Wildmoor Waters
This privately run, specimen fishery holds many carp to over 30lb. The fishery is located east of South Cerney in the heart of the Cotswolds, just five minutes away from Cirencester. There are two lakes on site: the Main Lake and the Top Lake.

The Main Lake is around three acres and holds some 400 carp, depths average 6ft and being a former gravel works there are plenty of features to fish to. The Top Lake is around ¾-of-an-acre and is set aside for the exclusive use of parties staying in the luxury lakeside cabin. There is an additional lakeside cabin on the Main Lake with fishing available straight out of the door.

The venue is well maintained and is tailored to suit the needs of carp anglers. There is plenty of cover around all the swims and additional stalking areas have been created.

Wildmoor Waters is a secure and private venue with ample parking and is closed to the general public. Upon arrival you’ll be shown around the fishery by either the owners or fishery manager. Located in the main car park, is a log cabin that houses toilet and shower facilities. Other facilities include disabled fishing stages and a free digital photo printing service. Sessions must be booked in advance and your session time runs from your arrival

Price:

24-hour £25.00

Contacts:

Wildmoor Waters
The Willows
Wildmoorway Lane
South Cerney
Gloucestershire
GL7 5UZ

Tel: 07711 831 856
E-mail: fishing@wildmoorwaters.co.uk
www.wildmoorwaters.co.uk

50 Fish to catch before you die

"John Bailey's book has made me realise both how lucky I have been to catch the fish I have but it's also made me realise there's one hell of a lot for Die yet to do... " Chris Tarrant

Written by celebrated author, this stunning illustrated book lists and explores 50 of the world's most amazing and challenging fish, offering an insight into each variety and revealing the skills and techniques required to land them.

Packed with invaluable angling advice and first hand accounts, 50 Fish to Catch Before You Die is a fresh approach to a popular pastime which will appeal as much to experienced fishermen, who may have already netted a number of the fish, as it will to those new to sport who have dreams of catching them all.

50 Fish To Catch Before You Die is available from the Carp-Talk Shop for £20.00. You can order either by logging onto www.carptalk-shop.co.uk or by calling 01430 440624.

Prestige Re-Load

There are few products released today that are genuinely a ‘new idea’. Most things are a development of an old idea or, more often, just a gimmick with little practical use! Consequently there is little to really get excited about these days. So this useful aid was something of a breath of fresh air – admittedly it’s not much to look at and in the short term it’s highly unlikely to help you put any extra carp on the bank. But if, like me, you are fastidious about correctly loading line onto your reels, this little device is something of a godsend.

When I used to load my reels, I would immerse the spool of line in hot water for about an hour. I would then replenish the hot water and leave it for about ten minutes to really soften the line and make it as limp and malleable as possible. This is where the fiddling would begin. Depending upon how the line had been loaded onto its spool, or how it was recommended to be unloaded, I would commence assembling my Heath Robinson set-up. If the line was best coming off the face of the spool I would fill a pint glass with water and sit it on the line spool, clamping it to the bottom of the bucket. This was far from perfect and would, at some point, fall over. Conversely, if the line was best coming off the side of the spool, I would place a couple of bricks in the bucket with the spool between them and whatever convenient rod I could find, usually a pen or pencil I had to hand, would go through the centre of the spool. At some point this was sure to come adrift and would require setting up again. All this became very tedious and could even potentially damage the line, which is exactly what you don’t want.

Korda Thinking Tackle Season 4

It’s fair to say I’ve seen more than my fair share of carp fishing programmes, videos and DVDs over the years, but this latest offering from Korda is without doubt the best angling production I’ve had the pleasure of watching. I’m sure you can appreciate that’s quite a bold statement coming from someone who works for a company that stocks and sells over 500 other DVD titles!

You must appreciate that the ‘Thinking Tackle’ series is produced by a company that also produces end tackle components, so this is a vehicle to promote its products. Once you’re fully aware of that, you can then start to neutralize all the plugging and actually take on board all the advice that’s being offered.

The 420-minute, three-disk set is broken down into nine entertaining shows and offers excellent value at just £19.99, especially when you consider the quality of the content.

I think it’s fair to say that in the early days of Korda films Danny Fairbrass had a bit of a monotone voice and didn’t convey much emotion or enthusiasm. Well, those days are long gone and Danny is now a fully fledged pro in front of the camera, and so are his colleagues. Each has a unique personality and angling style, which really comes across very well.

All aspects of carping are covered – I’ll not go into details here, but if you are really interested a synopsis of each show can be found at www.carptalk-shop.co.uk.

I’d be surprised if you do not learn something from this DVD, no matter what your skill level. There is one thing that I can guarantee, though – after watching this film you will feel inspired and motivated to get out on the bank.

Ben Wales

All my problems were solved when I used the Prestige Re-Load. It can accommodate a spool, either on its end or on its side. Made from stainless steel, it’s quite weighty so does not fall over whilst loading, nor will it deteriorate with time. I still proceed with the bucket of hot water but all the other problems associated with loading new line onto my spools have been alleviated with this simple device.

The Prestige Re-Load is available from The Tackle Box and retails at £35.99. Admittedly, not the cheapest solution to putting line onto your reels, but it’s probably one of the few items of tackle you’ll ever own that will outlive you!

Ben Wales