Seven Hurst Angling Club members returned from their recent fishing holiday in Lincolnshire, the participants returned home with plenty of stories about their catches, including who landed the biggest fish and who recorded the heaviest overall weight. No doubt, there will be plenty more tales shared at Octobers monthly club meeting.

One member of the group shared his own account of the the trip and some excellent photographs, giving other club members a great insight into both the accommodation and the various fishing venues.

The seven guys stayed at Lowfields Fishing Retreat, an exclusive five-star venue offering 11 well-maintained fishing lakes. While Lowfields provides excellent facilities for pleasure fishing, the venue does not permit match fishing. Consequently, the group used the nearby Springvale complex for their matches, although Lowfields was occasionally used for some pleasure fishing once the match days had finished.

Springvale Fishing Lakes

Springvale offers a choice of seven well-stocked lakes, providing a variety of fishing opportunities for both day anglers and club match groups:

• First Spring Lake – 27 pegs

• Oak Avenue Lake – 20 pegs

• Duke Lake – 40 pegs

• The Duchess Lake – 30 pegs

• Newcastle Lake – 50 pegs

• Golden Lake 1 – 20 pegs

• Golden Lake 2 – 25 pegs

The lakes are well stocked with a variety of species, including Common and Mirror Carp, Ide, Tench, Chub, Skimmer Bream and Barbel.

The complex is extremely well maintained, with spacious, generous pegs that provide ample room for anglers and their equipment. Parking is conveniently located close to the fishing pegs, making access straightforward. Springvale also provides keep nets and landing nets for all match anglers.

Record-Breaking Catch

The group fished a selection of the lakes during their stay, but the highlight of the trip came when Mick Dransfield reportedly broke the venue record with an outstanding Mirror Carp weighing in excess of 21 lb.

The fish was landed on a 5 lb hook length with size 14 elastic, making the achievement even more impressive. Mick said the carp only just fitted into the landing net, and it took approximately 20 minutes of careful playing before he was finally able to get it safely onto the bank.

A fantastic achievement, Mick — congratulations on an excellent catch!

Hopefully, Springvale will also be publicising this impressive capture in due course.

A Successful Trip

Overall, the group enjoyed good weather throughout the holiday, with only a few short showers interrupting the fishing.

With plenty of fish caught, some excellent individual performances and, of course, Mick’s impressive 21 lb+ carp, it sounds as though another successful event organised by the club members was enjoyed by all who took part.

Full match results and further details will be published once they have been compiled and made available.

Below four photos of the fishing venue,  Spring Vale

Above are a few accomodation photos taken at Lowfields, can you guess the chef..