Bury Hill Fisheries

I did think about putting this in the venue reports but a brief description of our terrible day would not do it justice.
It began with a few emails from Stu Dennis (he of carp compo fame) inviting me to join him for a day session on a top class coarse fishery, Bury Hill. What! that place fished by Wilson and little from a boat and it's spectacular carp! No problems there mate, what time do you want to meet?
We got there around 5am and paid ?15 to fish two rods and made our way down the bank. The fishery looked very nice and with fish crashing infront of us we thought we were in for a good day. While setting up there was a constant stream of anglers arriving and splashes and bangs as anglers took the boats out from the boathouse. Bt 7.30am every peg was taken on our bank and they were even eying up the peg we had left between us so as to give ourselves some room. Then the boats started to move into our swim and the dodgy casting over our lines from the angler next door which wound Stu up to snapping point! He was of course Fishing in lily pads and expecting to land fish on 6lb line. The amount of rubbish was unbelievable, I took a bag home of dodgy rigs I pulled out of the lake that attached themselves to my hook. I walked down the bank and looked at the these fellow anglers and their kit and was disgusted. The rules were being broken over and over again by absolute idiots who should have been refused entrance to the fishery. We saw 3 balliffs in all who were interested in making sure we had paid but didnt give a stuff what you did while fishing.

The owner's of this place must have made a few bob but the place was being trashed all around and nobody seemed to care.
We packed up early and I went home sad and angry that a beutiful fishery should suffer such abuse from my fellow anglers and it's owners.

I e-mailed them three times last year prior to giving it a go for pike. you know the sort of obvious things, house-rules about baits, lures, start times etc Never got one reply, decided that if their fishery matched their attitude it was probably worth giving it a miss. I'm told they do a good breakfast though.

Bizarre - I always thought it was one of the top-rated day ticket waters down there, the image portrayed is people sacking up with tench off the punts, or nabbing double-figure zander.

The next thing you know the water will be closed because of these idiots! or even become a synicate water loosing it too all but a select few. It is a pitty that a top water has slipped into bad management, not the first time and definatley not the last.

I don't think it will go away from day ticket when every peg gets filled.

It seems the emphasism is on taking the money and not enforcing the rules.

I had a day there three weeks ago and share some of Mikes observations. What really made me concerned was the fact that every carp we landed (and yes I did catch some!) had quite badly damaged mouths. Also, the number of rigs caught up in the overhanging branches and in the margins was staggering.

Me and my mate spent about 30 mins untangling a load of them from one tree. While doing this we realised that a carp was still tethered to one, in mid water. Loads of boilies (banned). When I got back in I showed them to the baliff. All he could say was "oh, the bins over there mate".

Last time there me thinks.

Oh yes, and when we had moored up (first there), one angler arriving about one hour later proceeded to cast to within about 3m from our boat. Needless to say we offered him two options, the second one being the number of a decent local tackle shop where he could buy some new rods !!

The place makes regular appearences in Anglers mail and Advanced CarpAngling(?),
Messrs Little and Davidson are well chuffed with it.
Last time I was there, we retrived a very dead '20' and upon carting it back to the boathouse were surprised at the lack of interest.
Perhaps if I was to fish it at night and/or on days closed to the public I too could sing its praises.............
Sorry to hear about your trip guys, there but for the grace of beer go I.

All Mr DeVere and his baliff's seem concerned about is money. Whilst the lake is in a lovely setting, and has some reasonable fish in it, I've never seen a baliff there do anything other than check licences and boast about how they catch all the big fish at night on boilies (which are banned to everyone else)
I used to fish it just to get a bend in my rod, but not anymore. As others have stated, it is overcrowded, overpriced, full of angling litter and full of people who don't seem to give a damm about their surroundings or the fish.
Whats worrying is that I've heard Mr Devere has got his hands on another water nearby. Hopefully he won't ruin this one by being so greedy!!

There seems to be a certain "clique" at Bury Hill who can do what they like: fishing between pegs and using boilies. I may be wrong, but the "in-crowd" appear to be mates of some of the bailffs - which is surprising as the head bailff Eric Bailey is a thoroughly decent bloke. I agree with the remarks about litter and dodgy rigs too. Two years ago I decided that enough was enough and haven't been back since.

