Simon McCarthy has banked the carp known as Dropscale from Furzebray Carp Lakes at a weight of 51lb 1oz. The specimen demonstrates the superb carp fishing now available across North Devon with several venues now producing carp over forty pounds fishing that would have been considered exceptional just a couple of decades ago.
Simon said :-
“Having first started carp fishing in the mid nineties fish of this size and quality were not around in the south west and now I have caught a fish of a lifetime,the mighty Dropscale at 51lb 1oz from the awesome Furzebray Lakes”.
Jay Harper has banked what is believed to be the first carp over 60lb to be caught from Devon or Cornwall. The huge carp was tempted from Anglers Paradise’s Nirvana Syndicate Lake and tipped the scales at a fraction over 60lb. The fish was weighed and verified by fishery manager Joe Drury and sets the bar for anglers fishing the venue over the coming months. The carp was caught less than a month ago at a weight of 59lb 2oz and was believed to be Devon’s largest carp. Carp are very often at their top weights throughout the winter months and with a seemingly milder climate expectations are that potential weights for carp and other fish will climb over the coming years.
When I started fishing for carp back in the early 1980’s Winter fishing for the species was still looked upon as pioneering with the fish still regarded as a fish of the summer months. A combination of climate change and significant improvements in weather resistant bivvy’s and warm and waterproof clothing has revolutionised the sport. Anglers can now camp out in the wildest of weather with little discomfort. Modern effective self-hooking rigs mean that anglers can wait in comfort only dashing out when the bite alarm signals.
A group of eight anglers from Plymouth enjoyed their Christmas Social event at Bulldog Fishery banking two carp over thirty pounds and ten over twenty pounds. Such a catch from this sometimes tricky venue during early December highlights just how productive winter carp fishing can be.
Combe Martin SAC’s Christmas Rover was won by David Brooke with a bass of 5lb 13oz. Kevin Legge was runner up with a smoothound of 6lb 15oz and myself third with a bull huss of 6lb 3oz. Members caught dogfish, spurdog and conger.
Michael Hammett secured top spot in Appledore Shipbuilders monthly Rover with a bull huss of 9lb 9.5oz. Josh Atkinson was second with a huss of 8lb 3oz and Chris Slade third with a huss of 8lb 2oz.
North Devon Match Group fished their latest Match at Stafford Moor where members combatted challenging conditions with strong winds and heavy rain. Paul Morris won the Willow Lake section with 89lb 7oz with Warren Thornton runner up with 69lb 7oz. Tom Downing won the Oak lake section with 62lb 10oz with Dave Wood taking runner up spot with 55lb 2oz.
South Molton Angling Club fished their latest Mac Trophy Competition at Bulldog Fishery where Edward Rands was first to bag up with six fish by 9:30am including the biggest fish for the day a fine brown trout of 4lb 8oz. Breakfast was served up at 10:00am by which time some members had already enjoyed excellent sport.
Welcome everyone to the South West County Carp Competition. A friendly pairs competition that anglers from Devon and Cornwall battle it out for bragging rights, plus some prizes to!
The competition will be held at Upper Tamar on the 4th, 5th and 6th of September 2026. Entry is £150 for a pair and there will be 12 pairs from Devon and 12 pairs from Cornwall. The draw will be at 9am for a 12pm start.
There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd , 3rd, biggest fish and all the weights will be added together to crown which county wins! And of course there will be cream teas on offer at the prize giving.
The competition is sponsored by Nash, RG Baits, Fishing Leads UK, Homeleigh Angling Centre and possible a few more…
There will be transport to the swims , goody bags for anglers and all the rules and regs will be available soon.
This is going to be an epic competition so dont miss out!!
Any questions or if you are interested in booking please drop this page a message!
The Angler’s Paradise complex created by Zyg Gregorek celebrated forty years in September 2025. The venue has become one of the region’s top fisheries boasting over thirty lakes that are home to a vast range of freshwater species including specimen carp, grass carp, orfe, tench, perch, pike, trout and catfish to name but a few. The holiday complex has brought a wealth of happy memories for many family generations and it’s waters are now a thriving natural eco-system. The fishery is testament to the vision of Zyg who transformed a marshy piece of scrubland to create Anglers Paradise a for-runner that has become the template for complexes across the country. The venture is very much a family business with Zyg’s daughter Zenia Drury-Gregorek and her husband Joe very much at the helm continuing the sterling work undertaken by Zyg and his wife Rose. My wife and I joined the celebrations last weekend to witness a thriving community of anglers and their families forged over the past four decades.
Wine & Dine CelebrationsConversations flows in the Safari BarTrophies and memories from around the worldZenia and son Zee-Jay demonstrate fish care and how to get the best catfish pics
Bingo Time!
