Where’s Halesworth Lakes?
Halesworth Lakes is situated in East Suffolk. It’s situated in the beautiful countryside. The venue has three lakes absolutely packed with fish up to around 20 lbs. The day tickets here are now £9 for the day and good value considering it’s virtually a guarantee to catch any time of the year. If you’re looking for a venue with somebody who’s fishing for the first time, this is a great venue.
Address:Wissett Rd, Halesworth IP19 8BT
What To Expect To Catch At Halesworth Lakes?
I expect to catch many carp. From under a 1lb all the way to potentially double figures. You will find an abundant amount of small silverfish, but when fished here in the past, they’ve only bothered me on certain swims. I’ve caught double-digit carp every visit since my first visit a few years ago and hope to continue the trend. The condition of these fish though isn’t great. I think that comes hand in hand with match-style fishing lakes like this one, where weights can easily get into the 100s.
What Tactics Will I Be Using At Halesworth Lakes?
I wanted to try out my first surface fishing session of the year. That’s essentially all I’ll be doing. Small chunks of free-floating bread, anywhere from 4 m to around 10 m out. The fish here are highly competitive, so feed a small amount of bread, maybe 3 or 4 chunks, and you’ll be in to fish all day long.
I’ll be using around 3 ft of line straight to a size 14 hook. Remember, most of these fish mouths are in terrible condition and can’t fit anything of size inside. Scale down if you have to.
Bait Choice At Halesworth Lakes
Not much to this. White bread! The cheapest bread money can buy.
The Weather Conditions?
It was predicted to be grey for the most part. Around 12 o’clock it was due to brighten up and the clouds clear. Rain was expected in spells throughout the whole day, though. With this venue, it doesn’t really matter about the conditions, it’s a guaranteed catch regardless. It topped out at 15 degrees
The Full Report For Halesworth Lakes?
Wake up at 5am, a quick tea and breakfast before leaving at 6am. Fishing with a mate, Gary, today. He’s been pestering me to come back to this place for a while now before I finally gave in. Like me, he’s addicted to the sound of a slurping carp attempting to take from the surface.
We arrived around 7am, and I decided on the journey I’d fish the first peg I saw a fish regardless. Before we went any further, we parked in the car park on the left and fished that lake. I believe that’s the match, lake. Anyway, we pull up and have a quick peek at the lake. In peg 1, I immediately saw a carp around 2 lbs. I’m guessing that’s my peg for the day. It’s such a short walk from the car, that the trolley wasn’t needed. Buzzing!
It was 7:30 I’d set up and ready to get cracking. I decided to just test the water and throw a couple pieces of bread around 6 m out. I would say within 10 seconds, around 5/6 carp were fighting for the offerings. Furthermore, I looked at Gaz, and we knew from that point, we were going to bag up.
My first fish was a nice 6lb 4oz I saw swimming in the left-hand margin. It was nailed by bread, with no issues. Following this was a number of smaller carp up to around 3lb. By 12, I was around 75lbs of fish in and Gary was having similar luck on his peg next door. The rain started around 12:30, only lightly but had no impact on the fishing, they’re ruthlessly competitive and fight pretty hard for smaller carp.
It wasn’t until around 1:30 that I had my biggest at 10lb 2oz. A string of carp between 4-8lb was caught around 10 m out. It was getting to the point you’d have so many fish in front of you, we were picking and choosing which fish we wanted next. It was actually pretty comical, I would never turn my nose up at catching a fish but here, the lake just gives you the choice. As soon as the bread hits the water, the carp have a frenzy.
We packed away around 4:30. I stopped counting after hitting around 120lbs, and I think Gaz was also well over that. The reason why I don’t like fishing at this venue much is because it’s really easy, there’s literally no skill in attracting and keeping the fish in your swim. It’s a great little venue if catching a lot of carp is what you’re after. You can catch on just about anything you can put on a hook. The last time I was here, I caught on a Wotsit.
Conclusion
It’s a very, very easy venue. I’d put this venue in the category of people really learning the art of fishing. I’m such a big fan of surface fishing and a nice introduction to the year for surface fishing in Suffolk. The quality of these fish is seriously lacking, and that’s no disrespect to the owners of the lake as most match-style lakes with fish stocks this immense, always have fish care issues. If you’ve never been before, your first thought on arriving like mine, it’s like giant fish pond vibes on how these fish are not scared of anything and would probably take bait from your hand.
If you do venue out to this beautiful part of the Suffolk countryside, let us know how you get on.
Have a look at my fishing trips and see what takes your fancy
