Pike Venues in Bristol/Swindon

[joso]

Hello There,

 

Just wondering if anyone can recommend any good pike venue's in the Bristol/Swindon area or just across into south wales that are available on a day ticket. I'm new to the area and was hoping to get out this weekend and start off the piking season. Any tips or information would be great, thanks!

 

[Neil G]

Coate water in Swindon looks good, Council owned reservoir which does day tickets, apparently some good pike there although I haven't fished it myself.

 

Cheddar reservoir south of Bristol can be good too, got be be careful in the summer though as it gets very weeded up.

 

Rivers where it's at though, pop into some local tackle shops and see what the deal is

Edited October 1, 2008 by Neil G

[Steve Walker]

I'd agree that Coate Water sounds worth a try. Also, South Cerney Angling Club's gravel pits in the Cotswold Water Park contain some big pike: see the photographs here. The club has some of the Thames, too, and I should think the stretch they hold near Lechlade contains some decent pike. Other than that, I'd consider the Bristol Avon.

[great_badir]

A word of warning about Coate water - it is considered by a lot of locals as a last resort venue. Very good fish, but lots of "disturbances" such as theft, noise and general anti-social activities. It also used to be frequented by large groups of youths from around Swindon as a meeting up and drinking place, but whether this is still the case I don't know.

 

Cheddar is excellent, but you need either a bait boat or a rod and weight that will cast a LONG way as its walls are relatively shallow for quite a way, so the deep water takes some getting to. If it's windy, make sure you take lots of warm clothing cos it's set up off the ground as a bowl and is surrounded by miles of flat, low land (do a google image search on it and you'll see what I mean). It's also very popular with walkers all year round, so be prepared for onlookers. But there is no trouble here, like there is at Coate water.

 

If you're in that area, the drains on the Somerset levels are worth a go and I believe Bridgwater Angling do a day ticket. This gives you access to several drains, rhynes and rivers, many of them largely ignored (most pikers head for the King Sedgemoor Drain - well known for big fish, but as a result hammered quite hard). Not many big fish outside of the KSD, but lots from jacks up to mid to upper doubles, and if they're on the feed you will almost certainly get a fish every hundred feet or so if you adopt a roving approach. You might even bag a 20 if you're lucky.

 

Bristol Avon as previously mentioned, all stretches containing pike.

 

Another good option is Chew Valley lake, IF there are any spaces left. Best option is to get out on a boat there to the deeper water. Chew is by no means easy fishing, but it probably represents your best chance of landing a BIG 'un - 25lb plus are taken relatively frequently, particularly from boats.

 

Chard reservoir is reputed to hold a head of good pike, but I've never fished there and pike are not advertised as one of the main species, so there may not be many in there.

 

I'd say if you want a good chance of a big fish, go for Chew. If you want lots of fish and a choice of venues, go for the Somerset levels.

[Neil G]

A word of warning about Coate water - it is considered by a lot of locals as a last resort venue. Very good fish, but lots of "disturbances" such as theft, noise and general anti-social activities. It also used to be frequented by large groups of youths from around Swindon as a meeting up and drinking place, but whether this is still the case I don't know.

 

Cheddar is excellent, but you need either a bait boat or a rod and weight that will cast a LONG way as its walls are relatively shallow for quite a way, so the deep water takes some getting to. If it's windy, make sure you take lots of warm clothing cos it's set up off the ground as a bowl and is surrounded by miles of flat, low land (do a google image search on it and you'll see what I mean). It's also very popular with walkers all year round, so be prepared for onlookers. But there is no trouble here, like there is at Coate water.

 

If you're in that area, the drains on the Somerset levels are worth a go and I believe Bridgwater Angling do a day ticket. This gives you access to several drains, rhynes and rivers, many of them largely ignored (most pikers head for the King Sedgemoor Drain - well known for big fish, but as a result hammered quite hard). Not many big fish outside of the KSD, but lots from jacks up to mid to upper doubles, and if they're on the feed you will almost certainly get a fish every hundred feet or so if you adopt a roving approach. You might even bag a 20 if you're lucky.

 

Bristol Avon as previously mentioned, all stretches containing pike.

 

Another good option is Chew Valley lake, IF there are any spaces left. Best option is to get out on a boat there to the deeper water. Chew is by no means easy fishing, but it probably represents your best chance of landing a BIG 'un - 25lb plus are taken relatively frequently, particularly from boats.

 

Chard reservoir is reputed to hold a head of good pike, but I've never fished there and pike are not advertised as one of the main species, so there may not be many in there.

 

I'd say if you want a good chance of a big fish, go for Chew. If you want lots of fish and a choice of venues, go for the Somerset levels.

 

Good advice

 

For Cheddar drifter float setup or 3/3.5tc rods with 3oz of lead & small baits can get the baits out to good areas...don't think there are a lot of big fish in there but sport can be good (multiple catches of mid doubles). Very exposed though and heven a stiff breeze can whip up quite a chop on the water and there is b**ger all cover either!

 

Agree on Chew, definately your best bet if you want a crack at something big but not easy, also have to compete with everyone and their dog trying to get a 'trophy fish'. boats are nigh on impossible to get unless you apply years in advance or someone drops out but there should be some bank spaces still left as teh last session isn't until the 25th of November.

