Pondwood Fisheries, Berkshire
Pondwood Fisheries, Berkshire
I grew up fishing Pondwood Fisheries so it holds a special place in my heart.
Just like I did, it’s a great lake to start out on and there are some lovely carp in there to just under 30lb with catfish also to 52 lb.
I love going there for short day sessions floater fishing, you can bag 10+ fish off the surface in quick succession so it makes for good sport.
I grew up fishing this lake with my grandad and uncle and had my first 20+ carp from there so it holds a special place in my heart.
At just over an acre Pondwood fisheries offers a new angler a great place to start but also some great summer surface action when looking for a bend in the rod.
There are plenty of carp to go at with several being just under 30lb and a lot of catfish up to 52lb.
The average size of the fish is just in to double figures and are largely in good condition.
During the summer months the surface and margin fishing can be immense and a dozen fish is easily possible in a day session. Travel light with a single rod, bucket of floaters and some basic rig bits and you can have a cracking day.
The island pegs are a good starting point as well as the car park bank but as pondwood is so small, you can quickly move round and locate the fish.
Solid bags are my go to tactic for the margins, small parcels, stick mix and some pellets works really well with a small hooklink of a few inches.
You’re not allowed to loose feed pellets so it’s almost as if the fish move in on them fast when introduced in solid bags.
I prefer a mix of mainline cell stick mix, manilla and cell response pellets in my PVA bags and it works really well, especially down the edge.
Though most tactics work, I’d always suggest starting with a PVA bag as it’s 100% the best producing method.
Boilies are banned on the venue and because of this I find popups don’t work very well either, keep your baits pinned on the lakebed and stick to more traditional methods like a lump of bread.
I’d suggest that every new angler has a walk around, if you’re there early you can catch them right in the edge with a free-lined bit of bread. A baiting pole is a great edge to get tucked right under those trees.
In the winter months I swap out the Cell stick mix from my bags and opt for the Nash fizzing stick mix as it always adds extra bites in the colder months.
For those looking to target the bigger fish only, large halibut pellets with a few free offerings around the hookbait work well and you can often find a string of catfish waiting.
Though one small issue for me is the number of small fish at Pondwood, these could do with being removed as it can be annoying.
Pondwood Fisheries, Berkshire
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