It is a shame to hear of a top class fishery going down hill. I haven't fished Bury Hill since I left the area 10 years ago, but have arranged a day out there on July 5th.

I was looking forward to it. Mind you I will tell the bailiffs what I think if I find it a mess, and advertise that fact on every site I can.

it is a shame i have fished at bury hill many times over the years and have many good days
i hope thay sort the mess out peter

This post is at the request of Bury Hill Fisheries owner David de Vere:

'I have today been made aware of the various comments that have been posted regarding Bury Hill Fisheries and wish to reply as follows. Bury Hill Fisheries is and remains one of the top day ticket waters in the country, a fact that is supported by both the angling press, top angling names who visit the water regularly and moreover the general angling public who continue to frequent our waters on mass. As such, we are understandably a busy fishery, particular at weekends and bank holidays. I note the comments made by Stormin' Norman, and whilst I fully understand his and his friends disappointment to find that the lake was busy on the day he visited, which I assume was a Saturday or Sunday. I would point out that the old lake has just 75 decked pegs on 12.5 acres, that's just 7 pegs per acre, the average space between swims is 15 meters which is more than the average day ticket water, furthermore, we do not allow fishing in between swims.

With regard to the boats, whilst these normally head for the jungle or the island, some do venture nearer to the bank and when we are busy this can be a problem. However, we are always available should some idiot start to do something stupid such as casting in all directions and we will deal with such situations immediately if the matter is brought to our attention.

Concerning litter and the 'bag' of dodgy' rigs, I totally disagree with the comments made regarding 'the amount of rubbish', whilst I clearly cannot comment as to the rubbish found on the day, we are generally regarded as being one of the cleanest fisheries anywhere. However, if there was the amount of rubbish claimed, I can only apologise as this would equally upset me as well. However, I can confirm that we have one of the largest numbers of permanent and part time staff of any fishery and each night from 6pm, a dedicated member of staff has the job of picking up all rubbish on the fishery before we close. Sadly as a busy commercial fishery we do see an awful lot of rubbish just dumped on the banks, in the rushes, under the platforms and in the bushes, indeed anywhere other than in the bins provided, of which there are a number. Whilst a small amount of litter might well escape us as the last of the anglers leave the fishery at dusk, I would have thought that the comments made would be better directed towards the dirty buggers who leave it and who are probably the same people who empty their ashtrays out in our car park!

Regarding 'dodgy rigs', our rules are some of the strictest of any fishery. However before you say that we should enforce them better, which is probably fair comment and in an ideal world we would, it is simply not possible to check every rig being used on the complex every day. Sadly there are some idiots out there and we as a commercial fishery get our fair share, yes some anglers do use rigs that I would prefer them not to, but in general, the problem is not nearly as bad as you have portrayed.

I spoke to Chris Maltby today who ran our Big Fish Pro-Fish course on Saturday with the help of an angling celebrity, who will remain nameless for the purposes of this reply. Chris was responsible for 4 anglers and 6 rods throughout the day and never hooked up one rig, dodgy or otherwise!

Continued in next posting below:

Continued from posting above:

The comment made regarding the other 'idiots' fishing which appeared to be based on the tackle that was visible. Yes we do get our fair share of plonkers, but they are not always evident from the tackle they are using! Clearly if we see someone blatantly breaking the rules, or fishing with completely the wrong tackle, then we will act accordingly. However, most 'idiots' as they have been referred to, are probably beginners or newcomer's to the sport, an expensive array of tackle does not make an angler! However, if we are honest, we have all been there at some time in our angling years. Saying that, we take great pride in the quality of our fish stocks and take a serious view on any action that could jeopardise this. To this end, we were the first fishery to set up and run a our own angling courses which continue to thrive taking place throughout the year and covering all aspects of the sport (check out our website for dates and courses). Indeed, we are starting a free predator clinic this year on Saturday mornings to help youngsters get started on predator fishing and to understand just how to safely handle and unhook pike and zander. We will also be running these free courses next year for carp and other species.

With regard to other points that have manifested from Stormin' Normans post, I would comment as follows:

Gerry Castles - I expect that you were emailing the wrong address, we monitor our emails daily and reply immediately. Please note for future use, our email address is <a href=mailto:info@buryhillfisheries.com>info@buryhillfisheries.com</A>. You are also correct, our breakfasts are renowned, as is our fishing and fishery.

