West Pond

PAA coach and fishery manager Chris Bowman offers on site tuition, guided trips and even a pre baiting service for anglers visiting the fishery. Chris also offers anglers bream to 15 lb. 4 oz., carp to 24 lb. 12 oz., chub to 6 lb., pike to 25 lb., perch to 2 lb. 4 oz.; roach, tench and eels on his Longtown West Pond fishery.

Anglers should note that no night fishing is allowed with a day permit. Night fishing can be arranged for none season permit holders by prior arrangement with Chris and involves the purchase of a night permit costing an additional £10.

Access to the West Pond is across Ministry of Defence land and permits MUST be obtained before visiting the water.

Any day or season permit holder catching a new West Pond record fish can enter a competition to win a free season ticket for the following season.

Lee Corless with his West Pond record pike of 25 lb. 00 oz. taken in March 2003. Lee's big pike won him a free West Pond 2004 - 2005 season permit.

The roach record is open at 1lb. 4 oz. a weight at which fish have been stocked in the past.

Entries should be made as soon as possible after capture and should be accompanied by a photograph, details of the fish and its capture, your name, address and permit number and the name and address of any witnesses.

The winners in each category will be judged within 14 days of the end of each season and the winners announced on this website and in the fishing column of the Cumberland News. Each winner will be notified individually. No other correspondence will be entered into with regard to the competition.

7 anglers fished the fourth and final ACA British Pike Championship 2008 Qualifying match of the winter at Longtown’s West Pond on Sunday 3rd February. The match was fished in teeth of a strong westerly with the wind growing stronger as the day went on. The pike were feeding, but very tentatively resulting in dropped runs and 6 lost fish amongst the competitors on the day. Barrow in Furness angler Mike Fretwell won the match with a 9lb 6oz pike taken on a legered smelt fished in conjunction with his own recipe fishy groundbait moulded around his lead 'method' style each cast. Mike hooked the fish with an hour of the match to go and whilst stewards were weighing his fish he had another run on the same rod that he had only just recast; but unfortunately the pike dropped the bait on the strike! Mike went home £49 better off as well as qualifying for the 2008 ACA British Pike Championship Final.

Carlisle angler Kevin Brown took second place winning £28; Kevin had lost a pike at range within the first hour of the match using a drifted trout deadbait but was compensated when a 2lb 2oz pike took a fancy to the same bait 20 yards into another drift later in the match. The match also raised £21 for the ACA. West Pond fishery manager Chris Bowman had donated some special permit prizes for anglers fishing the series of 4 ACA qualifying matches held over the Winter; Mike won a full season permit with the heaviest total weight of pike taken during the series, Chris Brookshaw of Barrow and Carlisle's Alastair Paisley both won a half season permits for the second heaviest total weight and the heaviest pike respectively.

9 anglers fished the second ACA British Pike Championship 2008 Qualifying match of the winter at Longtown’s West Pond on Sunday 9th December 2007. The match was fished in flat calm conditions and for the first 2 hours the bright sunshine did nothing to encourage the pike to feed. In fact only one pike was caught on the day; a 3 pounder landed by Carlisle angler Wayne Lawson. Wayne decided to swop his legered smelt for a dead roach at around 1:15pm and must have cast his bait right on the pikes head for he had the take as soon as the bait hit the water. Wayne went home £63 better off as well as qualifying for the 2008 ACA British Pike Championship Final. The match also raised £27 for the ACA. The next ACA Qualifying match takes place on Sunday 13th January 2008.

Ryan Laurie has reported what could be the biggest pike to be landed from Longtown West Pond for four years. The Kirtlebridge angler landed the 23lb 8oz pike last Saturday 17th November on a smelt suspended 3 feet below the surface under a float. Ryan told me he had had two dropped runs when his float went under for a third time only to pop back up again. When this happened Ryan gave a couple of turns of the reel handle just to move the bait and the pike took hold and gave a good account of itself before it could be landed.

