Tom's Tour Willow Park Fishery

THE VENUE 
Over the coming months—or for as long as you guys enjoy the features, I guess!—I’ll be fishing a variety of venues, documenting the sessions in a detailed, in-depth and unique way, with the hope of giving you a real insight into the decisions and changes which, fingers crossed, bring success. 

To kick things off, this first piece saw me visit the lovely Willow Park Fishery in Aldershot. It’s a venue I’ve had just a dabble on, visiting it only once previously, with Fox a couple of years back. Knowledge-wise, I couldn’t say that I knew a great deal about it, therefore, apart from that it held a lovely stock of carp in the main lake. The complex is a fair old size, and situated next to the A331, it’s quite unique in its setting, being surrounded and backed on to by the little bungalows of the surrounding neighbourhood. I’d be concentrating on the aforementioned main lake for the session, going after a stock of roughly 400 carp which range in size from mid-doubles to over thirty-pounds.

Depth-wise, I knew it was fairly shallow, the majority of the lake being between four- and eight-feet, and this was partly the reason I thought it’d be a great place to start the series. With winter fading and spring just around the corner, the shallower lakes around the country will have responded quickly to the recent spell of sunshine, the carp beginning to wake from their cold-water slumber. Whilst not a dead cert that you’re going to catch a few, I still thought we’d be in with a shout of a bite or two for the camera—if I got my tactics right, that is!

With the van loaded and the bailiff spoken to beforehand, I set off, eager to be first on the gate for the session. With it being days only as mentioned, in my eyes, being first on the gate is crucial when looking to line yourself up for a successful session. The last thing you want to do is rock up mid-morning to a busy lake, and then be pinned into an area where there are clearly no carp present. Be there first, find the carp, angle for them with the best possible method—that was the plan anyway! To my joy, I was indeed the first one on the gate around an hour or so before opening time. As the lake can’t be seen from the gate, I could only scroll the phone to kill time, whilst also letting Tom (the photographer) know of my whereabouts as he made his way over to shoot the feature.

Whilst the forecast was sunshine and double-figure temperatures during the day, it certainly didn’t feel that way. The wind was pretty strong and it had a real nip to it! This did worry me to some extent, and I just hoped that the skies would clear and that the weatherman had told the truth (does he ever?). 

SWIM SELECTION
The gates opened, and I was keener than ever to get to the main lake in the hope of seeing some early signs to react to. As I walked to the first few pegs closest to the car park, however, there was very little to see. The surface was really choppy, the wind powering across the lake and colouring up the water, it being so shallow. I stood there for 20 minutes or so, but saw nothing. I had my eye on Peg 5, a swim which commands a huge amount of open water in front. With a view covering over 90 per cent of the lake, it was a good starting point. With there being only one other angler behind me on the gate, I had scope to move, and a back-up plan should the carp decide to give away their whereabouts at some point.

Venue Focus: Willow Park Fishery
The Big Lake, as it’s known, is roughly 10-acres in size with 30 bark-chipped swims, many of which can be fished as doubles. Home to a healthy head of 400+ carp with a few going over the 30lb mark, it also holds plenty of 20s and back up mid-doubles. Day tickets start from £11.00 for one rod and £16.00 for two, with a 24hr ticket costing £25.00. More for details head to willowparkfishery.co.uk.

FIRST LINE OF ATTACK
First, I had a quick lead about in the main body of the water, and not having seen any signs, it was a no-brainer to go in the centre. After a few casts, I found a deeper section which felt siltier compared to the surrounding gravel bars. I thought it was a good area to start with two rods, both fished on the deck with my trusty Illusion D-Rigs and a few Spombs of Manilla, maggots, hemp, corn, and some bloodworm. I didn’t want to overcommit with the bait. I wanted just a little bit of attraction out there to potentially pull anything into the area to feed, with the intention of putting more out if a bite occurred. 

When visiting a new venue, or one you’ve hardly ever angled on, part of the thrill is working out the puzzle and getting that first bite. Usually, once you’ve had one bite, you can change tactics to suit and start to build on the success. With two rods out on the bait, I rigged up a third rod with a three-foot Zig, just to sit on the sidelines for the time being, unless something occurred, like a show. 

I was watching the water like a hawk. I knew it would be difficult to spot them due to the wind, but to my amazement, one showed around thirty yards out, right in-line with the rods, but way closer to the area I’d found. It was a first sign, though, and if they started showing consistently, then I would have to consider the change, and at least cast one rod onto it.

As time ticked on, I started to notice the gulls and coots paddling constantly against the wind as they sat over the body of water I was targeting. Why, I wondered. There must have been a reason for it, I thought, and no sooner had I started to ask Tom’s opinion on the matter as we searched for that first bite, two fish clattered out of the waves to the right of the birds. Straight away, I whipped the right-hander in and tied together a little mesh bag of maggots before casting it to the vicinity of the show. I would soon learn, however, that my tactics were wrong, even though, location-wise, I was spot on. 

My third rod was still on the bench, so to speak, and I didn’t want to overcrowd the area unless it was necessary and if bites started to come. The birdlife was starting to play a key role in this session, as I would soon find out. With the water being shallow, I knew that if a carp came close to those gulls, they’d take flight or spook from what lurked beneath. 

