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Bayeswater Fisheries

Hot-shot carper, Jack Brown gives you the low down on one of his faourite waters from the east region

Located just off the A12 in Chelmsford, Essex, and run by legendary carp angler Gary Bayes, this is a fantastic little day ticket water with an impressive stock of big fish. The lake is around four- to five-acres in area with a good number of well spread swims that offer each angler their own area of water to fish.

What’s great about this venue is the fact it holds such good form through the year, although I would suggest targeting the deeper areas in winter and the shallows for the next few months. Bright hookbaits are the one, especially when combined with small bag of wrigglers and including maggots in your feed can be a devastating tactic. Solid PVA bags of pellet and ‘balanced’ hookbaits will work throughout the whole of the year at this venue along with standard boilie tactics with a good spread of loose feed. Presenting a hookbait in the mid- to upper-layers with Zig Rigs can also bring regular bites. With some epic sport to be had during the warmer months surface fishing or fishing with over-depth Zigs, fed with a constant stream of Mixers or floating trout pellets.

There are real good numbers of fish in Bayeswater, plenty of doubles and twenties with a nice head of thirties – the biggest nearing the forty-pound mark! In terms of features, there are some nice reed-lined margins to target, fishing just off the marginal shelf. Also look for the firmer areas when fishing out in open water or any area of slight depth change – I have found getting a firm ‘donk’ on the lead normally brings more bites. So most tactics will work well, but if in doubt, Gary and the rest of the bailiffs are extremely helpful and are more than happy to point you in the right direction.

Before visiting the venue you will need to purchase a gate key and ID card for security reasons, these can be purchased from tackle shops: Bevan Carp Tackle (Chelmsford) or Angling Direct (Rayleigh). The issue of gate keys and ID cards to anglers makes the fishery extremely safe and secure – there’s no need to sleep with one eye open. Oh yeah, and one nice touch is the kebab van that is parked outside the gates entrance to the fishery! Large Donner and chips with chilli sauce and great day ticket carping – sweet!

The vital information you need...


Biggest resident: Mirror: 38lb; common: 35lb.
Average fish size: The average size is a very impressive upper-double.
Rough fish stock: Gary Bayes predicts there’s around 350 carp in the lake.
Going bait: Purple Monster Squid.
Local tackle shop: Beven Carp Tackle 01245 266833 or Angling Direct 01268 777127.
Takeaways: Fast food van at fishery entrance.
Rod limit: Three rods
Location: Generals Farm, Boreham interchange, A12, Springfield junction Chelmsford Essex.
Contact: Bayeswater Fishery 07746 050657.
Website: bayeswaterfishing.co.uk
Prices: £7.50 for 6hrs or less; 12hrs £15 and 24hrs £25.
Facilities: Secure parking, on-site toilets and fast-food van at fishery entrance.
Jack's top areas/swims: All parts of the lake will fish well, so just watch the water and move if nothing’s happening..
Jack's top tip: "All methods will score, but give this a try: a small bag of maggots nicked on the hook can be devastating.”