Wild Carp Lake Hunting
The pursuit of wild carp epitomises the ethos of traditional angling, which is all about pleasure and not about size or quantity of fish. Wild carp rarely grow big (a ten pound fish is enormous) so fishing for them is the perfect antidote to the modern specimen hunting scene that is obsessed with 'biggest is best'. With wild carp, the oldest strain is best. The challenge is to find them...
Resources to help you find wild carp lakes
Explore the location of old pools, moats and fishponds, noting any local footpaths at the following websites:
Google Maps, Ordnance Survey, Old Maps, Historical Maps
Once you've located a lake on a map, try viewing it via satellite and old aerial photos to ascertain the maturity of trees and proximity of historic buildings: Google Satellite Maps and UK Aerial Photos.
Domesday Book online
A record of all the notable property in England in 1086. Search for ancient buildings and fishponds. Search the browsable version.
Abbeys and monasteries in Britain
Identify a site and then use online maps to search for adjacent fishponds. Search the following sites: Abbeys and monasteries, Cistercian monasteries.
Wild carp waters in the UK
Brayton Hall Pond, Aspatria
8 acre lake in the grounds of a ruined hall, near Aspatria in Cumbria. Original pool set in a historic park dating back to the 13th Century. (We've heard rumours that this water has been stocked with king carp.)
Caldwell Pool, Swadlincote
5 acre pool next to the village church at Cauldwell, Derbyshire. Old pool with two islands, surrounded by trees and containing wildies to 10lbs.
Chiddingstone Castle, Kent
3.5 acre lake in the grounds of this 16th Century castle in Kent. Long moat-like lake, fringed by mature trees, in the grounds of the castle.
Dderw Farm (Abbotsmere in Chris Yates' book Casting at the Sun)
11th Century Monastery Stew Pond, at Llyswen in Powys, Wales. Once one of the best wildie waters. Now syndicated and stocked with king carp. The wildies remain, but the strain has lost its integrity.
Hopsford Hall, Shilton
The Duckery Pool is a half-acre pond near Shilton in Leicestershire. Wooded pool set away from the main fishery. Hall mentioned in Domesday Book. (We've had reports that the wild carp died during the winter freeze of 2011/12.)
Llyngwyn, Rhayader
16 acre mountain lake near Builth Wells, Powys, Wales. Stocked with wildies in the 12th Century by monks at the nearby Abbey-Cwm-Hir. Fished by the Carp Catchers' Club in the 1950s. Probably the most prolific wild carp water in the UK.
Pant-y-llyn, Builth Wells
8 acre mountain lake near Builth Wells, Powys, Wales. Remote lake with spectacular scenic views. Very old strain of carp (possibly the same as Llyngwyn) that hide amongst the heavy weed growth.
Stowe Pools
Capability Brown landscape, with wildies too. What more do we need?
Tingrith Manor Lake
Estate lake at Toddington, Bedfordshire. Reputed to hold wild carp to 10lb in a pleasant traditional setting (albeit relatively near to the M1 motorway). Managed by Vauxhall Angling Club.
If you like this blog, then you might like the book Wild Carp by Fennel Hudson.
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