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November 13th.  This last ten days has been wet wet wet . But this did not dampen Richards spirit particularly after taking a 16lb.mirror and two hours later a 16lb.10oz. Common. Then trying his luck with the pike landed four in three hours, best was 6lb. the others from 2 to 5 lbs. A happy but damp Richard. Well done.

November 1st.This last week has been cold and wet but this has not put of the fish. Several double figure pike have been caught best being 15lb. Warwick enjoyed himself landing three nice carp the best a mirror at 18lb. Andy endured the weather and took 4 carp including two twenties the best a 24lb.4oz. mirror, picture to follow in a week or so.

24th October. Matt took a lovely 25lb leather on Tuesday, technically it was a mirror but had only one scale on its flank. The autumn is a great season and the Pike are loving it with this seasons best being landed on Wednesday at 22lb plus two other doubles.

20th.October.Andy and Phil have been away on a fishing week in Shropshire. Their catch was a round number so they were glad to get back to their home water, where Andy took a 22lb.Common and Phil settled down on Silverdale and pulled out seven young carp ranging from 1lb.to 4lb.their confidence restored. A lovely 2lb.8oz. perch was caught by a newcomer and loads of smashing pike. Kevin took a 16lb.mirror and a 6lb.8oz. Tench

14th.October Matt had a good weekend fishing for Pike on one rod and Carp on the other. Landed a 23lb.Mirror and four pike mostly doubles. Sam also took a nice mid twenty common from the middle of the lake. A newcomer to the lake landed a nice 6lb8oz Tench and several lovely big Roach.

.10th.October Young Ben landed one of the lovely Ghost carp at 13lb.But the week must go to the Pikers who I think, without exception caught good fish with several mid doubles amongst them.

6th.October.Autumn is here and Sam will remember the 28th.September with his success in landing a 34lb. Carp.3rd.October produced a 23lb.and 16lb.carp for Kev. and Graeme and Mick satisfied themselves with Autumn Tench, one of them fought so well Graeme thought he had a good carp on.

21st.September The sun is still shining and the nights are crisp and cold, just  right  for Mr Pike, and the piker's yesterday all caught nice pike, the best being 16lb. Andy and Keith both caught double figure Carp, Roach continue to amaze with another 2lb.specimen.

13th.September The sun is shining and the fish are playing. Phil takes a 32lb 9oz. from by the boathouse, Mick lands a 18lb.4oz. in the middle of the lake and Kevin takes two cracking 6 lb. Tench from the edge of the lilies. Lets hope the sun stays out.

11th.September.Only the second visit to the lake by Charlie and he lands a lovely 27lb.Mirror.Karen has started the Autumn of well with a nice mid double pike, and Keith lands a cracking 2lb.2oz.Roach.Well done pictures will be up soon.

28th.August. Autumn and deepest winter is when our carp records are broken, so either autumn has started early or the trends are changing ,In any event Kevin had a broad smile on his face when he landed a perfect 35lb.Leather.from the same spot that Mick had landed his 36lb.Mirror 3 days earlier. Picture will be on site shortly. Well done Kev.

25th.August. Mick is back after his success on Wednesday. He reminds me of the fact that just two weeks ago he was struggling to beat his P. B. of 15lb. How things change in just a few days. This morning he has hit the jackpot with a stunning common at 36lb.8oz.A famous politician once said You don't do something because it is easy, you do it because it is hard. This is true of most of our successful anglers. Well done Mick. Pictures of all three fish will be on the site shortly.

21st.August.Mick who normally goes for the Tench, had a success with the carp today, landing a 16lb.Common and a 25lb.Leather. Both had the mouth vail intact.

 18th.August. Graeme [our very own Chris Yates] succeeded in landing a lovely double figure common after stalking her, she was feeding frantically together with a ghostie, Graeme popped his bait on her head and away she went, fighting all the way. Traditional ways working again. Well done. Those who regularly read our news will recall Stuart catching two lovely Tench and a 29lb.Leather at the beginning of July. His day was filmed by Kevin Green the editor of Improve your Coarse fishing. This months magazine includes a six page editorial explaining in some exceptional detail the ways and tips that Stuart uses to consistently catch large Tench from our lake at Shillinglee. The article is very well written and I have had numerous compliments to pass on to Stuart from visiting anglers. He has been rewarded by having one of our Tench and himself making up the front cover of the magazine. Well done Stuart.

