The World's Most Bizarre Venues And Swims
From the most remote lake on the planet and swims filled with bones, to the most luxurious swims in the world
MOST BIZARRE LAKE
Lake Raduta, Romania
It’s a flooded valley with all sorts below the surface: houses, cars, fish farms, churches, fences, street lamps—you name it, this venue had the lot. 20 years ago it was also the home to the world record carp. Most of the swims were only accessible by boat and it was surrounded by rundown gypsy villages where the locals lived off the land and had very little, and yet amongst them lay a five star luxury hotel which was the anglers base, with tennis court, accommodation, bar, restaurant, power boats and top of the range cars. It was quite an amazing place.
SPOOKIEST LAKE
Lake Raduta, Romania
Raduta again, and specifically Church Bay, where a church steeple sticks out the surface of the bay when the valley was flooded by the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceaușescu. Surrounding the church are gravestones—all visible on an echo sounder as you row around the bay.
“The lake has very few trees around its 2500-acres and when the wind blows from the Black Sea, it is fierce and creates lots of backwash, reveals Euro pro, Simon Crow. “Surrounding the bay are open gravestones with bones littering the banks. The valley is also pitch black at night, making it quite a harrowing place to fish on your own. Needless to say there are lots of spooky stories from anglers who have fished there,” concluded Simon.
WILDEST LAKE
Klaserie Dam, South Africa
This venue is located on the edge of the Kruger National Park and used to hold the South African record carp close to 60lb. The wildlife is simply amazing. At the right time of the year there are crocs, hippos, zebras, monkeys, snakes, and all sorts of other creatures, most of which find their way in through the connecting river—and just past your bivvy door…
FURTHEST WALK
West Bank swims at Tilery Lakes
“I’ve walked several miles to get to swims on the French rivers,” states Crowy “but in the UK the furthest I’ve walked is just over one mile. That was to get to the West Bank swims at Tilery Lake in East Yorkshire. The car park is next to Brickyard Fishery, which you then have to walk past. You then have to walk alongside Danny Nalton’s Pond (Snaggy Pit), around a farmer’s field (which is awful when it’s just been ploughed), down the East Bank of the Tilery, along the South Bank and then up the West Bank. The walk is mostly on clay so when it rained, it could be awful. Plus, when I fished there twenty years ago, there was no such thing as an electric barrow, and very often you’d need to do it twice to get all your kit into place.”*
BEST FACILITIES
Fishabil in France
“I remember fishing the old Farlows Lake (before the current owners had it), in the swims right outside the bar—we were watching a Chris Eubank fight on the telly while playing pool!” jokes Simon. “Last year I had a jacuzzi while the rods were out at Nuddock Wood! Although you can hire all sorts of places now, the best venue I’ve found for facilities is Fishabil in France, where you can hire lakeside accommodation which is super clean and perfect for the other half. There’s a cinema, bar, food service, tennis court, and top class rooms available with excellent fishing.”
WORST BOAT TRAFFIC
Central Park, New York
This place sees tens of thousands of people each and every day, with many hiring boats on the various lakes. Half of those who hire a boat can’t use them, and the other half need to go to Specsavers! Of course most have no idea what carp anglers are so they go all over the place without a care in the world. If you’re after bigger boats, then head for the St Lawrence River, which sees boats as big as housing estates going up and down its stretches!
STINKIEST PERSON
Raduta—again!
“There was a gypsy at Raduta who got labelled Silver Man, as he wore a thick winter-type silver jacket, even when the weather was 40-degrees,” says Simon. “Whenever he came near your swim, you could smell him from 30m away if the wind was blowing in the right direction!”
WORST FOR FLIGHT PATHS
Wraysbury, Middlesex
“For me, this was the original Wraysbury when Mary lived there,” states Simon. “It was simply awful! Planes took off all day long and throughout the night too. There was a tiny window when they seemed to stop but the next morning it would start over again, like Groundhog Day. Some of them were really low too, depending on the weather and the direction of the wind. Eventually you get used to it but not before you’ve moaned about it a dozen times under your breath.”
BEST SWIM IN THE WORLD
An island in the Danube Delta
“This would have to be an island I fished off in the Danube Delta,” explains Simon. “To the left of me was Ukraine and to the right was Romania. It took four hours to drive there, followed by two and a half hours of boat journey, through channels, past bays and ocean-sized areas of water, all surrounded by the most amazing wildlife. It was so remote you could hear a pin drop—no roads or cars, no air traffic, no people or habitation, just wildlife. You were woken by the carp at first light, all totally untapped with no names or previous catch history. The only downside was I shared the island with Steve Briggs who snores like thunder!”
