Thomas Turner
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A NEW ERA
After leaving Hardy and Greys in the chilly northeast, I quickly discovered lots of great fishing when I moved to the East Midlands. The rivers Trent and Witham were close by, also a couple of canals, along with many drains and lakes to explore. But after just a few weeks in Lincolnshire, I stumbled on a real gem close to my new home. It’s a big holiday complex set in sprawling woodland, boasting several mature lakes. Woodland Waters at Ancaster is a bustling place, so I waited for winter to set in before giving it a proper look. I was first attracted to the main Specimen Lake, which is big, deep and interesting, with loads of swims to explore. This is the type of water where a host of different methods can be used. I kicked off with a groundbait feeder, in a good 14 feet of depth.
A GREAT SURPRISE
I love my roach fishing and still have fond memories of Gloucester Park Lake in Basildon, where big catches of quality red fins were normal during the winter matches when I lived nearby. After that I moved up north, quickly discovering similar great roach sport on Whittle Dene Reservoirs at Hexham. It didn’t take long for me to find out I wasn’t going to miss out on catching big roach in the Grantham area too, and if anything, they were even bigger! It still intrigues me how beautiful fish like this turn up in winter on busy day ticket venues, after doing a disappearing act for most of the year. These fish responded to groundbait feeder tactics, also blockends loaded with maggots with a helicopter set up. The pole worked too but was slower going, tending to work later in the day.
ALL ALONE
My first winter campaign at Woodies, as locals fondly call the place, unearthed some fantastic big roach fishing. I caught plenty of fish over the one-pound mark, several around 1.5lbs and a couple pushing close to the magical two-pound barrier. They were all from the Specimen Lake, but once spring arrived, I had plenty more water to explore. There’s a busy bar and restaurant at Woodland Waters, along with a big caravan site and lots of lodges, so some parts of the complex get very hectic when the weather’s nice. However, I took this snap on a bank holiday weekend when the place was rammed with holiday makers and day trippers. This is Birch Lake, set behind the Match Lake, where I found this wise angler enjoying almost complete solitude, well away from all the hustle and bustle.
ANOTHER WORLD
Birch Lake is compact, shallow and rammed with carp, but I later discovered it has another side when winter came calling again. The cold slows the carp down, allowing a chance to discover what else is lurking beneath the surface. Scaling down to delicate pole tackle, I soon discovered the place was heaving with silver fish like roach, rudd, skimmers, perch and hybrids. Even odd proper bronzed bream turned up, along with stray carp of course. I mainly managed to avoid the latter by using casters and small bits of worm, feeding lightly but regularly. With woods behind, this has become a favourite spot, similar to canal fishing in a way when the water goes clear after overnight frosts.
STAYING BUSY
When it’s bitterly cold it can be tough going on many venues, so Birch Lake provides a welcome tonic, where I can enjoy bites all day long. These silvers tend to fade into the background when method feeders and pellet wagglers are whizzing about during the warmer months. The same applies to the Carp Pool, over by Lake View Tackle Shop. That small water is another banker for busy winter sessions, particularly with the pole or waggler, also bringing back canal-like memories with its teeming shoals of gudgeon. I try to visit spots like this midweek, where often I have most of the smaller lakes to myself, enjoying similar tactics to those I used way back in my early match fishing days on the River Lea Navigation and the Grand Union.
ANOTHER TOP FIND
Although it’s called the Match Lake, you don’t see many competitions on this much bigger water, maybe just the occasional club sweep stake. This used to be well known as a tench venue, but once carp were stocked, the former were pushed into the background. I have caught a few tench from here, but generally there are too many other species for them to get a look in. The Match Lake has become one of the best local bream hotspots over recent years, whether looking for big weights of proper slabs, or busy sessions with the numerous smaller skimmers. There’s big roach as well, with my biggest from the complex coming from here, at just over the two-pound mark. I love fishing this big, deep lake, because many types of methods work. It’s a great place to test out new gear.
