Corby's Hidden Gem For Anglers

Corby Boating Lake is often over-looked by many anglers simply because it is a town park lake but those that do venture onto its banks are currently enjoying some cracking sport.

In recent years much has been done to improve the fishing on this lake, including the building of islands and hours of bankside work to make the fishing more comfortable. It is now a worthy venue which is produces all-year-round and it has the knack of attracting a variety of anglers from specimen carpers to matchmen. Double-figure nets of mainly crucians and roach mixed in with the odd bonus carp have been coming out in recent weeks to both pleasure and match anglers. These carp average around 5-6lb but they have been caught at over 20lb so if you target these don’t fish too light for them. The trick for a good mixed net is to fish short at say 5m for the crucians on the pole by loose feeding pellets or maggots and then swapping over to the tip now and again to find a bonus carp on either: the Method, standard feeder or straight lead with a small 8mm pop-up on the hook. With two islands in the lake you can easily fish tight to either of these which tend to hold the carp. For the crucians you can also simply lay down a bed of small 4mm or micro pellets while fishing a bigger 6mm version on the hook. The average depth in here is only around 4ft so light floats are the way to go when using this tactic.

For the bigger carp boilies and particle baits will all work and the bigger fish tend to either stick tight to the island or reside in the shallows in the pegs at the café or at the opposite end depending on the wind direction.

TIP: Take an assortment of different boilies as the carp will sometimes respond to different flavours or types on a particular day, for example a Mainline Cell 10mm pop-up. It may also be worth adding extra flavour to these with some Goo.

Prices: Corby residents are£4.50 or £2.50 concessions, non-residents £8.50 or £4.50 concessions, all on the bank

Contact: 01536 203700 or 07818 444815

Location: Cottingham Road, Corby, Northants, NN17 2UR

Facilities: Café, parking, toilets, tackle shop in town

Rules: No keepnets, no groundbait, no spinners, no floating baits, no tins