Churchwood Fisheries Diary

Diary...

January 2012

I Happy New Year !! The mild weather and near perfect carping conditions we saw over the New Year certainly proved prolific for the lucky few anglers who got out on the banks. Regulars Bill and Paul popped in for a quick 12 hrs session and was rewarded with the 1st carp of the year from CW Lake in the shape of a nice plump 20lbs+ common. They also had several pick ups which unfortunately were not converted to fish on the bank. Dave Morris netted the 1st carp of the year from Jenkins with one of the old original warriors at 27-10lbs. Craig Hawkes and a few mates were next up on CW Lake for a 36hr session. Between them they managed several good fish with the best being 'The Long Common' at 27lbs along with 'Chucky' at 25lbs+. I was itching to get on the lakes myself but was holidaying in France over New Year. Not wanting this feeding spell to go begging I made a quick few phone calls to some mates who were more than happy to take my spot ! Lee Walford was one of those lucky anglers and managed to get a 24hr pass from the missus to go fishing. Lee banked 3 of the CW 'Target' fish, Bubbles at 28lbs, Shaggy at 27lbs and Carlos at 25lbs. James Sumner landed 3 doubles in 2 hrs and Alex Bauer took a cracking 23lbs common and a upper double common from Jenkins. All this action coming in less than a 24hr window, cracking sport and a brilliant start to the year. The fish were in top condition and were more than happy to get their feeding heads on. I have been trickling the bait in whilst there have been no anglers, just really to keep them searching for bait and to avoid them shutting themselves down for the Winter. The lakes have seen very little angling pressure over the past few weeks, so its a great time to get down and give it a go before the diary becomes full once the better weather arrives.

Alex with his two crackers and Dae Morris with his 27lb 10oz mirror

Lee Walford striking gold with Carlos, Bubbles and Shaggy

Ryan and Craig with Chucky ( right ) and the Long Common

James Sumner with 2 of his 3 stockies caught in just a 2hr visit... good angling

Bill 'Hang Me' and his friend Paul were back for another go, but this time on Jenkins. Paul was 1st off the mark and what a corker. 'Tom's Common' at a all time high of 30-03lbs ! The common was in mint condition and looked great with the extra weight it was carrying. Previously it's best Winter weight was 28-08lbs. Again the benefits of removing so many cats during the Summer was paying dividends and allowing the carp to take advantage of the decrease in biomass to gain that extra little weight. Then it was Bill's turn to get in on the action when 'Black Spot' the mirror took a fancy to his CW Baits yellow pop-up. The old warrior weighed in at 28-08lbs and was the 2nd time already that this fish has graced the bank in the past 2 weeks. Bill then followed this up with 'Zara's Fish' at 26lbs. To top of his great session Bill landed a great looking 24lbs common as well. I believe they also dropped a couple of fish between them, so all in all they had a pretty action packed couple of days.

Tom's Common 30ld3oz and Black Spot at 28lb8oz

Zara's Fish at 26lb

Not wishing to miss out on the potential action, as well as to take full advantage whilst the lakes were void of too many anglers, I decided to give it a go with my good friend Phil from CW Baits. I went into the large double swim which produced well over the Ne wYear for Lee Walford, leaving Phil to concentrate on the top half of the lake. My other reason to fish was to pick up all the branches and twigs from around and from within the lake that had fell during the strong winds that we had previously experienced. A few days earlier a large tree crashed into the lake where I was going to fish, so this had to be dealt with as well. Phil managed a nice 19lbs mirror during the 1st night and I blanked. In truth I was hoping to get my hands on 'George' as she had yet to make an appearance along with the other big girls that had recently been out. Unfortunately for me, but fortunate for Phil, George was residing up in the top half of the lake, most likely spooked from where the carp had been heavily feeding in my swim a week earlier until the tree smashed into the lake. This old mirror looked great in the January Winter light, pulling the scales around to a 28-08lbs. 'George' graced the front cover of Carp Talk this time last year but weighed then at 25lbs. Although totally different weather and feeding conditions from last year, it was pleasing to see her at a decent weight and looking in such good form. Well done Phil......that fish had my name on it !!! I only managed a small AJS fully scaled mirror which made up on it's lack of size by its sheer beauty.

