Nick and Alfie Atkinson love Cherry Pool

For a change I am going to start this update on Cherry Pool. Normally anglers do not forward their photos to me, but this week Nick Atkinson did along with a short report! I have simply cut and pasted it in here...........

''We (Nick and Alfie) enjoyed a great 4 day break at Egret Lodge, enjoying exclusive use of Cherry Pool. Going in to the stay, we had expected a busy week of smaller fish, but were surprised with the size and quality of the fish which came thick and fast all week. What a great place to learn for younger or beginner anglers or to hone your skills.

The first afternoon and evening was quiet, but a change of approach got the fish feeding on day 2, with the help of Mike and Dave and the ready mixed Spod mix. Over 30 carp were caught over the duration of our stay.

Cherry Pool is an exciting place, with double and even triple takes occurring during the stay( see picture above) , to keep things interesting. Many a time we had to put the rods away for a few hours to have a break from the constant action.

The weekend saw Carp up to 15.14oz and Bream to 6.8oz.''

Guess what.........Nick and Alfie have promised to return!

Thanks Nick and Alfie for the information and photos. Well done both on a productive visit.

Cherry Pool really is a fabulous mixed fishery. Not only is it full of Carp, it has some quality fish of other species. Alfie's 6-08 Bream was their biggest of the week, but the Bream can be caught to over 8lb. This year we have had Roach and Perch caught to over 2lb, a 6lb+ Tench and Crucian Carp to 3lb. Remarkable given how small Cherry Pool is. As highlighted above, Cherry pool is a great lake for parents to bring their children to. It is the only lake where you can be almost guaranteed action on all sensible methods, important as youngsters can lose interest if there is not much action. It is a great place for youngsters, under the watchful eye of the more experienced angler, to develop their fishing skills and learning how to safely handle fish.

I think it is the depth of this lake, which is twice as deep (down to 16 feet) as our other lakes which helps make this lake so productive. I also suspect that just about all of the fish love the spod mix and pellets which we feed. This helps their growth rates and condition in a lake which is over-stocked on just about every measure! Nothing ever seems to last long and feed never has a chance of going ignored for long.! It also fishes well throughout the winter in all but the most extreme of conditions.

It really does pay to bait more heavily on this lake. The Carp and other species are more competitive and as a result feed more aggressively with good takes the result. When the Carp are not feeding the Bream frequently 'step up' and get caught, ensuring 'bobbins' are never still for too long. However when the Carp are on the feed, they 'bully' the other fish out of the way.

The next vacancy on Cherry Pool is 23-26 October, which I think coincides with half-term.

This week we have had an distinguished Emeritus Professor fishing on Cherry Lake. A first for Cherry Lakes. Ian Trayer has certainly applied some of his considerable wisdom and experience to be this week's 'top rod'. Fishing from Grebe Lodge, Ian has caught some 10 Carp to 26lb. An excellent result given the fact that he reels in when he goes to bed and out for regular lunches! Resting the swim often helps!

The biggest since Monday is a 29lb Mirror to Andy Watts. I continue to be of the view that the big female Carp in Cherry Lake have no yet spawned and are sulking while they wait for the right conditions to do so. I hope we get some hot weather soon.

Matthew Hitchcock who is on a return visit to Cherry Lakes, has this week been staying in Pochard Lodge on Cherry Mere. He has to date landed some 18 Carp including a pair of 20's, a 20-02 Common and a 20-03 Ghost Common, pictured above and below. The most productive time being early mornings. The Cherry lakes bio-fruit boilies accounted for most of his Carp. Well done Matt.