AnotherAngle

Ponds

The best definition of a pond from a fishing perspective I have read is more or less: ' a water where it is possible to cast, from one bank to the other, without getting your tackle wet, from all of the banks'.

You'll notice that some of the waters called "ponds" on this site are not included, as they are way bigger than that.

Having said that, I've discovered there are formal definitions for ponds and lakes. It's like this:

• A Lake - has a river, stream, brook or spring running inlet. It also has a similar running outlet.
• A Pond - only fed via rainfall, land drainage or seepage.

So a pond can be many acres e.g. - Frencham pond. A lake can be small as you like, as long as it's got an inlet and outlet supply. I'm indebted to one of my (very) few correspondents for that information. So this page has some stuff on some of the ponds I've fished, despite the fact "there are no fish in them"...

• Penn Pond, Tylers Green, Bucks.
• Coleshill Pond, Coleshill, Bucks.
• Latchmoor Pond, Gerrards Cross Common, Bucks.
• Round Pond, Chobham Heath, 1987.
• Bucklebury Ponds, Berks.

Penn Pond

Penn Pond is located on the village green at Tylers Green in Buckinghamshire. It was rumoured to have fish in it, so one afternoon I went to see, and as it's not a massive piece of water, being some 5-10 yards in diameter, took my roach pole. There were rumours of tench.The picture below does it justice, it is a pretty location and was a nice place to fish.

On the day, using punched bread and a small ploe float, I caught 16 "naturalised goldfish", which is to say they were mostly brown and green, although there was the odd fleck of gold on some of them. These ran to about 6 ounces and provided lively sport. I added a few gudgeon, of good size, for luck. The goldfish were, according to legend, left over prizes from a fun-fair held on the green.

I went one more time with similar results, and would have gone more, but a "No Fishing" sign appeared.

The sign was still there when I went past a few years ago. You can just see it in the picture below.

Coleshill Pond, Coleshill Bucks 1982-3

Coleshill pond looks like a large puddle in a field after winter rains and is apparently unusual being at the top of a hill, lying on a perched aquifer (whatever that means). Having said that there are quite a few ponds atop hills in this part of the Chilterns.

Penn Pond for example, and there are ponds at Holmer Green and Beamond End as well (no idea if they had fish in).

Judging by the fence and trees in the water, the level varies considerably over the year. How I came across it I do not recall. I must have been on the way somewhere, and stopped to see, and having seen signs of fish, elected to return at a later date.

I went several times over a winter in 1982-3. I fished a simple pole rig with punched bread or maggot, and a 2lb bottom with a size 18 hook, which was light tackle, but I was fairly sure I wouldn't need more than that. I caught a good dozen small roach on my first visit, a few ounces each at most, and while this is no great shakes, it was good sport of a cold winter afternoon, for a couple of hours (probably after Sunday lunch, when approaching the long dark tea-time of the soul).

This was the pattern of my subsequent visits, and I went no more than 3-4 times, and I finished each visit straining to see my float in the winter gloom, with the fish still tentativley biting, even with frost falling...and then getting back to my car numbed from the neck down from the cold, only shivering when the heater kicked in half-way home.

You can see pictures of the pond on the Coleshill website, and on this page as well. I imagine there is "no fishing" here now though.

Round Pond, Chobham Heath, 1987

On Chobham Heath, just beside the B383, South of the M4, but just North of Chestnut Lane is a small round Pond, the name of which is 'Round Pond', which is perhaps 20 yards in diameter. I spent some time in 1987 walking on Chobham Heath rehabilitating a torn ligament in my left ankle (2nd time, 3rd yet to come), and came across this pond, which advertised it's population with a few shreds of discarded tackle, and on closer examination the small movements of small fish.

If you were to take a small rod I imagine that if you were to sit quietly here with a simple float rig and using a small worm as bait you would expect to catch few small roach and rudd. It certainly looks that way.....there's probably no fish in, and probably no fishing here either.

So obviously I wouldn't have fished.