Although about 60 per cent of the fish are mirrors with the remaining 40 per cent being commons, there are a about half a dozen large leather carp which are known to run to 35lbs - the last one out coming to the net at just under 32lbs. In addition there are linears to mid-20s and fully scaled mirrors to the high 20s.

Of the fish, about 60 per cent weigh between 12lbs and 20lbs, about 30 per cent between 20lbs and 30lbs and the remainder being between 30lbs and 35lbs - giving anglers a good chance of catching a fish of a lifetime on the right day.

Between five and six feet deep around the margins, much of Main Lake is a maximum of seven feet deep, although there is a long trench off from the road side bank which starts at 12 feet deep in front of the cabin on Main Lake and runs up to five feet deep at the bottom end.

One of the most popular techniques on Main Lake is to fish a pva bag stuffed with particles, pellets and hook samples fishing boilies from the Cotswold Bait Creations range which can be purchased on site. Among the most popular of these tend to be UFO and Kick boilies which have already accounted for plenty of decent fish.

Brightly coloured pop-up boilies, particularly orange and yellow, are also very popular being easily seen by the fish in the relatively clear water. Using the zig rig where the boilies are popped-up from the bottom using a long hook length is a particularly favoured method, both on Main Lake and on the smaller Top Lake.

Other tactics which work well are to use natural baits such as a large cluster of maggots fished 'Medusa' fashion - superglued to a sinking boilie - and sweetcorn. Hair-rigged 6mm to 10mm pellets also work well, particularly when fished over a bed of smaller feeder pellets.

A very good way of catching fish in the summer is to fish floating baits with a controller float, using bread or dog biscuits. However, when fished in open water these floating baits can often attract the attention of a couple of resident swans that live on the water and passing seagulls.

Fishing a floating bait close into the margins can be very productive on warm summer evenings and nights when the fish patrol the margins grubbing around and looking for food which has been washed into the bankside.

The fish on Main Lake also react well to a new wind. If the wind is blowing into the far corner as you enter the fishery it is highly likely the fish will be down this end of the lake and feeding. Main Lake sometimes also fishes well on on the back of an easterly wind when fishing to the island and in the margins can be productive. The Main Lake carp also feed well in a south-westerly wind which has been blowing for about a day or two.

Anglers should also be willing to respond to moving fish. Quite often dropping a pva bag filled with goodies next to a fish just under the surface will draw him down to the bottom and give a good chance of catching.

One of the nice things about this water is that it seems to fish equally well in the daytime as it does at night, although hot bright weather does tend to put the fish off until early evening when the temperatures cool down, through the night and into the early morning.

In winter it is obviously better to fish the deeper water. However, because the carp keep moving and because even in the coldest months there is usually plenty of anglers bait going into the water, they are nearly always on the look out for something on which to feed, a factor which makes Main Lake almost as good in winter as in summer.

By-and-large, the three-quarter acre Top Lake has a bowl shaped bottom with about 10 feet of water being found just a couple of rod lengths out and 15 feet towards the middle where there are two 18 feet deep holes.

Designed exclusively for the use of anglers who book the Top Lake cabin, Top Lake has a higher density of fish than Main Lake and is classed as being easier to fish than its larger counterpart - which probably makes it more of a target for those looking to visit Wildmoor Waters for a shorter stay.

With 200 carp equally split between commons and mirrors, about 75 per cent of the fish in Top Lake are in the 6lb to 20lb range, the remainder being between 20lbs and 30lbs with on or two fish over 30lbs.

In addition to the carp, Top Lake also holds some good sized tench to 10lbs, bream to 12lbs, roach to 2lbs 8oz, crucian carp to 2lbs and perch to between 2lbs 8oz and 3lbs. This goes to make Top Lake a good water for those looking to break their personal best for species other than carp.

Top Lake is a popular floater water with dog biscuits fished on the surface being one of the most popular techniques. Floating crust and bread baits also work well.

Top Lake is also popular with anglers fishing either traditional or pop-up hair-rigged boilies. When fishing this technique, a minimum line strength of 12lbs is recommended tied to either a Size 6 or Size 8 barbless hook. However, anglers who feel this might be cutting things a bit fine are advised to fish heavier rather than risk loosing a good fish.

As with most fisheries these days, barbless or micro-barb hooks must be used, keepnets are not allowed and all fish, irrespective of their size, must be landed in a landing net. A quality unhooking mat is required.

For those visiting Top Lake for the first time it is useful to know that there are no particular hot spots, all pegs offering an equal chance of catching decent fish. However, whichever bait you are using it pays to fish it over a bed of pellets, which can be purchased on site, although the most popular technique for general fishing tends to be to fish boilie over pellet.

Visit Wildmoor Waters on the Net Wildmoor Waters has an impressive website where details of how the waters are fishing, photographs of latest catches, information on booking and news from the venue can be found. The website also has a useful section showing how to make up the most successful rigs for the two lakes. Follow the link to visit their site, www.wildmoorwaters.co.uk.

How to get there...

Wildmoor Waters is just outside the village of South Cerney, near Cirencester. Having made your way to Cirencester, take the A419 and leave it at the Spine Road Junction and follow the signs for South Cerney. At the first crossroads, turn right into Station Road. Take the first turning right after the 30 mph signs into Robert Franklin Way and turn immediately right into Wildmoorway Lane. Wildmoor Waters is the third entrance on the left.

Click on the map to the left for more detail.

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