Blythe Waters, West Midlands
Tony Grigorjevs heads to a once booming commercial fishery where the new management have released ambitious plans to bring back the glory days
An in-depth guide to the best stillwaters, rivers, and canals that you can fish for the price of a day ticket
THE explosion of commercial fisheries across the land has led to anglers spreading out – meaning that only the best of these venues truly thrive. Top-class fishing and facilities are provided by the elite players, who set high standards for the rest to follow.
Some managers and owners will roll their sleeves up and invest to stay ahead of the game, while others fall by the wayside as they fail to keep up and bankside activity starts to dwindle.
Blythe Waters in Solihull was a very popular complex in the early noughties, the success of its vast array of well-stocked lakes creating a blueprint that plenty of others followed.
Dug out in the 1990s, the original Home Pool initially supplied water to the Christmas tree farm next door. The owner then introduced trout as a second string to his bow. Shortly afterwards, two more pools – Bridge and Cherries – were dug, the former eventually being split into two to create Willow as well.
It wasn’t until 2003 that the fishery’s reputation really started to spread when British Waterways (now the Canal &River Trust) purchased it.
Another pool known as Kingfisher was dug, maintenance work was completed, and more fish were added, marking the dawn of an exciting era.
Many big-name anglers travelled from all over to compete in qualifiers for what was the hugely popular BW Stillwater Championships between 2007 and 2017, and the final was also staged at Blythe Waters many times.
Towards the back end of that period, the decline started to kick in. Fish stocks appeared to dwindle, other local rival venues, including Barston and Packington Somers, got stronger, and in no time at all the crowds vanished in their droves.
Blythe has never really recovered from that downturn in popularity, but a recent change in management looks set to stop the rot, as the new leaseholders are showing huge commitment to returning it to its former glory.
New beginnings
The complex was given a fresh start at the beginning of the year when Perls Angling Club chief Trevor Bowcott signed on the dotted line