On Sunday 25th November 10 anglers fished the first ACA British Pike Championship 2008 Qualifying match to be held at Longtown West Pond this winter, raising some £30 for the ACA in the process. Alastair Paisley (left) and Shaun Wall (right) tied for first place;

both landing a single 5lb 4oz pike from the 20 acre Cumbrian ex gravel pit situated 9 miles North of Carlisle. Alastair must have thought his look was in when just 30 minutes in to the match his float legered tuna oil injected sardine was picked up by the pike unfortunately it was Alastair's only fish of the match and Shaun Wall (right) equaled this with another pike of 5lb 4oz which took a fancy to his lamprey bait at around 1pm.

Carlisle's Les McVittie (left) was third on the day landing a 4lb 5oz pike on a fluorescent orange and yellow home made lure at around mid day.

The date of the next ACA British Pike Championship 2008 Qualifying match to be held at the West Pond is Sunday 9th December.

In recent weeks (October) day ticket anglers have been enjoying good pike sport with fish to12lb 8oz.

Big bream just aren't fashionable!!! Despite producing 40 bream over 10lb up to 14lb 12oz in weight last season the number of anglers fishing for them at the West Pond this season was down on previous seasons, two anglers who deserve a mention are Jonny Birkin and Paul Boycott (below) who traveled from Yorkshire every other weekend throughout the summer. This was their first season chasing big bream on the West Pond so their first 3 or 4 trips where mostly recognisance trips. It took them a few weeks of trying out different swims, before they found a clear area free from weed where it was possible to put down a carpet of bait. Their perseverance paid off and once they found a clear spot they were more confident of catching some of the big slabs. And catch they did, managing to bag several doubles apiece during June, July and August, with the biggest of the bream tipping the scales over the 11lb mark. Although the 13 and 14 pounders managed to evade them this year, as Jonny told me "there's always next summer"! Well done the Yorkshire Boys and good luck next summer.

A slow start to the season with few anglers apart from pike anglers venturing out but even the pike fishing has been slow, although things started to pick up towards the end of April with Andy Hetherington landing the first double figure carp reported so far and an angler from Yorkshire landing a 9lb 6oz bream. Steven Murray landed an 11lb pike over the early May Bank Holiday weekend. On Wednesday 9th May Andy Hetherington landed a chunky 14lb 3oz common carp (his third West Pond double of the season) and that same evening Chris Bowman landed bream of 10lb 14oz and 9lb.

It is official; despite the lack of angling pressure Longtown West Pond has just had its best ever season in terms of numbers of big bream , with 40 bream over 10lb in weight being reported, the best so far being a 14lb 12oz specimen reported by Carl Goff in May (see middle photo below). It has also been a good season for carp and although no 20lb plus fish have been reported both Andy Hetherington and Roger Marshall have landed mirrors of 17lb with Andy having landed 12 over 10lb mainly during short stalking sessions and Russell who was targeting bream at the time landed this 16lb 5oz mirror. The last photo below is a superb shot taken by Martin Chalmers of a 10lb male bream that has just been released after capture by Carl Goff.

The West Pond has produced 34 bream over 10 lb. in weight in 2005 and two pike in excess of 19 lb. see angling coaching page for October pike action. Carlisle angler Paul Varcoe as well as landing a 19lb 7oz pike also had 4 at 10lb, 3 at 12lb and one at 16lb 6oz.

