Only one rod can be used at any time
Match bookings are now being taken for 2007 at £5.00 per peg
Pleasure anglers can hire keepnets for an additional charge of £1.00
Blake Lake
The original lake at Blake Hall Fisheries, Blake Lake was extended to its present three acres in size and transformed from a former trout fishery at the end of 2003. It now offers some 41 pegs spaced 12 metres apart to give anglers plenty of room.
Blake Lake holds the biggest of the Blake Hall fish including common and mirror carp to 16lbs with a lot of fish around double figures; bream to 3lbs; plenty of skimmers and roach to about 1lb 8oz; perch to 3lbs; tench to 4lbs; barbel to 5lbs and a good head of chub to 3lbs.
In addition, since autumn 2004 stocks have been supplemented with a further 600lbs of carp which varied in weight from 1lb 8oz to 5lbs and which averaged about 3lbs.
The result of all this is that match weights of between 30lbs and 40lbs are now needed to be in the frame.
The water has four central islands each situated about 20 metres from the bank which anglers can reach from most of the pegs, making the most popular techniques to be either fishing close in to the margins or out to the islands. Indeed, fishing a waggler on light tackle close to one of the islands whilst feeding caster or maggots little and often is widely regarded as a one of the most effective means of building a decent catch in winter.
Those anglers who prefer to fish at a distance with the feeder should pack the feeder with a light groundbait and a few hook samples and leave a long tail. The closer you can get to the island the better in winter, although in summer the fish tend to move out more into open water which means decent bags can be taken from any peg.
Although Blake Lake tends to have an even bottom with a fairly regular depth of around five feet, it does shallow slightly to four feet at the end furthest from the clubhouse.
This makes the water popular with pole anglers. Although a lot of fish are taken on the feeder with meat, pellets and sweetcorn being the most favoured baits even in winter, in the colder months worm, maggots and casters are also worth a try.
In summer all the usual techniques work well with waggler anglers tending to fish on 3lbs main line with a Size 16 or 18s hook and pellet, catmeat or sweetcorn for bait.
Pole anglers usually set up two rigs, one to fish at about six metres where the bottom levels out and a shallower rig to take fish which are up in the water. Fishing close in the margins also often produces the bigger carp in summer.
Fishing floating baits is also good in summer, both in open water and close to the side. Because Blake Lake is fairly exposed, the only rule when fishing floating baits is ensure the wind is behind you.
Hall Lake
At three-and-a-half acres in size, Hall Lake has a total of 30 pegs and is slightly deeper than Blake running between six and seven feet for the most part except in the margins where the banks shelve quite deeply to the bottom.
Holding masses of small carp to a about 1lb, Hall is also home to some specimens which reach double figures. In addition there are roach, rudd and skimmers to about 1lb as well as bream and perch to 2lbs 8oz. Although the fish are generally quite small and there are no tench, barbel or chub, match weights of between 35lbs and 40lbs are still needed to be in the prizes.
However, Hall Lake is still in its infancy, the water having been cleaned out, the bottom levelled and the lake then restocked for the beginning of the 2004 season. The owners believe that in a couple of years time this will be the most productive of the Blake Hall waters for competitions because it offers the most even opportunities for anglers to catch.
As with Blake Lake, fishing either the pole or feeder are the most popular methods, particularly for those anglers targeting the carp.
Again access around Hall Lake is good with anglers being able to park near most pegs. Work is also being carried out to complete a concrete pathway around the lake, which will make access even better for disabled anglers and those with large amounts of tackle.
The main feature of Hall Lake is a single island at the clubhouse end of the water which is accessible from about half the pegs on the water.
Most popular baits again tend to be meat, pellets and sweetcorn although because of the large head of smaller fish it pays to experiment with maggots and casters, particularly in winter.
Once again, anglers fishing the pole usually set up two rigs to give them the option of fishing either on the bottom or up in the water. The large number of roach and rudd mean that fishing a couple of feet deep whilst spraying maggots little and often can result in decent numbers of fish, which can bump up match weights and often make the difference between missing out or being in the money when the fish are slow to feed on the bottom.
As with Blake Lake, fishing close in to the margins or to the island often produces the bigger bags.
Peninsula Lake
At eight acres in size and with 65 well spaced pegs, Peninsula is the largest of the Blake Hall Fisheries waters and its main feature is the long peninsula which gives the lake its name and which almost divides the water in two.
Unlike the other lakes on the fishery, the contours of Peninsula vary widely, the bottom running from just four feet deep at the clubhouse end down to about 14 feet at the far end of the lake. For the most part the banks tend to run shallower than those on the other Blake Hall waters and although the bottom is fairly even there are the occasional holes.
To improve the quality of fishing in Peninsula, it is expected that the water level of the lake will be dropped early in 2005 to enable many of the smaller fish to be removed and give the existing stocks more opportunity to grow.
