Fishing Lakes Near Me

Sunset at Fishing Lake

This is fishing lakes near me, a resource for local places to fish.

In the United Kingdom we are lucky enough to have some of the most prolific waters in the world, everything from: reservoirs, lakes, ponds, ditches, gravel pits, rivers and the most beautiful chalk streams. Fishing is one of the most popular sports and pastimes here, and we have some of the world’s most famous anglers.

Competition fishing is a huge thing and the UK regularly hosts tournaments including:



Anglers compete and can grab some big cash prizes.

There are a great number of lakes and rivers in the UK including Lake Lough Neagh covering 153 sq. miles which is the largest while River Severn is the longest river with a length of 338 kilometers.

That’s enough of the statistics! So where are some good places to fish?

Here are some great fishing lakes near you.

The delightful Berkshire countryside provides a wonderful sports fish gaming centre. It is located to the west of London. It’s in the midst of 45 acres of land. It has over 100 lakes and ponds in the forest. It offers tuition on the ‘excellence of game fishing’.

Whilst Scotland offers more game fishing, coarse fishing throughout the UK is a very popular. There are around 10,000 lakes in the UK stretching over an area of 10 ha (hectare).

Fishing Boats on the Lake

These lakes range from small ponds to large reservoirs. Some are for general fishing including match fishing, others are more specialist lakes for carp and pike. All of these fishing venues are available for day and night fishing tickets.

Carp are the most popular sporting fish in Britain and therefore worthy of a mention. This species was introduced in Europe around the 12th century and slightly later in England. They come in various sub-species such as Grass, Ghost, Common, Mirror, and Crucian.

They possess a strong explosive strength and can survive both in fast moving waters and the stagnant ponds. On a very hot day, carp come out to bask and feed. When fully grown, carp in the UK can surpass 50 lbs. Looking for some UK carp lakes near me.

If you’re new to Angling, here’s the lowdown:

Fishing at its basics is done by the use of a hook. The hook is attached to the fishing line which is equally attached to a fishing rod. Baits are put on the hook to lure the fish.

The UK weather is in most cases unpredictable. One day it’s windy and fish cannot be seen. The next its summer and the fish can be seen below the water surface but they are reluctant to be caught. Therefore, a good understanding of timing is very important to any recreational fisherman.

The wind greatly influences the fishing in the UK. A South Westerly wind brings warm air that increases carp feeding. On the contrary, a North or Easterly wind brings in cold air that reduces the carp feeding. Similarly, the stronger the degree of wind, the more the food that is blown about for good feeding. Air pressure, temperature, and oxygen have got similar effects. The sudden change in British weather causes a huge problem to carp fishing in the UK.

Carp Fishing Lakes near me

One of the most popular fishing methods is general coarse fishing. Coarse fishing is the use of a variety of methods to catch a variety of species.

Every fish is returned (unless fly fishing, but we will get to that). Most people live in close proximity to a fishing venue. But remember if you’re new to fishing please grab a rod license and permission to fish before dipping your rod.

Apart from looking on here for fishing lakes near you, you could try visiting your local tackle shop. Tackle shop will be able to provide you with tips and tricks as well as the best lakes near you.

If you’re a beginner you can grab a basic setup for around £20-30. The best advice we can give is to go with a friend who knows a bit about fishing, to help you get started.

Local fishing clubs are of plenty and joining one will certainly help you find great lakes close to you. These clubs will help you learn loads of tricks and will get you on your way in no time at all.

Magazines and online forums are another great resources for finding local places to fish, A great forum resource is: Fishing Magic Forum.

Fishing Tricks and Tips

There are loads of different fishing methods. It really depends on where you are fishing and what you are fishing for. Float fishing is the most popular here in the UK, this can be done with a rod, pole or a whip. Lure fishing is a technique used for mainly Pike, Perch, salmon, and Trout where you are trying to imitate a living creature. Carp fishing, another hugely popular type of fishing in the UK, is mainly done by ledgering. Other methods include surface fishing and fly fishing for carp.

