There is an impressive amount of fishing lakes in the county of Hertfordshire and in the surrounding counties, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Greater London, making it one of the prime UK spots for carp angling.
There are a whole host of options available for the highest quality fishing to be had in tranquil and scenic surroundings.
Rib Valley Fishing Lakes
The are situated on the Westmill Farm estate and comprise of two lakes, Rib Lake and Westmill Lake. Rib Lake is the larger of the two, with one mile of bank and an overall size of 12 acres, in comparison to the 2. 75 acres of Westmill Lake. At Rib Lake, you will find mixed species, with Carp up to 30lbs, Roach to 2lb+, Tench to 8lb+, Perch to 3lb+, and Pike to 25lb from October to arch.
Meanwhile, Westmill Lake contains mixed Silver fish and small Crucian, Common and mirror Carp, with a sprinkling of larger Carp, as well as Tench, Bream and Perch. Certain rules are to be observed when fishing on these lakes, such as having to use barbless hooks only, using unhooking mats at all times, not using keep nets except for match fishing, not using bolt rigs, only fishing between swims.
Additionally, coarse fish species including Carp (mirror, Common, Crucian and Ghost), Tench, Bream, Chub, Roach, Rudd, Gudgeon, Pike and Perch are not to be killed and kept as they are only for pleasure angling.
Rebournbury Fishery
Situated in a peaceful and secluded area near St Albans, the, as well as having a river stocked with Wild Brown Trout, also contains a Coarse Lake stocked with Roach, Rudd, Perch, Chub, Bream, Barbel, Tench and various species of Carp weighing up to 22lbs.
The coarse and trout lakes are available for match and club bookings with a minimum booking of 15 pegs required, and the fishery caters for specimen, match and pleasure anglers alike, regularly hosting matches and competitions throughout the year.
If you are looking to build up some experience, then you can also book in taster sessions of up to 4 hours for fly or coarse fishing, where you can get a sense of the waters, whilst benefiting from the advice of experts at the fishery. ;
Willows Lakes
is part of a huge 180 acre estate, which is sits among the results of a 12 year investment in the planting of 6000 trees, making it a beautifully natural looking site. The site contains three lakes: Farm Lake, match Lake and Willows Lake.
Farm Lake is primarily for experienced anglers who are looking for a challenge, and is approximately 12 acres in size with depths ranging between 5ft and 20ft. The lake offers a number of different features to explore, including 2 islands, margins, gravel bars, silt spots and deep channels. The lake has over 700 carp above 15lbs, and some of these are known to be in the high 20s and beyond. match Lake is approximately 6 acres in size, with depths between 3ft and 20ft and all the features of Farm Lake plus plateaus and shelves.
It is stocked with over 8,000 carp, but caters more for the lower weights of between 2lb and 6lb, and so is ideal for those going for volume. Willows Lake is the largest of the three, at approximately 22 acres in size with depths ranging between 3ft and 12ft. The lake contains around 7,000 carp and you will find the full range of sizes from 3lbs to 30lbs. This lake provides something for everyone and so can be used whatever level of experience you have.
Waterside Fishery
Although not in Hertfordshire, is a mere stone's throw, located not far away in Buckinghamshire. Heron Lake is a small lake of 1. 5 acres, and offers multiple catches of carp of up to 30lbs, Crucian Carp over 4lbs, Tench 10lbs+, Roach 2lbs+ and Perch 4lbs+.
On top of that, there are even three Koi Carp to be caught within these waters. Kingfisher Lake is slightly larger, at 5 acres, and contains very large carp of up to and over 40lbs. In the autumn season, you will also find Pike and Perch to be caught.