Marston Pit, Bedfordshire

The Lake

Martson Pit was once part of the brickwork industry in the heart of Bedfordshire in the 1950’s 60’s and 70’s . The London Brick Company dug out huge areas of the county where clay seams were present, the clay was extracted and sent to the Stewartby brickworks and at one time the factory’s produced 135 million bricks a year, but as the years past there was a massive decline in brick demand and the brick industry slowed leaving the pits to flood ,but as a legacy they left huge expanses of water which were then rented out to leisure activity’s one being angling and this is when Ampthill Angling Club acquired the Marston Pit.

Ampthill Angling Club has had the lake for 30 years + and all the stocked fish have been put in by the club. In the early days, the lake held a good head of tench and bream but was only fished by a few. The lake now holds a great head of carp which attracts many budding carpers to the club but the lake also holds a good silver stock and one can easily spend a few happy evenings catching plentiful bags of roach and rudd too.

The far side of the lake (test track side) was also used by the railways to tip sleepers and other rail aggregates back in the 80’s but over the years the area has recovered and now matured into a picturesque lake.

Over the last few years the lake has had a gravel track installed by the club which now gives access to 70% of the lake and allowing anglers to park close to their chosen pegs, most pegs have great level areas for pitching up a bivvie if required or holding club or inter-club match’s.

Many hours have been spent by clubs members bringing this water into the 21 century of angling and hopefully a lasting for legacy for the club.

The Fishing

Carp can be tempted from all over lake at one time or another but the best and most valuable tool is watercraft – your eyes! Watch the water as much as possible and spend as much time as you can at the lake. The carp do show themselves, particularly on a fresh, warm wind so it’s important to get on them when you can.

Marston is festooned with snags and other features so I would say that marker floating and leading around is imperative to help you identify some features to fish to. Use braided main line to allow you to feel the lake bed as much as possible – no stretch will give you more feel.

Straight boilie approaches work well. Using hinged stiff rigs over the top of boilies is a tactic that can work exceptionally well and also help single out the bigger fish in the venue.

Surface fishing can be a winner in the summer months so always have some floaters in the motor.

Also, don’t neglect the margins. The lake does slope off into a decent depth of water so little traps set in the edges can work well. Try introducing small handful of chopped boilies and particles in a few different swims, checking them every so often to see if fish are feeding.