Emma's Catch Up Page

National Geographic spots Emma's Photo!!

2012-01-31T12:17:00.000Z

Emma is really delighted to have one of her photos chosen by National Geographic has photo of the week!!!

It's a great photo she took whilst on one of her veterinary placements in Shetland.

To check out go to:-

http://facebook.com/natgeo/posts/243078815768805


Lots of bird life at Lonsdale but don't think you'll spot these!

Want to Fish under the Northern Lights?

2012-01-23T21:47:00.002Z

With some gorgeous weather set to continue for the next two weeks giving us lovely clear night skies, and the recent solar flares, much of Cumbria is getting to see the Northern Lights!

You can see people's photo's on the BBC at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16685364

If you fancy casting a line into the reflection of the aurora borealis, and watching it dance over head we're your best bet!

Imagine telling your kids and grandkids about that!

For more information, or to grab a last minute aurora borealis bargain break you can call Paul on 07770825896 or Val on 01228562655

PS: if I can get a decent photo I'll post it!

Deer Lake Today

2012-01-22T20:51:00.000Z

Deer Lake

Even when the leaves are gone, a bright clear day is all takes.

Odham's Pictorial guide to fish and fishing

2012-01-18T15:57:00.004Z

Well I did promise I might write a post about this book!

Odham's pictorial guide was my christmas present from my Dad this year. It was his very first fishing book, and one he pored over for hundreds of hours as a young angler. He found a copy and bought it so that he could share it with me.

The book is very big, and reminds me of comic book annuals. The colours are bright and the illustrations are typical of the late 50's early 60's when the book was published:

Inside the book starts with introductions to the water cycle and aquatic life, to make sure a young angler was properly educated!

The book then progresses through different species of fish, and compares them to land animals, for example the roach is similar to a sheep as a grazing shoaling fish, but the pike is likened to a tiger.

With a pretty thourough background in place the book progresses onto how to catch these beautifully depicted creatures, and I have to say it is very reminiscent of Mr. Crabtree:

Reading through with Dad, he told me how he could remember each of the illustrations, and how he had studied those explaining how a roach might bite (shown above)

What I really love about the book, aside from it's illustrations, is the attitude. The book progresses from environment to the natural history and biology of fishes, before eventually enlightening the reader as to how to cunjour these denizens of the deep. It even describes the natural history of predators like cormorants and mink, as well as commonly seen water side birds like the Kingfisher.

So often these days I meet a young angler in my social circles and they seem to have lost sight of everything but how to catch the fish, and they're missing out on so much!

I think that what my young contemporaries may have missed out on, is an introduction by the likes of Odhams or Mr. Crabtree.

Odhams still gives a very thorough introduction to the watery world, and the time spent reading it, or as my Dad did comitting it to memory will pay dividends to any young or aspiring angler.

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

Angler's Mail Dec 6th issue - nice little piece

2012-01-16T07:30:00.014Z

I read this little piece in the Angler's Mail the other day (from the 6th Dec issue):

click to enlarge

It's always nice to read about people championing the need for the care and respect due to our aquatic quarry.

So I thought I'd share it in case you'd missed it, Ben Hervey-Murray makes an excellent, succinct point about unhooking mats. And we completely agree with him.

We take great pride in caring for our fish.

We tend to attract very caring anglers anyway, but there a few key things we do to ensure our fish are kept in tip top condition:

Firstly the ratio of anglers to fish is kept deliberately low - not only ensuring that guests enjoy space and freedom with plenty of pegs, but also keeping pressure on the waters to a minimum,

We require that guests are equipped with an unhooking mat,

And also that they use Klinik or similar antiseptic on any wounds for example should a fish have spawning damage,

We carefully monitor water quality, and what the ingredients of popular baits contain,

Predator prevention and control (not pike or perch - cormorants and mink)

And of course barbless hooks only.

Of course that's not all we do, but it's the main things we hope our guests appreciate.

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

January Special Offer - Fishy Friends

2012-01-14T15:31:00.005Z

Until the end of January:

Introduce a friend to Lonsdale Park,

and if they make a booking

we'll thankyou with a £15 voucher for anything in the onsite tackle and bait shop,

and they benefit from January's prices being frozen at 2011!

All you have to do is tell your friend to mention this offer - which we're calling 'fishy friends' and to name you as their referee, and we'll post a voucher off to you.

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

Winter Roach

2012-01-10T15:14:00.004Z

I looked out of the window yesterday to see the winter sun burnishing the reeds a deep yellowy gold, and I found myself drawn inexorably to the water.

A quick cup of tea and a crumpet, then perhaps an hours angle was just the thing, I hadn't fished since last year after all (hah hah) so extracting my beautiful avon from Dad's overcrowded rod rack was overdue!

In the end I did only fish for about an hour (for those who do not fish, 'angler's time' has a somewhat elastic property so here 'about an hour' most closely resembles an hour and a half of 'real time' that felt like only 30 minutes)

But I filled my hour with lovely winter roach.

I should have kept count, but I admit I didn't, I was enjoying pulling them in too much.

I can report that all were between half a pound and just over a pound, and that I was relieved of 3 slices of bread to catch them.
All were in lovely condition, and the low winter sunshine really brought out the bright red fins, and the sparkle in the silver.

It's just as exciting to see a nice roach slide into the net today as it was when I was 7. Magic.

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

Online Booking now available for 2012

2012-01-08T17:01:00.003Z

My internet jobs list is very much coming under control now folks!

I'm pleased to let you know that our online booking system is up and running for 2012, so you can peruse our availability at your leisure 24 hours a day.

Come Monday I should have worked out how to make the background green instead of the old blue, so it should be much more aesthetically pleasing too.

Prices for 2012 are currently frozen until the end of January so the early bird is sure of catching a juicy worm!

With some good work done I thought I'd have a cup of tea and a little think about 2012.

As I'm sure you all know I'm a rather avid bookworm, so my plans for the year always include what books I'd like to read and any nice editions I'd like to acquire.

At Christmas my Dad gave me a copy of Odhams Pictorial guide to Fish and Fishing, from the 50's. This was Dad's first and favourite fishing book, and one which he read and referred to so often in his childhood that he had the book virtually completely memorised as he shared it with me. But enough of Odham's for now - I might share a post on it with you later.

My 2012 reading list:

A Pool of Dreams by Tom O'Reilly

Out of the Blue by Chris Yates

Waterlog magazine,

Fishing for a Year by Jack Hargreaves

A train to catch by Jon Berry

Catching the Impossible by Mark Bowler and Hugh Miles

Big Roach by Mark Wintle

My favourite angling books, which I often and frequently reread are:

Anything by Chris Yates, but particularly my signed copy of How to Fish (a kind gift from Ray Kemp) and The Spirit of the Pond by Tom O'Reilly.

So what about you?

What do you plan on reading in 2012, and what books do you find yourself returning to again and again?

Let us know by leaving a comment or writing to us on the facebook page - particularly if you think you could recommend something we haven't read yet!

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

Website Redrafted!

2012-01-06T12:44:00.004Z

Hello again!

I just wanted to let you all know that I've been redrafting our website and giving it a little bit of TLC, so if you refresh your browers / or delete your cookies you should be able to see my changes!
I've made the big ones, but haven't quite finished it yet and will probably continue to tinker with it over January.
The most changes have been to the flora and fauna page - a hugely under appreciated aspect of angling in my opinion, I hope the new page gets people more interested!
And also our infomation page, whish now features a bit of history on Dad, me, the site and a bit of our Philosophy as it were - I hope you like it!

Please get in touch on the facebook page or via email if there's anything you think I've missed, or that you'd like to see of even if you've got some really cracking photo's you'd be proud to have on display (let me know who you are and I'll make sure there's a caption underneath giving you full credit!)

In other news the high winds in the borders seem to have died down, but not before blowing a lonely visitor our way:
This is Henrietta - the lonely Greylag goose.
Don't worry I heard some others fly over this morning so I'm sure once she's recupperated after her windy battle she'll be back amongst friends soon!

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T19:17:00.003Z

A very happy (belated) new year to all our customers and friends!

Despite the quiet time of year we've had guests with us over the holiday period. Dave and Fran stayed with us for Christmas, and enjoyed some much milder weather than this time last year (which saw temperatures drop to -22 degrees C). Good catches of Roach (as always) and especially Tench were taken by both.

With the weather so mild I'm often seeing chub rising and splashing on the top of the Willows, so I expect a few good chub are also only a cast away!

No doubt the birds are appreciative of the milder weather too, and I did hear Dave got some cracking photo's.

Personally I've been enjoying keeping an eye on one of our Coal tit's who has taken up residence down the barrel of my dad's french sea cannon that sits outside our window - the cannon took a 3 inch ball - apparently just right for this little character who retires to bed at about 4 o'clock each day. Although with the days creeping ever longer he is becoming a little bit later as the week goes by. Before we know it we'll back in the long golden days of summer watching the carp cruising across the top!