Carlisle carp angler David Stanley has been clocking up some impressive bream catches, since landing a 12 lb. 10 oz. fish, a new personal best at that time, earlier in May, Dave has landed 11 bream over 10 lbs. from Longtown's West Pond. But it is his latest fish that has really made people sit up and take note, smashing the previous bream record for the noted Cumbrian specimen fishery by 10 oz. Dave fished a tuti–fruity boilies to an area heavily baited with pellets behind a shallow gravel bar at around 65 yards range and got the overnight session off to a good start by landing a bream of 12 lb. 11 oz. An hour later his buzzer signalled another take, this time from the big one which tipped the scales at 15 lb. 4 oz. When Dave later examined his photographs he discovered that the bream was sporting a tell tale black scale half way between its dorsal and anal fins, it was the same bream that Carlisle specimen hunter Dave Taylor captured at 14 lb. 10 oz. in November 2004, it was also captured in September 2003 by Cumbrian carp angler Dave Storey at 14 lb. 6 oz. This bream seems to have a liking for anglers called Dave! Dave Stanley the latest captor is inline to pick up a free West Pond season permit, that is unless someone captures a bigger bream before the end of the season.

A lot of anglers were detered by some of the heaviest weed growth ever seen at the West Pond nevertheless it didn't bother the fish; no pressure and plenty of food! With 20 acres of water you can always find somewhere to fish although drifting weed can make things difficult. 18 double figure bream reported this season the best caught by Carlisle angler Dave Taylor has landed seven double figure bream including a new record for the West Pond at 14 lb. 10 oz. during the two weeks in November. With the weed growth dying back at the 20 acre ex gravel pit Dave decided to target the waters big bream stocks. He picked a 10 foot deep swim at the base of a gravel bar that rose to within 3 feet of the surface and baited with a mixture of fish meal ground bait, pellets, fusion boilies and sweet corn. Soon after dark on the first night (13th Nov.) line bites signaled that the bream were moving in Dave's swim but try as he might he could not get a take until midnight when his popped up fusion boilie fished in conjunction with a PVA bag of mixed pellets was taken by a two tone bream weighing 11 lb. 13 oz. At 1:30 a.m. Dave's buzzer signaled another take as a 12 lb. 15 oz. bream accepted his critically balanced sweet corn tipped with maggots and fished in conjunction with a method feeder and Dave's fish meal mix. At 6 a.m. Dave added an 8 lb. 12 oz. fish to the same method feeder and sweet corn tactics.

The following weekend (20th Nov.) Dave fished the same swim on what turned out to be the coldest night of the year so far and spent much of the night thawing out his rod rings between takes. On this occasion the bream got their heads down over Dave's ground bait earlier in the night, his first fish of 8 lb. 12 oz. came at 6:50 p.m. this was followed bream of 10 lb. 7 oz., 8 lb. 12 oz., then at 9:15 p.m. came the big slab that Dave wanted, on the scales it proved to be 14 lb. 10 oz. a new West Pond record. At 10 p.m. Dave landed another double at 10 lb. 4 oz., followed by an 11 lb. 4 oz. bream that Dave recognised instantly as a fish that has been caught by other anglers at the West Pond but never over 11 lb. before. The bream has no dorsal fin and a scar on one flank which gives the impression the bream has been grabbed by a cormorant when it was younger. Dave’s final bream of the night came at 03:05 a.m. and weighed 10 lb. 13 oz.

Examination of the photographs have shown that Dave's 14 lb. 10 oz. bream (below left) is the same one landed by Dave Storey last season at 14 lb. 6 oz.

In the early hours of Sunday morning (15th August) Carl Goff of Longtown landed a 20 lb. 4 oz. common carp from the West Pond. Carl who landed bream to 13 lb. 7 oz. and carp to 19 lb. 6 oz. from the West Pond last season hooked the common, his best carp from the venue so far, on a homemade boilie fished in conjunction with a PVA bag of crumbled boilies fished over an area heavily baited with groundbait and pellets. Conditions were so misty at the time Carl had some difficulty seeing his fish to net it.

Whilst the West Pond is the weediest it has been for some years the fish are still feeding, during July Dave Taylor landed an 8 lb. 14 oz. bream, Andy Hetherington stalked a margin feeding 15 lb. 8 oz. mirror carp and on Friday 30th July on only his second visit to the West Pond David Wood from Carlisle landed his first ever pike, a splendid specimen weighing 19 lb. that accepted his brown trout dead bait. Well done David.