TT CLASSICS
This is where I field tested some of the new, upcoming, Thomas Turner Classic rods, seen here using the new 12ft Quivertip, attached to a lively carp. You can bend rods with machines in factories to try and make sure they are strong, but nothing beats the unpredictable nature of a big fish trying to trash a blank. Not that I can see that happening with this new breed of state-of-the-art nano carbons, which are lighter and stronger, an absolute delight to use. After being involved with Hardy Marksmans, I went down the green route again with TT Classics. They can be used anywhere but a touch of the traditional is nice. If Hardy hadn’t dropped coarse fishing, I would probably have stayed and these rods would have resulted anyway, as a natural progression into a future phase of Marksmans.
OLD SCHOOL/NEW WAYS
Whether you like trendy match colours or a more traditional look, good tackle will always catch plenty of fish. But you still need a prolific venue to do that, which is why I’m a regular at Woodies. Apart from testing out new gear like these wonderful rods, there’s nothing wrong with combining them with modern methods. After a serious workout with the carp, a banded pellet on a straight bomb rig started finding superb bronze bream. The same TT 12ft quivertip rod has seen action on the River Wye, lobbing out a weighty feeder in the fast current, catching some cracking big chub. It’s so far been used with groundbait, pellet, blockend and method feeders. Being supplied with 3/4oz, 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz solid carbon quivertips, there’s an indicator to match all requirements.
WINTER AGAIN
Several years have passed while exploring Lincolnshire. I’ve discovered many fabulous places, such as enjoying catching big chub on tiny stick floats on the Upper River Witham, in swims I could nearly jump across. The more demanding tidal Trent requires manlier floats, but old favourites still work their magic, despite modern trends towards pods, specialist barbel rods and bulky swimfeeders. The Fossdyke Canal has been another wonderful find, allowing me to revisit favourite methods like far bank waggler and bomb fishing, alongside lots of whip and long pole action. But due to more recent events like the pandemic and souring cost of fuel, I have stayed local a lot more, although that hasn’t been a problem with so many swims to explore virtually on my doorstep. Another winter arrived, bringing with it a foggy, frosty day and less people around. I went back on the Specimen Lake…
FAB FISH
A species that really stands out at Woodland Waters is its big hybrids, which are plentiful in both the Specimen and Match Lakes. They are not easy fish to catch, being ultra-cautious thanks to their high count of roach genes, as seen here with this corker with only a hint of bream. I’ve experienced a few heart in mouth moments with these street fighters, which scrap like mad and require perfect bait presentation to fool. I catch many big hybrids by fishing shallow, even in winter, dinking baits like maggots or casters with a catapult, using the long pole or waggler. Big roach turn up that way too, a trick I first learnt at Gloucester Park Lake, where quality red fins had learnt it was safer to feed off bottom, well away from where most anglers present their baits. My best hybrid came close to 5lb.
QUALITY COUNTS
Big or small, I enjoy catching fish of all species and my new favourite venue rarely disappoints. I love experimenting with feeding techniques and trying different baits. Revisiting old favourites like punched bread and hemp has been interesting, digging out my old brass headed punches, the famous biro tube ones I got from East Anglian Rod Company many years ago. Remembering how to prepare hemp and tares properly and how to present such baits with delicate pole rigs. Top venues like this bring dreams back to life and provide quality time that will never be forgotten. I’m talking about lakes full of character, which pull anglers like a magnet into wanting to return time after time.
LAST KNOCKINGS
Wherever your favourite venue is, I hope it gives you the same amount of enjoyment my new one does, through all seasons and by eking every last cast out of it. Many of my favourite older haunts are best left to memories I fear, with waterside apartments, cycle rat-runs and boats moored nose to tail deemed to be far more important than angling. There comes a time when it’s best to move on and I’m more than happy with what I’ve found here. Safer, closer to home and better, are words that come to mind. I will never forget previous favourite fisheries, but I don’t miss worrying about having my car broken into, having to watch all my gear like a hawk and putting up with rowdies. London lakes, rivers and canals was where it all began for me, but that’s another world away now.
The post Favourite fishing places appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...