Some of you may have noticed we've updated our prices list page for 2012, and unlike the weather I hope you're pleased to find the prices are frozen!

I haven't quite managed to get the online booking system into the new year quite yet - please bear with me.

Best fishes for 2012, from Emma and all the family.

www.lonsdalepark.co.uk

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-20T20:06:00.005Z

Dear all,

I hope this time of year finds you well equipped with gloves and a woolly jumper in pursuit of mythical predators, or perhaps you'd prefer to be a home with a glass of sherry and a mince pie...

Regardless I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from our family to yours.

Love,

Emma, Paul, Val, and Amy

PS: Unfortunately Mum has been somewhat under the weather with pneumonia over the last few weeks so we got quite behind with cards, you have my sincere apologies if we missed you!

The end of an era.

2011-12-06T16:56:00.014Z

Dear all,

It is with great sadness that I share our recent news.

On Friday our treasured old dog Mansell died, aged 19.

To call him a dog hardly does him justice, to those who knew him he was at first a young rogue, and later an old gentleman.

Many of you graciously (and occasionally unwitting or unwillingly) shared your luncheon meat, or lunch with him.

He had a long life full of adventures, and was much loved by all.

We will miss him.

Visit from fishing legend Ray Kemp - The Colonel

2011-11-23T13:02:00.011Z

Yesterday we had the pleasure yet again of having Ray Kemp AKA The Colonel (made famous alongside Chris Yates) fishing here at Lonsdale. Here Ray has kindly given us an account of his day fishing.

Hello Paul

My night was filled with dreams of jagging roach, creaking cane and mugs of piping hot coffee, delivered to the swim by my trusty butler. With that in mind, I must thank you heartily for allowing me to christen the recently renovated James Aspindale 'Suredale' on your lovely Willows pool at Lonsdale. I had a joyful day. It literally was a bite a cast, resulting in a catch of pristine Rutilus gracing my net, the best being five at 3/4lb, one at 1lb exactly, one at 1lb 9oz and one at 1lb 10oz. All fell to breadflake on a size 12 barbless long shank hook, fished close to the bottom beneath a quill float and between one and two rod lengths out. Light feeding with mashed bread, of course, traditional angling at it's finest.

It took me a while to work out these fish needed to 'run' with the bait before striking. No finicky fiddling and barely detectable movements of the float here; more hard charging takes that resulted in misses if struck too soon. Putting the rod in the rest and folding my arms was the answer!!!! Another abiding memory of the day will be 'the Jaws moment', when, barely a rod length out, one of your mirror carp 'head & shouldered' unannounced, causing me to nearly choke on my coffee. I imagine it was either tearing into the shoal of fry near the surface or scoffing on the odd bits of floating bread mash; or, maybe, just saying 'hello' to the old Colonel, ' catch me if you dare'. Another day, dear boy, another day.

In all, a very fine day. So fine, in fact, I forgot how cold I was, making the regular mugs of steaming coffee you kindly supplied a real godsend. Thank you, my friend. Here's to the next time.

Best regards

Ray

Thanks Ray, looking forwards to seeing you again soon! Dad says you could give Chris a run for his money as this would be a good start to 'The Colonel's Fishing Diaries'.

Paterson's Pike

2011-11-09T10:45:00.002Z

Out yesterday a belting 28lb 4oz pike!

Landed by Mr. Paterson on his first visit to Lonsdale - photos to follow

Richard Reels in - is it winter?????????

2011-11-08T09:00:00.004Z

Well last week saw this lovely 20lb 7oz carp landed & this week a 8lb Tench. With the next couple of weeks predicted to be decent weather lets see what happens. Like us the fish don't seem to know what season it is.

Thanks for the photo Richard.

Kenny's Carp

2011-10-30T12:52:00.004Z

Last week saw kenny Coulthurst visit us again. During his 4 day beak he had some good catches including this 25lb 8 oz Common.

Thanks for sending the photos Kenny!

Plenty of Predators!

2011-10-19T20:00:00.003+01:00

Well the year is starting to turn towards autumn now and there's no denying it. We've picked the sloes and a daily ceremony of shaking the sugar, gin, and sloe mixture will take place until this time next month.

Last week Chris Platt stayed with us with his Dad Todd, son Jonny and his mate Steve. The boys targeted the carp and pike over the week mostly on the Arches.
Chris was rewarded with a toothy 24lber - which looked much bigger, whilst Steve had 8 fish in just a couple of hours. Steve was less lucky though when his battle with Lucius ended in a quick trip to A&E - one of the fish shook it's head violently and the treble buried deeply into his hand. All came right in the end though, and we look forwards to posting the boys photo's!

Meanwhile a local angler Jake, also enjoyed his holiday with us, pursuing the predators and was well rewarded.

Our current Autumn special offers (for a limited time only) - include lakeside cottages from £250 a week,
and of course we have plenty of Dead baits, plugs and lures in stock for the Pike season,
so give us a ring for a quote / more information on: 07770825896

Autumn glory!

2011-10-07T14:52:00.005+01:00

As you can see we're making the most of our belated Indian summer!

I was fishing with Dad last week in the evening sunlight, and decided to take one of the weights off my already simple set up (Split cane, centre pin, float that Dad made when he was a boy, 2 BB and a hook) to leave my float laying on.
I pinched a flake of bread onto the hook in my own particular way and settled down.

I have never outfished my Dad. Not sat together side by side. (I like to think it's all the 'experience' he has on me)
But this night there was something going on. Maybe it's the pheromones.
My float twitched and slid under as one of the big roach got greedy. A few more big roach and Dad's float was decidedly still not 8 feet from mine. He re cast encroaching on my swim, and my float promptly quieted too.

A few minutes later and my float slowly right itself and slid away. Definitely 'carpy'. Not a heavyweight but he was determined to punch above his class! The Mark Simmonds stocked into the Willlows are very heavy set, strong fish, and once I got him to the bank I realised he was nearly as thick as my hands span - so I had to cradle him very carefully for a quick photo!

I slipped him back with instructions not to mention this to Walter, and settled down again.
The quiet was disturbed by the unmistakable "chi-keeeeeee" of the kingfisher as he swooped the length of the lake, banked around and to our surprise settled in to the young willows just on our right:
Once he'd arrived I got a bit distracted trying to take a picture, but did manage to land a few more very lovely roach.
And you guessed it. Dad's float might as well have been a monument to stoicism
(The endurance of pain or hardship without display of feelings or complaint)

So it was an evening to remember for a long time for me, and one worth sharing. Dad's certainly been back on form and soundly trounced me since!

Still at least the carp are still feeding!

PS: If you'd like to come and fish the Willows or the Secret Pool contact us on 07770825896 to book the Secret Cottage which has exclusive rights to these two cracking lakes!

Great North Run

2011-09-22T18:25:00.004+01:00

I had a great time at the Great North Run on Sunday!
Above is me at the start line with my new friend Graham who was running for his wife who was diagnosed with breast cancer 18 months ago.
The whole day was a fantastic demonstration of the human spirit - everyone was running for a reason, and you could write it out and pin it to the back of your shirt, so I spent the whole day buoyed by pictures of hope and stories inspiring the determination of my fellow runners. And there was 54,000 of us!The locals turned out spectacularly and stayed through the torrential downpour to cheer us on. Many had bought oranges, ice lollies, jelly babies, face wipes and tissues to hand out to runners - all of which were very, very much appreciated!

The run itself was very enjoyable, the hardest bit was towards the end around 9-11 miles where the course turns uphill and you're just starting to fade. I was a fair bit slower than I had wanted to be (2:30) but I finished and really enjoyed it. I'd thoroughly recommend it!

A big Thankyou to everyone who sponsored me, it means alot.
Between the online and 'real world' sponsors I've almost reached my pledge of £500 for the British Heart Foundation.
It's not too late to help me, and even just the price of a pint would mean alot now! http://www.justgiving.com/Drinkall-GNR

Campbell's Charm the Carp Again!

2011-09-17T18:42:00.007+01:00

Jamie Cambell and his party recently revisited us, and have kindly sent us a small selection of their photos (Thanks!)
As you can see despite the rather inclement weather this week they still captured some lovely fish, showing the carp still seem to be on the feed!

Last night Dad braved the rain to pursue Walter (those of you who have seen the film 'On Golden Pond' will know I'm referring to the near mythical but captivatingly real monster fish that lurks in the pond and is quested after by the main character and his Grandson)
But he was foiled when a gorgeous 2lb roach took his 15mm boillie instead! You'll have to forgive me for not venturing out to get a picture for you, but it was raining and I'm running my half marathon tomorrow and was trying to stave off a cold!

PS: any last minute sponsorship is much appreciated and you can do it securely online at: http://www.justgiving.com/Drinkall-GNR
Wish me luck!

