Wonderful west country retreat
In the beautiful hills of north Devon lie the six lakes that make up Simpson Valley Fishery. two of these waters are filled with quality trout, but the rest offer some spectacular coarse fishing for a variety of species.
Specimen hunters will really enjoy targeting the mature waters of Upper Fuzzy, Lower Fuzzy and Mallard. Between these three lakes it is possible to land a fish of a lifetime, with pike to 30lb-plus, carp to 30lb-plus, bream to 10lb-plus and perch to over 4lb.
We spoke to fishery manager Andrew Moores who, as a life-long angler and fishery scientist, knows exactly how to target these monster fish.
he said: “We are coming into the perfect time of year to catch the pike in Upper Fuzzy and Mallard. Both hold 20lb-plus specimens with several fish over the 30lb mark in Mallard at the right time of year. Floatfishing is a great tactic for them, either with sea deadbaits or livebaits caught from the water you are fishing.
“Mallard and Upper Fuzzy are also home to some stunning carp which are feeding well in this milder spell of weather. We have no bait bans so you really can experiment and fish baits to suit the conditions.
“In the summer pellets and boilies are a real winner. As we move into the colder months maggots can fish really well. My main tip, though, would be to use small 10mm-14mm baits. there’s always the chance of a whacker from either of these lakes, with five 30lb-plus carp in Mallard and two in Upper Fuzzy.
“Lower Fuzzy is the place to head for in search of a big perch. We have had fish to 4lb 12oz caught out of here. It’s a great all-round coarse lake as it holds no carp – allowing other species to thrive. For the perch, the best baits are lobworms, prawns or
livebaits (maximum 4ins).”
The site also has a fantastic match/pleasure lake known as Martins Lake. This lovely lake is the ideal place to practise match tactics for its stock of carp, bream, tench, roach, rudd, gudgeon and perch. LOCATION: Simpson Barton, Holsworthy, Devon, EX22 6JW CONTACT: 07881 764655 PRICES: Vary depending on lake (see website) RULES: Minimum line strength of 12lb on Mallard and Upper Fuzzy, barbless hooks only, all anglers must have a large unhooking mat, all plugs and lures must have single barbless hooks only
WEB: simpsonvalleyfishery.co.uk