Hot water outlets.

Some factories and other industrial buildings have hot water outlets that run into rivers or canals. There used to be one on the grand union at Kings langley coming from the ovaltine factory where you could catch huge bags of carp and bream. Also another on the Gade at Croxley from the ****insons paper mill where it was black with roach. In winter the pegs opposite were literally the hotspots. Unfortunately both sites are now flats.
Anyone else have any locally, or memories of old ones?

Just about every power station on the river Trent until around 1990(ish) always good fishing in the immediate vicinity. On the very coldest of days you simply stood in the water to keep your feet warm or dipped your hands for same. At times you could hardly see the water on account of the steam. Happy days. Nearer to home there is a warm water pipe in the canal near Sheffield town centre/Attercliffe area. Its about nine inches in diameter and whenever I go down that way I pop along to have a look at the resident carp that just sits there all day long with its head and shoulders stuck up the pipes mouth. If you have seen the film "The Full Monty" where the heros are stranded on the top of the car in the middle of the canal you are looking at the very spot so next time you look at the film you are looking at the "Hottest" Carp swim in south yorkshire. (guys-- dont disturb it,-- please!!)

Fished the "hotties" in St Helens during the last big freeze in 2009/2010. Its an outlet pipe that runs out from the Pilkington glass factory, it used to be hot but now its just cool water, it still keeps the canal ice free and there is good fishing for carp and roach. Don't think id ever return as it was a bit rough and intimidating and as with other urban canals lots of litter and interesting characters :wh

You beat me to it Danny. Never fished there but knew about it. They also caught some exotic fish there as well. Simular theme though not hot water pipe. Leeds to Liverpool canal at Blackburn, there was, might still be a meat packaging place where some odd bits of meat got into the canal, always good for jack pike.

peter crabtree said:

Some factories and other industrial buildings have hot water outlets that run into rivers or canals. There used to be one on the grand union at Kings langley coming from the ovaltine factory where you could catch huge bags of carp and bream. Also another on the Gade at Croxley from the ****insons paper mill where it was black with roach. In winter the pegs opposite were literally the hotspots. Unfortunately both sites are now flats.
Anyone else have any locally, or memories of old ones?

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Sadly I never fished the Ovaltine pound, but was well aware of its reputation in winter. Certainly caught plenty of good roach and bream from the LAA stretches at Boxmoor, Winkwell and Hunton Bridge. Boxmoor was my favourite - the upper end between the lock and the bridge. Fished the Gade as often as I could through the eighties and nineties. Sorry to hear both are now gone.

The Electrcity Cut at Peterborough [?] is the most famous one I recall. Not that I ever fished it but it was always in the AT. Wasn't there a stretch of canal with warm water somewhere that had a large population of breeding cichlids ? They used to feature quite heavily in matches if memory serves. Maybe that was the EC though I think the EC was famous for its carp back in the days when nobody really fished for them in winter.

Cichlids being a tropical fish before you ask.Google it...there's fahsands of different sorts & I've no idea which type these were. I think whatever warmed the water got turned off and it was goodnight ladies for the cichlids.

I remember the Ovaltine stretch very well. Couldn't get near it at weekends.Mobbed out with matches.

I fished the electricty cut at peterborough, it was a canal at the back of the river,
i caught a load nice size bream ,i believe it was a power station that warmed water
only ever fished it the once, it was absolutely full of small dace or bleak which you to get thru ,the suface boiled with them