 13th.August. Andy, Mark and Chris all caught nice mid double carp this week, together with several Tench all good weights. Lovely Rudd and roach still coming out in good numbers with the odd nice perch.

28th.July.This last week has seen several nice carp caught ,the best being 22lb.6oz. Mirror caught by David yesterday, a 20lb.Mirror by Andy on Saturday and a lovely young Common at 16 lb by a newcomer to Shillinglee. Nice summer Tench are being caught as are the roach and Rudd together with the occasional small pike. All in all not a bad week considering how hot it is.

21st.July. The best Tench this year was caught by Kevin at 9lb. He then went on to land an 8 lb. one as well, a happy chappie. Mick continued to catch the roach and Rudd the best being 1lb.4oz. Paul became the forth to nearly catch a big carp this last week, only to have the hook break  at the critical moment. In my last update I mentioned that Richard had nearly landed a big fish two weeks ago, well he made up for it yesterday by landing one mighty 30lb.6oz.Mirror. Well done Richard.

18th.July. Last week was the week of nearly caughts with Matt ,Richard and Dave all hooking into big fish that promptly spat the hook, how big we shall never know. The roach fishing is attracting anglers from far and wide, dozens of 2 lb. fish are being caught with the occasional one approaching 2lb.8 oz. Tench fishing is good particularly when using tootie fruitie baits. Pike are being caught on spinners and the occasional one being landed after grabbing a roach that was hooked. Ben landed a 14lb.mirror this morning, and reported seeing a lot of movement in the water, which may mean a good weekend. We will see.

1st.July. June ended on a high for Stuart who caught two lovely 7lb.Tench and then went swimming after a 29lb.Mirror took his Tench bait and put up a grand fight, with Stuart eventually succeeding in landing the beauty. Pictures will follow next week. After three years of holding the same price. Two rod fishing, increases from £8 to £10 from 1st.July.

16th.June.This last week has been a Mecca for the carpers last Sunday the 8th. saw Mark land the first 28lb.Leather of the season. Then on Friday during the bailiffs night A 23lb common and a 20lb mirror together with a 16 lb ghost and then Andy stole the show with a wonderful 35lb 4oz. Common, several nice Tench were also caught finishing off a cracking week. Today has started well with a 7lb 8oz. Tench and Karen is pulling in some lovely 3/4 lb. Rudd and roach.

29th.May. Bailiff Phils birthday. I take down a bottle of Jack Daniells to celebrate on the lake side. The evening is lovely and still and the rain has stopped, birdsong is vibrant with a wren singing for England. another sip of J.D. and we think we are in heaven. Then all hell lets lose the buzzers, rods and line go haywire. Phil moves like a rabbit with the J.D. going in one direction and Phil in the other. The line screamed out ,Phil held on, then started reeling in, and then off again, six times this happened, finally she was in the net, not a big thirty as was thought but a very strong and powerful 28lb.4oz. Mirror. The fish looked fitter than Phil after that fight, but he will remember his birthday for catching the fish and spilling his J.D.

28th.May. Wash out for the bank holiday, but the rain has now stopped and Andy has landed a couple of high double figure Carp, One of them he describes as long slim and trim at 19lb.8oz.he thinks this could well be a big fish of the future.

23rd. May. In 17 years I have never seen so many splendid Rudd and Roach, we must be nearing an average of3/4 Lb. Just today there has been several over 1 lb. Maybe its time to give the carp gear a rest and dig out the float and centre pin and have some fun. This week has seen two carp over 20lb. another at 16lb. and several fish around 9lb.Andy has taken four Tench this morning again all good weights over 5lb. Silverdale in its pretty setting is coming into its own now with dozens of young carp up to 5 lbs showing off in this lovely sunshine, lets hope it continues for the bank holiday.

16th.May.The carp have finished their spawning after giving everyone on the lake a good view of dozens of 20lb. +fish performing. their antics. Now they should be ready to feed, so good luck. Tench have come out all week together with some super Rudd And Roach with a nice Perch at 1lb.8oz.

May 7th.Hot and sunny. Ben and Greg had been doing a bit of pre-baiting during last week and it worked with Greg landing a 23lb.linear mirror and Ben a 21lb common and an 11lb. common. they both also notched up their personal best Tench 6lb.10oz. and 5lb.4oz.together with several smaller Tench but none under 4lb.