Wally catches son of Walter

2011-09-14T12:44:00.006+01:00

Here's a lovely photo of a great looking little Carp, one of our babies in the Willows. Despite two 25lb+ carp coming out of the Secret Pool the same week, Paul was more excited about this special little common which is off spring from the famous Mark Simmonds Carp so with that parentage he's sure to grow into a monster.

Wally caught this little fella during his stay last week.

You don't have to be broken hearted to help

2011-09-07T19:47:00.004+01:00

First of all a BIG THANK - YOU to everyone who's filled in the Sponsor form at The Park for Emma's Great North Run. Emma is undertaking this on behalf of The British Heart Foundation.

If you want to donate it would be greatly appreciated by Emma ( Who's working hard with her training for this event as well as working hard) along with everyone who has in the past or may well in the future benefit from this great organistaion.

If you can't fill in the form you can donate by going to her "just giving " page.

http://www.justgiving.com/Drinkall-GNR

Harry vs Esox - No Contest!!

2011-09-01T14:08:00.007+01:00

Harry Schmidt just spent the week at Lonsdale with his family. Harry very kindly wrote about one of his catches for us:-

Spent one week at Lonsdale Park Fisheris, had a great time. Carp to 22lb and 200 odd roach. Pike caught on dead bait at 16.10 24lb 2oz on 25th August 2011.

Harry Schmidt Aged 14,

from Tockwith, York

Mark & Brian outfish the Osprey

2011-08-21T14:28:00.007+01:00

Hi Paul Val and Emma

Just a quick note to let you know the totals of fish from Brian and my 2 week trip this last two weeks.

Brian caught a total of 12 carp weighing a total of 124 pounds and 6 tench

I caught a total of 43 carp weighing a total of 472 pounds. (biggest was a lovely 24 pound common)

Some pictures attached as discussed and also a pictutre of the Osprey diving into the water. (Thank fully it missed the fish you see flying)

As always your guidance works and as you said 'If you feed them, they will come'

Many thanks for a lovely time and we didn't let the weather dampen our fishing.

Mark Carberry

Lucky Lucius...

2011-08-21T11:08:00.005+01:00

This Friday saw Den Holding end his holiday memorably, whilst plumbing the depth of his roach swim when his line took off.
A rather irrate Pike proceeded to test his float gear by tail walking and putting on a display in the centre of the lake, Den went on to land a beautiful 22 pounder.
On landing the fish it was discovered it had actually taken the plummettwhich had then wedged in its scissors!
Esox has been starting to show ahead of the autumn, with Mr. Millington also landing a double figure specimen this week.

With Autumn still a little way off it seems like this year might be a cracker when it comes to our top predators!

PS:
Come September 18th I'll be running the BUPA Great North Run half marathon for The British Heart Foundation. I decided to run after my Uncle had a heart attack and had to have an extensive heart operation, so I figured if I should be keeping myself healthy, and at the same time help the BHF who help so many people affected by heart disease.
I'd just like to take the opportunity to thank those who have already sponsored me, and for anyone else who'd like to support me, you can safely and securely sponsor me at my Just giving page: http://www.justgiving.com/Drinkall-GNR
I'm sure we'll let you know how I get on!
Thankyou!
Emma

Jade, Scott & Thomas

2011-08-14T09:42:00.010+01:00

Thanks Jade for sending over these photos of Scott & Thomas showing some of their catches during your weeks stay

hello paul, val and every one at lonsdale had a great holiday and looking forward to our next, just seding a few pictures of the fish we caught on our holiday there are a couple just taken on unhooking mat as scott stayed out one night by himself and had no one to take a photo of him and fish, thanks jade scott and thomas xx

Em's still hooked

2011-08-14T07:32:00.004+01:00

A cracking roach. caught on quick visit home.

Jim & Barry's Week-End Break

2011-08-01T09:19:00.006+01:00

Here are some photos of just a few fish caught by Jim & Barry over their week-end stay.

Thanks for sending them over Jim.

Weather Forecast

2011-07-26T14:51:00.002+01:00

With a the weather forecast for next week looking good, give us a call for details of late availability offers!

Dean's Up date!

2011-07-23T18:02:00.003+01:00

Well during the week Dean Lodge continued to do extremely well. He matched his PB tench - which had been caught at Lonsdale on a previous visit. A P.B. Roach at 2lb 8ozs and also his catch of 22 carp included his P.B.

Not a bad week Dean!

Dean Lodge - Tackle 2 U.com tackles Lonsdale

2011-07-20T16:07:00.003+01:00

Dean arrived on Saturday and up to this morning has enjoyed some excellent catches. These include:-
7lb 8oz tench + 3 other fish, ghost carp at 9lb 7ozs & 7 more carp the largest weighing in at 21lb 4 oz and its only Wednesday.

Shoesmith Family

2011-07-10T14:04:00.007+01:00

thanks Kathy for sending over photos of some of the boys catches!!

Terry - AKA Uncle Albert.

2011-07-03T17:40:00.004+01:00

Here we have one of our regulars Terry who has visited us each year with his friend Jack for many years.

This roach is one of his bag produced during one of our matches.

Ken & Kieran Strike Again!

2011-06-14T09:47:00.009+01:00

hiya val and paul
thanks  again for another great week at lonsdale, the
fishing was great, i always keep a log of what i catch
and was amazed when i tally up the weeks fish, when i
say it has to be the best weeks fishing in weight and
species caught that i"ve had since i started coming,
most of my week was spent on lonsdale"  in my bivvy,
even had my grandson ,kieran, sleep under the "stars "
with me one night!! he loved every minute of it( partly
because he could stay up late" fishing with his
grandad")but when i(sorry ,we !) caught some cracking
carp and tench his face was a picture. i think he
getting hooked on fishing !!anyway i put a list
together for you and some pictures, the tench is a new
p.b. for me all 8 pound 12 ozes of fighting muscle,
there"s a wild carp which weighed 14 pound 5 ozes,the
mirror carp was just under 18 pound,all in all i caught
over 50 pound of tench, biggest 8 pound 12 ozes,
smallest 4 pound,3 mirrors, biggest just shy of 18
pound,smallest 9 pound,3chub up to 3pound 8ozes,2
commons 7 pound and 10 pound and a roach of 2pound 7
ozes !!!
all in all
paul and val
i had the
best weeks
fishing for
a long long
time and
cant wait to
get back in
august
!!thanks
again to you
all see ya
soon
regards ken thwaites.

Lightowler vs Brown Year 9

2011-06-11T17:26:00.020+01:00

Lonsdale 2011
The Lightowler and the Brown families were set to do battle again, for the 9th year running. It was to be the best year to date.
This year saw personal bests for the Lightowlers, especially Mike who cleaned up!
The same as every year we bought the trophies and made the t-shirts ready for the weeks fishing. We set out our bivvys and started to bait up! As ever Steve did what he had to do and slept until 10am most mornings. Like others years this seemed to pay off, as on the second day he caught a 14lb 6oz carp and then following up with a few tench. In the afternoon Steve caught another carp to conclude a great days fishing!
After the biggest fish of the week so far Steve was on a high and felt he had the trophy sown up......this was not the case as Adam brown (only down until the Wednesday) caught a great looking 17lb 7oz carp to take the lead. Steve brown and Bob Lightowler quietly going about their fishing with a few small fish but still nothing challenged Adams fish.......this was to stay like this until the Wednesday night when Steve lightowler stormed into the lead with a huge 19lb 8oz carp and this had surely sown up the trophy?
The week was pressing on and the fishing was great, we had all caught a lot of fish no more so than Mike lightowler who had at least 4 big fish a day ranging from his big chub up to the endless amounts of carp that seemed to be well into his baits!
The week was drawing to a close and the weather was getting warmer, the fish still kept coming and then the last day arrived and none of us wanted to leave. The fishing was good and the weather and company too! We all made a decision to stop fishing at 10:30pm on the Friday and do our final tally up, it was at around 8:55pm that mike had a huge run on his carp rod and after a decent fight and a big grin on his face we weighed in the beast at a very solid 20lb 11oz carp and the biggest fish of the week was stolen from Steve, well what a year!
Bob finished the week on a high. Within the last hour of the week he netted two large carp, 19lb the first and a stunning 14.7lb wild carp, the first one we have ever seen!! There was also a later entry from Steve brown with yet another 19lb fish.
The fishing and company was great the excitement of what might have been was in the camp so we have booked again to make it a nice round 10 years so we will all see you soon enough to do it all again!!

Hi All,

hope all is well and the fish are still biting!

I have attatched (hopefully) a catch report and photos of the fish that we caught whilst with you last week, we had a great week and the fishing as ever was excellent!

we will be watching the blog to see who you make famous!

thanks so much

looking forward to next year already!

Mike lightowler and family

Steve brown and family

Richard Shoesmith, Halifax.

