Torbay Carp Fishing Ponds

There are various small lakes and ponds in the vicinity of Torbay Devon, the majority of them have good wheelchair access, although you will need a vehicle to get there, and either an electric wheelchair, or a strong person to push you as a lots of them have gravel paths.

The three venues I will concentrate on are Town Parks on the outskirts of Paignton, New Barn Angling Centre, also on the outskirts of Paignton, actually just a few hundred yards from Town Parks and Charlcombe Pond at Rocombe in Torquay.

Town Parks - Paignton

Town Parks consists of two lakes of approximately 1.5 acres each. The bottom lake contains carp to high doubles, large catfish and various other fish. If you want to have a good days fishing catching plenty of fish than the bottom lake really isn't a suitable option, it's more of a sit and wait for a bite lake. The match lake is by far the best choice if you want to have a really enjoyable days fishing catching plenty of fish. You can expect to catch carp in the range of two to three pounds, there are loads of commons as well as a few mirrors and ghost carp.

Heavy duty carp tackle is really not necessary on the match lake so I would recommend fairly light rods and tackle, you really don't need anything more than a 1.5TC rod and eight pound line. You'll probably get the most fun out of using carp match rods or poles. 

I absolutely love fishing the margins using my pole. My pole is about 5.5 m and enables me to fish up to 4 feet away from the bank, although I prefer to fish amongst the reeds as this is often where you find the fish. I actually use a cheap telescopic whip that is elasticated in the top section, poles can be outrageously expensive, however for 20 quid, you can get yourself a really usable piece of kit that is more than capable of doing the job for you. The elastic I use is a number 20, this may seem a little over the top for the small I fish for, but they often take a dive for the snags so having the slightly stronger and elastic enables you to put a little pressure on them and stop them going too far. I use a simple dibber pole float as I'm only fishing in about 4 feet of water. I use eight pound mainline with a slightly lighter hook link that are already pre-tied utilising hairs, pellet bayonets, paste and meat spirals, and even bait bands. If the pole isn't your thing then either float fishing or fishing on the bottom will bring plenty of bites. Remember that the majority of carp you are going to catch in the match lake will be fairly small, don't be tempted to use too big a bait, a single grain of sweetcorn, a small 8mm pellet, a few maggots on a 16 hook is the absolute perfect approach to catch these small carp.

Penn fishing from peg 1 on the match lake

The match lake at Town Parks is virtually all wheelchair accessible, but remember the parts are covered in gravel so you may struggle in a manual wheelchair with small wheels. There is parking next to the lake for blue badge holders only. If you contact Gerry prior to your visit, preferably the day before then you can reserve a swim, Gerry is very amicable and understanding towards disabled anglers and their needs.

The match lake at Town Parks Fishery has over the years encouraged a lot of wildlife to take up residence. You will find ducks, moorhens, geese and even a couple of herons which can often be seen catching small silverfish. Even though all this wildlife is very nice, it does actually bring its own problems. Firstly, large geese produce extremely large turds which often litter the bank side, not very nice if you've got to then spend half an hour at the end of an angling session scraping goose crap out of the trends of your tires. The second problem is that the ducks and moorhens like the taste of dog biscuits and bread. So if you've decided to do a surface fishing session you may find that you have a constant battle with the wildlife who are intent on nicking your hook bait. I better also mention the other resident ducks that live at Town Parks. I'm not sure what species of ducks they are, but they are more pets than anything else. Be aware that if you leave any unattended bait, food or anything that ducks like to eat, you're liable to find these guys clean you out pretty quickly. They are extremely tame so if you've got a box full of maggots with the lid off sitting next to you, you may find that you will turn around and it will be completely empty. They will hang around you if they know you've got food, just wave your landing net at them and they all run away for a few minutes, but they will return at some stage.

There is also a shop at Town Parks where you can purchase tackle, fishing bait, rods and reels plus food and drink. Fishing tackle is available for hire as is tuition. Gerry also sells warm weather clothing such as the HF.Tech Norsk Arctic Midlayer .

For more information on Town Parks visit their website at www.townparks.net

New Barn Angling Centre - Paignton

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Barn Angling Centre is located on the outskirts of Paignton. The site consists of 6 lakes and ponds suitable for all ages and levels of experience. Mirror lake is the main carp lake, covering 1.25 acres with an island and underwater plteaus. Island, Rosie and Lulu pools are small pools located near the car park, with depths of up to 6ft. They’re specially suited to the young or inexperienced carper. Willow Lake is about 1/3 acre in size and has many carp. Lily Lake is a small lake, about 0.25 acre in size, and predominately stocked with tench and bream.

