Willow Waters Fishery

The Main Lake

The heart of Willow Waters is its Main Lake, a stunning, century-old natural water that was once a clay quarry. Its natural origins mean the lake is anything but uniform, with depths of up to 24 feet in the middle. The fish here are hard-fighting and in immaculate condition, as they are rarely caught, unlike fish in commercial lakes. Venue owners, Sarah and Craig, deliberately avoid day tickets to preserve this unique quality, ensuring the fish remain in top condition.

The stock is predominantly a head of common, leather, and mirror carp, with the highest confirmed weight around 25lb. However, there is a legendary, much bigger carp that has been seen but never caught, creating an air of mystery and a unique challenge for visiting anglers. The lake has never been netted due to its depth, so the owners truly don’t know how big the fish have grown to, unless they are caught. The lake also holds pike up to 25lb.

Techniques and Bait

Due to the lake’s natural character and silty areas, certain techniques work better than others. The most effective methods for the carp are ledgering with boilies off the bottom and pole fishing. Anglers are advised to pre-bait their desired swim before setting up their tackle, to allow fish to start feeding. The fish tend to cruise the margins and the outskirts of the lily pads rather than holding in the deep centre. Surface fishing is possible, especially in summer, but the carp can be very finicky and fussy, often ignoring floaters.

The bottom of the lake is clay and slit. This means that pop-ups are often a good choice to present your bait above the silt. Natural food is abundant, with mussels and other organisms present, which makes the fishing a challenge as the carp aren’t always looking for angler’s bait. The bait that works can change from week to week, so having a variety of options is a good idea. Craig, one of the owners, notes that good baits include boilies, maggots, and worms.

Key Features to Target

While the margins are the primary target, anglers should try the area where the very shallow water in front of the house drops off into deeper water. This is a key area where the carp will come in and out. Another recommended spot is fishing across from the big willow tree on the corner.

This is a selling point

The Middle Lake

Middle Lake is a man-made water dug in the early 1990s and is much shallower, at only about six feet deep. This lake is a fantastic option for a fun, relaxing session and a perfect antidote if the Main Lake is proving to be too challenging. It’s a great spot to wander down to in the afternoon for some easier sport.

The Middle Lake is stocked with F1s, common carp, roach, and skimmers. It’s also home to some impressively large perch, with some specimens going up to three or four pounds.

Techniques and Bait

Fishing on the Middle Lake is a completely different proposition from the Main Lake. Anglers primarily use float fishing and pole fishing techniques, as there is no need to fish on the bottom with heavy baits. Bait choice here is less technical, with worms, maggots, casters, bread, cheese, pellet and meat all producing results.

Brown Owl Lodge & Aylesbury Lodge

These two lodges are the venue’s original cabins, built 18 years ago from real round logs. Guests love the authentic feel and the smell of the wood when they walk in. They are both identical, offering a double bedroom and a twin bedroom. Brown Owl is particularly private, situated at the end of the site closest to Burnby Lane, overlooking its own secluded area of the lake. Each lodge has two private pegs located right on the water’s edge, at the side of the cabin.

Kingfisher Lodge

Kingfisher is the newest and largest of the three lodges, built six years ago, it is incredibly popular and successful, ideal for families or couples. The lodge is a six-berth, providing ample space. The Kingfisher, like the other lodges, offers a beautiful lakeside view from the decking, perfect for relaxing and watching the wildlife.

What all guests love about the lodges is the peaceful setting and the fact that the accommodation makes the trip a perfect balance for both anglers and non-anglers. As Sarah, one of the owners, notes, “the men are happy fishing and the ladies are happy having a nice place to sit and read a book”, of course it’s sometimes the other way round!