2011-06-01T15:15:00.003+01:00

Richard & his family are also enjoying another stay here at Lonsdale. Today Cathy has given us a write up of his first 2 day catches.

7 Fish, 3 common all over 22lb, the biggest being 28lb 7ozs., taken on 14mm boillies.
rod - Chubb 9' stalkers
reel - Shimano Bait Runner
Hooks - Barbless Muggers.!!

Jim Andrew Strikes again!!

2011-06-01T15:10:00.004+01:00

Well Jim went home early hours of Saturday & we were told by a new arrical that afternoon thet he had already beeen on the radio chatting to Keith Arthur about his catches & received this email from Jim today. Thanks for sending it over Jim.

hello paul,

i'd like to thank you and
your team for a great time on my last two trips.
the roach fishing was out of this world with 11 roach
over 2lb to a pb of 2lb 9oz plus a pb tench of 6lb 13oz
it doesn't get much better. i lost count of the 1lb+ roach
i caught, some of which were just under the 2lb mark
and in mint condition. having fished for roach at
other fisheries ,( noted for their roach)
the roach at lonsdale knock them both into a cocked hat. needless to say
my future roaching will be done at your beautiful fishery.
look forward to my next trip.
p.s. a special mention for julian and his great breakfasts. thanks mate!!
see you soon,
jim.

On The BANK Holiday

2011-05-30T09:42:00.008+01:00

Regular visitor Jamie Spence just enjoyed another visit to Lonsdale this week-end.

Over the past couple of weeks there's been some cracking fish out but for one reason or another no photos!

Well here we have Pics & email of Jamie's week-end!!

hi paul/val, just sending over the pics of the common we got 32lb on the nose
couldnt beleive the weight in this fish when i lifted it out in the net it
was super fat!!!!!!!
landed 7 other carp and lost a few too

a new pb for me,many thanks a great time had again

Campbell's Catch Up!!

2011-05-02T17:24:00.012+01:00

Well, once again Jamie Campbell had himself a belting week. He caught a total of 14 carp whilst relaxing on his peg at cottage 6. Here are a selection of photos - thanks for sending them over Jamie & see you in September.

Johnny's Easter Hat Trick!

2011-05-01T19:59:00.005+01:00

Johnny Pickard just had another good week at Lonsdale, with 6 good size carp ranging from the smallest at 11lb, up to his largest at 21lb. In the middle were 3 all at 18lb.

Well done, remember to send us the photos!

Views of a discerning angler

2011-04-26T14:19:00.003+01:00

Hi Val / Paul

I just wanted to say thankyou for the lovely get well card and to let you know the operation seems tohave gone well ( bloody painful though).

Well I finally made it to Lonsdale after all and I must thank you once again for your patience and understandingduring my difficult period, it's reassuring to know the personal touch is still out there .

As you know I came up there to 'sort my head out ' before my amputation and I must say I couldn't have pickeda better place to do it .
If I was ever fortunate enough to be able to create my 'fishing heaven' it would be a replicaof Lonsdale, it is a 'proper fishery' for 'proper anglers' ie; people who appreciate tranquiliity and natural surroundings as much as the fishing itself . Speaking of the fishing, I'm a bit of a 'roach nut' so you can imagine how enjoyableit was for me. The sport was amazing ,I lost count of how many 'pound plus' roach I caught and I even managed to beat my pb for the species, I had no scales with me but 'hand on heart' it was a scale perfect beauty of well

over two pounds ! My favourite part of my stay though was the last two hours of each day, the only sound was the pheasants calling from the woods, a flat calm lake and a swim full of big roach .
ABSOLUTE FISHING MAGIC.

It goes without saying,as soon as I have learned to drive with 'one arm' I'll be back.

Regards and best wishes

John Aspinall

Easter Breakers

2011-04-24T19:42:00.003+01:00

Well to go with the cracking weather we've had some great catches over the past 24 hours!!
Jonathan Pickard, landed himself a nice 18lb Carp having just arrived yesterday afternoon, whilst Jamie Campbell's total so far is 5 Carp up to 22lb. Mr. Rhodes as always is catching some superb Roach and Andy & Friends from Thirsk have been catching plenty of carp but most noticeable as been the tremendous tench catches - Andy certainly won't let his mates forget the double figure catch this afternoon!!

If you want a bite of the action call for availability.

LATE DATE

2011-04-18T09:07:00.002+01:00

Some availability week commencing 30th April for details call.

Monster Roach !!!

2011-04-18T09:04:00.003+01:00

Check out the Lonsdale Park Facebook page to see Pete Hill's note about his P.B Roach. Well done Pete and pleased you enjoyed your stay.

A note from Neil, Nathan, Heather.

2011-04-11T11:08:00.007+01:00

"Hi Val, Paul and Julian,

just had another great week at Lonsdale, The cottage was superb and the weather behaved for most of the week. We had some good fishing too, Heather caught her first Tench and at 5 1/4 lb it was a good one. Nathan caught the biggest carp at 9 1/2 lb. In all we caught 5 Carp, 6 Tench, 4 Chub and loads of Roach over 1 lb. We also spotted 28 different species of bird. As you can see from the pics the fish are in superb condition and a joy to fish for in such beautiful surroundings. Looking forward to our next visit already.

Thanks again
Neil, Nathan and Heather"

We're glad you had a great time, and your photo's are great guys! I'm impressed with your ornithology as well!
Hope to see you again soon, tight lines,
Emma, Paul, Val, and Julian

Jamie's Week-end Visit

2011-04-04T16:31:00.006+01:00

Jamie enjoyed a week-end break at Lonsdale & Kindly sent over these photos . Thanks jamie.

i have attached 2 pics one of the football mirror i caught lol and one of
the lovely 17 pounder also

we landed 5 carp,lost a few too  boohoo

and had some nice roach to apound and also a nice chub at 4lb

Puzzle!!

2011-03-13T11:36:00.003Z

How do you catch 58 prime Roach without a rod, line, hook or net??

Answer:- When recovering our partially sunken boat from the boathouse!! After a struggle getting the boat out onto the jetty we were amazed to count 58 prime Roach who had taken up residence.

Is this Wreck Fishing??

Another example of our excellent roach fishing, where else could you catch so many good roach without even trying!

Ken's Catch

2011-03-10T08:21:00.005Z

Ken had an enjoyable few days at Lonsdale last week.
Along with loads of Roach up to 1lb 8oz he also landed his personal best Pike at 15lb 6oz. Grandson Kieren also caught his first fish over a lb!

Eskimo Steve

2011-01-28T11:15:00.004Z

Last week-end saw our first fish of the season.

They were caught by Steve Margett from Gretna whilst he was on a week-end stay. Steve has visited us over the years since he was about 13 years old.

Fishing through the ice he produced this 16lb Pike and plenty quality roach.

Hard at work in winter weather!

2010-12-19T17:04:00.003Z

As you can see above the freezing temperatures we've had recently (down as low as -24 with -18 degrees c last night) got the better of one of Lonsdale's aerators, when the motor burnt out.
Dad and Julian broke their way through the ice to replace it - to make sure some of the lake is clear all year round! Some of our smaller ponds seem pretty solidly frozen now - Mo our 35kg Ridgeback even braved a little journey out onto the ice, before thinking better of it. SO it must be pretty thick!
Of course at this time of year people are often tempted out onto ponds and lakes to 'skate' or follow their dogs, which is clearly very dangerous! I'm sure alongside ourselves many of our angling friends are warning their nearest and dearest, and particularly youngest of the dangers of ice!

On the plus side, the Lonsdale sloe gin I laid down this year has turned out rather lovely! A great winter warmer!

Hope you are all well, warm and with those you love! Merry Christmas!
Emma and all at Lonsdale.

Thomas strikes the Pike & beats Dad!!!

2010-11-17T13:15:00.006Z

hi Paul and Val,
here's a few pics from our 2 day stay in October total of 9 pike in 2 days Thomas yet again putting dad to shame with a 18lb 1oz stunner which nearly pulled him in!! haha Thomas has sent his pic off to improve your course fishing magazine for yet another badge!!! so his pic should be in the Dec issue great 2 days fishing hope to be back in the new year hope you all have a great xmas and new year !!
Scott jade and Thomas

Thanks for the photos Thomas - You'll have to give your Dad some tips. We will look out for your photo in the magazine

Paul & Lee 21.09.10 A belting 3 day stay!

2010-10-07T16:58:00.011+01:00

Thanks to Paul Dobie for these photos. Paul & Lee had a short break at Lonsdale a couple of weeks ago & did extremley well. Above are just a selection of the fish they caught. Lee caught 17 whils Paul caught over 20!!

The Campbell's are coming!!

2010-09-26T21:49:00.029+01:00

Pleased you had a good stay last week Jamie!! Thanks for the photos & those from your April visit too.