Zenia and Zyg working with the Angling Trust at a previous event.Get FishingAn Eldorado catfish for Bruce ElstonA specimen tiger trout caught from the trout lakeA Paradise sunriseA netting day
Team working
Rainbow over ParadiseThe latest capture from the Nirvana syndicate lake….CLINT WITH THE FREAK OF THE NIRVANA SYNDICATE, ‘JOY’ at 54lb 8oz This fish is stacking on the lb’s and has plenty more growing to do. Will Joy be our first 60? Silverback is among the elusive and if the other fish are anything to go by he may already be at 60lb…Anglers Paradise
Below – The latest thirty to be caught at Bulldog.
The trout lake is now fishing well with big browns and hard fighting rainbows relishing the lower water temperatures and increased oxygen levels of Autumn. A few happy customers below..
Graham Snow won Bideford Angling Clubs forty eight hour rover with a fine thin lipped grey mullet scaling 5lb 4oz. Runner up was Dale Kiff with a smoothound of 10lb 13oz and third Graham Snow with a thin lipped grey mullet of 4lb 3.5oz.
The hot sunny summer weather provides ideal conditions for mullet fishing with all three species seeming to thrive in hot settled conditions. There are three types of grey mullet in UK waters, thick lipped grey mullet, thin lipped grey mullet and golden grey mullet. All can be caught using light tackle more often associated with freshwater tactics. Thick lipped mullet are generally tempted using bait, generally bread presented on float tackle or legered. The thin lipped mullet are fished for with baited spinners and inhabit estuaries. The golden greys haunt the shallow sandy surf beaches and can be tempted using small bunches of ragworm.
All three species can also be caught using fly fishing tactics a style of fishing that has recently gathered almost cultlike status. These challenging fish offer an exciting alternative for trout anglers whose sport is impacted upon by reservoirs and rivers suffering from a prolonged summer drought.
Tench and carp are providing great summer sport in lakes across North Devon and can tolerate high water temperatures.
The final match of Bideford Angling Clubs Junior Summer league was held last Saturday and was won by Leo Davies with 6.540 Kilo. Runner up was Archie Thorne with 5.1 Kilo and Hawkon Wilson with 4.720 Kilo. The junior league has proved a popular series with all matches well attended with over twenty young anglers fishing each event. The events were generously supported by Anglers Heaven, Barnstaple Bait and Tackle and other local businesses. Club members Martin Turner, Richard Jefferies and Keith Mountjoy invested a great deal of time and effort into running the events. The overall winner of the league was Leo Davies.
Bideford Clubs Coarse fishing sector is thriving with their two club lakes providing excellent fishing for carp, tench and silver fish. The club matches are generally fully subscribed and the recent extension to their portfolio with access to fishing at Higher Shorston Lakes near Holsworthy ensures that members get excellent value for their moderate membership fees.
North Devon Match Group fished Upper Tamar lake where Ian Grey won the match with 67lb 5oz. Runner up was Nathan Underwood with 48lb 6oz and Ian Croxton third with 43lb 8oz.
Stafford Moor’s lakes continue to produce stunning Match weights. Benn Hagg won last Sundays Open match with 277lb 1oz. Jamie Bradshaw won the weekends residents match on Oak Lake with an amazing 487lb 1oz.
Martin Burton with a 32lb Mirror carp caught from Albert Square on a 16mm Sticky Krill Active wafter up on lodge lake
The venues specimen lakes are also in fine form with Riley Saunders and Kirsten Parkhouse enjoying a forty eight hour session on Beatties Lake during which they banked sixteen carp to 30lb 4oz.
🎉Celebrating 25 years of South West Lakes Trust 🎉 SWLT turns 25 this year, and to celebrate we are offering 25% off day and 24hr permits when purchased between 25th July – 31st August 2025. Discount will be automatically applied on the Catch app. Use the interactive map on the App or search “South West Lakes” to choose one of our 13 stunning fisheries 🎣 Anglers using the Catch App also get other great discounts including 25% off camping, glamping, equipment hire and self-launch for the rest of the summer using code CATCH25 ✨ Find our camping options here https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/Pages/Site/activities/Category/camping And our water sports options here https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/activities Don’t forget – children fish for free with a paying adult 🐟
Zenia fished her home venues new Nirvana syndicate lake and had success beyond her dreams….read her story below…
Those of you that know me, will know that even though I live at Anglers Paradise, I don’t actually get much time to go fishing because of my role at AP! I literally live, eat and breathe AP, and that is my life, but I love seeing so many different walks of life here, seeing day to day, anglers catching PB’s, people making memories and of course kids and adults catching their first fish and gaining a passion for fishing from what we do…I love it! It means the world to me!
