The Pretty One!
It was the April of 2018 when I first ventured to Christchurch Lake on the Linch Hill complex. At the time, Christchurch, and its neighbouring lake, Willow, were accessible via day ticket, with Stoneacres being run as a syndicate. Nestled deep in the Oxfordshire countryside, Linch Hill is an iconic fishery surrounded by epic scenes of natural biodiversity; it truly is one of the most beautiful places to angle for big old English carp. The lakes have matured and they provide habitat for all forms of wildlife, including muntjac deer, birds, and a large resident badger which likes to sneak up and surprise you in the middle of the night. All three lakes on the complex contain a variety of strains of old English carp, including some really big commons and mirrors, and the scaly ones for which Linch Hill is famous. Christchurch itself is a very tricky water with a good head of carp, the stock estimated at around a hundred in its nine acres.
UPON ON ARRIVAL, I instantly felt at home with the venue, and was excited for the challenge ahead. I had a brief chat with Nick, the bailiff, and he said that the carp in Christchurch were only just starting to wake up. We had just come out of a really cold winter that year, so I was hardly surprised when he also mentioned that only one fish had been caught so far that spring.