After leaving Hardy and Greys in the chilly northeast, I quickly discovered lots of great fishing when I moved to the East Midlands. The rivers Trent and Witham were close by, also a couple of canals, along with many drains and lakes to explore. But after just a few weeks in Lincolnshire, I stumbled on a real gem close to my new home. It’s a big holiday complex set in sprawling woodland, boasting several mature lakes. Woodland Waters at Ancaster is a bustling place, so I waited for winter to set in before giving it a proper look. I was first attracted to the main Specimen Lake, which is big, deep and interesting, with loads of swims to explore. This is the type of water where a host of different methods can be used. I kicked off with a groundbait feeder, in a good 14 feet of depth.
A GREAT SURPRISE
I love my roach fishing and still have fond memories of Gloucester Park Lake in Basildon, where big catches of quality red fins were normal during the winter matches when I lived nearby. After that I moved up north, quickly discovering similar great roach sport on Whittle Dene Reservoirs at Hexham. It didn’t take long for me to find out I wasn’t going to miss out on catching big roach in the Grantham area too, and if anything, they were even bigger! It still intrigues me how beautiful fish like this turn up in winter on busy day ticket venues, after doing a disappearing act for most of the year. These fish responded to groundbait feeder tactics, also blockends loaded with maggots with a helicopter set up. The pole worked too but was slower going, tending to work later in the day.
ALL ALONE
My first winter campaign at Woodies, as locals fondly call the place, unearthed some fantastic big roach fishing. I caught plenty of fish over the one-pound mark, several around 1.5lbs and a couple pushing close to the magical two-pound barrier. They were all from the Specimen Lake, but once spring arrived, I had plenty more water to explore. There’s a busy bar and restaurant at Woodland Waters, along with a big caravan site and lots of lodges, so some parts of the complex get very hectic when the weather’s nice. However, I took this snap on a bank holiday weekend when the place was rammed with holiday makers and day trippers. This is Birch Lake, set behind the Match Lake, where I found this wise angler enjoying almost complete solitude, well away from all the hustle and bustle.
ANOTHER WORLD
Birch Lake is compact, shallow and rammed with carp, but I later discovered it has another side when winter came calling again. The cold slows the carp down, allowing a chance to discover what else is lurking beneath the surface. Scaling down to delicate pole tackle, I soon discovered the place was heaving with silver fish like roach, rudd, skimmers, perch and hybrids. Even odd proper bronzed bream turned up, along with stray carp of course. I mainly managed to avoid the latter by using casters and small bits of worm, feeding lightly but regularly. With woods behind, this has become a favourite spot, similar to canal fishing in a way when the water goes clear after overnight frosts.
STAYING BUSY
When it’s bitterly cold it can be tough going on many venues, so Birch Lake provides a welcome tonic, where I can enjoy bites all day long. These silvers tend to fade into the background when method feeders and pellet wagglers are whizzing about during the warmer months. The same applies to the Carp Pool, over by Lake View Tackle Shop. That small water is another banker for busy winter sessions, particularly with the pole or waggler, also bringing back canal-like memories with its teeming shoals of gudgeon. I try to visit spots like this midweek, where often I have most of the smaller lakes to myself, enjoying similar tactics to those I used way back in my early match fishing days on the River Lea Navigation and the Grand Union.
ANOTHER TOP FIND
Although it’s called the Match Lake, you don’t see many competitions on this much bigger water, maybe just the occasional club sweep stake. This used to be well known as a tench venue, but once carp were stocked, the former were pushed into the background. I have caught a few tench from here, but generally there are too many other species for them to get a look in. The Match Lake has become one of the best local bream hotspots over recent years, whether looking for big weights of proper slabs, or busy sessions with the numerous smaller skimmers. There’s big roach as well, with my biggest from the complex coming from here, at just over the two-pound mark. I love fishing this big, deep lake, because many types of methods work. It’s a great place to test out new gear.
