Greenhill Leisure Park - Lakes(4) & River Cherwell

Visited during February 2018, the site is well laid out with excellent facilities for all of the family. There are 4 coarse lakes ranging from a very small pond next to the drive up to the site on the right to the new lake of about 3 acres and a section of the River Cherwell.

 

All fishing is Dawn till Dusk, Barbless Hooks and children should be supervised at all times.

 

Small Pond - Next to entrance drive - Enough space for 2 anglers or a family. Lots of Roach and Carp to about 5lb with rushes around the edge, this small duck pond offers good sport for young and pleasure anglers.

 

Mixed Coarse Lake - Closest to the camping pitches this mixed coarse fishery is ideal for the pleasure angler but also offers some bigger fish to give you a few surprises during the day. Tench, Bream, Carp and Roach are present in good numbers with rushes and an island to fish to with space for about 12 anglers.



 

Carp Lake - The carp lake at the top of the hill above the mixed coarse lake is where I chose to spend most of my fishing time. The lake is kidney shaped, about 3/4 acre in size and has an island located in the middle of its length but off to the far side. Fishing is not allowed behind the island to the end of the rush bed due to overhead pylons. This lake has been dug into the side of the hill and the bottom follows the contours of the hill being shallow behind the island 3-4ft (looking up the hill) getting deeper gradually to 15ft about 15 meters from the near bank and then shallowing back up to the near bank, where it has been back filled. The island has a shallow edge of about 4ft around then slopping with the rest of the bottom, Carp are present to 20lb+.



 

Due to the time of year I targeted a flat spot in 9ft of water just off the end of the rushes and a similar depth just to the right of the island but also used a casting around technique to try to find the fish that would be relatively inactive. I used White chocolate and coconut boilie bottom baits as loose feed and bright pop-up's as hook baits either as a single 1 inch off the bottom or as a snowman with a white bottom bait. With a cold wind and water temperature at 4 degrees I wasn't expecting much however on the first day I fished from 3.30pm until dark with a break for dinner and had 4 carp between 5lb & 10lb (1 from the island and 3 from the rushes). On the next day I fished from 4pm till dark and had 1 fish of 10lb. On both days there was activity around my baits and I believe I had several fish mouth and reject the baits suggesting wary fish but was pleased with the results, check out the video to see how one was caught.

In warmer conditions I would tend to try the shallower water near the farm house or at the back of the island - surface baits may work well but due to the amount of bird life this could be problematic - try zigs during the warmer parts of the day when the fish are cruising up in the water. Early morning and late evening try bottom baits in shallow water - try to find flat spots on the bottom as the carp will prefer to feed on these.

 

New Lake - I'd estimate this to be 3-4 acres in size, located a short walk from the top end of the campsite. This lake is a little baron (as its new) and the only visible feature is the island. However when fishing it it became clear that there were a number of underwater features that would produce in better conditions, primarily a carp fishery, currently being stocked, but with fish present to over 20lb. The lake has a lot of potential but needs more work, the banks are steep making fishing difficult for some. The owners appear to be continually improving the site, while we were there new pitches were being added and the showers nearest to the house were being updated, I am sure that the lake will be improved and well stocked - great potential for the future. It would be nice to see some lilies, rushes and shrubs/trees to segregate fishing spots and pegs dug in to clearly denote fishing pegs and to help anglers be more comfortable. I fished for 2 hours one morning but in less than idea conditions so wasn't surprised that I failed to catch.

 

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River Cherwell - For those wanting a more natural setting then this is it, at 400m from the main campsite the River offers an escape for the traditional angler. I did an hour of lure fishing on an extremely cold day when I expected to catch nothing however I did manage to get one small Pike and have follows from a number of Perch. Traditional methods using stick float or the pole with maggots/casters and groundbait/hemp will offer good sport or worm fished on a small feeder/bomb rod. Travel light and move about to locate the pockets of fish. Boats may be a problem in the summer. The tow path is opposite the private bank you are on which offers good access and it is private. The River has most species present, Roach, Bream, Tench, Chub, Barbel, Pike, Perch and Brown Trout to name but a few.



 

All in all this is an excellent site for the fisherman and family, with the fishing being included in the price of your pitch I will certainly be going back - hopefully in warmer conditions!

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