Carp Fishing UK (website article)

[Ballywillen Fishery Staff]

"Have you been to Ballywillen yet?" asked Millzi over the phone
"And if not why not ? Even you could catch a fish, it was one a chuck yesterday."

Oh no here we go I thought with dread, here's another spot that's a three day camel ride from civilisation, and I bet he wants to go on Sunday.

"I kicked Browners ass yesterday with forty one Tench , and a few decent Rudd" gloated Millzi,
Tench! forty one Tench ! keep talking I thought
" All of them a couple of rod lengths out on the float ."

So as my interest grew so did the tales of the fishing throughout the day, a few Pike had been lifted on the far side, some nice Rudd, Browner was smashed by Carp twice, and what seemed to be a constant run of Tench.

Enough said, a phone call was made, the pegs booked and off we went early Sunday morning, and driving to Ballywillen I listened once again to tales of the previous weeks exploits.

Upon arriving we were met by Matthew, who gave us a copy of the fisheries rules and regulations, then we transferred our gear to Matthews car to be driven to the lake.

I was on stand seven with Millzi and Browner on the double stand eight and nine, so as soon as the car stopped the wellies and nets etc were disinfected, and off we went. Such was our eagerness to get to our allocated pegs we almost broke into a jog getting to the stands.

Float rod or pole ? I wondered, well if they're both on float gear I'll try a short pole in amongst the lily beds just to see what happens.
I knew I would have to be quick off the mark in order to stop any fish shooting off into vegetation.
With this in mind I opted for a number eight elastic with an overdepth rig.

Within ten minutes we were all in the water, I opted to have a bash with my old Tri-Cast at eight metres a dibber float, and a size twelve with three reds maggots fished six inches over depth, whilst the other two Gary's chucked out a large crystal waggler also over depth.

I decided to fish over a small bed of hemp with some soaked crushed corn, roughly seven metres out directly in front of me amongst the lilies.


"Browner" and "Millzi" also had a clear path through the lillies and fished roughly three rod lengths out, choosing to fish either side of the entrance to the channel, hoping that they also could bully the Tench to the net as quickly as possible.
So having put out the respective beds of particles and prepared our rods and tackle the next step was a quick cup of coffee, which seemed to be drunk like everything else we did that morning, in record time despite it still being near boiling point.

" May the best man win, but don't feel bad about coming last Gary " said Millzi as he set his cup down and headed towards his rod.

' Which Gary ? ' we asked. ' Either of you ' came the reply,' I dont care, just as long as it's not me '

So we each settled in for what we hoped would be a busy days fishing, and to be honest after having fished the Bann for so many weeks on the trot, trying so many different pegs, I was looking forward to anything other than a Roach or Roach/Bream Hybrid.
Nothing seemed to be happening around my swim for a while and, after a few bait changes produced nothing other than untouched maggots, I thought I would try a small grain of corn.

Then I heard a " Yee-haa !!! " from Browner along with the first splash of the day and turned to see Gary on his feet with his rod bent most of it length." Didn't I tell Ya " he said with a huge grin on his face " didn't I, Oh Ye of little faith ! "

I watched on as he reeled in switching his rod from side to side steering what seemed by all accounts to be a decent sized Tench towards his net, though I had yet to see the fish break the surface.
With a few more turns of the reel and a few splashes as he gently brought the fish to his net, with Millzi and myself looking on, then up and onto the unhooking mat.

" I thought it would have been bigger " he said "it felt like a heavier when it first took the bait, and as Matt Hayes would say They don't half hang on boy "

So into the sling and out with the scales, " Well ? " I asked as Browner lifted the sling " what is it , three and a half touching four pounds ? " I guessed.

" Try four and a half " came the reply " it's a stocky one with a thick tail"

" I'm in " interrupted Millzi stopping Gary mid sentence as he struck to his left hand side, the hook was set and once again the rod went from left to right constantly as he brought the fish to a waiting net.
As one fish was being captured Browner was gently slipping his first fish back to the water.

Two Tench in quick succession and we had only been in the water for ten minutes, ' Bring it on ', I thought as I scanned the surface for any sign of bubbles or movent whilst putting a few maggots out over my float..


"What do you think of the set up they have here? " called Millzi across the ten yards or more space to my stand .

