Fensmere Info / Carp Gallery / Lake / Gite / Rules

General rules for the site

• Changeover is at 1pm and all leaving anglers and families in the gite are asked to vacate the property no later than 10am on Saturday morning.
• Alcohol is tolerated on site but only in moderation.
• All rubbish is to be placed in the large bin provided at the gite. Plastics and other recyclables are to be placed in the recycling bin also provided at the gite. Glass is placed in the separate glass bin provided.
• Please respect the site and surrounding area as it is a beautiful tranquil environment. Guests breaking rules will be asked to leave without refund.
• No guests to visit the fishery unless Sally and I are notified.
• Please keep noise to a minimum, the lake is situated in a valley and noise travels. A huge shout out when a beast has been landed however is expected.
• I don’t want to have to monitor anglers while they are fishing. I want anglers to enjoy the experience without someone looking over their shoulder. Common sense and decency are the order of the day with respect for the fish and environment the primary importance.

Fishing Rules

• No braided mainlines, 20lb minimum mainline to be used at all times (0.4) Flurocarbon mainlines are fine.
• No shock leaders/casting leaders
• I don’t see the need to drop every lead unless you prefer to do so. I will ask that all lead clips are set so that the lead could come free if for some reason the end tackle was lost. Again, it’s about common sense and I want to rely on anglers to do the right thing rig wise rather than outline super specific rigs that can and cannot be used.
• No plastic baits, because as above if a rig and lead are lost for some reason plastics are always fishing and can cause issues time and time again.
• Please only micro barbed or barbless in size 6/4
• No nuts or particles apart from the lakes supplied garlic maize which can be ordered before each group arrives. Pellets can also be ordered, we feed Coppens Intensive 9mm pellets and the fish know this as a feed source. 25kg sacks can be supplied at 55 euros/sack.
• If you don’t use it all by departure on Saturday morning, please leave any leftover bait at the fisherman’s hut and he will dispose of it. Do not throw into the lake/margins.
• Carp care products to be used for all captures when needed. Antiseptic or similar for any mouth damage and any other noticeable fish damage. If a fish has a specific injury, please report to Mark or Sally and we will come to assess and determine the best course of action.
• No sacking/retaining fish for more than 5 minutes while you organise yourselves for photos. Retainers are provided.
• All fish must be handled in the water to reduce stress and impact on the fish health. Specific measures have been taken to allow for this to occur in the easiest way for each angler and we recommend you watch the video outlining this (coming soon) to make sure you are up to speed with the requirements for fish safety and handling.
• Maximum 3 rods per angler
• 2 boats are provided for anglers to use along with lifejackets. These must be worn whenever an angler is on the water for bait placement or landing a fish. There will be no warnings if we see anglers on the water without their lifejacket on the boats will be taken away and you may be asked to leave the lake. We do not want a fatality on Fensmere caused by stupidity. The use of the boats is entirely at your own risk.
• Bait boats are allowed and recommended for bait placement.
• Marker pole systems are allowed, no permanent H-blocks or bottles markers please.
• All necessary nets, slings, retainers etc. are provided, so, please DO NOT bring your own. This is for biosecurity and to make sure the stock remains healthy and free of any potential disease.
• No rods to be left unattended at any time. DO NOT leave the rods and wander back to the gite. Any anglers found thinking their sounder box will alert them to a take in the gite will be asked to leave immediately.
• No self hooking devices

Suggested Tackle

• Bring chest waders as you will need them for handling fish in the water. A disinfectant spay is provided at the Fisherman’s Hut to spray your waders on arrival.
• Carp care treatment
• A prodding stick can be helpful to ascertain specific feeding areas.
• Fixed marker poles if you choose to bait a spot heavily and use the boat.

Please Note

• Whilst no one like rules they are in place to ensure your holiday is as good for the next group as it was for you
• If you do break rules the lake owner may cancel your holiday and your deposit will not be returned
• A security deposit may be required on SOME of our venues, this will be taken by us to avoid you taking additional cash or in-case you need to leave early, convenient for everyone
• This will be refunded in full subject to deductions for any breakages or extra cleaning costs incurred if the accommodation or fishing areas is deemed dirty / uncleaned or left in a poor state
• All our venues are private property, lake owners businesses please respect the site as it were you own and leave it as you found it. Thank you.