Latest news
This page will be regularly updated with latest news from the fishery and our consultancy work, whether it's catches, wildlife sightings, a new project or anything else of interest.
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Old friends...
Added at 16:50 on Wednesday 08th August 2018
The best moments at Ashmead come when old friends create new memories to share and when old passions are fired by close encounters with some of Ashmead's wonderful carp...
Three Ashmead jewels
Added at 10:09 on Saturday 07th July 2018
Single Scale at 55lb, landed by Jake. Patch, the fully-scaled mirror landed by Jimmy. Opal landed by Ed. Despite the blazing temperatures, three of Ashmead's finest mirrors were landed last week... All second generation Ashmead carp, spawned in the wetland and grown on naturally in the rich Ashmead environment over the past twenty to thirty years.
Psst!
Added at 15:20 on Sunday 20th May 2018
The spring season has drawn to a close and Ashmead is now closed for spawning.... The final week was fished by some of our longest standing guests who are now old friends and they caught some fantastic carp during their stay. Dave Cooper landed the common known as Psst at 40lb 40z from a margin spot on Five-Ways point and Dan landed another "new" thirty, with The Grey Common nudging the scales around to 30+ for the first time. The Grey Common has only been caught a handful of times, so it was great to see her in such great shape. Everyone caught and it was a fine end to a spring season that started off with snow and ice....
That moment...
Added at 12:32 on Friday 11th May 2018
Any catch is special but some mean that little bit more and those moments can be better still if they are shared with like-minded anglers who really understand why you are grinning like a loon! Ben Gratwicke with a personal best common of 41lb and Rich Vicker with a 32+ common caught after a hard winter's fishing as a member of the Ashmead Winter Syndicate.
When it all comes right...
Added at 10:04 on Monday 30th April 2018
One of my favourite bits of writing about carp angling when I was younger was Rod Hutchinson's Redmire piece with the title 'When it all comes right', about a fantastic session he enjoyed at the pool. I could write a similarly titled piece about the last week at Ashmead, when some old friends shared a catch of thirty carp including (I think!) four or possibly five thirties. The biggest fish was The Long Common, caught by Aaron McCarthy at over 40lb, which he caught along with another thirty plus common after moving swims mid-session.
The highlight for me though was the capture of a fish called 'The Tench' after Terry Hearn who was the first captor of the carp in 2014, when it weighed 8lb. This time it broke the twenty barrier for the first time at 20.08. One of many young mirrors that are spawned naturally in the Ashmead wetland and are growing on to be Ashmead's future...
Great company and some lovely carp.
Session of a lifetime!
Added at 15:50 on Wednesday 11th April 2018
Last week, Julian visited Ashmead for the third of his short spring sessions. Conditions were hard and with the incessant rain we've had the banks were thick with mud making moving swims a chore. Not that this put Julian off! He found a big common in No Carp Corner, just about as far from his pitch as possible and he spent well over an hour getting around there with his kit. It wa worth the effort because ten minutes later his carefully placed bait had been taken and he had Single Scale in the net at 54lb 8oz. The following morning he had another take from the same spot and landed a common of 36+ to cap the session of a lifetime .... A great bit of thoughtful angling and a huge effort! It's great when the effort pays off in style...
A "new" thirty...
Added at 11:26 on Monday 09th April 2018
At long last spring is in the air and the Ashmead carp are starting to move. The rain has been unrelenting and the fishery is a bit of a mud bath but the weeping willows are showing their fresh new leaves and the flag iris is shooting.
I'll put up some photos of an exceptional catch from last week when I have them but, in the meantime, Nick Bassett landed a lovely common this week, which topped thirty pounds for the first time (it's previous biggest weight was 27lb last August). It's a carp that only gets caught once or twice a year (like many of the Ashmead fish) and most of those captures over the years have been in spring and from the same area of the lake.
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