Hot swims to head for
RECOMMENDED COLEMAN’S COTTAGE FISHERY, WITHAM, ESSEX
With five well-stocked lakes to choose from there are always a few fish to be caught at Coleman’s Cottage – even under the hardest conditions.
Recent matches here have resulted in bags of up to 80lb, with 30lb-plus nets taken across all the lakes.
the 19-peg Copse Lake has two islands and depths ranging from 2ft-4ft. Stocks in this lake include carp to 17lb, tench, F1s, ide, chub, bream, roach and crucians. Bag weights on Copse at present are averaging nearly 20lb.
the in-form lake this winter is Pathfield, with nets consistently over 50lb.
this lake has 36 pegs and a long central island, and is broken up with dot islands. the stock is similar to that in Copse but the carp on average are slightly smaller.
the 40-peg Wood Lake has also been doing plenty of fish with match weights of nearly 40lb. the lake has many small islands which concentrate the fish, and depths dropping to 6ft in places. the stock is similar to that of Copse, but with the notable addition of barbel.
the final match water is Stepfield Lake, which has also been in good form – producing 40lb match bags. the brown goldfish in here can provide a nice change to the regular species. the pegs are also a short chuck from the central island.
the winning tactic on the match waters at Coleman’s Cottage at the moment is to fish pellets or maggots on the pole.
if you relish slightly more of a challenge it’s worth checking out Cottage Lake. this is the oldest-established lake on site. it holds carp over 20lb and
specimen-sized fish of many other species.
LOCATION: Coleman’s Cottage Fishery, Little Braxted Lane, Witham, Essex, CM8 3EX CONTACT: 01376 516383 PRICES: £10 per day (one rod), £14 per day (two), juniors/OAPs £8 per day WEBSITE: www.colemansfisheries.co.uk