TT CLASSICS
This is where I field tested some of the new, upcoming, Thomas Turner Classic rods, seen here using the new 12ft Quivertip, attached to a lively carp. You can bend rods with machines in factories to try and make sure they are strong, but nothing beats the unpredictable nature of a big fish trying to trash a blank. Not that I can see that happening with this new breed of state-of-the-art nano carbons, which are lighter and stronger, an absolute delight to use. After being involved with Hardy Marksmans, I went down the green route again with TT Classics. They can be used anywhere but a touch of the traditional is nice. If Hardy hadn’t dropped coarse fishing, I would probably have stayed and these rods would have resulted anyway, as a natural progression into a future phase of Marksmans.
OLD SCHOOL/NEW WAYS
Whether you like trendy match colours or a more traditional look, good tackle will always catch plenty of fish. But you still need a prolific venue to do that, which is why I’m a regular at Woodies. Apart from testing out new gear like these wonderful rods, there’s nothing wrong with combining them with modern methods. After a serious workout with the carp, a banded pellet on a straight bomb rig started finding superb bronze bream. The same TT 12ft quivertip rod has seen action on the River Wye, lobbing out a weighty feeder in the fast current, catching some cracking big chub. It’s so far been used with groundbait, pellet, blockend and method feeders. Being supplied with 3/4oz, 1oz, 1.5oz and 2oz solid carbon quivertips, there’s an indicator to match all requirements.
WINTER AGAIN
Several years have passed while exploring Lincolnshire. I’ve discovered many fabulous places, such as enjoying catching big chub on tiny stick floats on the Upper River Witham, in swims I could nearly jump across. The more demanding tidal Trent requires manlier floats, but old favourites still work their magic, despite modern trends towards pods, specialist barbel rods and bulky swimfeeders. The Fossdyke Canal has been another wonderful find, allowing me to revisit favourite methods like far bank waggler and bomb fishing, alongside lots of whip and long pole action. But due to more recent events like the pandemic and souring cost of fuel, I have stayed local a lot more, although that hasn’t been a problem with so many swims to explore virtually on my doorstep. Another winter arrived, bringing with it a foggy, frosty day and less people around. I went back on the Specimen Lake…
FAB FISH
A species that really stands out at Woodland Waters is its big hybrids, which are plentiful in both the Specimen and Match Lakes. They are not easy fish to catch, being ultra-cautious thanks to their high count of roach genes, as seen here with this corker with only a hint of bream. I’ve experienced a few heart in mouth moments with these street fighters, which scrap like mad and require perfect bait presentation to fool. I catch many big hybrids by fishing shallow, even in winter, dinking baits like maggots or casters with a catapult, using the long pole or waggler. Big roach turn up that way too, a trick I first learnt at Gloucester Park Lake, where quality red fins had learnt it was safer to feed off bottom, well away from where most anglers present their baits. My best hybrid came close to 5lb.
QUALITY COUNTS
Big or small, I enjoy catching fish of all species and my new favourite venue rarely disappoints. I love experimenting with feeding techniques and trying different baits. Revisiting old favourites like punched bread and hemp has been interesting, digging out my old brass headed punches, the famous biro tube ones I got from East Anglian Rod Company many years ago. Remembering how to prepare hemp and tares properly and how to present such baits with delicate pole rigs. Top venues like this bring dreams back to life and provide quality time that will never be forgotten. I’m talking about lakes full of character, which pull anglers like a magnet into wanting to return time after time.
LAST KNOCKINGS
Wherever your favourite venue is, I hope it gives you the same amount of enjoyment my new one does, through all seasons and by eking every last cast out of it. Many of my favourite older haunts are best left to memories I fear, with waterside apartments, cycle rat-runs and boats moored nose to tail deemed to be far more important than angling. There comes a time when it’s best to move on and I’m more than happy with what I’ve found here. Safer, closer to home and better, are words that come to mind. I will never forget previous favourite fisheries, but I don’t miss worrying about having my car broken into, having to watch all my gear like a hawk and putting up with rowdies. London lakes, rivers and canals was where it all began for me, but that’s another world away now.
The post Favourite fishing places appeared first on Thomas Turner Fishing Antiques.
Continue reading...