
Worsbrough Res
THINK ‘Yorkshire reservoir’ and you’ll probably imagine a hard day’s fishing for roach and skimmers.
This may be the case at many of the county’s big waters, but Barnsley’s Worsbrough Reservoir is bucking the trend. For years it was one of the North’s top bream waters where England internationals Tommy Pickering and Alan Scotthorne cut their teeth during the water’s heydays of the 1970s and 1980s.
Visit the 75-peg venue these days, however, and you’ll be greeted with a totally different image. The bream are still there, all be it in smaller quantities, but Worsbrough is now better known for its carp sport, following the stocking of thousands of commons and mirrors in a rejuvenation project by controlling club Barnsley AC.
The club’s plan was to turn the water into a match fishing magnet to rival the likes of the prolific Boddington and Drayton reservoirs in the South – and it’s worked!
Anglers visiting its banks this year have been enjoying plenty of carp-crunching action with nets approaching the magic ton.
“For more than a decade up to 2013 the club regularly stocked Hookbaits – softened pellets and maggots. the venue with small carp. These have thrived and grown on, and the venue is now full of fish in the 3lb-7lb bracket, with lots of carp over 20lb too,” said Shimano and Dynamite Baits-backed Nick Speed, a regular at the reservoir.
“Worsbrough has developed into a fantastic venue in that you get commercial-style weights but the surroundings are more natural. What’s more, the fish Relatively robust lines are needed for carp. are in pristine condition as the venue is not heavily fished like some of the commercials nearby,” added Nick.
There are two banks to fish at Worsbrough – the Sheffield Bank from pegs 1 to 36 and the Barnsley Bank from pegs 37 to 75. The Sheffield Bank has a concrete surround while the Barnsley side has wooden staging. Both offer comfortable
“The fish are pristine as the venue is not heavily fished like some of the commercials nearby”
fishing. Depths vary from around 3ft-5ft at the thin end pegs 1-15 and 48-66, going down to around 11ft at the dam end.
“When it’s warm the fish often shoal up in the shallows but generally in autumn the midlake 14-25 and 37-48 are more of a prespect for catching net of skimmers, bream and carp” said Nick. “I usually fish the Method for the carp and a groundbait feeder for a mixed net, casting 40-60 yards out.”
PRICES: £4 on the bank, Barnsley AC CONTACT: Barnsley Bait Company, 01226 210183 LOCATION: Worsbrough Reservoir, off Park Road, Barnsley, S Yorks, S70 5NL RULES : No keepnets, no meat, Guru X-Safe only for elasticated feeders FACILITIES: Toilets on both banks