For those who enjoy walking or bird watching, the fishery has some one and a half miles of double bank on a stream which meanders along the bottom of the valley.
The accommodation ranges from modern, light and airy cottages to olde-worlde half-timbered converted stables which retain their gnarled beams, sloping walls and bags of character.
Other facilities include a delightful 400-year-old farmhouse which incorporates a half-timbered pub with inglenook fireplace which is available to residents and members for drinks and bar snacks. Docklow Pools also offers a restaurant which provides meals for the widest tastes.
With a snooker room with two full-size tables, pitch and putt golf course and site for touring caravans, Docklow Pools is within easy striking distance of other local amenities which include golf courses, riding schools and the shopping centres of Leominster, Hereford and Worcester.
These pitches are available to non-members at £15.00 a pitch, £5.00 for an awning and £4.00 per night for dogs. Member rates are £12.00 per pitch, £4.00 per awning and £3.00 per night for dogs. Prices exclude VAT.
Mickey Mouse
Also known as Old Pool, it so easy to catch fish on this water that it is an ideal venue for novices and those trying out new techniques.
Set close to the cottages, the water is two acres in size and holds about 40 anglers. Because Mickey Mouse has no permanent pegs it offers that 'traditional' feel. Averaging three to four feet deep throughout, this is a general fishery holding roach to over 2lbs, chub to 5lbs, tench to 4lbs 8oz, bream to 4lbs, perch to just over 2lbs and crucians to 2lbs. There is also a decent head of Mirror Carp to 16lbs and Commons to 14lbs.
In the summer the best technique is to fish pole or waggler about six inches to a foot deep using maggots or casters and feed fairly heavily to keep the fish going. In winter the swimfeeder is popular with casters being the most popular bait.
Those going for the carp tend to always do best fishing the margins. In summer almost anything fished close in on the top does the trick whilst meat or sweetcorn fished under the rod tip on the bottom is also effective.
A lovely pool that is a favourite with residents for its mixed stock of fish, Mickey Mouse offers a comfortable day's fishing because you never know what the next bite will bring!
Moby Dick
At three acres in size, Moby Dick is beautifully set amid tree lined banks and is bigger than Mickey Mouse at some 45 pegs. Although it is mainly a carp water with a good head of doubles up to and over 20lbs - including Mirrors to 23lbs and Commons to 20lbs - it is still easy to fish and has the added attraction of being well-established - definitely Mr Crabtree stuff!
In addition to the carp, Moby Dick holds a good head of roach, bream, skimmer bream and some tench, the best bream to date being 6lbs.
Again, fishing in the margins tends to be the most productive for the carp whilst for the silver fish the pole or waggler are equally popular. As with Mickey Mouse, fairly heavy feeding is recommended and anglers are advised to take about three pints of maggots or maggots and caster for a day's fishing with white maggots normally proving best. Again, in summer fish near to the surface and in winter try the swimfeeder for best results.
A great spot for pole, waggler, floating bread and feeder, Moby Dick is great for the pleasure angler and beginner with big bags caught regularly.
Figure of Eight
Being a very small pool with only 16 permanent pegs and situated close to the farm, this is another venue which is ideal for novice anglers offering a wide selection of fishing in delightful surroundings.
Again the water is only four feet at deepest but with plenty of roach, chub, bream, tench, perch and crucians as well as Mirror and Common Carp to 10lbs. A great pool for bagging up as all methods work well.
The Snake
Described by Mike Bozward as "a pole man's dream", The Snake - or Canal as it is also known - is a 105-peg out-and-out matchman's venue. Running between nine to 14 metres wide and between four and six feet deep throughout, this is a well matured pond which was purpose-built for pole fishing in 1989.
Although there are carp to over 12lbs in the water - making a minimum 10x elastic recommended minimum - the water is full of silver fish around the 8oz to 10oz mark as well as barbel to 3lbs, chub, rudd, tench and bream.
It is recommended that anglers fish hard against the far bank about 10 inches deep for best results with most popular baits being sweetcorn, worms, maggots, meat and casters.
Farmer Jack
Farmer Jack covers about four and a half acres in size and offers 60 well-spaced pegs again in delightful surroundings. A pool of character solid with fish.
Fringed by reeds and planted with lily pads, the waters are between three and four feet deep throughout and are renowned locally as a top quality silver fish waters with bream to over 6lbs, roach over 2lbs, rudd to 1lb 8oz and tench to 7lbs. Although there are a good head of carp, these run only to about 10lbs.
Because it is primarily a silver fish venue, Farmer Jack is a popular pole and waggler water with the most popular baits tending to be maggot, caster and sweetcorn.
On the far side cover is provided by a bank of bullrushes which run five or six feet into the water. In the bullrushes there are several holes through which anglers can comfortably fish.
Although both Farmer Jack fishes well all year round, it is generally quiet in winter and because of this are ideal for anglers seeking solitude.
Stock Pond
Reserved as a 'float-only' water to preserve its character as a traditional fishery, the two-and-a-half acre Stock Pond is surrounded by trees, totally secluded being the furthest pool from the farm and is regarded as a connoisseur's pool for anglers who enjoy blending into nature.
