Night fishing is available with prior agreement of the bailiff
Lake One
An out-and-out carp and tench water, Lake One can be found at the end of the track which branches off to the right from the main access road as you enter Groby Fishing Lakes.
About two-and-a-half acres in size, it has 22 pegs and holds mirror carp to a lake record of 24lbs and averaging between 5lbs and 8lbs; common carp to 15lbs and averaging 4lbs to 5lbs; crucians between 2lbs and 3lbs and a good head of tench which run to 7lbs but which average between 1lb and 3lbs.
Fairly oval in shape, there is a three-feet deep ledge which runs around the edge of the lake before the bowl-shaped sides shelve off to about five-and-a-half feet and then down to eight feet in the centre.
Because there are no particular features to fish to on Lake One, the majority of anglers tend to fish to the centre of the pool, although fishing the shelf around the edge can be particularly productive in warmer weather as the carp patrol the edges looking for discarded bait. Also, because the water is fairly open, the wind tends to blow across the lake from left to right or right to left as you enter the site and although it may be more uncomfortable and more difficult, it does pay to fish into the wind if you can.
Suitable for pole, waggler or swimfeeder, anglers fishing maggots or sweetcorn are advised to start fishing by feeding with a handful of hook samples and then keep baiting up with about half-a-dozen samples every 15 minutes for the first hour and then stop feeding.
However, if you are going after the bigger fish it pays to use bigger baits, with pieces of Pedigree Chum or square Bounce the favoured options. Keep these on the hook by using a short piece of grass pushed between the bait and the inside bend of the hook once you have the meat in place.
Those who prefer to use drier meat should opt for flavoured luncheon meats, choosing either curry flavour or Tutti Fruitti. Another good option is to go for either plain or flavoured sweetcorn or chick peas - the latter working well on all three lakes at Groby.
For those fishing the rod and line, a crystal waggler is recommended and a line strength of not less than 8lb, although more experienced anglers can probably drop this down to 4lbs or 6lbs. A hook size of 10 to 14 is recommended, although even when going for the carp there is no real need to use hair-rigs.
Lake Two
Reached by ignoring the first turning to the right along the entrance track but taking the second right, Lake Two is completely different in character from Lake One, having a more irregular shape which provides bays, two islands and more bankside cover.
Three-and-a-half acres in size, Lake Two has 25 pegs and is more of a silver fish water, although it does hold some carp. Of these, the mirrors run to 24lbs and although they average about 6lbs there are a lot of fish in the 15lbs to 17lb range. The commons tend to be smaller, running to only 15lbs and averaging about 5lbs.
As with all three Groby Fishing Lakes, Lake Two also holds some great crucians which are said to average an impressive 3lbs to 4lbs. In June 2004, Braunston plumber Michael Atkinson, a Groby Fishing Lakes regular, reported landing a crucian which he weighed at 6lbs but not having a camera and being unaware of what an excellent record breaker this could be, returned the fish to the water.
The majority of the silver fish include some excellent bream said to run to 10lbs and which average between 4lbs and 6lbs, roach and rudd to 2lbs and averaging about 8oz, some big perch which average just over 1lb in weight but which can top 3lbs and black and gold tench, the biggest of which are about 7lbs
Although Lake Two is bigger than Lake One it is not as deep, between three and four feet of water being found around the edges before it slopes gradually down to five feet and a maximum depth of six feet in one spot just off the two small islands heading out towards the centre of the lake.
When going for the silver fish, anglers are recommended to use maggots and fish just off the bottom with waggler or pole using fairly light tackle and feeding little and often with samples of hook bait.
Many of the bream fall, surprisingly enough, not to bait fished hard on the bottom but by anglers setting their float about 18 inches deep and fishing about three rod lengths out.
When going for the tench, best baits tend to be sweetcorn, maggots, luncheon meat, dog meat, casters and cheese all fished hard on the bottom virtually anywhere on the lake.
When going for the tench it usually pays to leave about a 15-inch hooklength between the hook and bottom shot.
Dog meat and tutti-fruitti flavoured sweetcorn are again suggested as the best baits for the crucian carp with anglers recommended to fish one inch cubes hard on the bottom on a size 14 or 16 hook. Before fishing you should bait up with samples of sweetcorn, maggots or pellets - although soft hooker pellets do not seem to work as hook bait at Groby.
When fishing for the mirrors or commons, tutti-fruitti, pineapple and fish-based boilies all work well as do dog food, flavoured meats and flavoured sweetcorn. If going for fish off the surface, floating dog biscuits or bread both produce results.
When fishing boilies it pays to use modern carp fishing rigs although traditional waggler techniques and the pole can both be equally productive. Pole anglers are recommended to use 10lb line with an 8 to 12 elastic.
Lake Three - Carp Lake
The largest of the three Groby Fishing Lakes at four and a half acres in size, Lake Three is the venue's main Specimen Carp pool holding a total of 26 well-spaced and varied pegs.
