Peatling Match Lakes
Attractive seven lake match-only fishery with waters which range from canal style pools to large open lakes with features. Vehicle trackway round all pools and ample car parking
Key facts about Peatling Match Lakes
An alternative to canal-style match venues
To be found across the road from the entrance to Peatling Pools are the Peatling Match Lakes which will appeal to match anglers who want a change from the new breed of canal-type venues which have islands at 16 metres.
Established more than 15 years ago, all waters at Peatling Match Lakes have matured nicely with plenty of vegetation, lilies and other water plants in summer. The lakes range in size from one to four acres and offer a variety of fishing from well spaced pegs.
Boat and Old Lane are heavily stocked with carp
Of the four largest waters Boat Pool and Old Lane Pool are heavily stocked with carp whilst the Silver Fish Lake is predominantly a silver fish water which makes it good for year-round events. Pump Lake, the other large water, has two central islands and is stocked with match-sized carp. The smaller Marsh Lake has a long sunken central island and is also stocked only with silver fish whilst the two newer Canal and Crano are both smaller canal-style waters and are stocked with carp, F1s, ide, rudd, barbel and roach.
With hard roads to almost every peg on all seven lakes Peatling Match Lakes are suitable for disabled anglers whilst more able-bodied anglers can drop off their tackle at their pegs before parking their vehicles in the car park.
Peatling holds regular Open Matches
The fishery holds regular Open Matches – please e-mail or telephone the fishery for more information. These matches are ideal for anglers who don’t want to join a club or anglers who don’t have a club match every week.
Summer matches are now regularly won with around 220lbs of fish and quite often anglers need 180lbs to get in the frame, particularly on Boat Lake and Old Lane Lake. In winter weights of 150lbs are often taken due to the mix of fish with carp, F1s, silver fish and even barbel to 6bs coming to the net.
Pegs on all five waters are available at £12.00 each and anglers should note that the gates are closed and locked after a match has finished so it pays to move their vehicles out of the car park!
Lake 'A' - Boat Lake
Boat Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Boat Pool has well spaced pegs
The first lake you come to on entering the Peatling Pava Match Lake site, Lake ‘A’ Boat Pool is about three acres in size and accommodates up to 37 anglers on well-spaced pegs. With a central island, it has banks which drop straight down to five feet before the bottom slides gently to a maximum of about seven feet, making the water easy to fish wherever you are drawn.
Whilst most anglers use the pole in open water or in the margins, some prefer to revert to fishing the feeder towards the island. Waggler fishing, though not as popular as the pole, is also a good method.
Sweetcorn, luncheon meat, cat and dog food are popular baits
With sweetcorn, luncheon meat, cat and dog food the most popular baits, it is just a question of finding the fish, which can be anywhere from the margins to open water, and then holding them in your swim by feeding little and often throughout the session.
As the fish tend to roam the lake, anglers have an even chance of catching with the corners being most productive some days and the open water producing winning weights the next.
Because there is not a lot of weed or natural food in Boat Pool the fish rely heavily on anglers’ bait, which helps to bump up match weights when competitions are held.
Boat Pool is mainly a carp water
Stocked predominantly with small carp around the 4lbs mark, Boat Pool does hold a susbstantial number of much bigger fish as well as good heads of roach, rudd, bream and skimmers.
This means anglers can use a wide range of baits with the decision resting on which fish are in your swim. As a result it pays to go equipped with a general selection which should also include maggots, casters, luncheon meat and paste or coarse fish pellets.
The top winning match weight for 2018 was an impressive 460lbs – so it is important that anglers respect the net rules.
Lake 'B' - Old Lane Pool
Old Lane Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Boat Pool is good water for winter matches
Slightly larger than Boat Pool at about four acres in size, Old Lane Pool has 44 pegs, is deeper than Boat Pool and has two islands. Also, unlike Boat Pool, Old Lane has a gently shelving bed going down to an average depth of about six feet, although up to 12 feet can be found in parts which makes it a good water for winter competitions. The corners also tend to be slightly deeper than the average depth.
Once again the predominant species are carp with plenty of match-sized mirrors, commons and ghost carp plus a fair smattering which run to 12lbs and the odd fish even larger. In addition there are crucian carp plus a large number of roach between 8oz and 12oz but running to well over 1lb in weight.
Good for pole and waggler anglers
Popular with both pole and waggler anglers, Old Pool can also throw up some good weights to leger tackle, particularly in the deeper water where float fishing can prove difficult because of the depths.
When it comes to baits, luncheon meat, sweetcorn and pastes work well, as do maggots, worms and bread, although with the large head of carp in the water it is also worth trying small to medium-sized flavoured boilies fished on a hair-rig.
