Pilsworth carp lake.

Only recently got into carp fishing and pilsworth is closest venue for me to do a 2 day session on so just wondering if any of you guys have ever fished the carp lake before and if so are there any recomendations on how to tackle the venue?

Went today to have a good look around and spent a couple of hours trying to identify the best spots to target.Not any visual features that jump out at you and no carp signs of any discription i could see from 2 hours scouring the lake although a mass of bream were showing in the margins all down one side in spawning mode.

If anyone has fished here before i would love to know how they fared and if they can steer me in the right direction rigs /bait wise to try and gain an edge.

Thankyou and gl with your fishing/forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

Not sure it there is something in here that might help, its a piece I had published many years ago in one of David Halls magazines <u>LONELY KNIGHTS ON THE PILS, PART 1.</u><u> </u><u>HISTORIC CHRONOLOGY.</u>All the characters in this story are real people and any resemblance to fictitious characters are purely coincidental.<u></u>THE MONK<u></u><u></u>Pilsworth reservoir, a fishery of the Northern, former industrial wastelands, a twelve and an half acre dam built on the South East perimeter of Bury Lancashire, which along with its seven much smaller stock ponds, follows the Croal Valley route down into the shadow of the mighty M66 motorway and the gateway to “ William Harrison Ainsworths” enchanting “Lonkyshiar Witch Country” which lies amidst the cries of the unfortunates, Nutter, Chattox and Demdike and the Lancaster trials of 1612.This water is currently enjoying the pleasures of a mixed fishery under the restless care of owner Eric Taylor, a man locally well known as a member of the successful Rochdale Tricast Squad match team. Essentially, “Pilly” is a water for the match and pleasure angler alike and was once an early stomping ground for myself and a small group of rather dubious friends, in pursuit of the often elusive cypry.Pilsworth reservoir has changed hands considerably over the years. The water being originally dug in around the mid 19th century by the Pilsworth Clough Mills bleach works. The water supply came from the two main sources of Three Arrows or Brightley Brook and Harehills Brook, while an additional source came from a colliery pit supply which was used in occasional dry seasons. The pit well was built under ground at a depth of 140 ft by 7ft in diameter and additionally lined with brick for the first 25ft. The water supply from this well was conveyed to an intermediate pond and was thus retrieved by a Cornish steam boiler of 20 by 7ft in diameter and a deep well pump, a double lift system having two 16 inch brass buckets set 120ft below the surface. The water quality was hard and idea for the industrial requirements of the age.In 1884 the occupiers of Pilsworth Clough Mills ordered a foul water drain to be fitted past the brook branches intake to prevent pollution, this apparently was done following an action against Messrs James Kenyon & Son of Bury, their own storage reservoir being a mere quarter acre in size and higher up the valley catchment. Brightly Brook passes the full length of Pilsworth the water being conveyed in a stone and concrete channel. This gained admittance into the reservoir by three independent sluices.

In the early part of the 19th Century Pilsworth was owned by W.E. Buckley and Co Ltd, who issued a report on the water in March 1930. The water had an average depth of 13 feet with a capacity of 30,785,306 gallons capacity over a stated 10.953 acre. Apparently lime and chalk was put into the water to maintain a suitable PH level which aided in the processes of the bleach works industrial requirements. This caused the water to become quite clear and trout were present in high numbers. The Bleachers Association Ltd took over the mills and waters in the late 1930s, these being later bought out by Whitecroft Developments Ltd, the latter held the water until 1970. On the 7th June 1938, the Kingfisher Angling Society gained the fishing rights from the Bleachers Association Ltd, until the clubs lease officially expired on the 1st June 1972. Prior to 1938, fishing had been available for the company employees only. In addition a few members of the work force, also belonged to the 1886 formed Kingfisher Society (which started life as a twelve member exclusive club). Throughout its 34 year tenancy considerable work was undertaken by the organisation, this included the building of 68 fishing platforms along with a revamp of the old boathouse, which was used as a store room for the tools and materials which the club owned. The timber which was used, was acquired from Manchester Docks. Most of the renovation work took place between the mid 1950s and the mid 1960s, sadly on the 18th December 1968 the boat house was completely burned down by vandals, fortunately club member were quick to rally round and soon had a new building in place. Since 1938 the Kingfisher Angling Society had regularly stocked the water, some of the fish being purchased from the Seven Valleys in North Lincs. In the early 1960s the Kingfisher Society had been given notice on one of their other waters (Molyneux Brow) at Prestwich, this lake was being affected with pollution created by the building of the M62 Motorway in the Death Valley section junctions 15 and 17 respectively, which in addition required a large area of the lake to be infilled. The Society organised an emergency netting which produced a number of carp, which were said to be of Czechoslovakian origin. The interesting observation recorded here was that two of these fish were in the upper twenty pound region, all fished were transferred into Pilsworth, although at least one of the larger fish was reported dead in 1969 (weight not recorded). In World War ll, the old bleach works had been used by HM Forces, after the war the buildings had fallen into decay, valves had rusted up with little having been done on maintenance until the Kingfisher Society got involved. The old pump house used to stand where the car park is now situated. At this point some confusion appears over the dates in which the water changed hands. During demolition of the bleach work, which took place in 1970, new water owner Whittaker and Taylor appear on the scene under the company name of “Fuzimoon”. The company intention was to build a caravan site near the lake, but an application for planning permission was not granted, and the water was again up for sale.