During May and June both Andy Hetherington and Kevin Lumley have taken bream to just over 10 lb. but at 1 a.m. on Sunday 27th June David Stanley landed the best bream to be taken so far this season at 11 lb. 12 oz.

Visitors from the North East, George Low from North Shields and Frank Thompson from Walken landed a 17 lb. pike and several smaller fish on Thursday 6th May.

Andy Gray from Carlisle revisited the West Pond on on Sunday 17th April and caught 4 pike weighing in at 8 lb. 7 oz., 9 lb. 9 oz., 9 lb. 14 oz. and 10 lb. 3 oz. Andy's wife Sue caught the best fish of the day however at 10 lb. 6 oz.

Carlisle angler Andy Gray enjoyed his first ever outing to the West Pond landing this 18 lb. 6 oz. pike on Easter Sunday.

Carlisle pike specialist Mike Atkinson got his season off to a good start in February with four double figure West Pond pike including two of 10 lb., one of 15 lb. 13 oz. and one at 18 lb. 14. oz. Mike continued his good form at the West Pond this weekend (7th March) landing nine pike, the best four fish weighing in at 9 lb. 12 oz., 10 lb. 13 oz., 16 lb. 13 oz. and 18 lb. 10 oz.

A tremendous season that saw both the pike and bream records for the West pond being shattered. But it was the number of big bream that hit the headlines with 36 bream over 10 lb. being reported including Dave Storey's new record at 14 lb. 6 oz. Carl Goff's second biggest at 13 lb. 7 oz. and Gordon Fairly's 13 pounder, as well as a further seven fish between 12 and 13 lb.

John Bowman with a 10 lb. 1 oz. bream and Dad Chris with a 12 lb. 5 oz. bream and a 19 lb. fully scaled mirror carp these fish were part of a catch taken on 23rd and 24th July that included five bream over 10 lb. and a 20 lb. 14 oz. mirror carp.

The West Pond can be a daunting proposition to most anglers, The fishing is not easy on this 20 acre ex gravel pit. The low density of fish stocks coupled with heavy weed growth, greatly varying bottom features and somewhat exposed nature can make things difficult for anglers. However for those who persevere the rewards can be great.

That perseverance has paid off for Heads Nook angler Andy Hetherington. Andy only started fishing the West Pond in July of this year and has spent more time plumbing, charting it's depths and watching fish than actually fishing. However all that hard work has begun to pay off and in his last two sessions (14th and 17th August 2003) he has landed nine bream between 7 lb. 13 oz. and 11 lb. 15 oz. including other doubles of 10 lb. and 11 lb. 5 oz. Andy also landed a 19 lb. 2 oz. common carp for good measure.

ANDY HETHERINGTON TAKES THE WEST PONDS BEST CATCH OF BREAM SO FAR THIS SEASON. On Wednesday night (20th August 2003) season permit holder Andy landed bream of 9 lb., 10 lb. 5 oz., 11 lb. 11 oz., 11 lb. 15 oz., 12 lb. 5 oz., 11 lb. 4 oz., 11 lb. 5 oz. and 11lb. 10 oz. This latest catch takes Andy's total to 10 bream over 10 lb. in less than a week. All credit to Andy he has done his homework, put in the hard work and is now reaping the rewards. Although something tells me we haven't heard the last of Andy's West Pond exploits just yet.

In his latest session (24th August 2003) Andy added another 3 double figure bream to his already impressive total. Andy landed bream of 9 lb. 3 oz., 10 lb. 1 oz., 10 lb. 15 oz. and 11lb. 4 oz.

