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| The bay and far end |
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| The concrete bowl end |
The predominant species are Bream, Carp and Pike, but here are also Perch, Roach, Rudd and, I believe, Tench. 30 years ago when I first fished as a teenager it was a Bream and Pike water, it still is, but has, over the last decade and a half, developed a reputation as a Carp water: "The Swindon Park Lake". Carpers have a tendency to rename waters as well as name the fish; the largest fish in Coate has been called "The Resident", and at it's biggest weighed in at 47lbs...
However while it still has plenty of Bream and Pike, it has, compared to commercial fisheries, a low stock of carp, although they are generally quite large. It is a tricky water for other reasons; it can 'go off' and appear fishless, the fish can be very nomadic and disappear to the other end of the lake during the course of a day, and while it is not overly weedy, there are numerous snags, both natural and unnatural to make fishing a little harder.
It is also a comparatively cheap place to fish; day tickets are very reasonable priced for as many rods as you've licences for, a season 'day' ticket is extreme value for money - the only problem with each day option is that you're restricted to 7.30am until dusk. The 24 hr season ticket is about £300, not excessive in the scheme of things, with the fish you might catch, but unfortunately out of my budget.
I've therefore got a Day Season Ticket and, although it restricts my usual early starts, it's pretty good value. My next decision was, naturally, where to fish. The usual approach is to visit the lake and watch for signs of fish, however, although I visited the lake many times (usually with my son on walks) the only time I saw fish was in the close season, when they would be up on the surface in the back bay, confident when not fished for and a little preoccupied with spawning. (see video.)
My next clues were obviously looking for where other anglers fished; although you can't just follow and, especially if you want to catch that special fish, just fish where and how others do, it's at least a starting point. There were 3 main 'popular' areas; the conrete bowl end (at either end, by the diving board and the over flow) the island (again either side) and the rear bay, especially at the start of the season. It seemed sensible to concentrate my carping on those areas and see how it developed; after a few seasons catchign carp on commercials and fighting through single-figure fish for those rare upper doubles and low twenties, it woudl be a nice change to fish and wait; knowing that a run would more than likely mean an exciting fish.
It is also a comparatively cheap place to fish; day tickets are very reasonable priced for as many rods as you've licences for, a season 'day' ticket is extreme value for money - the only problem with each day option is that you're restricted to 7.30am until dusk. The 24 hr season ticket is about £300, not excessive in the scheme of things, with the fish you might catch, but unfortunately out of my budget.
I've therefore got a Day Season Ticket and, although it restricts my usual early starts, it's pretty good value. My next decision was, naturally, where to fish. The usual approach is to visit the lake and watch for signs of fish, however, although I visited the lake many times (usually with my son on walks) the only time I saw fish was in the close season, when they would be up on the surface in the back bay, confident when not fished for and a little preoccupied with spawning. (see video.)
My next clues were obviously looking for where other anglers fished; although you can't just follow and, especially if you want to catch that special fish, just fish where and how others do, it's at least a starting point. There were 3 main 'popular' areas; the conrete bowl end (at either end, by the diving board and the over flow) the island (again either side) and the rear bay, especially at the start of the season. It seemed sensible to concentrate my carping on those areas and see how it developed; after a few seasons catchign carp on commercials and fighting through single-figure fish for those rare upper doubles and low twenties, it woudl be a nice change to fish and wait; knowing that a run would more than likely mean an exciting fish.
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