Our club offers carp fishing across Northamptonshire and in particular the Nene Valley area which is a mecca for Carp Anglers. The valley is littered with ex-gravel pits which are mainly matured and lots now offer fishing on them. The Nene Valley area between Wellingborough & Oundle is where most of our club waters are based so we will focus on that area in this piece.

The type of Carp fishing along the Nene varies with a number of successful day ticket fisheries, angling club waters & several syndicates.

Our club waters contain a varied mixture of Carp fishing depending on the ability and target fish size the angler is looking for. We have strived to keep the cost of fishing for all of our members to remain as low as we can as this is one of our clubs founding policies when inaugurated over 150 years ago. Unfortunately, we

Below is a summary of the waters available to our members within our annual membership fee and an overview of what to expect if fishing them.

Carp Fishing at Spinney Lakes – Wellingborough

The ‘Spinney’ complex just south of Wellingborough train station and downstream from the embankment. It is situated on flood plain land that the River Nene runs straight through. Due to the location of these waters, they can regularly merge as the river floods meaning the stock is known to be low but with no exact records. 40lb+ fish have been caught in previous years from the main larger lake. Typical Nene Valley common carp in appearance.

The entire site is now a designated SSSI under the management of Natural England on behalf on the Land Trust. As a result angling is not allowed on certain waters on the site passed the 31st October each year and there is a ban on angling completely from sign posted areas.

The main fishing area is now surrounded with a stock fence as erected at the instruction of Natural England and welcomed by the club.

Carp fishing at Barkers Lake & Brightwell’s Lake – Ringstead

Barkers & Brightwell’s lakes for the largest gravel pits on the Ringstead complex. both hold carp into the mid/upper 30’s with some scraping 40lb in Brightwell’s at the right time of year and are also located on designated SSSI land.

Barkers is around 17 acres in area and is fully otter fenced. The lake runs North to south. The northern end of the lake is the deeper end with depths to around 13ft depending on the time of year. The south westerly winds will blow towards this end of the lake and the margins should not be under-estimated. See below for a range of Carp stocked & caught from Barkers.

The southern end of the lake is shallower but can be weedy in summer. The fish do hold up in the weed feasting on the natural food within. Many anglers who have found techniques for safely fishing directly into the weed have had great success.

Barkers has around 11 known 30lb+ fish which are all commons bar 1. There are lots of fish above the 20lb mark which can make for some great multi-capture sessions once locating the fish & feeding carefully.

Brightwell’s lake offers a completely different style of fishing for Carp than Barkers. it has been left as a wilder pit and the stock is a lot lower than Barkers.

The lake is around the same size as Barkers but is a rounder shape with some deep holes down to 18ft in areas of the margins only a rod length out.
There is an island in the lake that is surrounded by shallower water which is very weedy in summer but as per Barkers, the weed contains lots of natural food and the fish are happy to sun-bathe. Brightwell can be a tough water due to the low stock. Many have had success by taking on a campaign based approach and learning the lake & its features along with regular baiting. Not that many would talk about their approach!

The stock in Brightwell’s is very low but there are fish present up to the 40lb mark at the right time of year as caught in 21′ and some beautiful other stock for those committed to having their pics in their album.

Anglers wanting to night fish either of these waters, need to make sure that they have purchased the annual night fishing permit on top of their regular membership. These are limited to strictly 130 being available each year and go on general release on Jan 1st but be quick to avoid disappointment as they are known to sell out within a few days!

Carp Fishing at Princess (Duchess) Lake – Barnwell

Princess lake is situated adjacent to the River Nene at Oundle Marina and close to Barnwell Country Park. The lake is an estate lake and still owned by a royal estate who kindly allow our club to lease the fishing rights to the water.

Unfortunately the lakes fish stocks have suffered from predation over a number of years. There are still however some of the original stock in the lake with a certain common carp that many anglers have set their sites on often breaching 35lb.

In years gone by, Princess was renowned for it’s specimen Tench & Crucian carp as well as Bream & Common/Mirror carp. The club are trying to restore this lake back to its former glory…. watch this space as we embark on a full Otter /flood protection fencing project over the winter of 21/22 with the aim of ensuring the safety of the stocks for years to come.

The lake gets very weedy in summer, but there are still opportunities to fish in certain areas and of course, the margins can be clear of weed in deeper areas and very productive!

Please be aware that this water requires a separate night fishing permit to be purchased on top of regular membership if anglers wish to fish overnight on either the lake or river sections.

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