No sooner had we fired up the drone for some extra shots, subtle shows amongst the birds started, the second one being most definitely a carp. I couldn’t ignore it, but this time it would be the third rod with a Zig on which would be cast to the activity. The maggots hadn’t done the trick on the first opportunity, so I put my faith in a short Zig, in case they were sitting midwater or further up in the layers. I now had a Zig either side of the middle rod, which was still over bait. Although I like to fish all three rods on a single tactic, it’s always worth having one on something different whilst you’re looking for the bite—remember, it’s about trying all the unknown keys on the chain to unlock the door in front of you!

CRACKING THE CODE!
With the first brew of the day sitting waiting for me, I decided to move the right-hander slightly to the right after seeing what seemed like a possible show. I wasn’t 100 per cent sure, but either way, it was worth a re-cast in my eyes. Fifteen minutes later, a few bleeps came from said rod. This was followed by the classic drop-back bite from a Zig. Fish on! For how large the fish are in the lake, they really do ruck in the shallow water in front! It was relentless, the fish never wanting to give up as it looked for endless opportunities to do me in the neighbouring snaggy margins. Fortunately, though, we managed to bundle my first carp into the net, and immediately I got to work. The middle rod was whipped in, and a re-cast to the area was followed with a Zig once again.

After that first bite, I was convinced that they were in the upper or mid-layers of the water, and not wanting to dip down for a feed. The fish turned out to be a lovely fully scaled mirror, and an awesome start to proceedings. The sun was beginning to burn through the clouds by this point, and it was warming my peg nicely. It just screamed Zigs, and so that was going to be the tactic moving forward. 

I knew that Zigs were the way to go, but I still needed to work out the location and depth at which they were sitting. The carp were clearly still very lethargic, and if I was out by a foot on the depth, I knew the chance of a bite would be much slimmer. If they weren’t going to show, I would persist with regular re-casts until a bite occurred. They’d clearly only just woken up, so casting to them wasn’t going to cause any harm. In winter, there’s a fine line between success and failure, and you’ll only kick yourself for not trying other depths and/or methods if you leave the lake having been unsuccessful. 

After the first bite, I thought it wouldn’t be long before the next one, but it went fairly quiet. The visiting bailiff said that it’d been fishing pretty tough over the previous few days, and this didn’t fill me with bundles of confidence. He did mention, though, that the few bites which had come to anglers, had been to red Zigs. Without hesitation, I whipped up a few freshly tied Zigs with my Peach and Pepper-soaked red foam. Find out how Tom ties his Zig Rigs by clicking here!

I didn’t make the change straight away, as I wanted them as a back-up. My first bite had been on a black and yellow Zig, my go-to colours, and I didn’t see the need to change unless time moved on at a pace that demanded a re-think. I think the clarity of the water also plays a part in colour choice, and just by testing them in the edge, you can see those that are more visual. 

Venue Focus: Willow Park Fishery
Tom reveals his big 10 takeaways from the session which can be implemented on any late winter, early spring session 

1. Leave your phone on the chair/bed, and use your eyes to your advantage.
2. Take note of the birdlife; they can give the game away when the carp aren’t putting on a show.
3. Don’t be afraid to re-cast! You’re not looking to sit it out for one bite in three days… you’re after some action!
4. Try multiple methods, on all three rods. It’s about working it out until the first bite occurs.
5. Don’t go heavy with bait and overcommit. It could kick you in the arse!
6. Choose a venue suited to the conditions.
7. If location is tough, go in a swim which commands a lot of water.
8. Don’t be scared to chop and change colours.
9. Be proactive and organised. Efficiency and smooth angling will save you time.
10. Get those rods out as soon as possible after a fish is landed. Maximise the opportunity!

THE WINNING SIGN… 
After another re-cast of the middle and right-hand rods, I knew something wasn’t right. The area which had done the bite seemed lifeless, and the birds were moving further up the lake, still paddling against the strong south-westerly wind. Just after I’d ripped open the Haribos which Tom had in his bag and had kept quiet about, the coots spooked to the very left of the swim, just before a fish poked its head out close by. Without hesitation, the middle rod was frantically reeled in and a cast to the area was made. The left rod followed straight after. Donk… donk again! I’d hit a fish on the way down. I turned to Tom in amazement and knew that we were on the money!

No sooner had the rod been laid on the rest than it was away, just to cement how important location and tactics are. The guy to my right was completely transfixed as he looked at his phone, that he failed to spot anything I’d seen, yet he was on Zigs too. If you’re going to go angling for the day, go angling. Don’t sit there scrolling on your phone and then go home wondering why you didn’t catch, as it’s pretty obvious! 

After landing a scraper-twenty common, I checked the hook point once again and got the rod back out to the area first time, and would you believe it, it hit another carp! By this time, all the rods had been changed to red Zigs. They clearly favoured the colour on the day, and although it may have seemed like I’d left it late to switch, they continued to bring action my way, right up until we called it a day at around 5 p.m. with another two mirrors. The last fish was a lovely, heavily plated upper-double, a fish typical of those many would associate with Willow Park. 

We could’ve stayed longer, and no doubt the action would’ve continued, but we’d got the feature in the bag. I’d worked hard to get those bites, and with no one else catching on the day, I left with four carp to my name and a big grin. 

It may be hard work at times, trying to figure out the winning methods, but I guarantee that if you put the effort in and work the swim, you’ll catch them. I could’ve quite easily sat on the lake for the day with three rods on the spot, but I knew that wasn’t going to get me the bites we needed. Chopping and changing brought success my way, and after observing everything in front, I left the lake a very happy chap. 

Until next time…