A local entrepreneur and businessman Wilf Rawson, a baker from Salford who owned a chain of five shops, bought the water for £3.750 via Lord Wiltons estate offices. At this point some controversy occurred between John Lavery who was acting on behalf of the Kingfisher Club and Wilf Rawson. Articles appeared in the angling times by Don Bridgewood (June 8th 1972) and one in the Manchester Evening News by Keepnet (June 7th 1972) concerning the legal technicalities of the sale, the Kingfisher Club had made a bid of £4.000, but were apparently too late in the bidding, I don’t wish to open up a can of worms on this issue, as my intention with this piece is to write an history of the water. I have the greatest respect for both John Lavery and the late Wilf Rawson, both men have made significant inroads into the promotion of local angling, in addition it is not my intention to point out any rights or wrongs in this sale. Wilf bought the water with the intention of early retirement, opening the water on a day ticket basis for the first time in its history, wilf ran his first two open matches on Sundays, June 4th and 11th 1972. Prior to Wilfs negotiations which took place in February 1971, plans had also been put forward to infill the reservoir with later plans for the development of an industrial park, fortunately these were also turned down.Pilsworth in the early 1970s had a fish louse problem, “Argulus SP” and a tape worm infestation “Ligula intestinalis” which caused a large number of silver fish to die. Having contacted both Manchester and Liverpool Universities for technical reports, Wilf finally decided to go it alone introducing around a ton of fine common salt over a period of ten nights, this appeared to cure the problem. Wilf had put a caravan on site and built a compound around it adjacent to where the original pump house was located. Fish purchases by Wilf came from an Humberside school teacher, who was just moving into the business of importing and fish farming, Wilf bought around one ton of bream and approximately half a ton of roach, in addition to this Wilf also purchased two Dutch carp of 31lb and 33lb respectively. The large carp created intense interest on the local specimen scene, while Wilf placed a £100 price tag on the head of these fish for the first person to catch one. Sadly no one ever claim the cash prize for Kenny Tremayne found the first of these fish dead shortly after stocking at a weight of 23lb while Harold Malone found the second one at around 30 lbs. The smaller pools below the main reservoir had also received a stocking of crucians and koi-carp. Although fishing was officially from dawn until dusk, a few group members had been given permission to night fish the water providing they acted as site bailiffs, as Wilf had problems with fish stealing (mainly the koi-carp). Wilf was also refused planning permission for building a residency on site and became disillusioned with the project which led to him selling up and leaving the country to live in Spain. Ill health however brought Wilf back to Prestwich some fifteen years later where recently he has finished his days. To Be Continued with another thrilling installment!.

