Fishing in rural areas with scenic lakes, surrounded by fields, can be idyllic however do not dismiss the urban locations in and around the city when looking for carp fishing near London.
London is filled with waterways and canals that can make for a fun filled day of carp fishing. Alongside carp you can often catch a huge selection of species so always be prepared to catch a fish you've never seen before!
Here I would like to write up on carp venues near London, some of these are venues I've fished myself and will provide my own personal opinion on the location.
Canal fishing
If carp fishing near London do not rule out one of the many canals that lace the city. The Regent's Canal which runs between Hackney and Haggerston,spanning over 14km, is favoured by many carp anglers. Over this distance you will wane between tight fishing under bridges surrounded by concrete and picturesque beauty spots which provide very relaxing locations.
Also known as street fishing, carp fishing close to London can often see you dropping downon to a tow path from a very busy high street! Carp, pike, perch,chubb and zander are common place and can be caught with the most simple of fishing methods.
Consider some stretches of the Grand Union Canal whichlinks London to Birmingham and offers some excellent pockets for when you are thinking of carp fishing near London.
Also worth considering the Thames River (Middlesex) The stretches that can produce are the fill tidal around Richmond and Kew, through to the no tidal as far as Staines. The good area here is thesemi tidal, incorporating Teddington and Twickenham
Farlows Lake, Iver West London
When considering venues near London, the 'do not miss' venue has to be Farlows. One that I have fished many times myself and can not speak highly enough about the venue.Farlows lake has a huge amount of carp fishing history, withit's25 acre main lake.
It also has a smaller5 acre lake (called lake 2) which still has some stunning carp up to a good weight, and now a smaller (lake 3) for children to start trying out this sport we love.It also has access to theColnbroke river and grand union canal.
The stock of fish in Farlows are truly stunning with some old warriors and lots of very well know carp ie The Pretty onehas be caught at over 42lbs, Smudge common which has been banked over 40lbs and that is just a couple of the amazing fish to go after at Farlows.
The lake has lovely bay areas where the fish like to hold up, some very weedy areas that when you find the right spots can produce great results and gravel bars which the fish like to feed on. There are now more 30's per acre than any other day ticket lake.
Tactics at Farlows include Zigs which can produce results, there are a lot of bream in the lake so stay away fromparticle and stick to a good boilie. PVA bags also work well in the weedy areas. Farlows now has a fully working showerblock,a cafe to have fresh food hot and cold, and also now a Erics Angling fully equipped shop.
Walthamstow Reservoirs
The Stow is a great venue when looking for carp venues near London, again it has a lot of history. It used to be daylight fishing only but now you can fish every othersaturday night.
With the lake record being over45lb you could truly catch your fish of a lifetime. The strategies that work are cast to feeding fish, spend time looking for them, bags can work well and also stiff hinge rigs on a helicopter set up where some of thebottom can besilty. You don't want to spend too much timeleading around trying to find features as the fish are thefeatures, if you see fish feeding cast to them!
ThorneyWeir West Drayton
Thorney Weir/ Themets is another great venue to look out for. It is available as a syndicate and also day ticket lake. It's just over 17 acres in size.
It has small and large islands, sunken features, gravel bars and plateaus so lots of features to fish on or around. It has some lovely bays for some stalking in the summer months.
Fish have been banked at over 40lbs with around 25 thirties, with some lovely scaly fish, so a lot of amazing fish to go for, this includes a knownghosty that has been banked at 30lbs.
Milton Pools fishery, Great Milton
Milton pools fishery Is a venue that has 6 lakes the main two lakes are the house lake and the specimen lake this is a good venue and it's easilyaccessable from the M40
The specimen lake has some decent sizefish,however not sure what the lake record is, there have been some thirties however the times I've fished it I've never seen anything of that size, they also have somecat fish in thespeci lake.
The house lake is a good lake if you are just doing a day session, I've had some good session of low 20's and they do like to be caught up to the margin on the opposite side, that you can't fish from.
Royal Berkshire Fishery Windsor
This venue has three tree-lined lakes with them all having islands to fish up to.You always get some good action normally towards the end of the day, I have fond memories of fishing here, from the last-minute take as you pack up. it's a great relaxed venue with a greaton site cafe.
Claverhambury Carp Lakes, Waltham Abbey
Clacerhambury is another venue, it consists of two lakes on farmland, it has a match lake and a carp lake the carp go up to 20lb so a perfect venue for a bend in the rod at a very scenic surroundings.
I hope the piece on carp fishing near London has helped find some great venues in and aroundlondon. If you have any that you know of and would like me to add it to this page please let me knowon the comments below. With fishing a new venue I've found the deeper pro plus to be a great benefit with finding features. so check out my deeper fish finder review