Deep lakes can prove a tough nut to crack at times, but there’ll be no shortage of bites if you sample the sport on offer at Llyn Derwen Coarse Fishery’s Top Pool, in Wales.
Located in the heart of beautiful Denbighshire, the venue is home to two well-stocked lakes, but those who appreciate variety favour the Top Pool. Its depths drop off to 20ft in places, with even the shallow end coming in at 10ft.
It’s down to the angler to work out where in the layers the fish are waiting but, if you hit on the correct formula, you could bag a whole host of different species including roach, rudd, perch, tench, ide, bream and carp.
How to fish it
The water is a little too deep for the fish to be on the bottom at this time of year, and that leads to floatfishing being the dominant tactic.
Keeping the rig on the move is key to success, and whether you are lifting and dropping on the pole or regularly casting on the waggler, you’ll often find that the hookbait will be snapped up before it has even had a chance to settle to its full depth.
Set it to 3ft-4ft deep to start with and make adjustments from there. No indications at all are a sign to go deeper, while missed bites and subtle indications are telling you the fish are sat shallower.
Maggots and casters are the best baits when you’re happy to catch fish of all sizes, while corn and pellets are a better option when you want to be a little more selective.
Follow the wind
Pegs 1, 10 and 11 have the shallowest open water and, when the wind is hacking down into them, they can be real hotspots. Peg 10 sits inside a small bay that can become packed with carp when the breeze is going into it. These fish average 3lb-5lb but bonus carp to around the 8lb mark can show up at any point. Fish just a couple of rodlengths out with pellets and corn and you are likely to be in for a productive session.
Quality silvers
The roach and rudd fishing can be exceptional, with big nets of both species possible. Shallow fishing is the name of the game and, while bites are rarely hard to come by, finding the better stamp is what makes it a little more challenging. Both species grow to at least 1lb 8oz, with some locals reporting even bigger fish.
Start by regularly feeding 20 maggots or casters to get the fish competing, setting your rig 2ft-3ft deep. Use the same on the hook and gauge the reaction. If you aren’t catching the size of silvers that you are expecting, increase the feed rate a little and try a grain of corn on the hook.
There’s also a decent head of big perch that run to over 2lb 8oz. Prawns on the deck close to the bank can work for these pocket predators.
Balance your tackle
Most fish in Top Pool range from 1lb-5lb and, with very few – if any – snags for a hooked fish to dive into, you don’t need to go over the top on the terminal tackle front. Those that fish the waggler will bank everything they hook using 4lb mainline to a 0.15mm hooklength and a size 16 hook.
Go down the pole fishing route and a grade eight or 10 elastic with 5lb mainline and a 0.13mm hooklength to a size 16 hook will be more than adequate.
Find the ledge
Some swims drop straight off into deep water, but others have a marginal ledge which is a brilliant target zone for the carp, bream and tench, especially in the latter stages of the session.
Pegs 1, 2 and 9-11 all have this shallow water tight to the bank. It’s important to plumb around carefully, though, as the ledge may only be small. Feed it with pellets and corn and look for signs of fish arriving – swirls and mud plumes should give away their presence. Lower your rig in and it shouldn’t be long before a quality fish is ploughing off into the open water in a bid to escape.
Venue factfile
Location: Llyn Derwen Fishery, Corwen, Denbigh, LL21 9RN
Contact: 07977 449877
Prices: Adults £7 for one rod, £10 for two rods. Juniors £5. You can secure your peg in advancehere
Rules: No bread or keepnets, barbless hooks only, under-18s must be supervised, unhooking mat required
Facilities: Parking, disabled access, toilets