The West Pond is probably most famous for it's big bream with the exception of 2001 when the fishery was closed for 12 months between 26th February 2001 and 25th February 2002 because of the foot and mouth outbreak. The West Pond has produced bream in excess of 10 lb. every year since Carlisle angler Bernard Irving landed the waters first double figure bream at 10 lb. 10 oz. in 1989. In June 2000 Chris found a dead bream weighing 13 lb. 3 oz. in the ponds margins. The best bream to be taken during the 2002 - 2003 season was a 12 lb. 12 oz fish taken by Dave Storey from Aspatria . Dave also landed four others over 12lb and three over 11lb. Not being one to rest on his laurels Dave also captured last seasons best carp, a 23 lb. 6 oz. common as well as other carp of 15 lb., 17 lb. 14 oz., 18 lb. 14 oz and 20 lb. 1 oz.

On Wednesday morning Aspatria carp angler Dave Storey landed a history making bream of 14 lb. 6 oz. from Longtown’s West Pond. The fish, believed to be the biggest bream ever caught in Cumbria, obliterated the previous Longtown West Pond bream record of 12 lb. 12 oz caught by Dave last year. Season permit holder Dave had been fishing overnight at the West pond and had landed bream of 12 lb., 12 lb. 9 oz and a chub of 5 lb. during the hours of darkness when at around 8 a.m. he spotted fish rolling further down the bank. Moving around 100 yards down the bank Dave fished sweetcorn over trout pellets and was soon into the big bream. Dave couldn’t believe it when it took his scales down to 14 lb. 6 oz. and telephoned me to come and witness the fish. Whilst we were setting up the cameras to photograph the big bream Dave landed two more bream both weighing 11lb.

The West Pond big bream bonanza continues, Dave Storey landed 7 doubles midweek (9 & 10th September) with the best two weighing 12 lb. 2 oz. and 12 lb.

Dave's catch was followed by one made by Longtown carp angler Carl Goff who on Wednesday 10th September landed the second biggest bream ever landed at the West Pond, a superb specimen of 13 lb. 7 oz. along with a 10 lb. 3 oz. specimen and a "skimmer" of 8 lb. 8 oz. On Thursday Carl added bream of 11 lb. 10 oz., 11 lb. 9 oz., 11 lb., 9 lb. 10 oz. and 8 lb.10 oz. On Friday Carl landed a 16 lb. mirror carp and a 10 lb. 2 oz. bream.

On Saturday season permit holder Gordon Fairley of Amble fished the West Pond for the very first time and in the early hours of Sunday 14th September landed what he described as "the fish of a lifetime", a bream of exactly 13 lb.

Season permit holder John Parkinson struck gold after several blank sessions at the West Pond on Wednesday night (17th September). Fishing an overnight session before heading off to work on Thursday morning John landed bream of 8 lb. 12 oz., 9 lb. 8 oz., 11 lb. 5 oz.. 11 lb. 8 oz. and 12 lb. 1 oz.

After landing a 14 lb. pike and loosing a carp earlier in the week Carl Goff's perseverance paid off when he landed a 16 lb. 6 oz. mirror carp and this 19 lb. 6 oz. common carp during the early hours of Saturday morning (20th. September).

Tony Anderson of Carlisle reported a 14 lb. pike along with two bream of 5 lb. 12 oz. and 6 lb. 12 oz. (29th September).

October proved to be very quiet both carp and bream anglers having seem to have given up for the winter for some reason. The pike anglers though seem to be made of sterner stuff, but pike fishing was very quiet with only the occassional small fish being caught. It was long distance Cumbrian big fish man Kevin Lumley who stopped off at the West Pond in between trips to Lomond, Chew and Menteith to land the first double figure pike from the West Pond in over a month (7th November), it weighed 10 lb. 7 oz. Carlisle pike specialist Mike Atkinson landed another weighing 16 lb. 5 oz. (21st Nov.)

December proved to be a dour month with only the occasional jack, January proved a little better when John Parkinson landed the first decent pike of 2004 at exactly 18 lb.