 

Looking forward to Chew myself but am going to sack off the static tactics and don waders and lure rod and roam about...jacks aplenty but at least it saves getting bored as f**k

Edited October 1, 2008 by Neil G

[Steve Walker]

Is Coate really that bad? I've only ever walked round it, not fished, but it seemed OK. Maybe not so good in the evening, I suppose? Swindon can be a bit dodgy in parts. I've found a little pond which I'll join next season, on the edge of Swindon (I'm in Purton), and it does seem to attract teenagers with alcopops and cider on a Friday evening.

[great_badir]

Is Coate really that bad? I've only ever walked round it, not fished, but it seemed OK. Maybe not so good in the evening, I suppose? Swindon can be a bit dodgy in parts. I've found a little pond which I'll join next season, on the edge of Swindon (I'm in Purton), and it does seem to attract teenagers with alcopops and cider on a Friday evening.

 

When I was last fishing 8/9 years ago, Coate was dreadful - the minute school was out during the week or when it got dark on a Friday and weekend, loads of kids and teens would just roam the area. Even though we caught decent fish, we stopped going after a while - break-ins to cars and tackle theft were almost a daily occurrance and I even heard of a couple of muggings. There was also a MASSIVE litter problem back then, but I understand this is controlled much better now. I don't think things are quite as bad now as they were then, but an acquaintance who still fishes it has confirmed that there are still lots of problems. Problem is it's quite unique in that it's such a big area that's relatively close to some dodgy parts of a major city.

[Neil G]

Shame that, I go fishing to get away from scrotes so I think I'll give coate a miss big fish or not!

 

Funny really as almost every lake I know (bar Chew) even in the middle of nowhere seem to be frequented by p**sed up kiddies/anglers and the evidence is always there in the form of beer cans, rubbish and empty lure/spinner packets

 

TBH I think rivers would be a good place to start as once you find a good stretch of water some good sport can be had, especially on lures. Bath free stretch seems to be relatively quiet these days

[joso]

Great Advice, Thanks

 

Looks like we will be heading to Cheddar so i'll let you know how i get on. Luckily enough i'll be equipped with a bait boat so should be able to find the fish, having google imaged it I see what you mean about it being raised up somewhat with no shelter. Forecast isn't great either, nevermind, all adds to the fun!

 

Anyone know what kinda depth it is? Was planning on using a drifter float on one rod so hopefully that will produce some results.

 

Thanks

[great_badir]

Anyone know what kinda depth it is? Was planning on using a drifter float on one rod so hopefully that will produce some results.

 

Thanks

 

Not sure of the depth, I'm afraid. All I can say is - deep. Whether it goes as deep as the lowest land around it, or it's shallower, or deeper still, I don't know, but what I can tell you is that being a man-made concrete bowl, its depth is uniform all the way round and winter-time underwater features are few and far between. It is very much a case of blind fishing when it comes to the pike in Cheddar. A lot of people tend to aim for the water towers (I believe fishing directly by and to them is banned due to diving operations) - that's where all the perch and roach tend to shoal and as a result those spots nearest are almost always taken - but I'm not convinced any more or better pike come from by there than anywhere else around the reservoir. If you look on the Cheddar Angling Club (who control the fishing at the water) gallery, you'll see that there are just as many pike taken away from the towers as by them.

 

If the weather is nice and settled, the water relatively calm and the air temperature mild, then don't be afraid to wander round and give lures a quick try - there should still be a fair amount of margin weed hanging round and there will almost certainly be pike in there. They probably won't be very big, but they give you some sport whilst waiting for an old warrior to take your deads. Have a go in obvious gaps in the weed, or in the weed itself if you have snagless lures.

 

On the subject of weed, be careful of underwater weed - it sticks round for an inordinate amount of time in Cheddar. I once remember striking into what I thought was a decent fish December/January time in the mid 90s, until the hook came into view and I saw it was wrapped with huge fronds of weed that still looked to be in Autumn die-back mode. Pop-ups get round this and have proven to be a good technique in all weathers.

 

Bear in mind that, if the water level is low (unlikely this year, but as we've had a few weeks of pretty dry weather it might have dropped a bit) you will almost certainly be fishing a metre or two down from the top of the wall and it's very difficult to find decent staking areas, so use a rod pod if you can and find some other way of securing an umbrella if you're taking one.

 

This is probably obvious, but it's nevertheless VERY important at Cheddar - if you're drifting, make sure you have your back to the wind and chop, otherwise you'll really struggle getting the bait out. Also make sure you either use sinking line, or submerge the rod tips, otherwise the ducks, seagulls and herons WILL swim over the line and get caught up in it.

 

Keep your eyes open for boats if long drifting. Technically both sailors and fishermen have their designated areas to stick to, but naturally the two sometimes come together in less than pleasant ways - I have heard (but not personally witnessed) of people coming to blows over broken/lost tackle, rods being pulled in and rudders being damaged. But that's a rarity and the likelihood is that you won't get your baits out that far - your line will run out before they do. It's just common sense keeping your whits about you even more than you would normally, is all.

 

One last thing - be prepared for a long wait and possibly a complete blank, even if conditions seem perfect. Some would have you think that Cheddar is relatively easy fishing for a reservoir, given that it's not really hammered for pike thanks to its exposed location, but in my experience it's proved just as challenging as Chew.

 

Best of luck.