Suitable attire whilst at a traditional pool

[Shaun Harrison]

Through the tiny ford


and far away from the modern world, way off the beaten trackl


Lies a rather delightful pool that man rarely visits, where nature is allowed to get on with looking after itself, where the grass is thick and lush.


Whilst angling in a totally unspoilt and rather famous pool which unfortunately carries a 'controlled' publicity ban


Brook insisted upon looking the part


As did her mate Bracken


Unfortunately though the only monsters we found were these which made the angling a tad difficult!

[LuckyLuca]

That is a simply stuning little spot Shaun! Shame about the Crayfish, although I think that would beat my PB!

[Northern Eel]

that pool looks stunning! shame about the crayfish (maybe try maize next time? they dont seem to be interested in that around here)

dogs in flat caps is always a win though

[Shaun Harrison]

Brook needs holes to poke her ears through really.

[Dave Burr]

Never seen a signal lobster

Lovely looking spot Shaun, and hats on dogs? It never fails

[Shaun Harrison]

A water we have all read about if we have read what little there was written on carp angling in the 50's. Sadly, it now looks as though the the otters have completely cleared it of carp. The idea of this session in hot bright conditions was to hopefully spot at least one fish. Sadly we failed. There is no possible way of fencing this incredible piece of nature so unfortunately the re-introduced otters have taken away the fish which made this a very important and historical pool.

It is such a wonderful place to spend time that I have agreed to one last final go, despite no carp being seen for well over a year.

[Nigel Rainton]

It's a pity otters don't eat crayfish, or do they ?

[Michael]

As said Shaun, a lovely spot, and its nice to see the dogs having a good time..... Shame about the predation, though the crayfish do go well in fresh boiling water, with a few grains of salt ...... That's if your bored of the sound of crayfish being stomped...

[Danny Boy]

[quote="Dave Burr"]Never seen a signal lobster



but on a more serious note ,what a shame it looks a fantastic place to fish and off the beaten track away from the hustle and bustle.

[Shaun Harrison]

Originally we had planned to stay for 3 days but after 2 days of perfect fish spotting conditions and recording not one sighting of a fish it was becoming difficult to believe the otters had indeed left any of the old carp in peace. With so many other marvellous waters to explore we decided to move on leaving the original pool behind with very mixed emotional feelings. One of fortitude to be allowed to spend time at this hallowed place but one of disgust that man can be so short sighted as to introduce so many apex predators into an environment that can not support them. The gloominess of the sky as we left this once famous pool seemed quite a fitting end to its life as a carp fishery, one of the first to be recognised as such.



We stopped by another really secluded pool that you would never ever stumble across. This one was made quite famous by Rod Hutchinson and was the first time I had ever stepped foot on its banks. I must admit it was very different to how I had imagined it to be, certainly much larger. I'm not sure if it was the gloom of leaving the previous pool behind but somehow I just didn't get a feel for this place and although I was fortunate to be allowed to guest here as well, I decided the mood wasn't right. I was unsure what to do, whether to call my mini break off early or visit a third venue. The Third venue won the day.

As soon as I stepped out my Land Rover I was back feeling inner peace and contentment. Glancing around the pool I just had to wet a line again.



The lily's were in full bloom and looked truly amazing, the new ray of light I needed.



We even found some of the elusive carp this pool contains, meandering through the thick weed. You would see them clearly then they would simply disappear from sight as they entered yet another tunnel of weed.



I was even awarded a special gift for managing to cast into the tightest little clear spots amongst the weed.



I felt at home here, even the tiny pitches had pleasing names



My host caught a lovely 24 lb linear in the night and not wanting to disturb me or other margin feeding fish by walking round, chose to simply take a quick snap of it in the net before releasing this marvellous looking creature back to its home.

Alas I didn't catch but Brook and myself had a great and thoroughly relaxed time not doing so.