Details of your catches:

33Lb mirror, 37lb mirror (PB), lost one (??Lb) because of receiver malfunction during the night.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Hookbait: - Single pop-up sticky baits - Snowman 16mm/12mm sticky baits Groundbait: Handful of particles (party mix, hemp, sweet corn) mixed with 10 boilies 16 and 12mm. Safety leadclip with 142gr lead, fluorocarbon mainline 40/00, FOX armadillo 35lb and korda N-trap soft hooklink. I fished for 2 days in peg 4 where I caught my first 33lb mirror in the far corner of peg 5 on the bottom of the ledge. I saw some fish jumping in peg 1, so I moved the base camp to peg 1. Had a couple of liners during the nights, but no runs. After 2 days I decided to move again, to peg 3 in the middle of the lake. I managed to catch my PB mirror on the far bank at 10ft depth. Lost another fish on the plateau underneath the powerlines.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes! Very clean! Fridge, big freezer, toilet, shower and double sink.

Were you happy with them?

YES!

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

I already did. We're planning to go back next year.

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes! Communication and support as it should be!

General Comments:

It was a hard week fishing at Old Oaks. The lake was completely frozen 2 weeks before arrival. But I managed to catch 2 fish and new PB mirror. I couldn't be happier! Mehdi, the owner of the lake(s) is a very nice guy! We had a nice chat on arrival and departure. He was very interested in my catches and tactics. He was so happy that I caught a new PB. Old Oaks, definitely a winner for me!

Details of your catches:

Alex 53.7lb mirror, 25.8 mirror

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Tough week, the weather was cold, and lots of debris on the lakebed didn't help. Alex found most of stock in front of swim 2 just past half way. Alex fished PVA bags into the weed/chod or a balanced wafter on clearer area. The more bait we put in the quieter the week became.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Fantastic facilities, hot shower was great.

Were you happy with them?

Very happy.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes yes yes

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

Tough week, but happy Alex got a pb. Hardly any shows and easterly winds made things tricky, using the deeper we found lots of fish in swim 1 and 2, they Just sat in the same area all week really. I took some maggots but it's not worth it, big roach and chat were all over it

Details of your catches:

A very difficult week's fishing after a spell of very cold weather the week before our arrival. The lake simply shut down. Shame, as the weather on our week was actually very mild. A 40lb 8oz mirror on the first morning was the only carp of the session. Although a 6lb eel was also caught. A couple of last gasp runs early Friday morning could have changed things a little, but unfortunately both were lost.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

We tried absolutely everything.... singles, bags, sticks, baited spots, even maggots, but carp were simply not playing ball. The runs we did get came from singles on a baited area of around 150 boilies. The two late runs both came to snowman rigs fished in solid bags. Bites from open water and far margin.

Were the facilities what you expected?

Yes

Were you happy with them?

Yes.... Good size freezer and fridge. Nice clean toilet and shower areas + plenty of hot water.

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Yes

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Yes

General Comments:

I know Old Oaks is a great lake when the fish play ball. We were just unlucky with weather. 3 anglers in our party, which gave us all a good amount of water to fish (using pegs 1, 3 and 4). Mehdi seems like a lovely guy, although only really saw him on arrival, as we had to leave really early on the Saturday morning. Although he is always available if you give him a call. We will be back again to try our luck.

Details of your catches:

Peg 4 – Glen Mirror Carp – 44.1lb, 42.1lb, 38.5lb, 54.8lb, 39.14lb, 38.9lb, 36.4lb, 41.5lb, 38.8lb, 32.9lb. Peg 3 – Jamie Common Carp – 63lb 3oz (Long Common) Mirror Carp – 34.7lb, 37lb, 38.2lb, 45lb. Grass Carp – 34lb, 34.4lb. Peg 2 – Darren Mirror Carp – 40lb, 41.12lb, 31.8lb, 28.6lb, 42.9lb, 33.5lb, 45.8lb 49.75lb, 42.9lb. Common Carp – 48lb, 37.10lb.