Thanks Amanda (last week's stay)

2010-09-14T10:20:00.002+01:00

Thanks Amanda for the email glad you enjoyed your week , will sort out the Christmas dates for you.

Hi Val,

I hope you are all well?

I just wanted to say a huge thanks to everyone at Lonsdale for another fantastic holiday. Although the fishing just wasn’t happening for us last week and we only actually caught 2 small carp all week, the holiday, the cottage, the staff and the surroundings were all just amazing and we hope to be back very soon for maybe our 3^rd visit of the year J

Are you taking bookings for the New Year and how will it work with Christmas Day being on the Saturday? I am possible looking at Monday 27^th December to Sunday 2^nd Jan (6 nights) in cottage 3 or maybe the secret cottage?? Can you please let me know how much it would be?

Thanks again

Amanda Booth

2010-09-05T11:12:00.003+01:00

hi Val and Paul,

just a quick note to say thank you for a great few days(21st to 24th August) . This was Heathers first visit and she enjoyed every minute, when the fishing was slow we just enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the wildlife around the lakes, looking forward to visiting again next year.

Thanks again Neil, Nathan & Heather

Thanks for the email. So glad to hear you enjoyed your stay at Lonsdale.
It was great to see you again. Heather is a proper angler now!! Hope Uni goes well Nathan!
See you next year.

This week's match

2010-08-27T12:43:00.004+01:00

This week's winner was Keith with a lower than normal result at 13lb, closely followed by his son. I think the huge amount of rain we had in the preceeding 24hrs must have put the big fish off the feed.

Mean while the Lighthowler family always run their own inter-family competitions complete with trophies! As we understand it Steve is currently winning with 4 good carp to 16lb in one short session. Steve doesn't like to get up too early or fish too late - much to the rest of the family's annoyance! Steve says "I do what I have to!"

The Secret Pool has been fishing well this week, as of Wednesday it has produced 10 Carp to 26lb, plus numerous nice chub.
Keith who stayed in the Secret Cottage last week had a very memorable catch when he landed a beautiful specimen Perch - which is veryinteresting as we never stocked any of these gladatorial fish. So it's appearance and apparent growth rate hold great promise for the future. The Perch came alongside cracking Chub and Roach, Bream, and Carp all taken on his pole.

A Passion for angling

2010-08-14T17:50:00.011+01:00

Well as promised here's the second half of Paul Wood's story!

Paul stayed and fished with us for two weeks, mainly fishing during the daylight hours.
In the end he had 62 'good' fish, which gave a total weight well over 700lbs!
In fact almost everytime Dad or Julian went past Paul seemed to land a fish - you can see he even had 'the boss' acting as gillie! In fact Dad was so impressed he decided to award Paul a signed copy of 'A Passion for Angling'

Had Paul decided to fish through the nights, he might of topped our previous reported record of over 1200lbs of carp in a 2 week stay by regular Colin Chambers.

Of course other anglers have been enjoying the fishing this week too, for example Warren who had 21 good Carp in the week.

PS: I know there are a couple of photo's in this post that were in the previous one, but when there's this many pics to try and remember, I hope you can forgive me!

Touch Wood

2010-08-08T12:15:00.005+01:00

Paul Woods is stopping with us again, and I'm sure many of you have gotten to know this friendly chap over the last 15 years.
But do you know he has topped his PB every year for the last 15 years?
He's here for 2 weeks, and is half way through his stay, with 30 good Carp so far.
His favourite being a 21lb 10oz Grass Carp which is another PB!

He's kindly given me his photo's for the blog (though I have to be quick with his card because he knows he'll need again soon!), and with a week left I'm glad I can write it up his catches in 2 posts!

Paul also keeps a fishing diary (like me) Where he can record, date, location, weather, baits, and of course catches. A good idea and a treasure trove for future years!

3 generations of Team Finnegan

2010-08-06T13:11:00.005+01:00

Hi there, just a quick note to say thanks for a great weeks fishing. We
all had a brilliant time, alas no monsters, but we got loads of silvers
and on the last day we had three decent jacks out of Reed Mere, with
Charlie (my son)  beating his PB with a nice 7 1/2 lb (photo attached).
Can I also add it was great for my dad who as you know is not as mobile
as he used to be, but was able to get anywhere within the complex
without any major assistance. Cheers and hope to see you all again
Thomas Black (N Ireland)

Email from Mr & Mrs Adrian, and the dogs

2010-08-01T11:40:00.003+01:00

We recieved this lovely email the other day, so I thought I'd share it!

"Hi PAUL and Julian,
just a quick message about our week we,ve just had at the Arches. My wife and i have had a great relaxing time,the dogs loved it too, the accomodation was spot on, the tackle shop was second to none, the cafe was great and very handy, the fishing could have been a little better, but you cant book the weather,can you, but the fish i did catch was of top quality,the tench and roach were stunning, the match was good fun,and every one there was very friendly.
Thanks once again,i will recomend you guys to one and all, and would we book again, OH YES,
hope to see you in the future.
From Mr & Mrs ADRIAN and the two dogs."

We love it when we recieve emails like this! We know you enjoy your stays with us, but it's so nice when someone takes the time afterwards to send us a little message to say Thankyou!

To Mr. and Mrs. Adrian and your dogs, we're very glad you enjoyed stay with us, you were a pleasure to have and we look forwards to seeing you again soon. Now you're a regular, you are entitled to a 10% discount, and extra special deals for breaks in the same year!

Middlehurst vs Swindells in the Match

2010-08-01T10:14:00.005+01:00

The second match of the week ended in a draw for first place . John from the Middlehurst party landed 17lbs 12ozs of lovely Roach whilst Andrew from the Swidells party did exactly the same.

It's a Family Affair

2010-07-29T09:51:00.006+01:00

This week saw the Middlehurst family on their first visit to Lonsdale do extremely well in the Tuesday match. Dad - John came first with 21lbs 12ozs, Grandad John 2nd with 20lbs 12 ozs, both with some lovely Roach. Son Adam came 5th with 13lbs including a couple of good Tench in his catch.

3rd place went to last week's winner - Russ who netted 15lbs.

4th place went to John Kay who is on his second visit of the year to Lonsdale and netted 14lbs 14 ozs - shame about the T.shirt John!!

Late Breaks & Regulars Deals

2010-07-25T09:44:00.004+01:00

If you are reading this & thinking of taking a break why not give us a call to see if we have what you are looking for.

We have limilted availability over the next few weeks.

Regular Visitor = Extra Discount!

22nd July Update

2010-07-22T22:05:00.005+01:00

Well, yesterday saw Sheena Moran land this lovely specimen Grass Carp at 24lbs, while today saw Russ Fisher who has been a regular visitor since we opened win the match with a lovely 33lb bag of Roach,

It was also great to see another young angler - Sarah Arthur netting a 12lb 8oz bag of Roach in the match - well done!

EO: We're not the only ones who like to fish from the jetty!

2010-07-18T18:54:00.006+01:00

After blogging about my Kingfisher photo mission earlier I've been a bit too busy to really crack on with my quest, what with having to go down to Nottingham to graduate over Thursday and Friday.
Dad even gave me a Nikon D5000 (Thankyou very much to Paul and Jackie for helping him with this!) as a graduation gift! So my older Nikon D40 has had a timely and much appreciated upgrade.
It seems I'm receiving rather more than my fair share of good luck at the moment though as I wandered through to Mum and Dad's bedroom to find Dad this evening (to ask him if we might be braving the gentle drizzle) and what catches my eye?
The female of our Kingfisher pair!
I think the blur of movement back to my room, pick up camera, change lens, and back to the balcony door could only be described as 'a controlled tornado'.
But back at the balcony I gently opened the door, and crept out...
For a few moments she didn't notice me but you can see her weighing me up here:
Our 'home' pair are quiet shy at the moment, and she didn't take long to decide I was (probably quite rightly) a funny looking character and that it might be pertinent to retire to the other side of the Willows.

Some might think me daft but surely this is a good omen? A little message from the spirit of the pond?
Regardless my quest for a decent Kingfisher photo continues, and at the moment I thinking about attempting to produce a Lonsdale Calendar! So if I made one, what photo's would you like to see? Kingfishers, wildlife, and landscapes are all immediate ideas, but what about fish? I'm not really set up for under-water photography so would you be willing to admire some one else with a fish, or a lovely specimen alone? Or maybe just stick to photo's of Lonsdale without the fish?
And would you really be prepared to look at Lonsdale all year round?
Let me know if you have any ideas / preferences via email at lonspark@aol.com

PS: My kingfisher photo's on flickr (a few more and a few wider shots with more jetty) http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrinkall/sets/72157624404599043/

From Andy and Linda

2010-07-17T12:19:00.004+01:00

Two of our recent guests Andy and Linda enjoyed themselves so much they arranged to stay an extra night. Here's what they sent us when they got home:

"Hi Paul and Val

Just wanted to say thanks for a great week and for the extra day. We had a lovely week despite the weather and managed to catch lots of fish.