Phil with George at 28lb8oz and my cracker of a scaley carp

Just a few of the branches and twig removed from the lake...

As you can see from the pics, the carp are in stunning Winter colours and are hopefully set to have a very good year ahead. Bookings are coming in quickly so if you want a crack at these stunning fish then book your place early to avoid disappointment. The new lodge with its toilets, shower and kitchen facilities, is already proving very popular for anglers wishing to book a week long session. In addition to Jenkins and CW Lake we have our new cat lake opening on 1st March. Cats have been stocked to 55lbs+ along with several 40's and loads of 30's and 20's. This small intimate lake for just 2 anglers should provide some great sport once the weather warms up a little. Thats it for this time so tight lines and hope to see you soon.

September / November 2011

I probably say it every month, but seriously where does the time really go ???? It's now mid November and I've just come in from raking up piles of leaves from the garden. It did not seem that long ago that Summer was in full swing and we all had our holiday heads on. Although very mild at the moment, you just know that some proper Winter weather is just lurking just around the corner. In truth the lakes have quietened down throughout the week now as most day ticket anglers seem to pack their gear away when the clocks go back. It's a shame really as I have always regarded around this time of year as being one of my favourites, especially when the weather is being kind to us as it is now. Obviously there's far to much to mention on all the coming and goings throughout the last 3 months so i'll just stick to some of the highlights.
As you can see from the pictures below, Jenkins Lake has produced a stack of cats again this year. The difference being this year, is that they are now all happily swimming around in our new Cat Lake, due to open next year. Construction of one large double swim will be started over the next few weeks so it will be ready for the start of the warmer weather next year. If you like a spot of cat fishing or if you have never caught one, then this lake should provide you with the very best chances to do battle against these awesome creatures.

With the reduction of bio-mass from Jenkins we expect the carp to get a better look in on available food and hopefully therefore increase their weight. This was certainly true of one of the inhabitants of Jenkins that was always hovering around the 28-08lbs. Towards the end of October the fish which i'll most likely name 'Black Spot', due to an old healed wound on one of its flanks, made an appearance at that magical 30lbs mark. The angler I only know as Steve W, tempted the big mirror on one of our CW Bollies, fished tight the far margin. Well done mate and great to see the fish already responding to not having to compete with so many cats for their food.

'Black Spot; at 30-02lbs from Jenkins

Another recent memorable weekend was the Carping For Charity 24hrs match held on Jenkins and Churchwood. Ten anglers entered the competition, 6 on CW and the other 4 on Jenkins. The fish didn't really play ball although I came in 2nd place with 'Shaggy' from CW at 27lbs, a fish I've personally never caught, so I was well pleased. 1st place went to Chris Donovon who managed a 17lbs and a 13lbs from CW Lake. 3rd want to Joe Turnball who caught a low 20lbs common from Jenkins. It was a great weekend and one that will hopefully become a annual fixture at the fishery.

Chris Donovon from Baitzone with his 2 winning carp from CW Lake

Yours truly with Shaggy at 27lbs and Joe Turnball with an old original common from Jenkins

A good weekend and a good cause.......

Well thats about it till next time.........hopefully will get one more update in before the end of the year. We are already getting many enquiries with regards to bookings for next year. The new diary will be open in the next few weeks. If this year was anything to go by then weekends will quickly get booked up and the diary busy as anglers book early to save disappointment in not getting their preferred dates.

July / August 2011

Where has the Summer gone ? These two months always seem to just fly by and as per normal I seem to find very little spare time. Even these brief updates seem to get lost in all that goes on this time of year. The weather has been relatively poor, although the lack of sunshine and hot temperatures seem to have drastically improved catches, especially on CW Lake. August has typically been a tough month for Carp fishing. The abundance of natural foods and some intense angling pressure from early Spring always seems to make our quarry that little bit harder to catch. The lakes also benefitted from a couple of weeks that we closed the fishery so that my family and I could take a well deserved holiday. We have seen some great catches throughout July and August although a couple have stood out from the rest.