As with the other Blake Hall lakes, Peninsula is a general mixed coarse fishery which holds both common and mirror carp to 14lbs and averaging between 3lbs and 5lbs; a large head of bream and tench to over 4lbs; roach, rudd and skimmers to 1lb; barbel to 3lbs and some good sized perch which are well worth catching. Indeed, in one match in 2003 four perch were caught which themselves weighed a total of 11lbs.
Because of its depth, Peninsula tends to be a mainly pole and feeder water with the pegs at the end of the peninsula and along its left hand bank being particularly productive. Because the water here is deep close in you do not need to fish far out, and in summer good bags of carp, bream and tench are taken by anglers fishing pellets, catmeat, luncheon meat and sweetcorn.
Because of the large stocks of carp, bream and tench, most of the best weights tend to come from anglers fishing on the bottom. Although fishing close in tends to produce the best results, anglers after the bream can fish far out in open water, so it pays to look for tell-tale bubbles and having found the fish to keep them in your swim by feeding small amounts of pellets mixed with hook samples.
Even in winter matches on Peninsula are being won with between 25lbs and 30lbs of fish.
Cabin Pool
The smallest of the Blake Hall Fisheries waters is Cabin Pool at about half-an-acre in size and with just 10 pegs. Because it is small, located immediately next to the clubhouse and stuffed with smaller fish, Cabin is ideal for younger anglers, novices and those wanting to brush up on their technique.
Depths in Cabin range from about two feet near the clubhouse to seven or eight feet in the corner furthest away from the clubhouse and because of the large number of fish in the water it is one of those places that you can fish however you want and still expect to catch.
Because of its size, the feeder is not really needed and most anglers opt either for the pole or waggler. Being near the verandah, it is also a good floating bait water as many anglers feed the remnants of sandwiches to the ducks - much to the delight of the carp and other species which are happy to take baits off the surface.
Although the water is stuffed with smaller fish it can hold pleasant surprises for younger anglers with both carp and bream being regularly caught up to 4lbs - nice fish by any standards for those starting out in the sport.
In addition, there are good heads of both green and golden tench as well as roach, rudd and perch.
Capricious Pool
To be officially opened at the end of April 2006, the new Capricious Pool at Blake Hall has been so named because, judging from the reports of anglers who have already fished it, it is is totally unpredictable!
Developed as an out-and-out match water, the new pool will be predominantly a carp water and will be subject to an ongoing stocking of additional carp at between 1lb and 2lbs as well as rudd and bream. It will be officially opened in April when a special invitation match will be held on the water for Blake Hall regulars and match anglers and clubs which visit the venue.
With 36 well-spaced pegs some 15 to 10 metres apart, the pool has been designed so that every angler has a feature to fish to.
How to get to Blake Hall Fisheries
Blake Hall Fisheries is situated on the outskirts of the Staffordshire market town of Cheadle, about 10 minutes from the main A50 road that links Stoke-on-Trent at Uttoxeter.
From the A50, take the A521 signposted to Cheadle and travel for approximately two miles. At The Huntsman Inn crossroads turn left into Brookhouses Road and you will see the sign for the fishery entrance about 500 yards on the left after a large walled house with ornamental lions adorning the gateposts.
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Blake Hall Fisheries
As recently as 1990 the site of the current fishery was just boggy ground fed by springs from the local uplands. For farmer John Heath, who runs the 450-acre mixed cattle and sheep farm of which Blake Hall forms part, the options were either to drain the land and use it for his livestock - or harness the natural water sources and turn the wetland into a lake which would attract wildlife.
It soon became obvious there was demand from a growing number of local anglers for a coarse lake, and so he started work on Hall Pool. When that became popular and demand from anglers grew even more he created Peninsula - at eight acres and holding 65 pegs, the largest of the Blake Hall waters.
Throughout the whole process priority has been given to giving both the fish and anglers exactly what they want. Whilst the lakes themselves are exposed to the Staffordshire winds, John has landscaped the banks extensively with marginal plants and is undertaking a programme of tree and shrub planting. The modern Scandanavian-style clubhouse (above and left), with its verandah overlooking the fishery, is a credit to angling style and comfort whilst blending perfectly with its surroundings.
Nearly all the pegs can be reached by car, making Blake Hall suitable for disabled anglers. The clubhouse is equipped with access ramps, double doors and a disabled toilet.
Blake Hall is open from 7.00am until dusk every day in summer and from 8.00am until dusk in winter and is a popular venue for both club matches and for its own Thursday and Sunday Open Matches. The draw for the Thursday matches is taken at 9.30am with fishing from 11.00am until 4.00pm whilst the Sunday morning draw is taken at 8.30am with fishing from 10.00am until 3.00pm.
Whilst regulars jokingly nickname the fishery 'Bleak Hall' in winter, in summer it's a completely different story with the trees being in full leaf and the bankside running rampant with lush green vegetation and marginal plants.