I beat my personal best with a 7lb tench and we also netted a few nice carp however the highlight was the Friday night when I netted 20 roach in

a row all over a pound and a half plus a lovely 2lb roach.

We stayed the extra night and I caught the same again plus a lovely 2lb 8oz roach.......what a week!!!!

Andy also reeled in a 5lb eel on his carp rod which was a trauma in itself LOL

Looking forward to coming back again in October will let you know the date

Thanks again

Love

Linda and Andy xx"

We're glad you enjoyed yourselves and we'll see you soon!

EO: 42 reasons to take your binoculars fishing!

2010-07-13T17:46:00.005+01:00

Kingfisher,
Tawny Owl,
Buzzard,
Kestrel,
Greater Spotted Woodpecker,
Treecreeper,
Wren,
Long tailed tit,
Blue tit,
Great tit,
Chiff chaff,
Willow warbler,
Reed warbler
Reed Bunting,
Linnet,
Chaffinch,
House sparrow,
Robin,
Black cap,
Dunnock,
House sparrow,
Pied Wagtail,
Goldfinch
Bullfinch,
Swallow,
Swift,
Sandmartin,
Housemartin,
Song Thrush,
Mistle Thrush,
Blackbird,
Mallard,
Coots,
Moorhen,
Heron,
Oyster catcher,
Pheasant,
Wood Pidgeon,
Collard Dove,
Magpie,
Crow,
Jackdaw,

This weekend I've been seeking out some of our Kingfishers (with ideas of getting a photo), and as you can see, whilst out and about I've come across quite abit of other wildlife!
The above list is by no means an exhaustive record of all the species on site, that will probably take me quite alot longer than a weekend!
So I know I'll have a pair of binoculars and a wee bird book in my pocket from now on!

I did get a photo in the end by the way! At 5:59 am! You can see my photo (though it's quite rubbish and there's branches in the way) online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrinkall/4785364129/

I also got to see the Tawny Owl take a bat on the wing, right above my head! This is quite a rare behaviour to witness, though I'm pretty sure the bats were more surprised than me!

Hope you're all enjoying your summers!
Em

Double Act

2010-07-12T16:38:00.003+01:00

Pete was one of the winners in a recent match with some lovely pristine roach. Daughter Holly won the junior section again with smaller but equally pristine roach. - Look out Pete!! She'll be a a contender in future years!

Carp Crazy Jamie

2010-07-05T22:11:00.003+01:00

Jamie who is one of our regular guests from North of the Border just enjoyed is 3rd stay having been here twice already this year.

hi val/paul,just a note to thank you both for another great stay at
lonsdale,great surroundings and some great fishing too.i have attached a
pic of the 21lb common we landed,landed a nice 23 as well,thanks and hope
to see you next year aga

25 years on!!!

2010-07-04T20:33:00.005+01:00

Hi Paul Val and Emma

Just wanted to say thank you for a lovely week from myself and my cousin JJ.

Also to say a big thank you for my dads chair, It looks just right and means a lot to both myself and my mum.

To let you know JJ caught his first ever carp (after not fish for around 25 years)and ended the week with 15 carp up to 19lb 8 which beat my 22 carp up to only 18lb 4. The fish and weather was wonderful and I am looking forward to seeing you again in 4 weeks.

Many thanks to everyone.

Best wishes

Mark Carberry

July/August - Late Availability

2010-07-02T17:41:00.001+01:00

Limited accommodation available - ring for details to net yourself a bargain!!

01228 562655 or 07770825896

Terry's Turn (alias Uncle Albert)

2010-07-02T17:33:00.002+01:00

Terry a regular at Lonsdale for more years than he wants to remember was the winner of our recent match with a fine catch of 23lb 12ozs. All the specimen Roach were taken using his trusted centre pin!

Message from James

2010-06-27T11:01:00.004+01:00

"hi paul its james lynch just a few snaps for you.
.... Cheers lads, i cought a 29p 7oz mirror carp, oh 4 tench and a 17p 40z mirror in one sessoin of 4 hours (wednesday nite as it happens )
all fish are from lonsdale lake.

bk at lonsdale 28th august if not b4 carnt wait

cheers paul
james."
See you soon James!

Bank Holiday Bender

2010-06-03T21:43:00.003+01:00

James Nichol who has visited the park for quite a few years now along with the rest of his family was certainly pleased with his new record here. Both James & his brother have been reknowned for winning matches here in the past, so this was a change for him!

James landed this 63lb beauty after a 45 minute fight, made all the more interesting by the fact that he was using a single handed bait casting rod.

Bend It!!!

2010-05-29T20:23:00.004+01:00

Just Landed!! Weighing in at a healthy 22lb.

Billy's Bivvie & 30lb 4oz catch.

2010-05-24T17:54:00.005+01:00

Sorry Paul,

I sent the picture of the 30-4lb common caught last week, but I used the wrong email address. There are two pictures, the fish was caught 4 hours after the picture of the bivvi. Bait used on hook was plastic sweetcorn, fished over sweetcorn and pellets.

Would you let me know if you receive them. Hopefully we may get up again this year for a long weekend.

Thanks Billy

EO - One degree down, one to go

2010-05-15T12:53:00.002+01:00

Hello!
Just wanted to let those of you who ask after me know that I received my provisional results for my first degree. I am set to graduate this summer with an Upper Second Class degree with honours!
I'm very happy to have passed, and we are already well into our 4th year work.
So thats the first three years and the BVMedSci done, just another 2 years and another degree to go!
It's a good job Dad taught me to graft!

Emma
x

PS I'm working on a new addition to the website - I hope you all like the changes!

1st Match of the Season

2010-05-14T11:54:00.003+01:00

Steve Brown form Bradford was the winner of our match this week, with a weight of 27lb 4 oz. He decided to fish Deer Lake & as you can see he had a beautiful bag of pristine roach averaging between 12ozs - 1lb 8ozs.
2nd place went to Steve's friend Mark with just over 18lbs.

On the specimen front this week a 30lb 4oz common was caught on Reed Mere - will post the photos up once we have them

Will Tonks had a cracking Easter

2010-05-05T19:59:00.012+01:00

Well,

earlier on there's a mention of Will Tonks catches during his Easter break of 3 days. He has been visiting us since he was a young boy with his Dad & he sent us some cracking photos today - Thanks Will!

This year Will & his friend opted for one of our Arches caravans which are ideal if you are sticking to a budget or intend to spend most of your hours by the lakeside.

The photos show not only what an expert Angler Will is but also the quality & size of the fish here at Lonsdale

My Way of Fishing

2010-05-04T20:52:00.004+01:00

Well there you have it. My pride and joy! Is there a lovelier way to catch big Roach?
Dad has had the Rapidex for over 25 years, and I believe all that age, and experience has wound itself into the fabric of the reel. I certainly think it balances my new and recently restored rod rather nicely.

I spent the evenings this weekend fishing with Dad, who was trying for a Carp next to me, whilst I was pursuing our lovely silver fish and feverently hoping that nothing bigger than a few pounds would test my abilities! Perhaps the fish could tell as Dad could only catch Chub all weekend!
I'm back at University now with my copy of the Spirit of the Pond by Tom O'Reilly to keep me sane (I'm not sure Dad would appreciate me disappearing with some of his rather beautifully bound Yates books.)

Up on the Park there's been a 20lb Grass Carp out today, and a 24lber from 'The Secret Pool".
And last week one of regulars called in at the shop to announce he needed a break and a well earned cup of tea after 50 roach over a pound and a half, with 10 over 2lb.

Bank Holiday Weekend

2010-05-02T17:01:00.005+01:00

Hello all - I hope you are well and enjoying the weekend.

I've come home to rest up after finishing my third year final exams.

Dad has very kindly given me his Rapidex centrepin to match my 12ft split cane avon (my christmas present).

I have managed to get out onto Deer lake, yesterday morning and had quite a bag of roach considering it was raining pretty heavily on and off! I set off at 11.30 and by about quarter to 1 I must have caught nearly 10lbs of fish!
I took a photo of one to show the stamp of the fish - there were a few larger and a few smaller than this fellow but still very nice! You'll notice I opted for my old setup - I'd like to be with Dad when I christen it!

This morning I decided to take the dogs to the beach at Allonby. It's not the nearest beach to us but it only takes 35 minutes, and it's my favourite!
Allonby is pretty historic and the beach has won awards for its cleanliness, and is one of the best spots for wind surfing (no I haven't had a go yet)
So Mum and I have had a great long walk today, I did get distracted chasing little loaches in rock pools, watching shelducks and I even found a beadlet anemone which was really interesting!
We also got fish and chips from John's Plaice in Silloth (word to the wise some of the best in Cumbria)

If you want to have a look at Allonby or what I've gotten upto this weekend I did take my little camera out for a few pictures.
You can look at them at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrinkall/sets/72157623851194223/

The Green Green Grass of Lonsdale

2010-04-28T19:03:00.002+01:00

Well, not only does the grass need cutting, but the Grass Carp are also awake!

