Woodland Waters, Lincs
Dave Eastwood visits a fishery that is teeming with quality silverfish, making the end result impossible to call
ASTRUGGLE for a handful of bites on a Lancashire park lake was what fuelled my passion for angling almost three decades ago.
In an age when there seems to be a craving for instant action, that may seem strange to some, but the simple fact of knowing the water held fish that could show up at any point was more than enough to keep me interested.
Every now and then I would be rewarded with a ‘bumper’ catch that may have been made up of 20 silverfish up to 12oz and perhaps a bonus tench or golden orfe – and those red-letter days boosted my love for Oldham’s Alexandra Park even more.
It was the feeling of hope rather than expectation of catching that seemed to drive me, fully aware of what could be achieved if the jigsaw pieces fell into place.
Admittedly, I eventually became a big fan of commercials and got sucked into the ‘more is better’ mentality for a while, but there are still plenty of anglers who harbour a deep-rooted admiration for venues where the end result is never a given.
Thankfully, there are still plenty of fisheries dotted across the country that maintain that ethos, and Lincolnshire’s Woodland Waters is one of them.
Home to five lakes, it is the Specimen Lake that gets the lion’s share of the attention. At 14 acres, and with depths down to over 20ft in parts, the fish have plenty of space to exploit.
Carp and pike to over 20lb are the focus of the big-fish enthusiasts, but there are also large shoals of silverfish that appeal to plenty of visitors.
Local angler Dave Eastwood is one of those that loves to try and outwit the roach and skimmers.
“This is not the easiest of waters to crack, and I love the challenge of having to try to first locate the fish and then get them to feed,” explained Dave.
“A huge net of silvers is far from a certainty, but there are days when I have turned up and everything has fallen into place, leading to over 50lb going into the net.
“There’s no doubt the lake is teeming with fish, but it’s the uncertainty of what’s going to happen in each session that fascinates me so much.”
Stunning setting
The fishery appears to have struck the perfect balance between convenience and somewhere with all the hallmarks of an ‘old-school’ venue.
Atackle shop, restaurant, accommodation lodges and toilets are all on-site, but everything has been built in a way that doesn’t make the place feel overly commercialised.
You’ll pass quite literally hundreds of towering trees as you wind down the fishery’s lanes, and dozens of acres of woodland make up the grounds.
Parking spots are dotted around the Specimen
