Peatling Pools
Bruntingthorpe Road
Peatling Parva
near Lutterworth
Leicestershire
Tel: 07860 434444 (mobile)
First developed over 30 years ago on the site of a spring-fed peat bog, Peatling Pools is a pretty three-pool venue offering a range of pleasure fishing for anglers of all ages and abilities plus pegs for club matches of up to 15 anglers.
Open from 6.00am until dusk seven days a week, the fishery was established by the father of the present owner and run as a retirement interest. Since taking over the pools, however, David Ellingworth has invested in improving not only the fish stocks but also the banksides, the pegs and other aspects of the fishery to bring it more into line with the needs of the modern day angler.
Offering about an acre and a half of water in total, Malcolm Pool and Magna Pool are the two largest waters whilst Parva, which gets its name from the Latin 'parvus' meaning 'little', is the smallest. Of the three pools, Malcolm - named after David's father who developed the fishery - is the most popular.
All three pools hold good heads of Mirror, Common and Crucian Carp whilst stocks will be supplemented for the 2004 season with the addition of some Ghost Carp, which will be introduced at around the 2lb mark, and some half-pound barbel and tench.
Biggest fish to be taken in 2003 was a 30lb Mirror which was caught by a local angler ledgering luncheon meat on the far side of Malcolm Pool.
With a good head of carp running in the 12lbs to 15lb range plus decent stocks of roach, bream, rudd and perch to an impressive 5lbs, Peatling Pools offers a good variety of sport in pleasant rural surroundings.
Match weights to 100lbs are not uncommon whilst the average probably run between 30lbs and 50lbs depending on the season.
Anglers are permitted to use a maximum of two rods and keepnets are only allowed in matches. Junior anglers under 16 should be accompanied by an adult and groundbait is only allowed in feeders. Anglers are asked not to use the Method feeder, boilies, jokers, bloodworm, trout pellets, nuts, beans or tinned cat or dog food. This is strictly a barbless hooks only fishery.
Carp mats should be used when handling fish for weighing or taking photographs.
Day Ticket Costs
| Adults |
£5.00 (one rod) |
£7.00 (two rods) |
Juniors/OAP/Disabled
(Mid-week only) |
£3.00 (one rod) |
£5.00 (two rods) |
Bookings for matches should be made by telephoning 07860 434444 (mobile)
Malcolm Pool
Just over half an acre in size with a small island at the car park end, Malcolm Pool is an attractive reed-lined water with an average depth of about five feet but with holes varying between eight and 12 feet deep - making it worth plumbing the depth when pole or waggler fishing or seeking the deeper parts of the pool in winter. There is plenty of bankside vegetation to give cover for anglers.
Regarded by some anglers as a fairly challenging pool where most people have their favourite swim, Malcolm fishes well all year round.
Popular techniques are ledgering, fishing the feeder and fishing the waggler, either in the margins or towards the island. It is also popular with pole anglers who can get close to overhanging features and by the weeds without the danger of becoming snagged.
Many anglers report that the sport varies throughout the day with early catches of roach and bream giving way to carp as the temperatures warm up. The fish also seem to feed at different depths throughout the day, so it pays to be prepared to experiment if they are not feeding on the bottom.
Whilst sweetcorn, luncheon meat and frozen prawns are three popular baits when fishing for the carp, roach and bream, chopped worm, caster and red and white maggots are also highly effective, particularly in winter.
Although groundbait should only be used in feeders and trout pellets are not allowed, the fish can be attracted and held in swims equally effectively by regularly feeding coarse fish pellets, samples of hook bait and other particles.
Malcolm is also renowned locally for holding some big perch with specimens caught and weighed at up to 4lbs. Indeed, one angler travels from Cambridge once each month just to fish for the perch with the fish falling more regularly in winter to baits of chopped worm and maggots.
In addition, Malcolm Pool also holds good heads of roach to 3lbs, rudd to about 2lbs, bream to 5lbs and some tench and barbel. It is also known to contain some Koi Carp and Golden Orfe, although as with the tench and barbel the actual sizes of these fish is so far unknown.