This is the pool from which Steve Cameron took his potential record breaking 5lb 4oz crucian carp - and whilst it is also home to some big bream running to 13lbs and tench to about 7lbs, it is probably the mirror carp which will interest most anglers - running as they do to 34lbs.
Throw in a good head of commons to 20lbs, beautiful surroundings, widely varying pegs, plenty of bankside cover and a stunning location and you have what most carp anglers could possibly wish for.
Whilst the average size of the mirrors is between 8lbs and 10lbs, there are a large head of fish between 17lbs and 19lbs which should give many anglers their first 'double'. In addition there are a good number of commons which average in size between 4lbs and 8lbs and provide lively sport once hooked.
Whilst the lake has an irregular shape, the depths are more uniform than one might expect with a three to four feet shelf running around most of the sides of the lake and an average depth of about four and a half feet throughout, except along the entrance side where nine feet can be found in the centre of the main bay.
Around the islands there tends to be a shelf about two feet deep before the sides fall off to the bottom of the lake.
When visiting Lake Three for the first time it is well worth spending 20 minutes or so just walking round the water picking out the most suitable spots and looking for signs of fish feeding. Whilst it may be one of those water where you can't wait to get set up and stuck in, those few minutes spent taking stock could well make the difference.
Having said that, there are no particular 'hot pegs' on Lake Three because virtually every peg has a feature to fish to, whether it be along the bulrushes, under an overhanging tree, towards one of the two islands or close in by the lily pads.
When fishing for the commons and mirrors, most anglers again tend to use modern carp techniques fishing hair-rigged spicy crab, prawn, whisky, tutti-fruitti boilies or one of the other fruit or fish-based flavours.
On Lake Three a minimum line strength of 12lbs is recommended tied to an 8, 10 or 12 hook.
For the big crucians lighter tackle should obviously be used, say a 14s or 16s hook, 4lb to 6lb line and either medium-sized cube of dog meat or a bunch of three or four red maggots or two pieces of plain yellow or flavoured sweetcorn.
When going for the crucians it is often best to fish to the far bank or close in by the side.
With the big bream - a specimen of 13lbs was caught at the beginning of 2005 from Lake Three - it again pays to fish either a one-inch square peice of dog meat under a crystal waggler or pole float close in to the side or fish bread, maggots or sweetcorn 14 to 18 inches deep in the centre of the lake or bay where you are fishing. Keep feeding hook samples or maggots to get the fish going.
Old fashioned techniques and baits work well for the tench. Meat, maggots, sweetcorn and that old favourite cheese are all good baits and should be fished over a bed of feeder pellets or grounbait mix which includes samples of the hookbait.
When going for the roach and rudd double red or white maggots fished on light tackle either just off the bottom or near the surface are usually a good starting point. However, as with all three Groby Fishing Lakes, the danger of fishing light tackle is that you could easily pick up one of the carp and be broken.
How to get there...
Groby Fishing Lakes should not be confused with Groby Pool - a local nature reserve where fishing is strictly prohibited!
From the M1 motorway, leave at Junction 21A and take the A46 signed Glenfield and Groby. Go over the first roundabout and follow the signs for Groby and at the A50 turn left and follow the road into Groby Village. After a short while you will see ther Groby Fish and Chip Shop on the right. Immediately before it on the right is Newton Linford Lane. Turn here and follow the road down the hill. At the bottom of the hill the road bends round to the left and on the right is the entrance to Groby Fishing Lakes. Take this track and after about 100 yards there is a turn to the right. This takes you to Lake One. Continuing along the main track brings you to a small ford with the entrance to Lake Two on the right whilst if you follow the main track to the end you will come to Lake Three.
Click on the map to the above for more detail.
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Groby Fishing Lakes
Although the first of the three Groby Fishing Lakes was only dug in the early 1990s, the waters appear much older, having matured nicely to provide a host of reed-clad bays, islands and plenty of bankside vegetation, trees and shrubs on a spacious 10-acre site.
Over the past three years a great deal of bankside clearance and tidying work has been carried out with help from a group of unemployed enthusiasts from the area. The results have been dramatic and have greatly improved both the fishing and the surroundings.
Unlike many day-ticket fisheries, Groby Fishing Lakes has only four rules - no carp to be kept in keepnets, landing nets must be used, no barbed hooks and juniors can only fish Lakes One and Two unless accompanied by an adult and must be accompanied by an adult if they want to night fish.
Dave took over the management of the fishery from Steve Cameron early in 2007, although Steve himself nearly hit the record books at the end of June 2004 when he caught a 5lb 4oz crucian carp on Lake Three float fishing plain yellow sweetcorn on the bottom from peg 1. Although the catch was weighed, photograph and verified by several anglers including the then Chairman of the Leicester Federation of Anglers as being a true crucian, it was deemed by the British Rod Caught Record Committee as being a hybrid. Not good news for Steve but a stunning fish all the same.