Willow Pools (Penkridge) report

[DavyR]

I rang the baliff on Saturday, prior to yesterday's first-time trip to this venue. Good job I did - the IYCF venues book stated that bans on barbed hooks, keepnets, bloodworm and joker were in force (fair enough). The full list of additional rules is as follows:

 

No boilies

No pellets of any description

No surface fishing

No bread

No liquidised baits

No groundbait

No lead or feeder fishing

No hooks bigger than a size 14

No braid

One rod only

Fish only from the platforms

No bank walking

Every angler must have his own landing net

 

Surprising that nuts weren't banned and that unhooking mats weren't obligatory, but I suppose you can have too many rules...

 

I was told that the fishery gates opened "between 7.30 and 8.00 a.m.", so, undaunted, agreed to meet my mate Bob (who's only been fishing a year, and desperate to beat his carp p.b. of 3lb)at 8.00

 

I arrived at the fishery (without getting lost, despite the two pub names mentioned on the directions being subtly different) at 7.30 - gates locked. Never mind,it was a lovely morning, and there were great spotted woodpeckers to watch while I waited.

 

Just before 8.00, Bob turned up - gates still locked. We were just wondering what to do, when (luckily for us)a season ticket holder turned up and let us in. Apparently the baliff was sick (which explained why he had sounded like Barbara from League of Gentlemen on the phone. He probably had what KenL's been suffering from).

 

Roy (for such was his name) told us that once we'd fished here a couple of times, we'd never want to go anywhere else. It was stuffed with carp to 20lb+, and we had better use strong tackle (just as bluezulu had suggested in response to my query last week - thanks NorfolkDan for your good luck wishes, btw). He was using 8lb b.s. all the way through. Any swim would do - he rotated round each peg and had caught from all of them.

 

There was a westerly breeze blowing, so we elected to fish a couple of swims at the car park end (nothing to do with being too lazy to walk any further). The wooden platforms were a bit cramped (especially for a big bloke like Bob) and some had gaps behind, where the bank had eroded.

 

Spring Pool (Brook Pool was further round) is shaped like a bent sausage, with two main features: a small island, and what looked like a petrified forest at the car park end - two ragged lines of willow poles in the middle of the pool. Plenty of bankside vegetation, a few marginal reeds, but no lily pads, which I found a bit disappointing. Oh, and it's also next to a kennels, which was a bit distracting with all the barking interspersed with mournful howls (I suppose it added to the atmosphere).

 

Roy, on the opposite bank, was soon hurling large pieces of garlic sausage towards the "forest", and playing (and also losing) carp at regular intervals.

 

Bob and I both elected to fish in the margins, and I soon had the first fish of the day - a 4" perch. I was using cubes of Spam dusted with VDE Green Marine groundbait (hoping that didn't contravene the groundbait ban)and feeding riddled Spam rubbed with the same stuff.

 

It wasn't long before the float buried and my trusty Woolworth's 1lb t.c. rod was bent double by a hard-fighting 5lb mirror.

 

Bob still hadn't had a bite. He can't quite get his head round the need to feed the fish (waste of bait, innit?) so was persevering with a chunk of pineapple-flavoured meat sitting in isolation on the bottom. Eventually, though, despite the lack of feed going in, I heard the check on his centre pin screaming as a fish bolted for the willow poles in the middle. This was followed by Bob himself screaming for the landing net (forgetting that he had his own, according to the rules), and I was soon delighted to put the net under his new p.b., a 4lb 2oz common.

 

Unfortunately, that was his only fish, but it's impossible to be disappointed when a p.b.'s involved. He was briefly connected with something big before the hook pulled out (the same happened to me later in the day). I had a couple of commons (4lb and 6lb) and a 2lb tench that fought like a demon and looked bigger than it weighed. An experimental change to worm started producing lots of small perch, so back to meat it was.

 

Other anglers arrived during the day, and they all seemed to be catching. The lack of holding features in the pool (other than the willow poles, which were real fish and tackle losers)seemed to result in the fish being hard to pin down. Instead, they appeared to be doing circuits of the pool - every angler seemed to catch one or two, then they'd move along to the next peg. All except Roy, who must have had about 10 fish to low doubles by targeting the willow poles. But then he must have lost an equivalent number.

 

An excellent pub meal at the Swan ended a good day - a p.b. for Bob,and some action for both of us. Just a shame there are quite so many rules. And about the cricket result.

 

I was a bit suspicious of Roy, though. How did he mount such a big chunk of meat on a size 14? The only way I could think it possible would be by hair rigging it, but has anyone successfully tied a knotless knot on a size 14 with 8lb mono? Can anyone recommend a brand with big eyes?

 

Anyway, we *will* be going back - Roy assures us that the action continues all year round (which it certainly doesn't at my "home" water...

[Alan Stubbs]

Nice report.

 

As for tying hair rigs with 8lb on a 14 hook.... I use either Drennan Super Specialist or Mustad Long Point. I was able to tie a hair rig using 10lb Soft Steel at the Lodge Pool fish-in. In both cases there are variations in the size of the eyes. However, easy it was not, and with the problems I have with my right hand, it made things worse. Fortunately a friend passed the swivel end through the eye for the return journey, as they weren't charmed by my skills in base anglo-saxon.

[DavyR]

Thanks for the hook/line recommendations, Alan - I'll give them a try before my next visit. Oh, there was another rule I forgot to mention - no cat or dog food baits. *And* they stamp your hand to show you've paid - made me feel like a (disco-going) teenager again!

[jeepster]

you sure it's worth going to? i would never go somewhere which had such stupid rules, but omitted some important ones, shows the owners are probably idiots!

[argyll]

With so many banned 'substances' I'd have problems deciding what to take for lunch.

 

'Sorry mate you cant bring that cheese sandwich in 'ere'

 

[ 16. August 2005, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: argyll ]

[jeepster]

'wholemeal bread? didn't you read the sign?'

 

[ 16. August 2005, 11:33 AM: Message edited by: jeepster ]

[seph]

Places like that will never ever see me there. I agree that some bans are needed on certain waters and in certain cases, but that list is a little over the top. I used to fish a similar water some years ago and although they had bans they were not extreme until the water changed hands and I returned to see a whole new list of bans that were introduced overnight, upon seeing this new list I turned around got in my car and drove off. Needlees to say I have never been back and never will.

[DavyR]

They dish you out with a bit of paper with all the rules on, and the legend at the bottom:

 

"If you don't like the rules, don't fish the pools"

 

The regulars seem to be fiercely protective and supportive of the rules - after I'd landed Bob's fish for him, another angler driving down the track behind the pool called out to me to make sure that my "abandoned" rod on the next peg didn't have a bait in the water!

 

Roy had a go at a lad on the next peg down from me as he'd spotted that a) he had two rods made up (with intent) and one of them was rigged up with a bomb...

 

I probably wouldn't bother going back, but once Bob's got a result, he always wants to keep hammering away at the same spot. I 'll have to see if I can get him a better pb elsewhere.

[jeepster]

won't be hard to beat that PB, i'm sure there are any numbers of waters near you that would fit the bill

[Norfolkdan]

Nice report Davy, well done on catching a few