Regarding the species of fish that reside in each lake, all the lakes are stocked the same.
Underneath the ground, between each pond there are large tubes which join all the lakes together.
This feature allows us to top up Ashmoor Lakes with water from the water holding pond when the weather is hot and dry, and the levels start to drop, but this also means that all the fish are free to travel between ponds as they please.
So no matter where you sit, there is a an equal chance of catching practically every fish!
Lake 1 was originally dug as a Trout lake, and was stocked with hundreds of Rainbow Trout for us to catch up and eat at our leisure.
Now, the Trout have long since passed away, or been eaten, and the course fish have taken over!
This is the first lake that water enters into when we are topping up the water levels during summer, and always fishes well due to that extra oxygen boost it gets.
There are 10 swims on this open water lake.
Famous swims on this lake are the 'Twin Oaks' swim (which as you look at the lake on arrival is on the near bank, right down in the far corner near the two Oak trees), the corner swim opposite that, and the thin corner area in the top left as you look at the lake. This corner area was where the last scoops of the digger were when digging the pond, so its that little bit deeper and always collects a lot of fish.
The bank nearest the field is not fishable, but all the swims catch well.
Fishing to the centre of the lake produces a lot of fish, as does the near margins. An excellent lake for surface Rudd fishing.
Lake 2 is the only lake with islands.
Originally this lake was 2 lakes. The first lake was circular with a round island in the middle, and the second lake (further away) was a rectangle shape.
Back when they were first dug, a bucket of unknown fish was stocked into the round lake, and we spent the first few years trying to catch up fish to see exactly what was in there.
This turned out to be Roach, Rudd, Tench and Perch, and 2 big Carp!
The third rectangular pond was used to breed fish in, and was packed full of Roach and Rudd.
When the lakes were opened to the public, the two were joined together at 2 points, creating the second more square shaped island, and we stocked the newly formed lake with lots more Carp, some Crucian Carp and exactly 50 Bream. Those of you who have caught the Bream from Ashmoor will know how well they have bred since then!
Recently a few goldfish and Orfe have made there way into Ashmoor, and we have stocked plenty of Barbel and Chub, which swim freely between all the lakes.
Fishing to the islands produces lots of fish, of course, but the margins should certainly not be overlooked! There are 14 swims to fish from on this well established lake.
Lake 2 is one of our most popular lakes.
Lake 3 is our newest lake, dug quite a few years ago now when the fishery was opened to the public.
The whole of Ashmoor Lakes is mainly fed by underwater springs, and this piece of woodland was always a good few inches underwater all year round, which had killed off most of the trees anyway.
Fishing is only from one bank on this lake, making the far bank the perfect place to find the fish.
Sometimes called 'The Kidney Shaped Lake' (though we hope no-one has a kidney shaped like this!) or 'The Canal Lake' due to its thin section, this lake was stocked heavily when first dug with hundreds of Carp and other fish.
Since then, all the fish have moved around and is now stocked with everything that swims in Ashmoor Lakes.
There are 12 swims on this long, narrow lake.
Notable swims on Lake 3 are the first swim by the bins, the swim opposite 'Car Park Corner' where you can cast over to the car park where you enter the lakes, and the whole 'canal' section where you can swing a bait over to the lilies.
Ashmoor Lakes not only has some of the best mixed coarse fishing around, but the lakes are set in beautiful woodland and the surrounding area is filled with magnificent wildlife, from Buzzards, Red Kites and Green Woodpeckers, to Voles, Grass Snakes and Dragonflies.