A12 Cuton Lakes

This is a great venue for any angler looking for any type or coarse fishing. With everything from 20lb pike to double figure bream with many roach, perch, tench, and of course, carp small and large running up to 40lb 4oz.

In specimen 2 lake, the day ticket carp lake, there is a good head of carp, with 16lb being an average fish. It holds one known 30.

It is popular with carp anglers looking to fish a session and catch some carp without the hassle of fishing a massive water. The whole lake produces fish in the right conditions and most modern tactics work.

The most productive way to catch the carp in summer is a bed of a good quality fishmeal boilie with a popped up version of the same bait on the hook. Beds of maize and trout pellets also produce well and in winter, particle baits are key to helping you get some good sport.

Smaller versions of carp baits work well for extremely large bream and good tench.

Specimen 1 lake operates an annual membership system. It holds the larger fish with the lake record being a 40lb 4oz mirror. It also holds bream to 17lb, 20lb plus pike and double figure tench. A special boilie has been developed and is fed into into the lake on a regular basis. This is available from the bait and tackle cabin and is often the best option because the fish do not associate it with a hook.

The match lake is very good for either the competitive angler, or someone who just wants to catch some fish. It has an island in the middle which is the obvious feature and most anglers fish the pole in the margins or to te island. Most match tactics work and you can't go wrong feeding sweetcorn and fishing sweetcorn or maggot on the hook.

Newland hall fisheries

Situated about 10miles from Chelmsford, Newlands Hall provides Essex anglers with a chance to get amongst some carp and get a quick bite.
It is not such a challenge as some complexes, but makes a good winter water when a fish of any sort is welcome.
It is heavily stocked with commons and mirrors to the mid doubles with 15lbs being an average fish.

On the complex, there are four lakes, Park lake, a small water good for beginners with carp averaging 6lb, Moat lake, large than park lake and excellent for surface fishing for carp to 16lb (well 16's the biggest I've caught from moat lake), brook lake, the largest non-syndicate water on the complex with carp to the mid doubles, and finally osiers lake which is a specimen carp syndicate for members only



On moat and park lakes, the margins produce the better fish but on brook lake, using open water with pva bags over gravel seems to sort out the larger carp.

Fennes Fisheries reviewed: Ash Grounds

Ash Grounds is on the Fennes complex in Braintree, Essex.
Ash Grounds holds a wide range of species including perch, roach, Rudd, tench, large bream and of course, some nice common and mirror carp to the mid twenty's.
it is not a huge lake but offers a variety of features to suit different approaches. The deeper water can be found closer to the car park but the larger carp usually stick to the areas further away until early evening due to pressure.

In summer, the carp tend to stay next to the islands or in the reed beds. If you use a maggot or particle approach in open water, you will get large shoals of bream eating the bait, which is fine if you just want a bite, but not when trying to catch big carp.

I don't advise using strawberry or scopex boilies if you don't want bream or tench because sweeter baits tend to bring other species.

One way to get around the bream is use pink pop ups which for some reason, the bream don't touch although they take yellow, red, brown and orange pop ups without hesitation.

It is a good water just for a bite but some of the larger ones won't give themselves up so easily.

Fish close to features with a smelly bait and you will catch.