Stocked with a good head of decent size tench to 7lbs, roach and rudd to over 2lbs, bream to 5lbs and carp to over 20lbs, Stock Pond has no concreted pegs and holds up to 30 anglers in comfort, although it is rare for more than two or three anglers to be fishing the pool at any one time.
Like the other Docklow Pools, Stock Pond is only three to four feet at its deepest and has an even flat bottom. Best baits include maggot, caster, sweetcorn, worm and bread baits.
Major Bill
At seven acres in size, Major Bill is the biggest of the Docklow Pools waters and has been developed as the fishery's 'Big Fish' specimen lake, holding Mirror and Common Carp to over 30lbs, catfish to 52lbs and Grass Carp to 20lbs. In addition, there's bream to 6lbs, Crucian Carp to 2lbs 8oz and roach to over 2lbs.
Pictured is catfish specialist angler David Smithson who stays at Docklow Pools at least once every year. He is pictured here with a 31lbs 8oz specimen which he took during an angling holiday at the Pools.
Despite its size, there are only 22 pegs, so there's plenty of room for anglers to stretch out and fish undisturbed on this delightful water.
Although Major Bill is fished primarily for its carp, it is not an easy pool. In recent years best results seem to have come from boilies fished hard on the bottom and from dog biscuits and crust fished on the top near the margins. Many of the quality bigger carp have been taken at dusk by fishing floating baits right in at the side of the lake under anglers' feet.
Unlike the other waters on site, Major Bill is much deeper, sloping gradually down to nine feet about 20 metres out from the bank which runs parallel with the brook. On average, however, the pool is about five feet deep, making it ideal whether your preference is to fish float or hard on the bottom with leger tackle.
As with most carp waters of this type it can be fished using either modern or traditional carping tactics and, as always, scouting round the pool before starting a fishing session usually pays dividends.
Please note that a double rod ticket is required and the pool is restricted to adult resident anglers only. Night fishing is allowed.
Match Pool
One of the finest and most consistent match venues in the UK, the competition record for a five-hour match on the 37-peg three-acre Match Pool currently stands at 152lbs with a catch which comprised seven different species of fish. However, this total is smashed wide open by the pleasure record which has stood since 1989 at an even more impressive 305lbs. This was made up of carp, chub, bream, tench and perch. Other species in the pool include eels, barbel and gudgeon.
Used predominantly for competitions at week-ends, the Match Pool is available for season ticket holders and residents throughout the remainder of the week when events are not being held and regularly produces weights of over 50lbs.
The River Teme
Docklow Pools has two stretches of the River Teme just outside Tenbury Wells which are available for fishing by residents at the fishery. The Top stretch runs for about 700 yards and the Bottom Stretch for a longer distance, although because of the steep banks and healthy bankside vegetation, there are only a handful of pegs on each length.
Because both lengths are virtually virgin water, little is yet known about the fishing, although both are thought to be good for most coarse fish and particularly for chub and barbel.
When Fisheries.co.uk visited the water in late summer dace were easy to take on the float whilst the slower reaches produced chub, roach and rudd. However, ledgering the fast water and down the side of the sandstone outcrop on the Bottom Stretch produced barbel up to 4lbs.
When fishing either length it is best to take plenty of feed to get the fish going. We did best with a mix of hemp, maggots, groundbait and pieces of luncheon meat fishing luncheon meat on the ledger. This worked well for both the chub and the barbel although fishing maggots on the bottom in the slow and still reaches attracted a lot of minnows. How a tiny minnow can take a size 12 with five maggots still leaves us scratching our heads.
One thing is for sure, if you like river fishing or want to bag your first barbel, Docklow's Teme stretch is certainly worth a visit! A map of how to get there and latest info on the water is available from the Docklow Pools tackle shop.
Visit Docklow Pools' own website on the net Anglers can now keep up to date with day-to-day news from Docklow Pools by visiting the fishery's own regularly updated website at Docklowpools.com. The site details latest match results and forthcoming events together with visitors' own photographs and details of fishery catches. |
How to get there...
Finding Docklow Pools is easy, being situated on the main A44 between Leominster and Bromyard. Travelling from Leominster, the clearly-signed entrance can be found on the left hand side about four miles before Bromyard. Travelling from Bromyard it is on the right.
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Docklow Pools
It is also rumored that there are also the odd perch and carp coming out of the river.
Comprising a total of eight waters, four of which are available on day-ticket, Docklow Pools lies between Bromyard and Leominster and has been tastefully and sympathetically developed around a Grade II listed 17th Century farmhouse and outbuildings on a 100-acre site in the heart of beautiful rolling Herefordshire countryside.
A labour of love which has taken owners Mike and Josie Bozward over 30 years to bring to its present state, Docklow Pools offers a range of angling to suit everyone from novices to specimen hunters and match anglers.
In addition to its day-ticket and membership angling, Docklow is an ideal venue for fishing holidays for adults only, offering a range of tasteful and clean accommodation 
A useful 'extra' is the well-stocked on-site tackle shop (right) which sells a range of rods, reels and poles and a good selection of accessories and fresh bait.
There is also a secure facility for where anglers can leave their rods made up for the next session.
There are a series of electic hook-up super pitches for touring caravans which come complete with main sewer and TV connections.