Chris Bishop - you are right on both counts.

Craig Smith - try us for yourself.

Carp Angler - the emphasis is on providing superb sport in an idyllic location. Since acquiring the fishery some 12 years ago, we have spent over ?600,000 on improvements including the de-silting of the old lake, the creation of two new lakes, over ?100,000 of stocking, a new boathouse, cafe, shop and toilets, platforms for every peg, paths, landscaping and much more. Even as we speak the road leading to the fishery and the car park are being resurfaced at a cost of ?25,000. So I think that it is fair to say that we put back more than we take out!

Stuart Bullard - we monitor our fish stocks constantly, I don't know if you were unlucky, but of the 15 or so fish caught by Chris Maltby, angling celebrity and those attending the Big Fish course over the weekend, which included a number of twenties, I have been assured that all the fish were in good condition bar the odd mark which most likely was down to spawning last week. However, I do take on board your comments regarding the rigs and the island in particular, we do monitor this regularly and your comments have prompted me to carry out a check tomorrow morning throughout the entire fishery.

Steve Clements - point noted, I don't know who you spoke to, but I can assure you that Chris Wilmont, the fishery manager and myself take a serious interest in any dead fish reported, which I have to say are generally few and far between.

Continued in next posting below:

Continued from the two postings above:

Chris Issacs - you are entitle to your opinion but clearly I do not agree with your comments for the reasons I have explained above. Boilies are currently banned, but this rule will be relaxed next year to coincide with other developments. With regards to another water, you will have to wait and see!

Steve King - most fisheries have a clique which is made up the regular anglers, yes my bailiffs do receive some priviledges, but no more than those offered by other fisheries. You are wrong in that Eric is one of our support bailiffs, in fact, it is Eric whose job it is to close and clean the fishery 4 nights a week, and I for one believe that he does a very good job.

There is no smoke without fire, and I certainly accept some of the comments made, although not all. However, as explained, we are a busy fishery which clearly will not appeal to everyone. The downside is the number of anglers we attract and clearly some of these are plonkers. However, one must ask why we are such a busy fishery! Could it possibly be the quality of our fishing and management of the place!

I have taken fully on board the comments made and will endeavour to bear these in mind in the future. For those who might wish to give us a try and sample our fishing and facilities for themselves, please check us out at <a href=http://www.buryhillfisheries.com>www.buryhillfisheries.com</A>.

Regards
David de Vere

I've moved on and lost interest in the idea of fishing for preds at Bury Hill but in my particular case I tried to contact Bury Hill using the e-mail address from the website. My mail was not returned therefore I must assume it was delivered. Monitored it may have been, replied to it was not. But it's good that David has had an opportunity to bite back.

Gerry, not sure "bite back" is the write phrase, but I know what you mean.

While I was disappointed with my visit for the reasons stated, they are factors which have a remedy, so I applaud David for responding and accepting that there is no smoke without fire.

I am sure he realises that the quality of anglers on this site, and their comittment to welfare etc, means all comments were meant to assist the fishery.

Sorry Stuart it's just 'predspeak'

David, I am aware that inevitably cliques are formed at major fisheries, however when these cliques get away with using baits banned to other anglers, surely you must accept that this produces resentment. I made no complaint against Eric Bailey and in fact said he was a thoroughly decent bloke. I believed him to be head bailiff as this is how he was described in an article by McMad in Coarse Fisherman some months ago (should have known better that to believe McMad!)

Interesting reply Mr De Vere. Yes, it was a very busy day for you, but in my opinion it's even more important to get it right on those days and ensure that everyone is happy. Riding around on that clapped out old moped and shattering the quiet of the lake did not help at all.
I agree kit is not everything but getting the basics right is. A second rod, ledgering for carp without a baitrunner reel and left resting on a platform is just asking for trouble and yet there were plenty of people doing it yards from your boat house. Barbed hooks, boilies and what I presume were banned particles and some fearsome looking bolt rigs were all in evidence to me just by walking past my fellow anglers. And then the boats! What on earth were you thinking of, letting 3 boys, the eldest probally only 13 or so loose on the lake? They had no boat skills and no supervision and finished my fishing for the day by mooring in front of me. The bag of crap I picked up from my swim and from the lake sits on a shelf in my garage I'll send it back if you want it.

Mike Fidler AKA Stormin' Norman.