<u>LONELY KNIGHTS ON THE PILS, PART 2.</u><u></u><u>EARLY BROTHERHOOD DAZE.</u><u></u>All the characters in this story are real people and any resemblance to fictitious characters are purely coincidental.<u></u>THE MONK.Continued from Part 1 (the plot thickens). It was in 1976 that Alex Goodhall and his brother took over the ownership of Pilsworth Fisheries, Alex was a taylor while his brother was involved with textiles. The Goodhalls held the water for a relatively short period. Their method to dispose of the water caused quite a local stir, disposal came in the form of a grand raffle for items; one twelve and a half acre Pilsworth lake, with stock ponds and caravan. Without doubt it was to be the raffle of the century, tickets cost an amazing £1.00 each. Needless to say our little group purchased quite a number of them, but sadly the grand raffle was not to be and our dreams of becoming fishery owners soon began to fade. This was due to some legal twist associated with the Gaming and Lotteries Act, which resulted in all monies for tickets being returned. The water went on the market in the usual manner.At this point we had a little grace while rumours swept through the grape vine that a family of match anglers from Leigh had become the new owners. Kevin and Benny Ashurst along with Jack Lloyd. Our immediate worries was that the water would quickly be turned into a match venue with the usual night fishing bans and rod number restrictions associated with such waters. Nothing could have been further from the truth, indeed the Ashursts showed us the greatest courtesy and respect for the methods we chose to use. It has to be remembered that carp anglers were very much in a minority in the Northwest of England around this period, indeed many anglers looked upon us as eccentrics, especially with regard to Winter carp fishing, and by this time we were practically living on the water. Benny was quick to loan the group a map of the lakes contours. We never had to move on for matches and it was a great privilege to know such accomplished and knowledgeable anglers, indeed we rarely got charged for fishing at all. Having spent considerable time observing Benny with the pole, I would often question state of the art techniques in dealing with twitching carp bites which were prevalent at the time.I can well remember on one occasion young Keith Ashurst was standing behind me while I inadvertently caught him on the back of the head with a 2oz ardsley bomb, grief! I thought Kevin will kill me, as I quickly sat young Keith down in the bivvy, giving him a brew and a chip butty to keep him sweet along with an aspirin for his headache (Phew!). The Ashursts owned the water for approximately nine year. The next owner John Sheppy bought the water in January 1986. Sadly rumour told that John had become bankrupt and it was in January 1987 that the current owner Eric Taylor took over Pilsworth. Eric stocked the water with 150 mirror carp ranging between 1 to 5lbs which came from a Winsford water “Ocean Pool”. In 1976 I reformed my local specimen group as our interests had become very carp orientated, our objectives were to promote carp angling within the area and basically pool our joint knowledge against the carp. In addition we invited all the known local carp angler to join us and things took off very well. First lads to join us were Pilsworth regulars “Big Neil” and “Trucker Mick”, while later Kenny and Martin from the old Lancashire Specimen Group, all exceptional angler who added immensely to our knowledge of the water.

Throughout the seventies the average weights of the Pilsworth fish steadily increased, although doubles were still a little thin on the ground, and anything above 10lb was an event. Steve Milhench of Royton took the first notable fish, a magnificent mirror of 18lb, caught in 1974 we believed it to be the best from the water at that time. In fact Don Bridgewood was at hand to photograph Steve’s fish which later appeared in the press. It was not until June 28th 1976 that the next big fish was caught, this was taken by Neil Gibson of Rawtenstall, another cracking carp of 18lb 12oz. In August 1977 Neil’s record was toppled by a 19lb 4oz fish which came to Kenny Tremaynes rods, thus we believe was the largest carp taken at Pilsworth prior to the end of 1978. Sadly Kenny’s fish died shortly after capture. My humble efforts were rewarded with a mirror of 14lb 8oz, the beasty came in a rather hectic night which produced five other fish, two of which were doubles. This was the result of a five day stint on Pole Island, a noted hot spot. Pole Island was not indeed an island, it was a long steel pole which stood vertical in the water and marked a brick run off tower which lay in around three feet of water dropping off towards the boat house to approximately 11 feet. The marker has long gone, but the feature should still be there?Bait at around this time was the ever reliable luncheon meat and sweet corn, although go-cat, trout pellet and sausage meat specials often came into their own. We also had great success with marshmallows in white and red, when wet they stuck all over everything but made excellent floating baits in that carp had difficulty ejecting them. Marshmallow and suspended crust would be cast to the edge of the weed margins, suspended from the bottom, this often produced a good fish. One problem experience though was that of getting the bait to pop up at the required height, which was generally just a few feet below the surface. The bottom rigs we were using consisted of a hook length an sliding swivel arrangement, the ardsley bomb being attached by a short piece of nylon, although it was effective as a running rig in open water, we did have problems when trying to get suspended the baits to rise. The problem was caused by weed clogging (Northern term) up the swivels. This problem was solved by substituting the swivels with split rings, thus making it easier for the bait to rise through the larger hole the rings possessed . The method used was to position the bait just below the surface tight against the weed margin, the spool on the reel would be fully locked up and you would sit over your rods, one at each side like a gun fighter. The slightest bleep on the old heron alarm (when it chose to work) and you would hit it, applying all the side strain you could muster, this in theory caused the carp to kite across the bay and away from the weed beds, it was then just a case of knocking off the anti-reverse and playing the carp back wind style on the Mitchell 410. The method did work quite successfully on occasion. Having said that, runs were slow and like all great plans, the absolute panic caused by a screaming buzzer in the middle of the night, often resulted in all caution being thrown to the wind in a scurry of flying pots and pans as we made of way “carefully” out of the bivvy (like a gun fighter?) throwing the freshly made cup of coffee over ones head in the process.