Regulars Paul & Bill fished a 48hrs session on CW Lake. They booked out the entire lake between just the two of them, which is obviously a big advantage to start with. The inhabitants of both lakes certainly know when anglers are present and will become very cagey once there are a number of lines in the water. I always advocate to anglers the use of slack lines or back leads to help a little to combat this potential issue. Personally I use very slack lines on both lakes and seem to catch my fair share of carp. Bill and Paul had something like 25 pick ups between them although they only managed to land around half of these. Paul had the best fish in the shape of 'George' at 28-08lbs, which is a great Summer weight and hopefully she will be banging on around 30lbs during the early part of next year. George has been out 3 times over these past 2 months and certainly seems to have its munching head on. The high quality fishmeal bollies (CW Fish) that we are currently using at the fishery, certainly seem to be doing the fish a lot of good as all the fish seem to be up on previous Summer weights. The 'Long Common' is back to 26-08lbs, which again is a good weight for this time of year.

'Welsh' Ray and 'Chopper' Paul with George from CW Lake.

Another 3 lads who enjoyed their 1st trip to the fishery were Jacko, Mick and Tony from Dagenham. In total they managed 15 fish, 3 of which were named target fish. Again 'George' was one of these at 28lbs, the 'Long Common' at 26lbs and 'Shaggy' also at a little under 26lbs. They all lost fish as well and could have easily ended up with 20+ fish on the bank. All were very capable anglers and it was good to see some lads down at the lakes who really applied their skills and worked hard for a great result. Well done boys and hope to see you all soon.

Jacko, Tony and Mick with a few of their recent captures from Churchwood Lake Jenkins Lake has also been producing some good fish. The biggest being 'Scar' at just under 29lbs. Unfortunately I have yet to track down a picture of this one but hope to do soon. We continue to remove any cats and re-home these into our new Cat Lake which we hopefully will have up and running next year. The largest cat so far stocked was a 56 pounder. We have had several 40's go in with loads of 30's and 20's. If all goes to plan then this will be an awesome cat lake to fish and will provide anglers wishing to catch this species some great entertainment.

Local youngster Alex with a cracking Common from Jenkins. Brothers Ricky and Micky with one of the many big cats

........and a few more crackers recently out of Churchwood and Jenkins Lakes.

As you can see from the selection of trophy shots above, the fish are in absolute A1 condition. This is obviously my biggest goal and it's very rewarding for a fishery owner to see the fruits of all the hard work that goes into running a top class fishery. By carefully managing the water quality, managing the stocking / bio-mass density, feeding the best food available, sensible rules protecting fish welfare, these are just some of the factors that make a great fishery and a fishery that can produce specimens like you see on a regular basis on this webpage. Thats about it from me for another month or so, or until I get a spare few hours again. The diary looks pretty full for the next few weeks but Autumn is just around the corner and is one of my favourite periods throughout the season to get some fishing in. If you fancy a chance to have a crack at these cracking carp then I suggest you get on the phone sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment !!! .

June 2011

The Last month I said we could all benefit from a little rain to help freshen up the lakes, be careful what you wish for ! The lakes have certainly had a good flush through and are filled to the brim which is what you want in the middle of Summer. Like a true weather whinging Brit, it would be nice to see the Summer return once more.
Someone who has not been whinging this month is young Alex who has been helping around the fishery, along with getting himself a fair few fish on the bank. If the world of carp fishing had a few more Alex like young fisherman then I'm sure it would be in a better place. Alex has been carefully watching and listening to various anglers visiting the fishery and has then applied some new thinking to his already capable skills. In addition to this he has also been helping me out in giving advice to anglers who may otherwise struggle to catch fish from this sometimes tricky venue. I can think of at least 3 anglers who broke their PB's with help from Alex along with numerous anglers who have thanked him for his help and advice. If you see him around the fishery, pick his brains, it may help you bank some additional fish.