John who is a regular visitor enjoyed his week in one of our lakeside cottages. During the week he was pleased to land his first ever Grass Carp.

The fish was estimated to weigh in the teens but not weighed has John was keen to get it back to the water without causing any added stress to the fish. - Well done John!!

Dad's Duo

2010-04-26T09:04:00.004+01:00

Well, not to be out done Dad decided to cast a line on Saturday evening which resulted in him landing a lovely 23lb 8 oz Carp, followed by a 21lb 2 oz on Sunday evening. - Abley assisted by Mansell who was determined to have a bit of the limelight too!!!

112 of The Best!!

2010-04-25T12:12:00.007+01:00

Pete & Paula Darlington gave the Secret Pool Carp a real caning. - Both achieved their P.B. Carp - Pete's being 24lb 5 ozs & Paula's a beautiful 19lbs.
Having booked the Secret Cottage they only failed to produce specimen fish on Tuesday & Wednesday when the weather played a hand being cold & windy.

Along with the 112lbs 9ozs of Carp they also managed to land a dozen pristine Chub. if you tackle these fish with lighter tackle they provide excellent sport if the Carp aren't feeding.

As well as The Secret Pool you have a further 2 pegs on The Willows where Pete caught a 10lb 2 oz Mirror. Though the smallest of their catch it was great to see this fish as it is evidence that our Simmonds Carp spawned shortly after they were stocked.

After their days fishing it was back to the Hot Tub for a relax & entertainment lounge to enjoy a clebratory drink!

Fly North for a Reel Deal

2010-04-19T18:49:00.002+01:00

If you have lost out due to the recent Icelandic Volcano we have limited accommodation available.

Telephone 01228 562655 to see what deals are available.

Secret Catches

2010-04-19T18:44:00.002+01:00

Pete & Paula are enjoying their stay in the Secret Cottage.

To date they have caught Carp at 19lb, 17 1/2lb, & 12lb
along with some lovely Chub up to 2 1/2lb.

The SECRET is out !! to book call 01228 562655

2010-04-18T11:43:00.009+01:00

This week sees the opening of the Secret cottage with a superb entertainment lounge, hot tub & sauna what more could you ask for after a day's fishing on your own private lake.

The carp are waking up!

2010-04-09T12:31:00.001+01:00

Well I'd just said that spring was in the air!

The Tonk's boys called in for a quick chat this morning to let us know they're having a great time - and a real beano with the carp!
Their heaviest so far is 28lb's!

I'll let you know more when I do - here's hoping hoping they have some great pictures!!

Incidentally there's a couple of vacancies next week so if you're after a bragain last minute break - it seems like now is the time!

Tight lines all,

Em

xxx

EO - A bit of Natural History

2010-04-08T10:28:00.007+01:00

As promised this post has been labeled 'EO' for Emma's Own.

I think inside every angler there is natural historian to some degree. And certainly in me I'm not sure which is stronger when I'm out and about.I'm stuck inside revising so of course everything out side has become infinitely more appealing!

So it's finally spring, and the weather, if we don't mention it too much, is really rather lovely.
There have been many signs to tell me that it's spring and I thought it might be nice to share some of them with you:

Firstly for the birds!This is our male tufted duck, who is waiting for his female to arrive to start nesting. I'm a bit worried about her to be honest, but I hoping maybe she's already well hidden and sitting tight to a nest. I'll be quite sad if she doesn't reappear as they are our only tufty's.

I've found my first mis-laid duck eggs and nests:Staying close to the water the toads and frogs are reappearing, and if you walk around the lakes at night quietly, listening for croaking if you investigate a reedy edge with a torch you're likely to see:
If you look during the day you'll see:
Now technically this if frogspawn rather than toad spawn, Toads spawn in lines, rather than in the globules of Frogs.

Moving a little further afield, and looking to the field behind Lonsdale you're likely to see:
This is one of the doe's of a family group of 4 who roam around in our area.
Sometimes very early in the morning you might see them inside the park.

If you want to see more photo's I upload some to flickr at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/edrinkall/sets/72157623652304877/

I hope you've all had a lovely Easter, and I hope I'll see you soon!

Em

xxx

Update on the Secret Cottage and the Willows

2010-04-08T10:09:00.006+01:00

Hey guys,

I've decided to do two updates today to split my stories.

This first one is all about the 'Secret Cottage' and the The Secret Pool and the Willows lake.
If you would like a brochure or to book the Secret Cottage you can call us on 07770825896 or 01228562655.

Last week I helped Dad stock some 'smaller' siblings for our resident monsters!

This is 'Bernie' who I decided to name after James Bernoulli who investigated the logarthmic spiral - which is the mathematical version of the spiral we find in nature.
If you click on the photo to see the bigger version and look at the scale in the center of her lateral line you'll see why!

In other news on the Willows I'm pretty sure I've seen what looks like roach topping as the weather has gotten out rather nicely this week. If I can excavate myself from the pile of papers I'm calling 'revision' (I have some final exams after Easter) then I might go out and test the theory!

Email from Jamie

2010-04-04T14:49:00.002+01:00

Happy Easter all!

Just a quick update for now I'm afraid - as I'm revising for my first set of final exams!!

This is an email from Jamie Spence that we got yesterday:

"hi val/paul,
just an update for you about our fishing trip, despite the
seemingly never ending winter we are having we did quite well, had 3 carp
the biggest was 15lb and 3 tench biggest 6lb,also some big roach on
boilies and lost a fair few good fish as well,yet another great trips
fishing to lonsdale,
thanks very much"

Thanks for that and hopefully we'll see you again soon Jamie!

Tight lines all,

Em

PS Hoepfully will have a blog update with some photo's soon - those of you who are our facebook fans have had a sneak preview!

Catch a last minute break as the fishing improves!

2010-03-27T12:08:00.004Z

Hey guys,

Just a quick update:

We have a cottage available for next week due to unforseen circumstances so if you fancy a last minute break give us a ring on: 07770825896.
The weather and the fishing is gradually improving - with Mr. Kirby landing a 16lb 3oz carp this week, and Mr Douthwaite catching a few tench upto the 5 1/2lb stamp and plenty of roach. FIngers crossed for some of that promised BBQ summer sun a little early this year!

Tight lines,

Em

Fishing in the News

2010-03-18T18:01:00.002Z

Hey guys,

Just a quick note as I've spotted this week has been quite a popular one for fishing stories hitting the news and thought you might be interested.

First the BBC informed me that a 'killer pike' was being removed from a Cornish duck pond - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/8570815.stm is the link to the full story.

Then I spotted a minor article about the Close season starting.

Next Yahoo popped up with a story of fisherman who were over heard singing sea shanties in a pub and have been signed over to a record label - http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100318/ten-singing-fishermen-land-a-whopper-of-a56114e.html

See you all soon
Em

Ken turns Pikey!!!

2010-03-14T09:51:00.002Z

Ken, one of our regular visitors decided on this trip he would have a go for Pike, as he had never fished for them before.

Needless to say Ken is "hooked"

On his first attempt he landed a superb 14lb specimen (photos to follow)
The following day he decided to go back to his beloved Roach which resulted in the best fish being 1 1/2lb. specimen.

The next few days Pike were back on the menu. Ken went on to catch a further 9 fish the best one being 11 lb.

On his previous visit Ken earned the right to have his name on a peg having had his PB Carp and strangely enough most of his pike came from this same peg - but he can't have his name on it twice!

Ken left a Pike Angler, looking forward to his next week with us in May.

Well Done Ken!!

The results are in!

2010-02-21T14:38:00.003Z

Hey guys,

Well the vote has run for a week now so I've decided that those of you who wanted to vote probably have by now.
And I have the results........
More than 75% of you like to read the blog as it is.
So I'll continue with my own occasional updates but as a compromise for the remaining readers I'll label them EO (for Emma's Own) in the title.
That way you they really are readily identifiable and as always you don't have to read them if you don't want to.

I would like to thank everyone who voted, especially those who left comments - many of which were lovely and all of which were constructive.

Thanks!

Emma

Winter Suprise

2010-02-18T17:17:00.003Z

HI Everyone,

Just a update on today's catches, With yet another cold start to the day the ice has been trying to overcome our aerators but to no avail,

Fran and Dave one of Lonsdale Parks regular couples were greeted this morning with a lovely 3lb 6oz Tench a great catch when the weather was abit cooler they also have been steadily picking out some of Lonsdales larger roach with a selection of 10mm boilies

Your vote neeeded!