One of the main problems with Pilsworth from a bivvy dwellers point of view, was that of its high banks and relatively small wooded fishing platforms. This allowed you to erect the bivvy on the high bank whilst setting up the rods on the platforms below. Not an ideal arrangement, and in the muddier months the problem became even greater. Add ice into the equation and you can see the accidents just waiting to happen. One particular night sticks in my mind, I’d had some problems with the first wife, who had decided to branch out alone, I took myself down to Pilsworth for a few days to allow the dust to settle. Two days in and a few bottles of sour mash downed, the middle rod starts to leap about on the rest, 02.00 AM on an icy January morning (Brrrrrrrrr). I fought like a demon to remove a twisted sleeping bag from around my torso, leaping from the bivvy at ninety miles an hour (well you had to be fast in those days), I glided with the grace of a gazelle, up into the air and down towards the platform, only to realise that my left foot was still stuck tight in the folds of my sleeping bag, which in turn had attached itself to the bedchair, which incidentally had the central pole of the bivvy positioned through the middle. This caused the bedchair, sleeping bag and bivvy en mass to follow me through the air, on making contact with the boards, my left heel skidded across the platform while my right leg sort of picked all three rods up. The resultant effect was that of our brave hero finished up half submerged in the lake rods and bivvy everywhere, bedchair on the napper (Another often used Northern term meaning head) and in a leg position which would have made any ballet dancer green with envy! OOOuch ouch ouch ouch ouch!!!!! (not the most conventional way to strike admittedly). Now although this may sound quite funny, the serious side of this was that I had hurt myself so badly that it was a good hour later before I could drag myself out of the water and back up the bank, and since I didn’t have any transport in those days, it was a case of waiting until the next morning when the taxi arrived. The culprit by the way was a 8oz bream which had foul hooked itself? Any suggestions that the bream was returned over arm are totally unfounded.Another story which comes into mind occurred whilst fishing the carp park rushes one Summer season ( I think it was the hot one of 1976) I can remember this session because we had a group meeting the night before and a young lad who was studying at Manchester University had been invited to this meeting, Tim Marks he was called (still got your letters mate). I regress, I can remember this season on the rushes in that we had a problem with dragon fly larvae, now these were gruesome little guys, horrible things with two big cold looking eyes, long pulsating bodies and lots of great hairy legs (once knew a bird like that?) (oh shut up and get on with the story) Now where was I? oh yes- these guys used to legg about under the boards by day, I’m sure you could hear the dam things, while at night they would sneak up on you scaring you absolutely shitless (to coin a phase), the place was infested with them.

On another occasion I can remember me ole mate, Andy “Chip Butty” Buzzers, sticking his head in my bivvy to cadge a brew. Funny enough I had just put a spoon full of marvel in my cup when I noticed this great bit hairy thing prancing about in the bottom of the vessel? My marvel rations running somewhat low at the time, I poured water in the cup and quickly passed it on to my thirsty mate (tee hee) he never asked me for a brew again! I pulled off the Pils at around the end of 1978. The water produced its first twenty in 1981, while in 1987 “Hawk Stone Nutty Boys” Craig Bailey and Steve Marsden took the place apart on tigers. Eric Taylor has spent a large amount of money on the water, indeed his latest venture has been to dig a two acre carp pool near the car park. A lovely little water spread over an area of two and a half acres, complete with islands, channels, bars the works. Stockings have included 10,000 carp from a few inch in size to near doubles. The main lake has recently been stocked with 200 prime common bream from Grafham water with fish to 8lb. Eric claims Pilsworth is a mixed fishery these days and caters for all types of anglers, match, pleasure and specialists alike, the water does however have a leaning to some surprise catches and under the guidance of Eric Taylor looks set for a long and exiting future. I personally found Pilsworth a great leaning water and have some very fond memories of the place, I was very fortunate in spending my time in some exceptional company, happy daze indeed. Footnote A special thanks for help with the research goes to the following people; John Lavery President of the Kingfisher Angling Society, Albert Morris treasurer of Salford Interclubs and an ex committee member of the highly esteemed Greenall Whitney Angling Society to which I had the privilege to sit on their committee as a young bailiff some 30 years ago, The late Wilf Rawson who died recently at his home in Prestwich, Eric Taylor, Whitcroft Developments of Wilmslow, Mr K Rowbotham of George Longden Ltd Sheffield, old trapping friend Harold Malone, the exiled Kenny Tremayne and Hawk Stone Nutty Steve Marsden, the next generation.

