The last thing you expect to find when you are deep in the Herefordshire countryside is an attractive two-lake day-ticket pleasure fishery which comes complete with its own cafe, camping and caravan site, showers, toilets - and one of the UK's leading angling training centres which has its own good sized training pool.
But that's exactly what is on offer at Canon Bridge Fishery, just outside the village of Madley on the main A438 between Hereford and mid-Wales.
Unlike many fisheries these days all the waters at Canon Bridge are natural, although they were deepened and had their banks re-cut just before the venue opened for angling just four years ago.
The main Lake, Heron Pool, has neat grassy banks which lead down to the waters edge and is fringed in part by attractive water plants which provide features to which to fish and provide bankside cover for anglers.
The other water, Warlow Pool, is much different in character. Although it again has grassed banks, it is edged by trees and shrubs and offers plenty of reeds and lilies for the fish to shelter in.
Warlow Pool was originally intended to be developed as a specimen water but is currently a mixed pleasure venue. Because it is a short walk from the main car parking area it is much quieter than Heron Pool - making it a natural retreat for those anglers who want to get away from it all and enjoy a quiet day's fishing virtually one their own.
Part of a 60 acre beef and sheep farm, Canon Bridge is also the base for the Worcester Angling Academy which is run by Centre Manager Mark Eacock with three of the UK's leading angling coaches. With more than 100 years' experience between them, the team can offer the very best in angling coaching.
A National Federation of Anglers Level II coach, Mark is a UKCC Tutor/Assessor and was responsible for the training facilities at Canon Bridge becoming both a Sports Leader and OCR Accredited Assessment Centre. Indeed, it is one of a very few centres in the UK to offer such a high standard of teaching and facilities.
In addition to coaching individual anglers of all ages and abilities, Mark (pictured right) and his small team of qualified coaches organise a range of accredited and non-accredited courses which are proving increasingly popular with schools throughout Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
Because the fishery has its own dedicated quarter-acre Training Pool (pictured below), day-ticket pleasure anglers can be assured they won't be inconvenienced when parties of school children attend courses.
The Training Pool can be used by inexperienced anglers or parents with their children when not being used by Worcester Angling Academy angling coaches for courses.
On a less formal note, Worcester Angling Academy, in partnership with the fishery owners, run a regular Saturday Club for young anglers' occasional Family Days where the whole family can try their hand at fishing and a series of 'Taster Days' during the school holidays.
Mark also organises Corporate Days and Birthday Parties with a difference where youngsters and their friends can celebrate a birthday with a healthy day in the countryside and the challenge of catching a bagful of fish rather than take it easy with a burger, chips and a DVD!
To find out more about Mark and his team of qualified coaches, please follow this link to Worcester Angling Academy.
Although Canon Bridge is not a busy fishery, it is planned to stage some mid-week and weekend Open Matches in the near future and anglers should contact the venue to learn more about these.
For anglers travelling any distance Canon Bridge Fishery has a camping and caravan site (right) which is situated between the cafe and Heron Pool. With facilities and electric hook ups for five caravans and an unlimited number of tents, the site also has a water point, toilets and a shower block.
Another attraction at Canon Bridge is the small but cosy cafe which serves hot and cold meals including traditional full English breakfasts, a set evening meal every day except Saturdays for anglers and those staying on the poolside campsite, and a traditional Sunday Roast on Sunday evenings.
The cafe (left) is open between 9.00am and 2.00pm Tuesday to Saturday and from 5.00pm to 7.30ish from Tuesday to Friday. Although it is closed on Saturday evenings and all day Mondays, it is open from 10.00am until early evening on Sundays.
In addition to serving hot and cold food, snacks, drinks and confectionery, the cafe also stocks a small but steadily growing selection of terminal tackle for both rod and pole anglers.
Keepnets are allowed but anglers should not retain fish over 4lbs in weight and those fishing all day should empty their nets at 1.00pm. Banned baits include boilies, pet food and floating baits and whilst groundbait is allowed it should only be used in moderation.
The fishery is open from dawn until dusk and anglers arriving early should start fishing because the bailiff will collect ticket monies on the bank. Anglers arriving after 9.00am can pay at the cafe.
2007 Day Ticket costs
|
Adults |
Juniors/OAP/Disabled |
| Full Day (dawn until dusk) |
£5.00 |
£3.00 |
| After 5.00pm (summer) |
£3.00 |
£3.00 |
Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult when fishing
Night fishing is not allowed but the waters are open from Dawn until Dusk.
Heron Pool
Situated right next to the campsite at Canon Bridge Fishery, Heron Pool is about an acre-and-a-half in size and holds some 42 pegs which are either slabbed, timbered or grassed to offer a variety of options for anglers. The grassed banks are nice and even and, being regularly mowed, mean that several of the pegs are suitable for disabled anglers. In summer anglers can park their cars behind many pegs.
