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Lakeside Caravan Park and Coarse Fishery

Top Northern carper, Julian Cundiff gives you all the info you need to enjoy a trip to one of his favourite venues!

I first became aware of Lakeside after a very gruelling early winter on my normal venues where I was really struggling to get a bite, never mind a carp. Brian Skoyles had been tipped off about the water and we arranged to meet one cold January morning at the venue not too far from Bielby in North Yorkshire. Brian had already fished the lake a few times so we went in on his preferred tactics of fishing maggots and pellets. A great first day with not only plenty of carp, but also chub, tench and bream to liven things up from time to time.

From that day onwards this has been one of my favourite ‘day only’ venues as it deters the long stay carp anglers, which means you are never fighting for a peg and if you are prepared to get there early you can get your first choice of swim.

The water varies in depth from 4ft to 12ft but an overall depth of 8ft can be found in a big part of the lake. Not only does it have reasonable depth, but tends to be one of the last waters to freeze in this region, which is a big bonus up here. Because it is a coarse fishery with plenty of carp the rules are not designed to ‘aid’ carp anglers, but the water is all the better for it, as it teaches you to try new things and not stick to the tried and tested.

I personally have done well on all tactics from Zigs to surface fishing, to fishing a pellet over Spombed ‘mush’. Nashbaits Soluballs are brilliant in the colder months as you can fire them out as far as boilies and with boilie free offerings being banned it certainly gets the carp feeding strongly. As the water warms up, the place is a surface angler’s heaven and be it at range with a Bolt Machine or up close almost stalking them, you can’t go wrong. They love mixers and pellets and scrap like trains when you hook them.

It’s a brilliantly run water and the owner runs a tight ship so don’t break the rules or take the ‘you know what!’ Thoroughly recommended and I hope to see you there…

The vital information you need...

Biggest resident: 22lb to 25lb at most.
Average fish size: Mid-double.
Rough fish stock: 400 carp.
Going bait: Pellets - mixers and surface pellets in summer.
Takeaways: None close by, but the on-site shop has some food and there are a number of nearby villages.
Local tackle shop: None too close but York and Hull have plenty.
Rod limit: Two rods.
Location: Crudhall lane, Bielby, York, Y042 4JP.
Contact: Tony and Elizabeth on 01759 318100.
Website: lakesidewebsite.com
Prices: £7 per day.
Facilities: Car park, toilets and on-site shop.
Known winter areas/swms: These fish really do move round a lot and you need to find them. When its wet and windy close to the island is a great spot and fish the side of the island protected from the wind. On calm high-pressure days the open water in the middle is your best bet. They do show but not a lot in winter. The period from 2PM to dark is great in winter but don’t be late packing-up.
Jules' top tip: Be prepared to move if you are not on the fish. I have moved up to four times in a day in winter to get on the fish. I have also been known to try maggots on the bottom, a Zig and finally some mixers on the surface in winter just to catch fish. In summer you may well get away with fishing in the edge, but in winter ‘off-the-barrow’ and with an open mind is best. Rig-wise I tend to use a standard Nash Diffusion lead clip and leader and a coated hook length with a Multi-Rig presentation BUT remember what I said about varying your tactics!

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