Big-pit Dreams

Tom Maker steps out of his comfort zone and takes on a huge 114 - acre day - ticket water.

- Tom Maker

In recent years I have concentrated most of my fishing on the Linear Fisheries complex, and with good reason. There are a number of very well stocked lakes with plenty of big fish and I thoroughly enjoy fishing there.

This year I fancied something different, a new challenge altogether, somewhere with fewer fish, more space and fewer anglers. I didn’t have time to get on a syndicate, nor did I fancy a cheap club ticket, so it was after much deliberation that I looked at Bradleys in the Cotswold Water Park.

I had fished the lake 10 years previous and knew little about the place, other than a few myths and rumours and a number of stocked fish that were low doubles all those years ago.

When I started looking into it, those stockies were averaging 25 to 30lb and some were absolutely stunning.

The lake is over 114 acres, which is one of the biggest I have fished in the UK. Most of it is out of bounds, so with limited bank space and no access to boats of any sort, it was going to be tricky. Still, I was excited to drive up and have a look round.

On my first walk I could see a few fish showing at super-long range. I didn’t see many but one thing I noticed is how a weak wind appears to be a strong one on such a large lake. I didn’t want to let it daunt me; at the end of the day, people catch plenty of fish from there and they must come a lot closer to the bank than you think.

I planned my first trip to be a 48-hour session. I had heard that single solid bags blasted as far as you could work well, but I wanted to fish it differently. The plan was to find a spot, be it a shallow bar or something that stood out, and give them a big hit of bait.