A shallow pool which is only five feet deep along a trough which runs down the centre, Heron Pool has slightly shelving margins which for the most part slope down to three to four feet. The Pool is shallowest at the top end near the cafe where there is only about a foot in depth.
Because the water is only shallow it offers easy fishing and is ideal for either waggler or pole, although all methods work well from fishing a basic whip in the margins to ledgering the centre with full carp tackle.
Stocked predominantly with some fine roach and rudd which go to 2lbs in weight with a good head of fish around the 1lb mark, Heron is also home to bream which average just under 1lb and which run to 3lbs; some nice tench which average 1lb 8oz and go to 3lbs; and some lively perch which average just under half-a-pound but which go to 1lb.
In addition to the silver fish, Heron holds a good stock of carp which range in size from 1lb Crucians which run to 3lbs in weight through to commons and mirrors. Although Heron is not an out-and-out carp water, a good number of the commons and mirrors are between 2lbs and 5lbs whilst there are a good number of original stock fish which are known to top the 20lbs mark.
Surprisingly, few anglers target the bigger fish although early in June 2007 one angler landed a fish which tipped the scales at 22lbs 8oz. Because few people go for the bigger fish it is not really known how big the fish run to - some of the carp having been in the pool for many years from the time when it was a natural farm pool not used for fishing.
When fishing Heron Pool most anglers go for either pole or waggler, fishing on the bottom about 11 metres out with 3lb line and a 2lb bottom tied to a Size 18 hook, feeding little and often and using baits such as maggots, caster or worm.
Those after the bigger fish should beef up their tackle and use sweetcorn or pellet on the hook, although a successful technique so far seems to be to start of going for the smaller fish and then scale up when the bigger ones move into the swim.
Anglers fishing the waggler can go slightly heavier than those on the pole, using a 5lb main line and 4lb bottom tied to a Size 16 or 14 hook.
Anglers going after the big carp should use traditional or modern carping techniques but are reminded that boilies, floating baits and pet food are not allowed. However, carp meats, luncheon meat, sweetcorn and bread are all very effective.
Pole anglers who target the carp tend to fish in the margins using a 20 elastic, minimum 8lb line and Size 10 hook. Most popular baits tend to be two or three pieces of hair-rigged sweetcorn, a 10mm Halibut pellet or piece of luncheon meat fished over a bed of 6mm feeder pellets.
Warlow Pool
Although Warlow Pool looks a much more mature fishery than Heron, both have been in existence the same length of time, being natural farm pools which were enlarged about three years ago.
A 'natural' water with grass banks and no clearly defined pegs, Warlow Pool can cater for about 25 anglers and will shortly be served by its own access road and car parking spaces.
Classed by Mark Eacock as 'an up and coming water' which is still in its infancy, the pool has two islands at one end and is surrounded on three sides by trees and shrubs which shelter the water. It has an abundance of bankside and margin vegetation.
Although Warlow was originally intended to be developed as a specimen carp pool and holds a lot of commons and mirrors up to about 8lbs as well as a few grass carp, stocks have recently been supplemented with some 700 mixed roach and rudd and will be further improved with the addition of some tench.
The size of the fish in Warlow are generally much smaller than those in Heron Pool whilst the techniques for fishing are generally the same.
Once again waggler and pole predominate and although the fish are generally smaller similar line strengths should be used to prevent hooked fish snagging anglers' lines in the lilies and other water plants.
Once again this pool has gently sloping banks which run down to a fairly even bottom which, for the most part, is about five feet deep.
However, in the bowl shaped area at the far end from the island the water is much deeper, dropping to a maximum of between 10 and 11 feet which makes fishing a small feeder a viable option.
Once again pellets, sweetcorn, luncheon meat, maggots and casters all work well, but because the water has been little fished it may pay to experiment and be prepared for a few surprises.
Training Pool
When not in use for courses or instruction, anglers with young children are permitted to fish the attractive quarter-acre Training Pool at Canon Bridge.
Just three feet deep with an even bottom, it is predictably easy to fish and all pegs are wheelchair-friendly. Crammed with roach, rudd, perch and some small carp all around the three to four ounce mark, this is a great water to get children going and teach them to basics of angling on a water where they are virtually assured to catch plenty of fish.
Canon Bridge Fishery on the Net
 Canon Bridge Fishery has its own website where further information and photographs of the fishery together with details of latest pleasure catches, information on training and anglers' own photographs are posted. The site can be found at www.canonbridgefishing.co.uk. |
How to get there...
Canon Bridge Fishery can be found in the countryside just as you enter the small village of Madley when driving from Hereford.
From Hereford take the A438 Abergavenny road and follow the signs for Madley. When you enter the village of Madley take the first right signposted Canon Bridge. Continue down this road and take the first right off the road after you see a sign for Bridge Sollars. You will see the sign for Canon Bridge Fishery on the right.
Please click on the map for a more detailed image"
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Canon Bridge Fishery