Hibaldstow Lakes, Lincs
Accidents can happen in any walk of life, and Mark Dunwell visits a prolific tench fishery that only exists thanks to series of unexpected events
THE stories surrounding the creation of some fisheries border on the unbelievable.
Dotted around the countryside you can find places that once were little more than strips of boggy land which over time have been transformed into beautiful venues that attract visitors from far and wide. Similarly, in towns and cities you’ll find park lakes which were blighted by crime and vandalism that have been turned into safe and scenic settings and now serve as breeding grounds for future generations of anglers.
The story of Lincolnshire’s Hibaldstow Lakes is a little different to these examples, but its transformation is no less spectacular. Fishing wasn’t even on the agenda when the site was a busy quarry almost 50 years ago. Limestone extraction was the site’s main purpose, with huge machines digging deep into the earth to source the precious raw materials. The work on that specific spot came to an end in 1976 and a giant crater was left in situ, before the machines moved position to continue their extraction work on the rest of the site.
Decades of rain slowly filled that crater and turned it into a lake, and this then received a stocking of fish in around 2005. Tench, bream, carp, roach and rudd were among the species introduced, but despite the presence of these mixed stocks, the venue never really got going as a fishery.
Instead, it was mainly used by the leaseholder to train police divers, with its depths of over 20ft helping them prepare for real-life scenarios. When the diving ceased in 2009, the site was left to its own devices, with the fish thriving thanks to lush weed growth and no shortage of natural food.
Glancing down into the crystal-clear margins today, it’s obvious that fish are now been breeding
too, with fry of various sizes darting around in the gaps between the weed.
However, it wasn’t until 2021 that a decision was made to unveil the venue’s true potential to the public, with fishery manager Steve Thomas being fully aware of what it was capable of.
The keen angler, born and bred in Wales, had relocated to the area and sought permission from the quarry bosses (who still owned the land) to
