Save £2.00 on an adult Leigh Sinton day ticket and £1.00 on a concessionary ticket between now and the end of September. Available both weekends and weekdays, the discount can be deducted from pre-payments at the Pay and Display machine as long as anglers show a print-out of this offer when the bailiff comes round. The Leigh Sinton management reserve the right to amend or cancel this offer.

Change for the coin operated machine and up-to-the-minute information on how the pools are fishing are available from the on-site cafe. Information on the fishing and peg availability can also be obtained by telephoning Gill Payne on 07908 961715 (mobile).

Regarded by regulars as the easiest of the three pools, probably because of the large head of fish in the water, Bluebell Wood is Leigh Sinton's main match water. However, appearances can be deceptive and its size belies the fact that in the centre it is some 18 feet deep. Constructed in the shape of a bowl, even a rod length out you can get six feet of water and the water gradually deepens the further out you go.

Its depth has an advantage as it enables the fish to grow to a decent size. Although the main stamp of Mirrors and Commons is in the 3lbs to 4lbs range, a 23lb Mirror was caught in September 1998 and a 17lb Common a few weeks earlier. The majority of Leather carp are around the 6lb mark.

Other species in the water include chub to 5lbs, roach to 2lbs and perch to 2lbs. In addition, Bluebell Wood Pool is home to a small head of tench.

Unusually, there are no particularly favoured pegs - its all down to technique.

Because there are a lot of carp in the water which feed on or just under the surface whatever the weather, many anglers use the bubble float to fish Chum mixers or pellets on the surface whilst those after the roach use pole or traditional rod-fished float techniques either high in the water or on the bottom. Many of the bigger fish tend to come from the deep parts of the water, so sliding float or legering is often worth a try.

When it comes to baits, maggot and casters are the generally used baits, with casters being particularly effective for the roach and chub. Because boilies and other high-protein baits are not allowed, carp anglers tend to use meat, sweetcorn or trout-pellet paste on the bottom and floating trout pellets or dog biscuits on the top. However, anglers should note that floating bread baits are not allowed. Another highly successful bait is worm.

Bluebell Wood Pool tends to produce plenty of good match weights, particularly in the summer months, but generally fishes well throughout the year and for those visiting the fishery for the first time is probably the best place to start.

However, at 20 feet deep in the middle, this water holds plenty of good carp which, if anything, run to larger sizes than in Bluebell.

Indeed, most of the carp in Kingfisher Pool run well into double figures and, with the added attraction of Ghost Carp to 25lbs, the water is favoured for those after fewer but bigger fish than they would catch in Bluebell Wood.

The biggest fish to come out of Kingfisher include a mirror carp of 28lbs and a common which weighed 34lbs. Both were taken late in 2005.

Once again, most anglers fishing for the carp tend either to fish near the surface with Chum mixers or floating pellets. Alternatively, anglers should fish on the bottom using ledger tackle, 6lb to 8lb line and Size 12 hook. Those after the roach tend to fish 2lb to 3lbs line to 16 or 18 hook.

When fishing Kingfisher, anglers are advised take a larger landing net than they otherwise might do, for even when fishing small baits for the roach it is possible that they will hook into a carp. Those fishing specifically for the carp are also advised to take an unhooking mat to protect the fish whilst they are out of the water.

From the beginning of 2006, keepnets are no longer allowed to be used at Leigh Sinton other than in matches.

Stocked with carp, roach and tench taken from the previously over-stocked Bluebell Wood Pool, plus some of the fish from the fishery's own stock pond, the water is similar in character to the other Leigh Sinton Farm waters shelving steeply from the sides to a maximum of as much as 20 feet.

The water accommodates 27 pegs with additional fishing available from a grassed pier on the far bank. The idea for the pier was not originally portrayed in the detailed construction plans, but it was thought it would be a sensible addition to provide more fishing for use in peak fishing days, particually at weekends.

The lake's construction involved the excavation of a large waste area which had to be removed before soil excavation could start. To get to Lake 2000, go up the main farm track and the new water is immediately on your right-hand side as you approach the fishery car-park.

The two new lakes are being used primarily as mixed pleasure waters, and are between eight and 10 feet deep at their maximum with a shallowl edge around on end. Both are bowl shaped and drop off rapidly to their maximum depth.

These new pools are now available at £140.00 per pool for club matches and are already yielding 60lbs to 90lbs winning weights for five hour matches.

Middle Pool, the lake to the right looking down the hill from the cafe, has been stocked soley with about 65 common, mirror and ghost carp between the 8lbs and 10lbs. Lake One, the pool to the left looking down the hill, has been stocked with a mix of carp and roach, the carp again running between 8lbs and 10lbs and the roach between 8oz and 1lb 8oz.

As both lakes were new for 2006 only time will tell if there is a particular way to fish the waters, although it is expected that the same techniques that work on Bluebell and Kingfisher will also be successful here.

Again the pool is home to a good head of Mirror, Common and Leather Carp all to about 10lbs. In addition, like the other pools, Badgers Brook also holds a good stock of decent-sized roach as well as some good mid-sized tench and perch.

Up to 20 feet deep in the centre with the shallowest water to be found in the bay to the left as you look towards the Potting Yards, Badgers Brook is the only one of the Leigh Sinton waters to hold bream, which are said to average 3lbs to 4lbs. How big they run is unknown because, as not many anglers take the trouble to find the water, few reports are ever received back by the fishery owners.

One thing is sure, if the main pools are busy, Badgers Brook is well worth a session and could yield up some of its secrets.

Leigh Sinton Farm is on the right about a mile down this road. After turning into the farm follow the track up to the fishery.

Click on the map for a more detailed map showing the location of Leigh Sinton Fishery.

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