Mill Road Fishery

News Archive 2013

Autumn Update

The fishery is much quieter now as the "fair weather" fishermen stay indoors. Those that are still visiting are experiencing some good sport though. Mick, a bailiff from another local water, visited Mill Road for the first time last week and was impressed at what he saw. Mick ended up with 15 fish with the two biggest weighing 9lb and 7lb. Our "regular" Mick who visits every week keeps catching. He says his tip is to look out for where the carp are feeding and concentrate on those spots. In the still weather the fish give away their presence through bubbling as they feed on the bottom.

Two things can be certain at Mill Road this winter - no salt tides and no otters! My fishing on the rivers has been abruptly halted by the salt tides that occurred a couple of weeks ago. It was quite distressing to see the large numbers of dead skimmer bream in the river Thurne at Potter Heigham. According to the reports from the EA there are still large numbers of fish alive so hopefully things will settle again. Janet and I have spent the last two weeks clearing around the otter fence so that we can turn the electric wire back on in readiness for the winter. Crawling around on our knees for hours on end is not the best entertainment, but a necessary chore. Just don't ask Janet if she's pleased with the ever growing local otter population!! (Updated 25 October)

September Update

The fishing at Mill Road is improving all the time now as the temperatures reduce from the summer highs. Marc brought his son Declan to experience the prolific silver fish in the lake and the young lad caught roach non stop fishing and feeding maggots. His day was capped off by his first carp making a moment they will both never forget says Dad. Marc went on to say "It's the first time we have fished the lake and I have to say what a beautiful, tidy, well run fishery it is......we will definitely be back!!"

Another happy angler is Alan Brice. Alan had visited a few times during the summer and sent a selection of pictures with quality carp and roach.

Pleasant relief

As I sit typing this on a Saturday morning it is actually raining and looks set to be cloudy all day, a change at last from the last few weeks of consistently hot and sunny weather. Heavily stocked fisheries like Mill Road tend to suffer in the very hot weather, water levels and oxygen levels can fall quickly. We installed an aerator earlier this month which is run overnight and on overcast days to ensure the oxygen content stays healthy. The green algae act just like plants, generating oxygen through photosynthesis, but then absorbing the same oxygen during the night. Sport has been up and down this month as the fish adjust. Some anglers have enjoyed really good days with plenty of carp to double figures whilst others have struggled. I've had a few short sessions and took ten carp to about 7lb fishing 8mm pellets with a method feeder against the island margins. On another afternoon I float fished soft hooker pellets and krill paste close in and took endless tench and the odd carp. I would suggest trying different tactics, limit the amount of feed and look for where the fish are feeding.

Phew what a scorcher!

Several days of hot, hot sun had left the lake looking a little tired and the fish out of sorts, but a break in the weather has had the fish feeding well again. Nick King and his son Josh visited on Monday evening and Josh (aged just 12) showed the oldies how it is done with carp to 8 1/2lb. Nick was very please with the roach (right) weighing in at 1lb 8oz, the best weighed and photographed at the lake for some time.

Peter Belton and his friend Stevie visited the lake and had several carp between them up to 7lb including those shown below. Peter describes the fishery as "wonderful" and even better than last year, thanks for the kind words.

Long awaited summer

At long last we had a few days of consistent hot and sunny weather. The lake was surrounded by umbrellas, but this time to shelter the anglers from the burning sun. The fishing has been reasonable, some anglers faring better than others, but some good catches have been reported. One of our regulars, Johnny (right) landed this perfect condition common carp of around 10lb fishing luncheon meat. Meat is still catching its share of fish with pellet also bagging plenty. This week's top tip for fishing the evening sessions is bring your mozzie repellent! Our new sign about compulsory unhooking mats seems to be working, so thank you to all our visitors. (10 July)

Latest Update 

With the weather up and down at the moment the banks have been quieter than we would normally expect in June, but those anglers that have braved the wind and rain have had spectacular sport. Tony catches plenty every time he visits for his short stints and is seen here bending into another carp. Tony fishes paste in the close margin under a waggler float (his top tip is currently the Dynamite Baits Krill paste) and feeds sparingly with small pellets.