Thanks for the very informative piece on pilsworth it has been a pleasure to read and it seems you have a lot of fond memories of the place .Great stuff

You mentioned about pole island a noted hotspot at the time,this was interesting as with my time checking the lake yesterday one angler pointed out a metal pole which is protruding about 2 feet above the water and he stated also it was this brick run marker,he told me at some stage it had fallen down and that it was him who had rowed a boat out and got the pole back in its place so the marker just to let you know is now back in its rightful place.

Another note of interest in a fishing perspective that is (the whole post was fastastic reading) is the taking over of the water by Kenny and Benny Ashurst,you mentioned your group got loaned a map of the contours of the lake so would that map of the lake still be available to view somewhere? That would be very interesting to see and comprehend if anything noticeable has changed within the lake,would be most grateful if you had any ideas of how to obtain the lake map or if it could be viewed somewhere.

Thanks once again for the post lots of food for thought within it and i will let you know how my first 2 days carp fishing went .

Good day to you sir.

Good luck mercs.

An old mate of mine waded in to land a carp of around 30lb for one of the Ashursts as he didn't have a net suitable. He never did get any mention in the press at the time.

Thanks wobbly and i can only imagine what a stunning fish that must have been but who knows with beginners luck and perseverance for the 2 days i may hopefully get something to show on here,if not well always another day.

I can see why so many people are intrigued by carp fishing,it seems a real challenge of wits and i'm looking forward to it but catch or not its just seeing that water and wondering what will happen that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

good luck with your fishing.

thanks mate, no sadly we didnt take copies of the map, but expect the new owner Eric may have it, nice to hear old pole island is back in place though, although the place has changed a lot over the years, its over 15 years since I last visited Pilly.

The best of luck to you mate, yes I have fond memories of the place

The Monk said:

On another occasion I can remember me ole mate, Andy “Chip Butty” Buzzers, sticking his head in my bivvy to cadge a brew. Funny enough I had just put a spoon full of marvel in my cup when I noticed this great bit hairy thing prancing about in the bottom of the vessel? My marvel rations running somewhat low at the time, I poured water in the cup and quickly passed it on to my thirsty mate (tee hee) he never asked me for a brew again! I pulled off the Pils at around the end of 1978. The water produced its first twenty in 1981, while in 1987 “Hawk Stone Nutty Boys” Craig Bailey and Steve Marsden took the place apart on tigers. Eric Taylor has spent a large amount of money on the water, indeed his latest venture has been to dig a two acre carp pool near the car park. A lovely little water spread over an area of two and a half acres, complete with islands, channels, bars the works. Stockings have included 10,000 carp from a few inch in size to near doubles. The main lake has recently been stocked with 200 prime common bream from Grafham water with fish to 8lb. Eric claims Pilsworth is a mixed fishery these days and caters for all types of anglers, match, pleasure and specialists alike, the water does however have a leaning to some surprise catches and under the guidance of Eric Taylor looks set for a long and exiting future. I personally found Pilsworth a great leaning water and have some very fond memories of the place, I was very fortunate in spending my time in some exceptional company, happy daze indeed. Footnote A special thanks for help with the research goes to the following people; John Lavery President of the Kingfisher Angling Society, Albert Morris treasurer of Salford Interclubs and an ex committee member of the highly esteemed Greenall Whitney Angling Society to which I had the privilege to sit on their committee as a young bailiff some 30 years ago, The late Wilf Rawson who died recently at his home in Prestwich, Eric Taylor, Whitcroft Developments of Wilmslow, Mr K Rowbotham of George Longden Ltd Sheffield, old trapping friend Harold Malone, the exiled Kenny Tremayne and Hawk Stone Nutty Steve Marsden, the next generation.

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Amazing post cheers. Spent hours on google trying to find out about the history of the place and any info on the layout of the lake, depth, features etc. I got it all on this page. Nice one. They netted it a couple of years ago and it's still jam packed with fish. They found three 30s and every other fish was a 15-20. The company that netted it said they were surprised by the head of fish for the size of the water.