 When Fisheries.co.uk visited Peatling Pools in mid-September 2004 we weren't disappointed. Although we only started at 5.00pm with about two-and-a-half hours of daylight left we had a busy session. Fishing one of the pegs near the car park where we had seen a few bubbles rising, we found the bottom at about seven feet and fished soft pellets on a 14s hook and 6lb line.
Within minutes we had lost two fish which bolted straight for the centre of the lake before the hook slipped. Then it was third time lucky - a nice 8lb 12oz mirror (pictured right). After that the bubbles started thick and fast and we were soon bagging skimmers to about 12oz. The next bite was furious as what could only have been a big carp snatched the bait and ran, tearing line from the clutch before everything went slack. A straightened hook was all we had to show for a frantic 60 seconds.
By the time we packed up we had netted a couple of lovely crucians well over the 1lb mark and lost a couple more. We will be back... prepared with stouter tackle and stronger hooks! |
Magna Pool
Again just over half an acre in size, Magna is the original peat pool at Peatling Pools and has a gravel bed and average depth of five feet throughout. Again, Magna has an island and although in 2003 it had been allowed to become fairly weedy, much of this will be cleared for the 2004 season to make it easier for anglers to fish.
A good year-round fishery because it is very sheltered, Magna Pool is an ideal float fishing water.
Offering much the same species and sizes of fish as can be found in Malcolm Pool, Magna has been really well stocked over the past 20 years and offers perch to about 3lbs, roach between 2lbs and 3lbs, rudd to a couple of pounds, tench over 3lbs, bream over 5lbs and carp of a similar stamp but not quite as large as those in Malcolm Pool.
Again, fishing in the margins and to the island proves a popular technique, whilst float fishing clear spots in the weed also produces good results if samples of hook bait are fed regularly to draw the fish out from the weeds and keep them on the go.
For those after the carp amongst the weeds, pva bags filled with samples of hook bait work well, but the use of stronger line is recommended because the fish will bolt for the weeds as soon as they feel the hook and the line strength must be good enough to hold against the force of the fish and weed.
Parva Pool
The furthest pool from the car park, Parva Pool may be the smallest of the three Peatling Pools at only a quarter of an acre and capable of accommodating only eight anglers, but it is a delightful and attractive little water with some impressive fish for its size.
Again the water is very sheltered, being protected on three sides by trees, and can usually be fished on the float whatever the weather.
As with Magna Pool, Parva is about five feet deep around the sides and shelves away fairly evenly from the banks all the way round in a bowl shape to a maximum depth of about eight feet in the centre.
One of the main features of Parva are the perch in the water. These are anything but 'parvus' running to a cracking 5lbs whilst the carp go to a meaningful 15lbs.
If roach are your main quarry, you will not be disappointed here either with specimens again running to 3lbs. Indeed, whatever your quarry, Dave Ellingworth believes you have to be a pretty bad angler to blank on this gem of a little water!
Unlike the other two waters at Peatling Pools, Parva has no island to fish to although it has plenty of reeds around the bankside which provide cover for anglers. At the far end there are also some overhanging willows which give shelter from the sun to the carp in hot weather.
Having said that, in summer the carp can often be seen about a foot below the water in shoals of 10 or more fish like silent motionless submarines. This makes the water ideal for stalking because the fish know as soon as a bait hits the surface and they will usually come to investigate.
Here again, pole angling is also quite popular with most anglers fishing the margins as they do with the waggler. Because of its size there is little need for the feeder or ledger.
How to get there...
Peatling Pools can be found just outside the centre of the tiny village of Peatling Parva, just a short drive through the countryside from Lutterworth off the M1. After leaving the motorway, drive through Lutterworth town centre to the garage on the left hand side of the road and you will see a turning to the right signposted Gilmorton.
Follow the road to Gilmorton and pick up the signs for Peatling Parva. Drive straight through Peatling Parva and you will see the fishery on the left hand side as you leave the village.
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