I received a nice email from Darell Balausiak. He reports good fishing with his son, ten year old Lucas. The pictures below are fish of 5lb and 7 1/2lb and both came to margin fished pellet along with ten other fish to 6lb. Well done to both anglers (22 June)

Roach uncovered

The fishery has settled down again now after the excitement of last week's spawning. In the immediate aftermath the fishing was a bit up and down with some good days and then a slow day, but now the sport has become more consistent. We have had many reports of the big roach that have grown on in the lake. One of our regular visitors, Barry, sent this picture in of a cracking fish (right). Barry was float fishing red maggot in the margins and took this fish along with sixty others during a short day time session.

I decided to have a crack at the roach last week and set up with a light float rig, size 16 hook on a 2 1/2lb hook length. I baited with double red maggot and fed maggots and hemp every few minutes to get the fish competing under the rod tip. I was dropping the float right in the margin and getting bites straight away. After a few short hours I had caught over 30 roach between 8oz and 12oz with a handful of larger fish.  The three biggest weighed between 1lb 2oz and 1lb 5oz (all weighed on accurate digital scales). I'm sure that bigger roach are present and will go back in a few days to have another go. The roach fishing was also interrupted by the occasional carp and I had two of 4lb and one of 8lb.

Our neighbour Tony came over for a late afternoon/evening session and landed twenty carp. He fished paste under a float with a light feeding of pellet.

I found a great review of the lake on the internet last week from a visitor that came last Christmas. Fred Simeons has a site http://www.pikeandslippers.com with tales of his fishing in both Norfolk and Scotland that is worth a visit. Coincidentally the week after I found the site his brother visited the lake and had some good fishing with his daughter. (17 June)

Fishery Re-opened

We are open again following our brief closure to allow the fish to spawn unmolested. Apologies to our anglers for any inconvenience, but we're sure you agree it is in the best interest of the fish. The lake looks a little battered after the recent orgy, but will soon be back to its best.

Fishery Closed

We have closed the lake for a day or so as the fish have started spawning this morning (Tuesday 4 June). We do not have a close season at Mill Road, but when the fish start to spawn they are at their most vulnerable in terms of stress etc so we like to give them a little space and privacy. You are still welcome to come and walk round and see what is happening. There will be an update in a day or so. If anyone wants to check before travelling feel free to email info@millroadfishery.co.uk or phone on 07917 756015.

Joshua's June Jackpot

Ten year old Joshua Hussey had a great day at the lake. Under the expert coaching of his Granddad Joshua caught a number of carp. The highlight of his catch was undoubtedly this fantastic roach. Well over a pound this fish fell to red maggot fished on the pole in the near margin. It was great to see Joshua getting the full attention of his Granddad, so many youngsters are left to their own devices.

Elsewhere on the lake many anglers are taking big bags of carp,  one angler took over 100lb of fish. Fish are falling to all the usual baits, although pellet and paste seem to be taking greater numbers (1 June)

Brisk Sport

Sport at the lake is proving hectic for some of our regulars. Reports in the week of one angler taking 27 carp, all caught in the margin and another of a fish of 17lb. Ian North (right) visits every week and even today with a cold wind and intermittent showers took fish steadily all day long using his favoured surface tactics. Most baits are worth trying, they will all work on their day, just keep a little feed going in. (11 May)

Where is everyone?

With the weather now improving all the time the lake has finally woken up properly and the fish are all now very active. Surprisingly the number of anglers at the weekend has been low, perhaps they are all still frozen somewhere? Plenty of good fish were caught yesterday (Sunday 28th) with Ian North taking the biggest that we heard of at exactly 10lb. Ian was fishing bread on the surface and getting last of interest. Early on he was fishing bread punch on a light float rig and caught plenty of nice rudd an tench as well as carp up to 2lb. Earlier on in the week our new neighbour Tony dropped by and had 12 good carp in a short session fishing soft pellets. Hopefully we will start to get some pictures of the fish coming out, but in the meantime here is one I caught last weekend. I just took down an old glass Richard Walker rod and mitchell 300 and fished free-lined worm wherever I could see fish feeding. I caught several fish in double quick time and then went back to the gardening! (29 April)

Sport Picks Up

We had a busy weekend at the lake, with the winds moving round to a more comfortable southerly direction and the sun coming out occasionally it was quite pleasant for a change. The fishing will take a while to warm up, but a few carp came out and even some of the tench graced the bank which shows that the spring really is with us. For any new anglers looking to visit us soon, please check out the rules page and in particular note the need for an unhooking mat and landing net. (15 April)