Fishing Lake in Norfolk

Fishing for trout and salmon is mainly done with a fly and a fly fishing setup. There are great trout lakes in England but Scotland holds the flag for the best fly fishing lakes and rivers.

Pole and whip fishing

Pole and Whips are mainly used in match fishing, the idea is they are quick to pull in small to medium sized fish that add up to a winning weight at the end of the match. Poles and whips tend to be made from carbon fiber, the whips are shorter than poles, the poles can reach out to distances up to 16 meters. There’s no reel with this method, an elasticated line is loaded into the pole/whip which acts as a kind of reel, allowing you to play bigger sized fish.

Another great reason for using this method is accuracy. You can place your bait and hook into position with very little disturbance on the water. This gives a huge advantage when match fishing.

The float Fishing method

As said before this is one of the most popular methods of fishing. I think everyone starts fishing with a rod, reel and a float. Excuse the pun but it literally gets you hooked when you catch your first fish.
Floats are made from plastic, cork or wood and the tips are painted with fluorescent colours making them visible from a long distance. The idea behind float fishing is, when the float sinks or with methods, lifts out of the water you have a fish taking the bait.

Float Fishing

Ledgering method

The idea behind ledgering is the hook-length is weighed down by a weight or swim feeder. When the weight is picked up you have a bite. This is a popular method with carp anglers who use bite alarms to detect a bite. You can also fish this way with rods that have sensitive tips. A lot of river fishermen use this method.



Fly Fishing

So what is fly fishing?

Fly fishing, in essence, is the method for catching Salmon and Trout species, however, this method of fishing is used across the world for different species too. In America and Britain, people fly fish for saltwater species like Bass and mackerel. Other unexpected species people catch with a fly are Carp.

Fly Fishing

To fly fish you will need a fly rod and centerpin reel. The idea is to cast an artificial fly with a special weighted line. Fly lines are tapered and the end of the hooklink is normally a thin monofilament line. The setup apart from the imitation fly is very lightweight. The reason for this is so when you cast the line stays behind the fly in the air. Wearing some sort of glasses is a must, I can’t imagine the pain of a hook to the eye 🙁

If you are fishing with a dry fly it will sit on top of the water or you can use a fly that sinks. If using a sinking fly, you can experiment with the hook length of line for different depths of water.

You can use lures to catch Salmon and even trout. This is popular in some rivers, but not all. You need to check the fishery rules before fishing.

Lure Fishing

Lure fishing is the art of pulling an imitation fish or other aquatic creature through the water to attract the fish. It’s a great way to get into this type of fishing as it’s inexpensive to get started. Some lightweight tackle and a good set of lures will do.

What to look before deciding which fishing lake

You maybe on holiday or just trying to break that habit of fishing the same venue every time. I mean at the end of the day you did come on this site to find a lake near you right? Either way, there are a few little tips I want to share with you when deciding to fish on new waters.

Like most beginner anglers you may fall into the trap of sticking to one lake or even one spot. There are no rules but one thing is, fish are not static. You are very unlikely to catch the same fish in the same spot at the same time the next day. A better practice would be to study the water, air conditions etc.

Ok, so what do you need to look for in a new fishing venue?

Colour of the water

When you have found the lake or fishing venue of choice, the first thing to look out for is the water clarity. Crystal clear waters will drive the fish lower in depth as opposed to murkier waters where you will need something that will catch the fish’s attention, maybe fish in shallower waters.

Movement in the water

If fishing there and then, the obvious thing to look for is movement in the water. This is true with all types of fishing. Summer carp may be coming to the surface in the shallows or winter tench maybe causing a stir on the bottom.

Oxygen rich water

Fish-near-vegitation

This is not so obvious, but you will find fish around vegetation of some descriptions. This is because the vegetation put oxygen into the water and fish love it.

Thanks for visiting Fishing lakes near me If you wish to advertise with your fishing venue please contact us for more details.