Furzton Lake, Buckinghamshire
Michael Buchwalder returns to the venue where he started his feeder fishing journey back in the nineties, and explains how to get among the lake’s impressive bream stocks
HEADING to a large, open-water venue for the first time can be a daunting prospect, laden with fresh fishing challenges to overcome. But, according to Irish international Michael Buchwalder, there’s no need to worry, provided you keep your approach simple.
We caught up with Michael on the banks of Furzton Lake in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, a large water surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the city, to see how he goes about putting together big bags of silverfish on the feeder from such venues.
Times of change
“Furzton is a nostalgic place for me, as it’s where I started feeder fishing thirty-odd years ago. Like many places, it has changed a lot. Going back 15-20 years, you could catch 20lb of roach on the pole and there weren’t many skimmers to be had.”
“Then, a decade ago, there was a huge bream explosion at the venue and weights of 60lb-90lb were being taken regularly. Unlike now, the water was coloured, which the bream loved.
“These days the 70-acre lake is gin-clear, with vast beds of Canadian pondweed adding another dimension that you need to factor into your fishing.
“The sport here is still excellent, though, with lots of roach, skimmers, perch and bream to be caught on the feeder.”
A comfortable distance
“When faced with such a large expanse of water, it’s easy to get drawn into trying to blast a feeder as far as you can, but more often than not the best distance is decided by other factors.
“The first is depth. If you’re targeting roach and perch, somewhere between 5ft and 8ft deep is ideal, but if you’re fishing for bigger fish like bream and skimmers, slightly deeper water is usually best.
“My peg for this session has a uniform depth of 8ft and, after casting around with a lead to locate any weed, I found a nice clear area at 50 metres. I used a pair of distance sticks to wrap up to the spot so that I can quickly return to my baited area if the worst did happen and I snapped off.
“Fishing at 50 metres is a comfortable range, one that I can hit no matter what the weather does. On big waters, the conditions can have a huge impact on what distances you can fish at and, unless you’re kitted out