Your best tactics/bait/rigs:

Critically balance wafters wrapped in Korda Super Wrap, topped with either pink or yellow pop up corn top. (see comments below)

Were the facilities what you expected?

As we visited before it was exactly as we expected

Were you happy with them?

Fantastic facilities could not have been better!!!

Would you recommend the venue to a friend?

Definitely!!

Would you recommend the services to a friend?

Definitely!

General Comments:

We arrived for our next visit to Old Oaks, three of us fishing the lake. It being the first, second and third time to fish this fantastic lake! The facilities were as always fantastic, no issues what so ever it has plenty of room inside both fridge and freezer, the shower was so great after a days fishing with a huge water tank supplying hot water! Mehdi had just replaced the freezer as the previous one had decided to give up after 13 years! He met us at the entrance and opened the gates to our home for the next week, the great thing is that he will just leave you to it, unless you have an issue then he is there straight away. So weather conditions were set to be perfect with the storm having pushed through a few days earlier, and low pressure set for the flowing week. We fished Pegs 2,3 and 4 and were able to spread our rods around all sections of the lake. The baits we used were the following; Essential Cell (The Bait and Feed Company), The Nutz and Jackie Chan, Rock Lobster (Active Bait Solutions). We also fed Particle and sweet corn, together with various sized pellets, together with crushed and broken up boilies, with some secret liquids to enhance the flavours in the water. We set up and within minutes we thought we were going to be cursed with the Poisson Chat, all three catching them almost immediately, so we then wrapped our baits using the KORDA Super Wrap, and from that moment we have no further issues at all with the Chat! Mehdi said we would need to work for the fish, and this is what we did. It took a few days to figure out their hiding places but once this was established we were onto the week of a lifetime. Basically during the day, the fish hugged the far margins as the water level was around 3-4ft, and a ledge was formed about 4-5 feet in width, this then dropped off rapidly to around 10ft. Also casting to bubbles in the deeper water paid off. Normally within 20 minutes the fish were hooked and fighting. The fish sat in the margin during the day, and then dropped to deeper water at night. Fish during the day coming from 10am – 8pm, and then in the night from 2am-5am. These fish fight so hard, they just don’t know when to give up! They hold the depths right up until they are near the rods, and then when they come up, away they go again fighting, it was the best fighting fish we ever encounter. Here are the fish weights per peg; Peg 4 – Glen Mirror Carp – 44.1lb, 42.1lb, 38.5lb, 54.8lb, 39.14lb, 38.9lb, 36.4lb, 41.5lb, 38.8lb, 32.9lb. Peg 3 – Jamie Common Carp – 63lb 3oz (Long Common) Mirror Carp – 34.7lb, 37lb, 38.2lb, 45lb. Grass Carp – 34lb, 34.4lb. Peg 2 – Darren Mirror Carp – 40lb, 41.12lb, 31.8lb, 28.6lb, 42.9lb, 33.5lb, 45.8lb 49.75lb, 42.9lb. Common Carp – 48lb, 37.10lb. This equalled 28 fish and weighing a massive 1,135.01lb’s. When on form this lake explodes with fish, they simply can’t get enough, and just keep coming for more. This lake just keeps getting better and better, don’t get me wrong, you have to work to catch them, but once caught its worth every penny going. We will be back again it has to be the best lake in Angling lines. This week all pegs produced fish from the far margins, and then again in deeper water during the night. Once meshed there was NO issues with any Chat destroying the bait. To see the long common come out, and first time since April was an absolute pleasure even if it was caught by Jamie, this fish almost doubled his previous PB, together with is first time with the ever fighting grass carp. I think for myself it has been the fishing trip of a lifetime, and will be hard to top in future. Thank you Medhi for looking after such a great lake, and allowing people to fish them, he truly is passionate about his lakes and the fish in them, and will be on call at any time to help with any issues or tips to help increase your chances of catching.