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Kingston Coarse Fishing Pools
Kingston Grange Farm Banbury Road Lighthorne Warwick Tel: 07767 664743 (mobile) E-mail: robert.white31@btopenworld.com
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Kingston Pools regular Adam Cox from Coventry scored a new personal best when he landed this beautiful common carp which tipped the scales at 30lbs including the net.
Using a Tuna boilie dipped in chilli, Adam fished towards the island from a peg opposite the sign on Meadow Pool. The catch was the biggest fish to come out of Kingston Pools in 2010, although two larger specimens have been caught at the venue in the past - both 30lb mirrors, one from Reed Pool the other from Carp Pool.
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Kingston Pools offers relaxed and diverse fishing on five pools in a conservation area on a 360-acre arable farm just two miles from Junction 12 of the M40 between Warwick and Banbury.
Despite its location within easy reach of the motorway, Kingston Pools is a quiet and informal haven virtually untouched by the passing of time - a genuine haunt far from the madding crowd where the emphasis is on enabling anglers to have a pleasant day's angling with a good chance of catcing memorable fish.
An abundance of trees, bushes and hedges not only add to the charm of Kingston Pools but also shelter many parts of the water from wind, even in winter.
For those after the bigger carp the main water is still Carp Pool, although Meadow Pool, the newest of the Kingston waters, is developing a growing reputation as a good spot for mirrors which now touch 30lbs and commons which run to just to a similar weight.
Throughout the venue good sized perch and bream are also being caught, although the secret for general pleasure fishing seems to be to fish fairly fine. Single red maggot or caster regularly prove to be the best baits for all species.
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| Day Tickets (from 6.00am until dusk) |
One rod - £6.00 | Two rods - £8.00 |
| Afternoon Tickets (From 12.30pm) |
One rod - £5.00 | Two rods - £7.00 |
| Early Evening Tickets (from 4.00pm) |
One rod - £4.00 | Two rods - £6.00 |
| Evening Tickets (from 6.00pm) |
One rod - £3.00 | Two rods - £4.00 |
| Night Fishing (by prior arrangement) (from 8.00pm until 8.00am) |
One rod - £10.00 | Two rods - £12.00 |
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can contact the venue directly on 07767 664743 (mobile) for further details Carp Pool
This 17-peg half-acre square pool holds mainly mirror carp to 30lbs and bream to 6lbs with roach, rudd and tench also frequently caught. Much of the pool is between four and five feet deep, although a former brook runs across the middle of the water from the inlet pipe to the jetty on the opposite bank. Here the pool bed slopes to eight feet in the central channel.
Both modern and traditional carping techniques work well on Carp Pool, as does fishing the pole or waggler. However, if going for the carp it pays to fish slightly heavier than when targeting the silver fish and tench using, say, 6lbs to 8lbs line strength and size 10 or 12 hooks if fishing luncheon meat, boilies or larger pellets.
In warmer weather Carp Pool can also be a decent floater water with dog biscuits or floating bread yielding good results when there are fewer anglers about. When the fish can be seen cruising near the surface get them in the mood by firing out a few biscuits or pieces of bread and gently lob you own bait in amongst the free samples.
Fishing the margins can also be productive with either float tackle or floating baits.
Reed Pool
Although the largest of the five Kingston pools, Reed Pool is only two to three feet deep for the most part and gets even shallower towards the top end where the lake narrows. This end fishes extremely well in warm weather. With Mirror Carp to over 30lbs, a good number of bream to 6lbs-plus, perch which top the 4lb mark and a good head of crucians, roach and the occasional tench and rudd, Reed Pool fishes well on both caster and paste baits.
With Wood Pool (see below), Reed Pool is full of character being virtually surrounded by trees and shrubs.
The layout of the water with its variety is not only intriguing but also offers great scope for stalking the fish. Newcomers to the water who are looking to settle down for a session are advised to walk around the pool to see all its facets as there are some delighful pegs which are not immediately obvious when you first come onto the water.
Once again both pole and waggler work well for the silver fish with sweetcorn, bread, luncheon meat, pellets and maggots all being worth a try in addition to casters and paste baits.
When going for the carp, scale up the tackle a bit as the reed beds and lily pads all make great bolt holes for the fish once hooked.
Meadow Pool
Although relatively new, Meadow Pool is maturing rapidly and is proving popular with an increasing number of specimen anglers who stalk the larger carp which can often be clearly seen cruising both the bankside and island margins in warmer weather. In particular, the trees and shrubs on the centre island which runs along the spine of the lake have taken hold and are growing rapidly, making the island an obvious feature to fish to. Indeed, many anglers say that the best pegs to fish are those which give access to the rear of the island where the fish frequently shelter in the shade provided by the trees.
Best baits for the carp are luncheon meat and dog and cat food together with pastes - the stinkier the better! It is also worth trying both boilies and pellets as well as more traditional baits such as bread, fished both on the bottom and on the surface, and sweetcorn.
In addition to the carp, Meadow Pool holds a decent number of bream which now run to 6lbs. Whether on the pole or waggler it generally pays to use lighter rather than heavier tackle and recently more fish seem to be being caught on short shank hooks. Another tip is, whatever species you are going for, it pays to have your last weight at least a foot from the hook.
Seven to eight feet deep at the farm end, Meadow Pool runs to only three feet at the end nearest Wood Pool.
Wood Pool
Situated amid a bluebell wood at the far end of the Kingston Coarse Fishing Pools site and served by its own car park, this delightful reed-fringed water is home to a good head of carp to 24lbs. Wood Pool also holds some good quality perch, although at times these can prove to be elusive and difficult to catch, as well as some nice quality roach and rudd.
Most of Wood Pool is three-to-four feet deep and only five feet at its deepest. Although float fishing is an obvious choice, legered swimfeeder is also effective with sweetcorn and pastes also being popular baits.
In warmer weather the carp can often be seen cruising near the surface which makes fishing a floating bait a delightful method of taking carp - although be warned, these fish are timid and once they spot movement on the bank will usually disappear from view.
![]() How to get there... Leave the M40 at Junction 12 and turn left for Gaydon at the main road. At the roundabout turn right, continue over the next two roundabouts going past the Heritage Centre and Jaguar/Landrover/Aston Martin. The entrance to Kingston Pools is on the right immediately after Lighthorne Garage. Continue down the concrete road until it becomes a farm track and the fishery is down the track past the farm house.
Satnav users should enter ther address Kingston Grange rather than a post code.
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