Fish to the islands or in the margins can give results
As one would expect with a water showing few obvious features, fishing to the islands is an obvious choice if you draw an appropriate peg, whilst elsewhere fishing the margins is also productive. Anglers who prefer to fish open water should bait up well and feed regularly to attract the fish and keep them in the swim.
The top winning match weight for 2018 was an impressive 422lbs – so again it is important that anglers respect the net rules
Lake 'C' - Silver Fish Lake
Silver Fish Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Silver Fish is smaller but with more features
The smallest of the four larger lakes at about an acre and a half, Silver Fish is the furthest pool from the car park but offers more features, water plants and bankside vegetation than the other Peatling Match Lakes. Also, its central island is within easy casting distance of all the pegs on the water, which makes it more popular with waggler and swimfeeder anglers than with pole enthusiasts.
Silver Fish can accommodate up to 25 anglers quite comfortably and again is quite deep for its size with the bottom rising towards the island where the water can become quite weedy, making it a great holding spot for the fish in summer.
A good year round venue
As its name implies, Silver Fish holds a good head of roach, rudd, bream, barbel, chub, golden tench and olive tench, making it a good year-round venue. The top winning match weight for 2018 was 260lbs – so again it is important that anglers respect the net rules.
A lot of anglers who fish competitions on Silver Fish tend to use rod and line with maggots, sweetcorn and luncheon meat being the most favoured baits.
Lake 'D' - Pump Lake
Pump Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Pump Lake throws up good match weights
At an acre-and-a-half in size and with 30 pegs, Lake ‘D’ or Pump Lake is throwing up winning match weights of 260lbs with most club match anglers needing 160lbs to 170lbs to be in with a chance of grabbing the top spot.
With sides which drop pretty well straight down to an average depth of eight to 10 feet, both Pump and its neighbour Marsh Lake have deliberately been made fairly deep to provide the fish with cooler water in summer.
For about 25 feet around the two islands is a shelf which offers about two feet of water. These make a nice holding spot for fish in warmer weather, whilst between the islands are a couple of deeper holes where the bottom falls to between 12 and 15 feet.
Pump Lake is stocked predominantly with carp
Because Pump is stocked predominantly with mirror and common carp averaging between 4lbs and 6lbs with the biggest running to 8lbs as well as F1s, fishing the pole, method or traditional feeder are all popular techniques, although unusually for a match venue the waggler more than holds its own. In addition to the carp there are a smaller number of crucians and bream.
Whichever technique you fish, popular baits include pellet, sweetcorn, maggot, luncheon meat and chopped worm. Again it is important that anglers respect the net rules.
Lake 'E' - Marsh Lake
Marsh Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Marsh Lake is stocked with silver fish
Similar in size to Pump Lake but with 27 pegs, Marsh is different in that it has a long central sunken island which is being planted with marsh reeds and tussocks and is deeper with an average depth of 10 feet, making it slightly harder to fish with the waggler.
Stocked with a mix of silver fish, Marsh holds roach, rudd, ide, bream, perch, golden and green tench and a head of barbel averaging between 8lbs and 9lbs. There are also a few escapee carp from Pump Lake.
This popular water fishes up to 100lbs in the winter and up to 200lbs in the warmer summer months. The most successful baits have proved to be pellet, sweetcorn, maggots, luncheon meat and chopped worm. Again, it is important that anglers respect the net rules
Canal Lake
Canal Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Canal Lake throws up good weights
Established in 2015, Canal Lake comfortably fishes 10 to 12 pegs and contains common carp, F1s, ide, rudd, barbel and roach and, as the name suggests, is a canal shaped lake which regularly throws up catches of 170lbs in warmer weather and 90lbs to 100lbs in the winter.
Crano Lake
Crano Lake at Peatling Match Lakes
Crano fishes well all year round
Also established in 2015, this lake comfortably fishes 10 to 12 pegs and again contains common carp, F1s, ide, rudd, barbel and roach. It has a small island and regularly fishes well in warmer weather again throwing up catches of 170lbs with 90lbs to 100lbs common in the winter.
Rules and conditions
All match anglers must un-bag and stretch out ALL keep nets, landing nets and weigh nets visibly behind them for a minimum of 20 minutes prior to fishing so the bailiff can easily check them.
Any keep net must not exceed 60lbs in weight of fish – with big weights being caught it is mandatory to bring a minimum of three nets per person. Anglers capable of catching big weights should be prepared to bring further additional nets.
Nets must not be left in cars or bags and brought out during matches.
NETS MUST NOT BE PLACED IN ANY WATERS UNTIL THE MATCH START WHISTLE IS BLOWN.
KEEP NETS WITH EXCESSIVE WEIGHTS OF FISH WILL RESULT IN THE PERSON BEING DISQUALIFIED FROM OPEN MATCHES AND BARRED FROM CLUB MATCHES
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