Spring at Last

After what has felt like the longest winter for ages we had a few signs of spring at the weekend. Those bitter Easterly winds took a couple of days off and the sun did its best to warm us up. I even took my coat off for a while! The improved weather certainly brought a few anglers out and the lake was quite busy on Sunday. The nights are still very cold though and the hard frosts that greet each morning will ensure that water temperatures take a while to climb. So fishing was not action packed, although a few fish were landed. I spent a couple of hours on Saturday on the bank trying out my new MkIV split cane rod, I say new, but of course it is over fifty years old and had only had two previous owners! It was a real pleasure to play fish on and I had about six carp up to 4lb. My fish were caught on either sweetcorn or luncheon meat all float fished in the margins. On Sunday there were a few more fishermen about and most were getting a few bites. All smaller carp at the moment, but it won't be long before the bigger fish come out of hiding. (7 April)

British Carp & Angling Show

With the weather so unrelentingly cold, windy and wet we left the fishing tackle in the cupboard and headed to the Norfolk Showground for this weekend's British Carp & Angling Show. Those in Norfolk cannot have missed the publicity ahead of this event. The snow in January caused a cancellation from the original dates and the organisers must have been looking out of the window at the sleet and snow at the start of this week with apprehension. As it was, the worst we had to cope with was the mud in the car park and the gale force wind as we made our way to the arena. Judging by the number of anglers carrying bags and boxes it seems that a few bargains were had, it was certainly very busy on the Saturday morning. I stopped and chatted with Rob Maylin and Lynn and Keith Jenkins on their respective book stands and added another couple of books to my angling library. We also met Chris Oakley Chairman of the Norfolk Anglers' Conservation Association (NACA). Chris spoke passionately about the work of NACA describing their work in Costessey and Thorpe Marshes on the River Yare. We left with several back issues of their excellent journal - Norfolk Angler and vowed to re-new our membership asap. (16 March)

Is it spring yet?

I have fished the final two weekends of the River Season on the rivers at Wroxham and Potter Heigham. On both occasions the results were poor, a combination of the weather and tides. Sport on the local rivers can be very good during the winter, but it can also be hit or miss and if the fish are not there it is difficult to catch. After one trip I came back to Mill Road to fish. It was bitterly cold, but the sun was shining. Fishing with maggot on a light float set up brought bites all afternoon from roach, rudd and three small carp. That was last weekend and this weekend we had torrential rain, snow and sleet for hours on end. This has left the lake a bit flooded at the moment, our overflow struggling to cope with the deluge. If you are visiting please take care in the soggy conditions. (10 March)

New Year News

With the new year starting I was looking forward to some fishing on the the lake, but an attempted break in by otters had us re-thinking our defences.  Two whole days were spent clearing around the bottom of the fence and installing a further electric wire to stop then trying to dig through the bottom. It just shows that we still need to be vigilant, and that includes closing the gate please. This seems to have worked so far, touch wood, but I missed out on some fishing!  A number of anglers were still catching though. Popular methods included ledgered pellet and sweetcorn with regular light feeding. Fish to 8lb in bags of fish of 7 or 8 seemed to be achieved. This weekend (12 January) I actual got a rod out for a few hours in the afternoon. I chose to fish red maggot on a light float rig. Feeding regularly I soon had the carp feeding and ended the afternoon with 13 carp and about 25 roach. I only lost on fish on size 18 hook and 1.5lb hooklength. So if you want some regular sport try scaling down at  this time of year.

A History of Yateley

I am often asked where I fish when not in Norfolk and where some of the big fish I have caught came from. From around the year 2000 for several years I fished the various lakes in the small village of Yateley and in particular spent time on the Yateley Match lake. I was delighted to be asked by Alan Cooper to contribute to a book he was compiling with Rob Maylin detailing the history of those famous waters. The chapter that I wrote describing my time on the lake has now been published in A History of Yateley. Other contributors include well known angling writers such as Tim Paisley, Chris Ball, Sir Pete Springate and of course Alan and Rob. It is an honour to be included in such company and my leather bound copy sits proudly on my bookshelf. All profits from the sale of the book are being donated to MacMillan Cancer Support and copies can be ordered from www.bigcarpmagazine.co.uk for £30 (plus postage).

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