Your Favourite UK Coarse Fishing Lake?

Is your favourite lake a commercial pond or a big, wave-crashing pit? I don't consider myself to be a lover of commercial fisheries but upon thinking of my favourite lake I have come up with the top lake at Claverhambury Carp lakes in Waltham abbey, Essex.

Back when I first started fishing it around 15 years ago, you would get small Tench, Golden Tench and plenty of Rudd thrown in amongst the Carp but nowadays it is predominantly Carp. Though in saying that, I have had some clonking Roach out of there, over a pound quite a few times. I suppose they will only get bigger with the amount of bait the goes in. Give it a few years and the commercials will be producing the records. Even Barbel!

Anyway, with Claverhambury seeming to produce nothing other than battered looking Carp under 2lb, that definitely switch off for 2 periods in mid morning and mid afternoon, bailiffs that always get you and too large-a duck population for my liking how could it win the crown of Lee Churchill's favourite lake??

I think it's because when I was a kid, Claverhambury was the only place you could go to 'really bag-up!'. I fished a number of matches over there between the ages of 12-14 and I remember winning numerous times with a number 5 elastic! I never had the luxuries of spare top two's! I used to spend 20 minutes playing a 3lb Carp, with the elastic bottomed out! Gotta laugh, haven't you?!

Another reason why the top lake at Claverhambury is my favourite lake is because it produced my biggest coarse fish to-date, in the form of a 23lb 12oz Mirror Carp.

I remember it was a rock-hard day so I scaled down to 3.5lb mainline and a 2.1 lb bottom, 20 hook and a white and red maggot. I was having the occasional Roach and was losing the will to live to be honest until WHACK!! My Drennan medium feeder rod flew off its rest and I just managed to catch the end of the butt before it went in! I didn't think it was particulary big as it shot off really quick. I had to let it have line because of the light hooklength, but it went, and went some more! Luckily my spool was fully loaded or it would have took my line and smashed me when it hit the knott!

I could drag this story on for ages but I'll spare you....

After having to remove several anglers from their swims, I ended up on the other side of the lake, facing the island! To those of you that know it, I started off in the first peg to the left of the gate! After 45 minutes of giving I slowly began to bring it in. The Carp was absolutely knackered and to be honest, so was I! A bloke with a bigger net than mine did the honours and kindly took a picture, promising to forward one on to me. He never did, the ^%$£.

So that's my favourite lake and why! I will dedicate pages to all of the fisheries that I have fished in time, but for now what's your favourite lake and why?

Don't forget to go to the favourite river and canal pages on the right hand side to have your say about those too!