Grimsbury Reservoir – A Carpy Hidden Gem
Hidden gem!
Grimsbury reservoir Banbury is situated in the rapidly expanding market town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, it was created in the early 60s by Thames water as a supply reservoir for the surrounding areas.
The reservoir is reasonably small as reservoirs go, but there are at least 30 pegs available to fish.
This is a day’s only water with fishing from dawn till dusk only!.
Originally the reservoir wasn’t stocked with fish, but the fish found their way into it through the feeder pipe that runs through from the river Cherwell, Which is located directly behind it.
There are the usual species present, Roach up to 2lbs, Big perch rumoured to hit around the 5lb mark, decent chub, pike up to mid twenty’s, Bream and obviously Carp.
Grimsbury reservoir is a decent next step water, by next step I mean a learning water, not a beginners water as it can be tough at times but once you’ve mastered the art of fishing a runs water then I believe this could be the next big learning curve.
Not Everybody’s Cup of Tea
The reservoir is nearly devoid of all of the features you would expect to find on a fishery, It has been made with a concrete bottom around the old river bed which was rerouted at the time of building, then flooded, in fact the only visual feature that you will see are the pontoons used by the sailing club to board their boats, The big concrete water filter which is out of bounds ,and a couple of buoys.
Underwater!
The features under the water at first glance will be apparent with the water sloping down to 8 feet then leveling out for about 30 feet then gradually rising back up again.
Margins!
The margins are definitely a place not to be ignored with the carp regularly patrolling them looking for an easy meal and with the crystal clear water its not unusual to see 3 or 4 grubbing around in your swim.
Old river bed!
Now running through the reservoir is the remnants of the old flooded river bed, Now this feature is practically impossible to find due to the silt build up in the center of the lake ,But believe me it is there, what I usually do is cast a marker about 60 yards into the center of the lake and feel for the softest silt, the silt pegs are particularly productive during the summer months due to the massive bloodworm beds that seem to sprout up ,the top pegs for this are peg 8 ,peg20 which is opposite and peg35, I don’t know why it’s always in these spots but it’s pretty regular over the summer months and you can usually see the carp shouldering an awful lot on these pegs.
Pontoon pegs!
During the autumn months the carp seem to move up to the pontoon pegs in quite significant numbers, there are 3 pegs to fish for the pontoon swims, 2 directly as you enter the gate and 1 on the opposite side just past the pontoons, now to the left of the gate all around to the end of the final pontoon are out of bounds due to the boating activity, Please adhere to these rules even if you’re tempted to walk round and spot some of the fish.
The fish!
The carp in this reservoir are a mixture of the old and the new; the reservoir wasn’t open to fish until the 90s where it was swiftly closed again after a couple of years due to urgent repairs, a leak I think.
The fish were put into various holding pools whilst repairs were carried out, then re stocked along with plenty of others, I don’t know the exact numbers but I think they got the balance right as they are continuing to put on plenty of weight.
The carp in this lake tend to average the 15-20 mark, although there are several upper 20s present with the biggest I’ve had being 29lb4oz,Although I’ve heard rumors of a couple of 30s gracing the bank ,Now I haven’t seen evidence of this it wouldn’t surprise me in the least.
The majority of the fish present are heavily scaled mirrors with a scattering of very pretty commons thrown in
Bait!
Let me start by emphasizing, Ground bait is banned on the water due to the fact its ultimately going to be drinking water!.
Good quality boilies are the order of the day on Grimsbury reservoir, with hook bait tipped with a piece of flouro corn being my number 1 bait.
Pellets also score well on there, but put too many in and you will be plagued with Bream!
Beds of particles have not been very productive for me on here, as for the reason why, I haven’t a clue, but it just seems to put them off completely.
Tactics!
During the spring and summer months I tend to have most success with a scattering of baits, I like to scatter my loose feed boilies over about a 10 meter square and fish a single bottom hook bait in amongst it, personally I like to get the fish to have to work for their food, that way I think they are more likely to make a mistake and pick up the hook bait.
During the autumn months I tend to have more success with small bags of crushed baits and stringers as I believe that’s when the beds of blood worm have deteriorated and the carp are more actively searching the lake for their next meals to feed up for winter.
Now during the winter this water still fishes reasonably well, I reckon it’s due to the frequent boating activity from the yachts, but I would still stick with single hi viz baits.
Rigs!
There are no obvious favorites on this lake but the only advice I would give is beware of your rigs sinking into the silt, I find simple pva nuggets on the hook to be effective with no more than a 2oz lead, and just keep it simple.
Indication!
Now with it being a concrete bank I recommend you bring a rod pod of some description, although it is possible to use rod rests but they will be on the bank behind the concrete making any wind a factor to your indication.
Directions!
Come off the m40 at junction 10 Banbury ,Take the second exit at the next round about, Down duel carriageway to next ,Only about 500 yards, Then take the 3rd exit at the next round about sign posted The waterworks, take the next left and you will see the car park.
It’s a 5 minute walk from the car park to the lake, straight in front you will see a big double gate, that’s for the yacht club entrance, follow the stone path right alongside the river and you will see a gate on the left hand side.
The lock!
The gate will have a combination lock on it, there is a phone number for the bailiff on the board, phone this and he will give you the number, alternatively phone the Banbury and district angling association on 01295253068
Days only!
Once again ill reiterate this is a day’s only water with fishing from dawn till dusk and a ticket is a measly £5.
Thanks to Matthew Perring for the article
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