On The Bank Angling: The Marchamley Pools Quest

Well it looks like again I have been a terrible blogger with the gap between the posts getting bigger all the time. Apologies it will be better soon. Anyway as those of you who know me will know my short stint up North is over and I am back in Devon on the job hunt again. Obviously the job hunting is a bit harder when you have an un-healthy fishing obsession though. Before we talk about some of the fishing I have done since returning to Devon I think it would be wrong not to look back at the fishing I did up North at one very special venue in particular, that venue is called Marchamley pools.
I was told about Marchamley by my land lady who's son had been fishing there when he was younger. Back then she said it was two pools one with some big Carp. It sounded like just the venue I was after and a quick check on google maps indicated it was only 12 minutes from my accommodation. This was ideal as I was not sure how much time I would have in and around work commitments.
My first trip to Marchamley was just really a scouting session after work. I arrived on a Saturday night and quickly realised that this was a popular venue. The site consists of three pools, two specimen lakes and a match pool. On my first look all three ponds were being heavily fished. I did not let this put me off however as although having a lot of other anglers around can be frustrating it also means plenty of bait going in and as I would be fishing mid-week anyway it meant less work for me. My first plan of action was to walk around and chat to some of the local anglers to try and gauge what the stock levels were. My walk left me more optimistic than when I arrived as conversations with other anglers had revealed my targets in the venue would be Carp to low thirties and Catfish approaching fifty pounds! All for just £20 for 48 hours!
So the next day I was back again but this time armed with my Carp gear and 1kg of Cell boilies. With the weather still being fairly cold I decided to target the bottom pool as this is where I was told the bigger Carp resided. The session gave me a good feel for the sort of challenges this venue would present me. To watch how the session unfolded check out the video link- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLX_Zwq4AZ8.
At the end of the session I left having caught my first twenty pound Carp from up North. The fish was caught on my ever faithful choddie to a spot near the island. The session was not all easy though and it became obvious I would have to vary my approach to be more successful in the future.

23 pound Common Carp from Marchamley Pools

In the weeks to follow I fished Marchamley pools a number of times mainly after Carp and had some success but none matching the fish from my first visit. It was at this point that my attentions switched to the Catfish that reside in the top pool. Having heard of a few big fish being caught all my thoughts not switched to how I could tempt one of these big moggies onto the bank myself. The videos in the two links below are well worth watching to see the trials and tribulations I went through in this quest. But lets just say what a species of fish they are but they sure can be frustrating!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enZ7KikAaEo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aVDzIIWczY

Whilst pursuing my search for the often elusive Catfish I was actually very lucky to catch some more stunning Carp. The fish at Marchamley really are in great condition and although they are not all monsters who cares when they look like the fish pictured below.

Low Double Mirror Carp Marchamley Pools

There's not much more to say about the venue really other than its a fantastic place to fish. It is cheap, well stocked, well managed and has little rules. A couple of massive bonuses too are that there is a burger van located on the entrance to the venue! This means food can be delivered direct to your peg morning and night! Its top tucker too!! The second massive bonus is that you can park in very close proximity to your peg, meaning no hiking tonnes of gear for miles!
Unfortunately my time at Marchamley for the time being is over. I will be sure to head back for a holiday at some point in the future though. Below are my best pictures from a memorable two months at the venue. If you liked the videos be sure to subscribe to the channel and keep in touch with the blog for more of our fishy tales!! Even if I am a bit late at telling em!! Till next time tight lines guys.