Float fishing for carp can often be successful, as is ledgering and surface fishing during the summer. I've had success with various baits such as meat, boilies, bread, dog biscuits, trout pellets and maggots I've always believed in keeping things simple when fishing these small commercial waters so a simple peacock quill fished using the lift method can work extremely well. I've also had quite a bit of success surface fishing during the warmer months floating baits such as dog biscuits or pellets are sure to tempt carp.

Mirror Lake is reasonably accessible for wheelchairs, although the paths are quite narrow so you might need to ask people to move. Most of the swims come equipped with a hut which is quite handy in bad weather, especially if you are a wheelchair user. The other lakes on the complex are slightly smaller but still hold a good head of carp. Willow and Lily Lake, plus the other small lakes can be accessed by a road running up the hill. These two small ponds have limited access for wheelchair fishermen. Try fishing fairly light in these ponds, you will have good fun.

For more information visit The New Barn Angling Centre Website www.newbarnfarm.com

Charlcombe Pond -Torquay

Charlcombe Pond is located over in Torquay in a small farming area called Rocombe, I believe very close to where the ice cream comes from. isThis water is located in a beautiful part of the countryside and you really would think you are in the middle of nowhere, I can't really think of a nicer place to be on a warm sunny day. The pond is probably no more than 200 feet long, and 40 feet wide and water depth varies from around 6 foot, to less than a foot in the margins. Don't be fooled by the size of the pond, it contains quite a nice head of carp with fish up to eighteen pound. Most people either fish pellets, sweetcorn or meat on either the bottom, or a float rig. I actually prefer to use a short 3 m pole to fish the margins. Make sure you use a strong elastic of at least 20, plus a hook link of no less than 6 lb.

There is ample parking at one end of the pond which gives access to both sides of the water. There aren't any designated swims at Charlcombe, you basically find a free spot alongside the pond and start fishing. The roadside of the pond stretching from the car park to just past the island is best suited to wheelchair users. A little further towards the end of the pond gets a little bit dodgy as the ground is not particularly level. You can fish on the other side of the pond but there will not be that much room behind you.

The margins at Charlcombe pond are extremely shallow at the top end of the pond, the bottom end of the pond is slightly deeper. You'll find that the margins slope slightly from less than a foot, down to nearly 2 feet. Carp like to feed at the bottom, and at the top of the slopes so if you're using float tactics then using a plummet, try and locate both the top and bottom of the slopes and fish in this location.

For those of you who like fishing for eels, Charlcombe pond does contain a number of eels around the 1 or 2lb mark. Most people catch these eels by accident when using bait such as worm or maggots, however if you want to target the eels then try using a float or bottom fish small dead fish bait towards dusk, you're not allowed to night fish at Charlcombe pond but you can fish until it's almost dark.

Hot bright days at Charlcombe pond

I found that hot days can dramatically affect the fishing at Charlcombe pond. The water is extremely shallow and warms up very quickly. During the hottest part of the day the fish often go off the feed, this may be due to very bright conditions and even lack of oxygen in the water. If you're fishing during the day at Charlcombe and it's very sunny, try fishing in the shaded areas and especially at the far end underneath the trees and around the inlet where the water enters the pond at the far end. However, Charlcombe is best fished in the early morning, or late afternoon when the sun starts to go down. Just before it starts getting dark, the fish often come onto the feed vigourously and you'll be amazed how much movement there is when you throw free offerings in.

Please Be Aware of Disabled Anglers

I would like to make a friendly appeal to anglers fishing Charlcombe pond. The car park is often chock-a-block when I arrive, so I've been given permission to reverse my van through the gate so it's easier for me to gain access to the pond and unload all my gear. Occasionally some anglers like to fish in front of the gate, now I'm not suggesting that people shouldn't fish here, all I'm saying is please be aware that if myself, or another disabled wheelchair angling comes along and wants to use the gate, please understand and show a little thought and let us use the gate for access. We're not for 1 min saying that we have priority over swims at Charlcombe, were just asking people to have a little understanding and respect the fact that being in a wheelchair means that we can only access certain parts of the pond easily. Thanks guys

Some photos from Charlcombe Pond

Charlcombe pond in Torquay is my utopia

Here I am using my Middy Shock Stikk in the margins

5lb Bream - for a small water, Charlcombe Pond holds some quality Bream

This ghost koi caught by my friend Ian weighed in at just less than 10lb and is a typical Charlcombe pond carp

Some more photos from Charlcombe Pond

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Charlcombe is part of the Newton Abbot Fishing Association waters and to fish it you either need a day ticket, or a full or associate membership. Visit the Newton Abbot Fishing Associations website for more information

Charlcombe Pond is a little off the beaten track and is best reached from Torbay by travelling through Barton and then taking a right turn approximately a mile up the road from the shops at Barton. Charlcombe is in my opinion the most beautiful place to go fishing anywhere in Torbay, absolutely adore sitting by the pond on a lovely warm summers day.