May 2nd.Sunshine at last. David returns after major heart surgery. He did not take it easy landing six Tench with his and our best this season at 8lb.8ozs.I was not expecting this much action  it was great he said.

.April 28th. This weekend saw Tench, Tench and more Tench, all super weights over 5lb. Andy also caught a 2lb.Roach and a 12lb mirror together with three Tench. Several large carp were jumping in the shallows.

April 13th. This weekend was pretty exciting, I was told of six Tench caught over 5lbs with the best being 8lb.3oz.caught by Richard. Graham had his usual Sunday afternoon session using his cane and centre spool hooked played and landed a stunning 17lb.mirror.The sound of the centre spool spinning away was magical if only more people could come back to the old traditional ways, I was lucky enough to be with Graham through the whole adventure.

April has been slow to start with the snow the cold and the rain, saying that several Tench were caught last week. The sooner it warms up the better.

Good Friday saw a bitter north wind sweep the lake, despite this Simon landed a 20lb.Mirror and then an 8lb.Common plus a good take missed. Worth getting cold for.

18th.March.Regulars Phil Sam and Andy all caught double figure carp, Phil with the biggest at 14lb.Paul landed pike yesterday despite a lot of spawning activity around the margins.

3rd March. Month starting well with Sam landing a 17lb. 6oz.common and Andy a couple of decent Tench. Pike fishing was fairly good over the weekend with four caught that I know off.

11th Feb. What a wonderful weekend with temperatures of 14 degrees. I saw two red admiral butterflies. It was also a unforgettable Saturday for Simon who finished his bank side breakfast and promptly got into a battle with one of the big carp. Which he eventually landed at 37lb.9oz. what a stunning Common it was. Dene landed another winter Tench at 4lb.8oz. and on Sunday Richard was catching and missing his pike. February is starting well.

31st Jan. A good number of double figure pike have been caught this month together with a a number of mid twenty carp, so all in all not a bad month.

20th January after another rainy week in which the lake managed to flood some swims we have had another January Tench only about 4lb but still amazing that they are being caught at this time of year. The Pike were also quite active with a number being caught over the weekend but none of any size were reported.

13th January Keith caught a nice 19lb 12oz Carp, doing better in the winter than he did in the summer having a fish every trip at the moment.

5th Jan The new year has started well, with Alan happily landing a 29lb. mirror. 

1st Jan 2008 Keith caught a 6lb 8oz. Tench he could not believe it, considering the lake had been frozen the previous week.

31st last day of the year and it went out with a bit of a bang for Dean who caught a 21lb common followed by a young mirror.

30thDec. Since the ice has gone, several nice carp have been caught, the best being a 23lb.mirror caught by Simon this afternoon, he also landed a stunning 2lb.golden Rudd. Yesterday saw Andy catch a 13lb mirror with several pike anglers making catches.

26th Dec. The lake has now thawed in the main, just the odd patches of ice in the sheltered corners.

15th December The lakes have been frozen for several days. I cannot remember in the 16 years we have been here that this has happened in December. Will update as soon as lake is thawed out.

November where has it gone, mind you it was not a good month for fishing, however yesterday being the last day of the month did produce three double figure carp with the best caught by Phil at 14lb.Often our best Carp are caught in December we will see what happens this year.

November 5th.Last week was quiet, Graham landed a nice mirror carp at 20lb.4oz.Today Paul on his first pike trip of the season caught a lovely 20lb.14 oz. Pike which was in pristine condition with lovely brown markings. Well done Paul this is the first 20 of the season.

October 17th.Piker Edd makes his first visit of the season today, he lands 6 fish best 11lb.with the comment that he had forgotten how stunning these Shillinglee Pike are, and he will be back tomorrow. Will let you know how he gets on. October 1st.PIKE SEASON BEGINS. the rain fell all day but the pike loved it with everyone catching. Matt settled for four fish the best being 12lb.8oz. There were three other doubles caught plus several 4 to 5 lb fish. Sam and Alistair ignored the temptation to go piking and stood firm for the carp with Sam landing a nice 18lb 6oz specimen not quite as good as the 32lb fish they had at their last visit, but they were not complaining and went home happy.