Top carpers Joe Turnbull and John Bassili, paid a visit to Churchwood earlier this month whilst their syndicate was unavailable due to it's close season. Joe is best known for his 'Bait World' articles that are published in 'Carpworld' magazine. Both anglers managed to catch, with John banking the largest in the shape of 'George' at just under 28lbs. Joe was impressed with our range of bollies and dips supplied by CW Baits at the fishery and will hopefully feature the range in one of his articles sometime in the near future.

In general the lakes have fished relatively well considering how unsettled the weather has been. Typically the lakes slow down a little after heavy downpours and then recover after a few days once the water temperature and other variables have stabilised again. At this time of year the abundance of natural foods within the lakes are at their peak. Snails, shrimps, mussels, bloodworms and other larva's make up an appetizing irresistible feast to the carp. The fish can easily become pre-occupied with this food source and reject anglers bait. Although catching can become challenging during the summer months, getting results are still achievable.

My top tip for anyone planning a visit to either Jenkins or Churchwood Lakes over the next few weeks would be - Fish critically balanced baits, rigs pinned down with tungsten putty in conjunction with slack lines. Fish this method over a natural feeding area and you will be in with a good chance. If Alex or myself are around then we will be sure to let you know the productive areas in your chosen swim.

That’s it for another month, tight lines and see you soon.

May 2011

The weather has certainly been glorious for some time, but I think we could all do with a little rain now to help freshen up the lakes and the surrounding areas. The fishing has also been very productive on both lakes with plenty of carp visiting the bank. There's been no real pattern to feeding times with fish being caught throughout the day and night. With the increase in water temperatures, we have been feeding the lakes on our new CW Fish Bollies. Made from a high grade HNV fishmeal along with a specially designed oily crab flavor, this new bait has been accounting for the majority of the captures. With the recent bank holidays during May, I've managed to get myself on the bank a few times over the long weekends. My best was a mirror named Carlos from Churchwood Lake, which weighed in at 27-08lbs. It was a fish that I had not previously caught and being one of the prettiest carp in the lake, it was certainly high on my list of target fish. In truth I lost count of the fish I caught in May but the majority of carp came to fishing half a CW Fish Pop Up in conjunction with half a CW Fish bottom bait, fished over a decent amount of freebies. Slack lines, small hooks and rig putty along your hook length are also a couple of tips worth remembering. I mentioned last month the importance of keeping bankside disturbance and noise to an absolute minimum. You can have the best bait and rig in the world, but make excessive noise on the bank, you could easily go home with a blank !!

Local youngsters Alex & Darren have been commissioned by myself to try and extract the last few carp from the stock pond where they have been growing over the past few years. As you can see from the pictures below they have been doing an excellent job. They have had some absolute stunners which I'm sure you would agree will be highly desirable once they have put a few pounds on in the future. I'm hoping by next year to turn the stock pond into a dedicated Cat Lake for anglers wishing to target these species, more on this project later in the year.

Our new lodge has now been up and running for a few weeks and has proven to be a big hit with the visiting anglers. The lodge consists of a toilet, separate shower and a kitchen area complete with sink, kettle, microwave and fridge. We have seen a steady increase in the demand from anglers wishing to book and fish week long sessions here at Churchwood Fisheries. This demand was one of the main drivers for us to improve the facilities that were previously on offer. Another reason to invest in such a facility was to bring this fishery up to another level and to set it aside from other day ticket venues around the country. Anglers are already requesting to book for next year which is a testament to where this fishery is currently and the direction we are taking it for the future.

Weekend availability naturally remains very much in demand with mid week dates providing a better chance to get onto the fishery. I'll leave you this month with a selection of pictures that I have collected over the past few weeks. Tight lines and hope to see you soon.

