I have just received this exciting press release from South West Lakes Trust. Upper Tamar is set to receive an impressive stocking of big carp that will make it one of the West Country’s most exciting waters.
South West Lakes Trust would like to announce some exciting news for Upper Tamar fishery in 2017 with the stocking of some fantastic large fish for the first time. In September, 30 carp weighing between 20-32lbs will be stocked. This is the start of a longer term stocking plan that includes a further 25 carp in the same weight range in 2018 and 40 more weighing over 20lbs in 2019. This follows on from the stocking of around 250 smaller carp, transferred from some of other waters, weighing up to 20lbs over the last three years to add to the already good stock of fish that reside in the 81 acre venue.
In recent years catching a fish over 20lbs or 30lbs from the venue has been a challenge but that is set to change!
Upper Tamar forms part of the Tamar Lakes complex of fisheries with Lower Tamar only half a mile down the road. At 35 acres, Lower Tamar is home to a large head of 20lb+ fish with several fish over the 30lb mark and growing very quickly.
The new fish are being sourced from our local supplier Lana Springs Fish Farm in Devon. Owner Chris Mannifold has a great reputation for supplying premium carp.
Ben Smeeth, the Trust’s Angling Technical Lead said “I am delighted to be working with Chris on this exciting project. The majority of fish will be Mirrors to complement the large population of Commons already in the lake. With a really good weed growth providing a rich source of food these fish will continue to grow with the aim of producing a large head of 30lb and 40lb fish within the next 5-7 years.”
Upper Tamar has produced a lot of runs for anglers in the last few years with some anglers catching as many as 25 carp in a single 24 hour session. There are so many swims to choose from each giving a different perspective of the beautiful lake and each presenting different challenges and features.
Upper Tamar is a spectacular venue, set in peaceful rural countryside, spanning two counties with the Devon and Cornwall border running down the middle of the lake.
The fishery benefits from outstanding facilities with a café open from March to November, showers, toilets and a camping field – perfect if the family also want to come along! There is a supply of bait and tackle available from the café and an onsite self-service permit room so you can arrive at your leisure and start fishing! The venue also benefits from a level stoned path all the way around which makes access to swims for everyone really easy. We do also provide a taxi service to any swim if you give us plenty of notice!
There are also two angling lodges which sleep two people and are bookable through our central office on 01566 771930.
Updates to our new fishing website www.swlakesfishing.co.uk will mean you can view a map of Upper Tamar fishery including swim names before even visiting. We also have a very active Facebook page called ‘Coarse Fishing South West Lakes Trust’ so please LIKE our page for regular catch reports, pictures and information about all of our coarse fisheries in the South West.
The stocking in September will be just in time for the Pallatrax Carp Open Pairs competition at the end of the month and it will be interesting to see if any of the competitors can bank some of our new residents and scoop a share of the £3,500 prize money. Anyone who wants to book onto one of our three pairs carp competitions in 2017 needs to call our office on the above number.
Anyone who would like to come along and see the fish stocked are very welcome – we would love to see you at Upper Tamar to share this great occasion with us and witness the start of an amazing future for this special fishery.
Ben Smeeth
Fishery Manager 01288 321262 [email protected]