"Pretty good " I replied as I looked around the fishery " Are there any plans to put more stands in ?"

" I think there's two more to go up and that's it, as they intend to keep plenty of space between each stand. Here's Matthew now why not ask him ? "

"Four Pounds " Millzi informed us as to the weight of his first Tench as it slid back into the water.


As Matthew approached down the walkway both Browner and myself had takes, my float twitched twice and started to move slowly away from me. I set the hook and prepared for a fight as the fish headed outwards into the four and a half acre lough at the same time thinking to myself ' When did I last check this elastic ?'


" There's no point asking how you're doing then " Matthew commented watching while leaning against the safety rail of the walkway.

My Tri-Cast was still at seven metres with what felt like a Tench which was now heading towards me and the lilies on the right of my stand.

I shipped back to the top four sections and reached for my net as once again the fish took off towards cover, " Sod that " I thought as my hand left the net to keep a firm grip on the pole, I thought it was ready .
With the pole tip held at head height I watched as my float appeared and disappeared on the surface constantly as slowly but surely the fish was brought to the net.

Weighed in at three and three quarter pounds and released ' Time for the next one' I said to myself.

I baited up, dropped into my swim and again put out a few maggots with a pouch of hemp and waited for the next one.

Ten minutes later Millzi was in, the result of which was a four and three quarter pounder, then fifteen minutes later again it was Gary Mills again with a three pound fifteen ounce fish. As he was releasing it Browner struck into another as he muttered a few expletives his rod arcing towards the surface .

" This feels good " he stated with the usual grin " probably my biggest one yet "

The reeling in stopped, the clutch began letting line out as a run of twenty yards or more started, the rod came up and the reeling in began again only to stop briefly as even more line was taken by whatever he had hooked.

" Come on. Stop mucking about and get it in " joked Millzi, I joined in with " What,s wrong can't you set a clutch properly ? "

" I can't do a thing with this " was his reply.

" Your rod , yeah we know " we laughed .

"No this bloody fish " he grunted under the strain " I knew I should have used a heavier set up and rod "

The battle continued as slowly progress was made in getting the fish under control.

" She's stopped taking line at least " said Matthew who had came down to see what all the fuss was about " Looks like either a good Tench or ., Oh hang on it's a Carp and its coming up "

Briefly we caught a glimpse of a broad shouldered Carp reckoned to be around twelve pounds break the surface and entangle Browners line around its body as it rolled.
One final surge from the fish and the hook length broke leaving Browner standing dejected at loosing his best Carp to date.
The thought and hope of landing a Carp mixed in with quality Tench, perhaps the chance of a few Bream, maybe even a Rudd to over three pound soon spurred Browner back into action.

The days fishing continued in much the same fashion with all of us landing Tench to five pounds in weight, and a few quality Rudd to two and a half pounds. Once again it was Gary Mills with the best total for the day, with Gary Brown coming a close second with yours truly in third place.

As the day came to an end we reluctantly packed up in near darkness mulling and chatting over the events of the day and about how pleasant and productive it was to fish at Ballywillen Lough Fishery.

Having resolved in my mind about just where I had gone wrong during most of the day, hitting bites way to early was just one trait I would not follow on my next visit, we booked another session for the following week.

I would tell all, but the result would be not unlike a short novel such was the enjoyment of the events, landed fish and near misses throughout the day. ... But thats another story

Tales of who landed what, the ones that got away, and the ones we would catch the next time lasted for the entire journey home.

For those of you who may think that Ballywillin is a pure Carp lake with a few species scattered throughout think again.

Ballywillen Lough Fishery is and will remain a mixed species fishery for all to enjoy not just the specialist angler seeking quality specimen sized Bream, Tench, Rudd and Carp.

Several anglers visiting from the mainland to fish the Bann and other spots also had the opportunity to come down and try their luck for a few hours, and before leaving we had a quick chat in which they told us they will be back next year for definite.

The management and development team have produced a quality water, with quality fish , for all to enjoy.

It's in Matthew and Ians interest to put you onto fish, also to help and advise all anglers of all ages with general info on the lake, its species, methods and rigs used in order for you to get the best out of your day, and they do so willingly.


So my advice ? ... No matter how advanced you are in angling terms, or not as the case may be, if you can try out this water for yourself, I honestly don't think you will be disappointed