March / April 2011

It's been a manic few months here at Churchwood Fisheries. As always its an extremely busy period for a fishery owner. Apart from the general routine maintenance around the lakes, I have always had a major project planned during the 1st quarter of each of the last 7 years that I have been running the fishery. Last year was the reinstatement of the moat around the house and the creation of a new rearing area, this year saw the redevelopment of the fishing hut situated on Jenkins Lake. I won't go into too much detail here, but to say that the end result is the absolute nuts, would be a massive injustice to the time, effort and money that had been channelled into this project to ensure that the facilities at this day ticket fishery is second to none. Our website is also currently going over a major makeover, so I will wait until that is up and running before we start to showcase our new facilities. Watch this space !!! The fishing has also been manic on both lakes with far too many captures and results to mention. I've got a few decent pictures to share with you this month but as is often the case, many anglers do not seem to be in possession of a decent camera to take that trophy shot. Personally, after all the time, effort and money spent in pursuit of your chosen quarry, then surely a decent trophy shot is worth a little effort ? Each to their own I guess, if we were all the same then the world of carp fishing would generally be a very dull place to be !
Carp catching machines Lee Merritt & Rob Marsh made a return visit back in early March and fished a 24hrs session on Churchwood Lake. Great to see you both and here's what Rob had to say on his website

"Just got back from Churchwood fisheries in Essex had some excellent action in absolutely freezing conditions! All the fish fell for Mainline fluro pop ups and dumbells fished on a small braided hooklengths with a size 8 Atomic Stinga hooks fished Kd style. Solid Atomic Grenade pva bags filled with Hinders Mini-combi pellet. A top fishery !"

I'll leave you with some of the pictures that I have received these last few weeks. Naturally the diary is looking pretty full but it's still worth a try to get booked in, especially if you can manage a mid week session. It's nearly the Easter break and the weather has been absolutely stunning. It won't be long before the begin to spawn and those long summer evenings are in full swing. Happy days -

February 2011

As usual with this time of year, the lakes see very little pressure from day ticket anglers. It's the ideal time to get the necessary maintenance work started around the lakes. In truth it's probably the busiest time of year for a discerning fishery owner. It's also a time of year that I enjoy getting my rods out and I invariably end up getting the lakes to myself. There's always a chance of hitting a 'Red Letter' day early in the year and it was exactly that what happened to me a few weeks back. Conditions looked cock on, low pressure and a strong Westerly wind hacking into the far end of Jenkins Lake. I had been baiting a few spots around the lake with our new CW Red bollies on a regular basis. A matching CW Red pop-up was presented over these spots along with a kilo or so of free offerings which consisted of whole and broken baits. It was not long before I was into my 1st fish of this very short session. After a spirited fight I slid the net under a pretty 15lbs common. That signalled the start of a 2-3 hour feeding spell which ended up yielding me 9 carp, the biggest being a fine 28lbs mirror. I also had a scraper 20 common, the rest of the fish being mid to upper doubles. All the action came from 1 rod and it just goes to show you that it's certainly worth making the effort at this time of year.

The 28lbs mirror and one of the upper doubles from a productive 9 fish short session on Jenkins Lake

Bill "Fooking Hange Me" and Paul, two anglers who have been making an effort this year, also have been rewarded with some early action on Jenkins. Both of them have a couple of fish already under their belts which should stand them in good stead for the sessions they have booked throughout the year. Speaking of which, come the end of March, weekends are getting extremely full and it's proving difficult to accommodate new bookings. Mid week are still available along with a scattering of weekend bookings. If you do want to get down to the lakes this year, I strongly advise you to book sooner rather than later to avoid disappointment.

Over on Churchwood Lake a few carp have also been making their way to the bank. Unfortunately not too many pictures collected but I did manage to get a copy of Keith Dalton's 22lbs common along with a pretty stockie caught by local angler Martin. I've also had a few out but unfortunately not any of the lumps. The weather looks set to continue improving so I would expect CW Lake to really turn on over the coming weeks with some good multiple catches being made. Thats it till next month, tight lines and hope to see you soon. Oh I nearly forgot, cousin Richard Grimes managed to sneak out 'Tom's Common' at 28-08lbs from Jenkins while he was meant to be working on the lakes. Nice work if you can get it !!!