Sept.21st.Carp fishing excellent Andy landing a 32lb. with several mid doubles being caught. Tench good Phil taking a lovely 7lb.4oz. Autumn looks promising.

Sept.9th. This spell of settled weather is just what we want. The weekend produced some good fish. Keith kicked of with a nice 14lb.8oz.common. Our Bailiff Andy followed him with a nice 10lb.6oz. common. Several nice Tench where caught up to 6lb.4oz. Sunday was another lovely day. Richard set up in the shallows and promptly landed a 19lb.6oz.common,followed several hours later by a 27lb.Mirror [picture on site by tomorrow]. He said he felt lucky and when he saw the fish moving about around the lilies his adrenalin started pumping. August 12th. The two anglers Ryan and Adi  remind me of Chris Yates [passion for angling fame] They spend as much time reading the water and tempting our shy monsters to take their tip bits and yesterday afternoon they persuaded one of the big 30lb mirrors to take their bait. the pictures are a bit shaky with all the adrenalin about .Yet again we have a fish that has been lurking in the shadows all year without anyone being able to tempt her. Three weeks ago these guys caught a 23lb.mirror never seen before. Traditional angling skills of patience and quiet is all that is needed, unfortunately so many anglers have forgotten these virtues probably because of the relentless media attention given to the artificially stocked newly dug holes which are appearing everywhere these days. Well done to you both

10th.August. The last few weeks have been like the weather pretty poor, but now with the sun things are more like summer. Ryan and Ady new to Shillinglee landed a lovely 23lb.Mirror by the boathouse. Ady commented that the mouth vail was complete and it looked as if it had never been caught before, our fish are experts at hiding away from things with sharp hooks attached. Three nice perch were caught at the weekend all over a 1lb. Several roach the best 2lb.2oz. with a Golden Rudd approaching 2lb.The Tench were seen spawning this week which is about a month later than usual. Both Silverdale And the Canal Pond are fishing well with lots of young carp and Tench to about 4lb. being caught.

14th July There was a 14lb 15oz Common caught, and Sam ended up catching 7 Tench so it was a lucky Friday 13th for him.

13th.July This last few weeks has been strange, some days its good fishing other days its not so good with no pattern at all. This morning Sam has landed three nice Tench all over 5 lb. and Andy has just missed landing a good carp, so maybe Friday the 13th. will be a lucky day for these two, however the rain is still falling.

16th.June Five nice young carp were caught all from the top of the lake in shallow water, the best was caught by Matt at 16lb.10oz. with Shaun landing a lovely 12lb. ghost.

2nd.June. Dean has caught a 23lb mirror this morning ,young Max has landed three Tench. With Pike being caught in error together with some cracking Roach and Rudd. The canal pond has produced some nice young Tench today, with Silverdale consistently providing a mixture of Carp and Golden Rudd.

Bank holiday was very wet but carp were feeding well with three 20,s best 26lb. caught by Shaun.

18th.May Andy and Phil have taken time of work to do some swim clearing and branch lopping. Andy was justly rewarded for his efforts landing a nice young common at 12lb. followed a couple of hours later by a 22lb.Mirror.

13th May. Thunder and lightening produced a lovely 24lb.8oz. mirror carp for Shaun who has worked hard over the last few weeks, he also missed two others but he was happy. Richard caught a 1lb Roach and then went on to some lovely Tench best being 6lb.6oz.This morning Monday 14th is continuing with some good Tench and Roach being caught. The fish seem to like this unsettled weather, I'm not sure if I do .

5th.May. Bumper day for Tench with Simon catching seven the smallest being a 5lb.male.Andy and Pete also caught Tench. But the star was a stunning 2lb+ Golden Rudd, a true fish of a lifetime, picture will be on the site shortly. Large carp where dancing above the water but were being very difficult to catch.

22nd.April . Some nice fish caught in the margins, Shaun with a 14lb. common and Julian with a nice couple of Tench both over 6 lbs. Rudd were spawning in the warm Sunshine. Mike coaxed a mid double mirror on a floating dog biscuit his only regret was that their were four big fish sniffing but it was the smallest that he caught. Shows that the bigger fish are also the craftiest.

Easter. Everybody caught the sun but not much else. However this week is good with a good number of nice sized Tench best 7lb.8oz. and some superb Rudd over a pound. Long may this continue.

March 26th. Lovely spring weather Karen from Littlehampton landed a 16lb.8oz.