Every other week during the peak season months, I get a few hours to myself and because my time is limited, I go in search of the fish, stalking and surface fishing.
This session was a 40th birthday wish as it had been years since I was gifted ‘time’ to actually go night fishing and to have any longer than 5 hours, this is a big treat for me!! So a day/night/day session was more than I could ever wish for and also with my amazing husband which was a blessing on its own that we could have this time together doing what we love most!!
When my husband said that he wanted me to be the one to christen and fish the new Nirvana Syndicate, I was blown away and haven’t stopped thinking about it since!
Nervous, excited and butterflies going crazy, after dropping off our youngest, the time had finally come to go FISHING!!!
I was going to savour every minute being there, and that I did, catching would be a bonus as I really had no idea what was about to happen…
The first day was extremely windy and very challenging with the baiting pole!! After the traps were set, it was time to wait after several attempts getting the rigs and bait in place.
Plenty of pellet and crushed Monster Tiger Nut Boilies were planted and the Carp were already feeding which was a very good sign!
It ended up being the best Carp Red Letter Fishing session of my life!
Never did I think I would catch one forty…but TWO!!! 2 Grass Carp to 32lbs and a 29lb Mirror!
After catching my personal best and Common Complex Record at 44lbs, I honestly never expected it to get any better…
But then it happened, we’d just finished a beautiful dinner that my husband cooked, steak , broccoli, asparagus and a jacket potato, absolutely delicious! Then, all of a sudden, my right hand rod screams off!!
Another amazing fight, I knew this was going to be a big Carp! It was one of the most nerve wracking moments in my life praying that she’d eventually caress my net, which she did.
I was literally shaking, and after seeing the size of her, I cried, it was a moment I’ll never forget, I looked at Joe and he was in disbelief too, we both were just in shock, this session was just insane and so special, and one I will be eternally grateful for.
My new personal best 45lb Mirror, what a Fish!!!
I’m proof that Fishing Dreams can come true, and it was the best dream EVER!!!
Thank you to my amazing husband for making this trip possible, looking after me, just being a wonderful husband and not forgetting cooking for me like a Queen, and to friends Toby and Emma for having the boys to make this HAPPEN!!! I love you all and will be eternally grateful
Ashley Lawton fished Peg 3 on Stafford Moor’s Lodge Lake for 72hrs.
Ashley banked five fish in total including three at 30lb+ one being a New PB of 35lb 12oz. All caught on Sicky Baits Krill over a small bed of house pellet.
Many thanks to Nick Woodger for allowing me use his write up on a first successful trip to Slade Reservoir.
Done My First 24hrs At Slade Reservoir On Saturday Got There About 2.15pm Went For A Walk About. I Decided To Fish The Road Side Of The Lake Close To The Shallows As The Sun Was Shinning And The Wind Pushing Down To That Corner Of The Lake. Hoping that the Fish Would Be Following The Wind. Got The Rods Set Up And Out Into The Lake About 2.50pm. Had My Left And Right Hand Rods Both In The Margins, But The Left Hand Rod Was Out A Rod Length And A Half Up Tight To A Weed Bed. Had My Middle Rod Out In Open Water In Front Of Me. On All Three Rods I Was Using A Ronnie Rig With Remix Baits Tuttle-Tigers On The Left. Purple Secrets On The Middle And Pink Secrets On The Right All With A Tiny Mesh Bag Of Mainline Pellets. Traps Are All Set. At 5.50pm The Left Hand Rod Screamed Off I Was Into My First Ever Fish At Slade. What Resulted In A Stunning Mirror Weighing In At 24lb4oz I Was Over The Moon What A Carp Like This One For My First Fish. Put Rod Back Out On The Same Spot. The Hours Went Bye With No More Action. 11.00pm My Alarm Screamed Off Again But This Time It Was The Middle Rod The One In Open Water. I’m Into My Second Fish Of The Trip. I Seen The Carp Roll In The Light Of my Head-Torch And I Was Like Oh My God This Is A Big Carp. I Finally Got Her In The Net And Had A Closer Look, It Was A Beautiful Common I’m Stood There Looking At Her In The Net Thinking Can This Session Get Any Better But My God It Did When I Weighed Her And To See The Scales Go Upto 26lb8oz I Was Buzzing, I Have Only Gone And Smash My PB Common Witch Was 19lb7oz. All I Can Says Is What A Session And I Can’t Wait To get Back Out Onto The Bank Of Slade Reservoir Again.
Martin Burton with a 32lb Mirror carp caught from Albert Square on a 16mm Sticky Krill Active wafter up on lodge lake
