Swim 4 is probably my favourite spot on the lake. Along with the adjacent Swim 5 it covers about a third of the lake. Whilst swims 4 and 5 can both be fished at the same time, if there are two or three of you fishing, I would spread out and stick to one angler in this part of the lake. From Swim 4 it is possible to also fish most of the water available to swim 5.
Swim 4 (Right Side)
This is the deepest part of the lake with depths typically ranging from 7-11 feet. Whilst shallower on the western bank, the lake soon deepens and is fairly uniform across to the eastern bank. The lake bed in this part of the lake is often shallow silt. There are also some harder patches of sand and stony ground, particularly towards the dam wall.
There are a number of fish holding features. In particular, directly opposite is an Alder which fell in the past and which now lies parallel with the water. It is one of the most ‘fishy’ looking spots on the lake and always holds carp.
Horizontal Alder
A short distant to the left of this tree as you look at it is the deep spot off the willow that I referred to in Swim 3. If nobody is fishing Swim 3 it is easy to access this spot from here. Further to the right of the Alder is the ‘chimney’. This is the stone structure that controls the water level of the lake. Again, carp are always patrolling around this feature. The deep water behind the chimney in the south-east corner of the lake is inaccessible and is a safe haven for the fish.
'Chimney' (Right Side of Photograph) Viewed from the Dam Wall
To the right of the chimney is the dam wall. The face of the dam wall is made up of relatively gently sloping stone and can hold fish both very close in as well as further out where the slope meets the deeper water.
In the section between the horizontal Alder and chimney, the far bank is tree lined with deep water a short distance off the bank. Whilst fish are present here, I would recommend against fishing too close. This is particularly as there would be a risk that any carp kiting to the right would take your line straight into the stonework of the chimney. It would also mean that your lines would be going directly across key feeding areas. Specific to this, the section of the lake roughly on a line between the end of the horizontal tree and chimney has been for me the most consistent area in the lake. It is also an area which consistently produces big fish. My biggest Mirror (52lb 2oz) and Common (44lb 4oz) both came from here as did the lake record Common (47lb 4oz).
Lake Record Common ('Big Skip') - 47lb 4oz
It’s a personal choice how this part of the lake is fished and anglers have had success using various techniques. My favoured approach is that of putting a wide spread of boilies across the entire section between the tree and chimney. I would also bait another area in front of the chimney or off the dam wall and another left of the Alder. I would then fish these spots with two rods, alternating according to where the fish come from.
As with Swim 3, the fish will feed much close to the western bank although again, nobody has ever managed to catch consistently close in to this swim.
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