March 27th. Another sunny day, Paul who is responsible for building our Website decided to have a days fishing to chill out. He told me I do not mind if I do not catch a thing I just want to absorb the sunshine , That said he lands one of our lovely commons at well over 30lb. He was happy but his adrenaline levels were still high when he left. Good old Paul.

March 20th. This cold snap does not seem to have spoiled the fishing with Andy catching a 21lb mirror in the morning and a 26lb.mirror in the afternoon, Warwick while fishing for carp caught some nice Tench. Despite this I still look forward to the mild weather returning.

Feb 17th. An early spring weekend. Several carp were caught the best being 17lb.7oz. Common in stunning condition. Three Tench were landed the best 5lb. The fish came to those that were quiet. Silence is Golden on this lake.

Weekend 13th.Jan. Most Pikers caught with the average being about 6lbs.Warwick took a nice common and a Carper landed a superb 1lb8oz. Roach. No Tench this weekend. What is happening to the weather, Rain rain rain and mild .This Saturday Warwick caught three Tench all above 5lb. Is it really the beginning of January. The Eastern bank of the main lake is dry but the western side needs good Wellingtons to keep dry.

December 25th.was a lucky day for Simon, he wanted to be away from everything Christmas day and he said in the morning that he felt lucky and with the number of fishing moving about it looked encouraging. At 4pm. Christmas afternoon he landed a wonderful 27lb.leather carp. He rang me asking if I would come down and photograph her, which I did  if for no other reason than to walk off my over indulgence. Picture will be on the web in the next few days. 

 November 25th. The weather was all over the place thunder lightening winds rain and warm sunshine. However the fishing was alright particularly Pike with one angler catching a 17.5 lb. a 12.5lb. a 11lb. and a 8lb. and several were missed. Several nice Tench to 5lb.8oz. and one young common, were also caught during the day. The forecast is better for Sunday so we will see what happens tomorrow.,

This weekend 28th.Oct. The weather was lovely and the lakes looked a picture, but the fish did not show much interest in being caught. The previous weekend a new angler to us, caught a nice 22lb mirror, he returned on Sunday and I told him that Saturday had been quite and he may not be so lucky today. But he was, landing a splendid 21lb.Mirror from the opposite side of the lake. Next time I will keep my mouth shut.

Monday 23rd. Young Simon is back all dried off good old Mum] He smiled at me saying that he had not had a bite all day, but it was great he had seen loads of fish caught and assisted another angler land a 32lb.Common. His enthusiasm is magic.

Sunday 22nd.Oct. The rain hammered down all day, it did not worry young Simon a keen junior angler who landed a lovely 24lb 4oz. Mirror from the north of the lake. He went home wet but happy.

This weekend 21st Oct. The wind and rain continued over the weekend, but the fishing was good, the best carp caught was a mirror of 22lb. from the deep water, a new angler to visit Shillinglee who says he will be back. Some nice Tench in their lovely winter colours, two were over 6lbs.Pike best this week 15lb.

Last week saw a lot of rain turning the lake quite cloudy, the weekend saw four doubles caught plus a couple of Tench, Pike continued to fish well the best being 15lb. This morning Monday 16th.Oct the water is back to its normal colour, and I disturbed a couple of carp in the shallows when I walked round with the dogs. I have had several E-mails asking about Mai's puppies. She had ten and we have kept two. Harry and Indy. So watch out.

The Lilies have now died back enough to allow three rods. But be sensible when fishing with three.

Mid September is quite often the start of the excitement, and if this week is anything to go by we are in for a good season. with Warwick landing a 30lb.4oz.common mid afternoon. John a 3lb.Perch and a new angler to our lake landing two super Tench at 7lb. and 5lb. 

The August Bank holiday produced some good fish for those that were quiet and patient. The best were 24lb.8oz.mirror a 21lb.8oz. Mirror and a 17lb.6oz. very lightly scaled mirror. with a further six carp reported to me in the low to mid doubles. Tench to 5lb.6oz.and some nice Rudd and Roach.

Recently anglers have gone swimming to try and successfully land large Carp. Both ended up with the hook spat out and attached to a suitable branch. Who says fish have no brains. The lesson has to be, If you fish close to pads you must sit on your rods..

Silverdale is currently fishing very well with lots of lovely young Carp and Golden Rudd being caught.