Keith Dalton with a nice common

Martin with a mint stocky

Yours truly with a rather plump CW stockie

Richard with 'Tom's Common' at 28-08lbs

January 2011

Happy New Year to everyone !!! The year has started off being very very wet. We have not seen so much water come through the lakes than what we have seen at the start of this month. The lakes spent the last few weeks of 2010 and the first few of 2011 under a thick sheet of ice. Aerators were kept running 24/7 to help keep free small areas of the lake to minimise any risks that could potentially occur if the lake remained sealed for a long period of time. Obviously the build up of gasses and the lack of oxygen could be fatal for anything living in the lake. Therefore, due to the fairly rubbish weather conditions, the lakes have not seen much angling pressure throughout the month of January.

Pretty, but not the ideal Carping conditions

Plenty of new water revitalising the lakes

Those brave, keen or stupid enough to have braved the elements have been rewarded with some sport. Scott 'Geezer' Grant was itching to get down and wet his lines for the first time this year. Scott turned up for a 36hr session with one of his mates on Jenkins. The weather was not kind and pretty much rained persistently throughout their stay. Scott managed a nice 18lbs Common on his second day which bought a smile to his face. Well done Geezer and hope to see you again soon. As Scott was leaving James Darling and a mate turned up for their first ever visit to the fishery. It was a session that James will not forget in a hurry. They both doubled up in Swim 1 on Churchwood Lake. Geezer had given me his left over bait, Nash Monster Squid, which had been successful for him on Jenkins. Being we had yet to start introducing this years bait into the lakes, CW Red, I gave James a few kilos after he asked to purchase some of the house bollies. I suggested to James that he fish one bait into the middle of the large dead lilly bed in Swim 1 as a few fish have been caught there in previous Winters. The overnight temperatures plummeted and cat ice formed in the margins. I was on Jenkins for the night and had just been awoken by Geezer telling me that he had just been on Keith Arthurs TalkSPORT radio show and that he had mentioned his recent session at Churchwood Fisheries. As I walked towards the shed to listen to the radio, I could see two figures on CW struggling to lift a net out of the water. Before I even parted the mesh of the net to reveal James prize catch I recognised the Mirror to be George. The fish looked to be mint condition which at the end of the day is my main concern. George was 28lbs+ the same time last year, but unlike the previous Winter when a few of us fished hard throughout and pilled in the bait, George was down to 26lbs which was clearly down to the lack of available food over the past few months. Still, James was more than happy as his previous PB was just 14lbs and he had just smashed that. Lee Walford was down in Swim 5 for the night and was soon in the Swim after a quick call to help with the photos. Lee had also managed a small double during the night and even had to break the ice to land the fish. The sun was just poking its head up and the ground had a white sprinkling of frost. George looked absolutely cracking in the soft morning light, so good that it graced the font pages of Carp Talk a week later !!! Well done James and a cracking fish to kickstart Churchwood Lake off for 2011.

Scott 'Geezer' Grant with the 1st Carp from Jenkins

Lee Walford with the 1st Carp of 2011 from Carp

James Darling with George...

and here gracing the cover of CarpTalk !!!

I also managed to bank myself a couple of Winter crackers as well. Not the biggest but anything in January is a bonus and just goes to show you that you always have a chance when you have got a line in the water. Both my fish fell to the bright yellow CW Pineapple Pop Ups fished over a kilo or so of the new CW Red V2 bollies that we will be feeding and selling this year at the lakes. Now the lakes are free from ice and the fish seem to be looking around for bait, I have been putting in a scattering of bait on a regular basis to keep the fish moving and searching for food. This will hopefully keep them interested and I would expect the lakes to continue fishing well.

A couple of more than welcome visitors to the owner Steve

Due to the bad weather at the end of last year we had to postpone a scheduled netting for the lakes. The first available chance to harvest the silver fish was at the end of January. As is the norm on these netting days, the sheer numbers of Roach, Rudd and Bream are truely a sight to behold. Each year we take several hundred pounds of weight out of the lakes to help with the bio-mass and every year we are amassed that the silvers are so abundant in numbers. |It really just shows you how prolific and healthy these lakes are and that all of the hard work that goes into ensuring the water is managed correctly is paying off. I will leave you this month with a selection of great pictures from the netting, but before I go I must warn you that the diary is very quickly filling up with bookings. Therefore we suggest you get in sooner rather than later if you want to get down this year and to avoid disappointment....