2010-02-14T20:24:00.003Z

Hello again all,

I have today received a comment on my entry about the Tough Guy race from a reader who says:

"im sure the other female journalist will be far more interesting ie we log on the website to see how the place is fishing and whether we are going to spend our hard earned cash to pay to go there not to send you on another jolly regards carp"

Firstly I would like to thank that reader for your comment and your time.
I had hoped that my entries were interesting but I do appreciate that sometimes I report on events unrelated to Lonsdale Park, and the fish catches.
The people who contact us usually enjoy hearing my stories, but I realise now that perhaps many of you don't.
If this is true, I need to know to save you from encountering my ramblings.

To find out I have created a simple survey on a reliable website called Surveymonkey.
If you would be so kind as to click the link below to vote as to whether to keep or loose my ramblings I would greatly appreciate it.
You will not have to give any details or sign up to vote just click the box and submit.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XPHKWW6

If it turns out that most of you want to hear from me directly then I will continue with my usually occasional updates but clearly label them so others can avoid them, and if not I will stop them.

Thankyou,

Emma
x

Things other than fishing!

2010-02-14T09:45:00.005Z

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd put up a couple of pics to show you what I got up to yesterday here in the South!

- A friend and I went upto Stanage, in the Peaks to boulder (a type of climbing) but it got a bit difficult going as the snow fell:

You wouldn't believe how long and how many attempts it took me to get over that overhang! Got it in the end though!

(Oh and most boulder's don't wear helmets but I'm just so accident prone for head injuries I don't risk it too much!)

I'm home to revise for 4 weeks at Easter so I'll have to work on finding other exciting distractions at home then too - I'm thinking I might try working on a project on all the fells / climbs / outdoor stuff that's within an hour of Lonsdale...

Do you think I could get Dad to cover the petrol? :D

Facebook!

2010-02-10T17:44:00.002Z

Hey guys!

I'm aware now that many of you are on the social networking site Facebook.
(even my Mum is!)

So I thought it was high time we got on too - I'm already on (it's compulsory for student survival these days) so if you want to see what I get upto you are more than welcome to become my ' facebook friend'.

However I've just created our very own 'Page' for Lonsdale Park.
There's a link on the right hand side of the blog for you to have a look if you want.
The facebook page means you would be able to become a 'fan', share photo's (handy if you've made friends whilst here and have a great shot but never remembered to email it) and have a discussion or two with each other!

Hope you're all well - I got back from a run in a hail storm here in Nottingham! (needless to say the canal bank was empty)

Emma
x

When the Going get's tough!

2010-02-07T19:17:00.004Z

Hey guys,
I hope you're all well and your New Year's Resoloutions are coming along nicely?
I've been home this weekend to relax after a hectic start back to the year, and had to make a hard decision today as to whether to christen my Christmas gift or take the dogs to the beach. In the end Mo (my Rhodeisan Ridgeback) turned her big brown eyes up at me and fetched me one of my crocs. Well that was it.
( I wonder if that's how Dad feels when I turn up and bring him his fishing jacket?)

Anyway Dad said I should tell you all about my adventures last weekend. (It's a bit of an epic story sorry!)

Always up for a challenge and a laugh my friends at Uni convinced me it was a good idea to enter a competition called 'Tough Guy", you might have seen it on the news.
This years event was the coldest for a long time, and the water obstacles were covered in 5cm of ice. We arrive in a flurry of snow.

The race is about 8 miles long and touted as the worlds safest most dangerous assault course.
To start you slide down a steep hill with your 5000 fellow competitors, run through a cloud of tear gas, and then have to jump or crawl under logs, launch yourself into several ditches of waist deep (or deeper if you're 5ft 2") water and haul youself out of the pits using ropes. Thats the start of the 5 mile 'run' which then continues to include slalom on a stupidly steep mud hill (think crawling up and careening uncontrollably down bouncing off trees and other competitors), along with other distractions including crawling through cargo nets of baler twine, and jumping big round bales set up in the way.

Now to set the scene, just before Christmas I took myself off to the doctor because after a year of Rugby (University first's team I'll have you know! I played hooker) I was breathing as one friend put it 'like a geriatric horse with one nostril'. Excercise induced asthma, you need an inhaler. Brilliant a few runs later I'm sorted.

So you're off on tough guy and destined to spend the next 4 1/2 hours running, swimming and climbing. It's not exactly easy to carry stuff along so I left my new magic inhaler with friends thinking I'd be ok. Wrong!
Part way though the first 5 miles my lungs shut down and my ribs turn into steel! I lose my two mates and I'm left gasping towards a yellow jacketed marshal who helpfully jams an inhaler into my mouth until I can take an especially big gasp and carry on.
Alone.

Naturally a shy and reclusive character (ha ha) I run upto a group of women in bright pink shirts and enquire as whether I can stick with them as someone I run with should really be able to tell medics about the asthma thing. One lovely lady declares she has an inhaler and they'd love to spend the next horrific 4 hours with me.

The race continues with 11 pink ladies and one short lass wearing an illuminous green shirt. I launch myself in and out of massive ditches lined with clay and chest deep in water and ice. The set of ditches we have to cross and climb is a set of about 12. Keen to help my new friends I clamber out first and pull all 11 out for the first few ditches.
Eventually it dawns on me that this is perhaps a fast route to exhaustion and I limit myself to helping the two behind me and instructing them to do the same.
At one point a man in an orange shirt is struggling and already at the wall of the ditch I shout to him "give you a boost?!" he replies "but your a lass" I politely remind him it's bl**dy cold in the water and that prompt movement is preferred. I throw him up onto the bank and them climb out myself and pick him up and push him on. I was in my element and the poor lads team weren't letting him forget it.

Running on to climb a 12ft log wall, and start the last 2 miles of the race my legs are beginning to cramp.
This section is called "The Killing Fields" and is home to the worst of the obstacles.
We slog through knee deep mud, passing a man with a broken leg being treated my St. Johns, we climb several higher log walls and continue to 'The Tiger' a set of two 40ft A frames followed by a run through bull electrified fencing. (My Ron Thompson fishing gloves meant I could flick the strands away without a belt) then The Bethemoth - more cargo net climbing and 3 sets of rope walking also about 40ft up. Next its running through fire and icey water ditches. (The fire was made surprisingly welcome, I watch one competitor get too close and set his trainer on fire)
We crawl through tyre tunnels, and slog through a swamp to reach underground tunnels and then climb up another version of the Behemoth to rope walk over an icy lake. Competitors around me have friends and family feeding them jelly babies and cups of tea. At this point I'm shivering and cold. Sheer determination to minimise water exposure gives me enough grip to avoid falling into the lake.
Unfortunately the next obastacle was the underwater tunnels. My pink ladies leave to avoid the obstacle. Advice from Dad had me running in a bob cap covered by a swim cap. Despite this I am very very cold.
I clamber out onto the mud and a marshal pulls to one side to ask if I'm ok. I nod and refuse to stop moving. I start climbing a frame again but realise it's the 'Plank' - pirate ship style back into the lake. Practised as I am at 'unorthodox water entry techniques' I don't have the energy to jump so instead continue walking off the end into the water. A rescue diver in the pool beneath calls out encouragement to get me swimming to the edge. Out on the bank I'm struggling to get my fingers to obey me but at least my feet keep moving.
Back in to swim the rest of the way across the lake I can see smoke in the distance and know there's a second round of fire over the other side. This is an appealing prospect and I jump into the water.
I have to swim amongst my taller male competitors but my tired and cold legs give out, cramping beyond my control and I can't move them. I am involuntarily and unexpectedly dragged down into the water. Fortunately my taller colleagues realise my peril and hold me up above the water.

My race is over and I'm dragged out to paramedics who whisk me off. Amdist questions of my name and address I can only tell them I want to finish and that I'm Emma from the Vet School, and please not to take me to hospital because my friends don't know where I am. Helpful to them I'm sure.
Eventually I'm warmed up and returned to the barn where my panicked friends have spent about 3 3/4 hours trying to find me. They help me dress and hold hot drinks for me to sip (my shaking body simply results in me throwing it over myself if I try it do it myself) and push Kendal mint cake into my mouth. I feel overwhelming waves of love towards them!

My two mates make it back managing to cross the finish line. One of their Dad's came down for support and has kept tabs on them around the course feeding them mars bars and tea so they're not so bad, but still battered and bruised.

I was gutted not to finish and will be back competing next year to cross the line don't worry. After this year though I'll definately be running for a charity - it's such a challenge the prospect for fundraising is immense. I think I'll run for the Guide Dogs. Expect a pleading blog post next January looking for sponsorship!
In the meantime there's a similar race up near Peebles called the Deerstalker that I've entered. If you're interested I can tell you about that in March...

And finally I heard on the grapevine that a fellow fishing park owner's daughter has started to keep her own blog this year! Is this the start of female fishing journalism?
It certainly seems that the idea is catching on - but I'm pretty sure my Dad (and perhaps a few other people) are certain there's only one Emma!

Emma
x