Trip #138 – Sherborne Lake – New venue day… and an enigmatic blank.

It was a new lake for me today. I was going to try out my new Yeovil and Sherborne Angling Association membership and give Sherborne Lake a go. Details about the lake can be found here, but it is a big old man-made water with a solid head of silver fish, pike, and some whopping great big carp. I was going after the bream, as I’ve never really caught a proper slab and was keen to see what the venue held.

I arrived and drove through the grounds as they were preparing for the Sherborne Show. I drove past a huge helter-skelter and resisted the urge to get out and ask for a go! I pulled up at the car park; there were a few cars there already. I got out and walked down to the water’s edge. I’d been given some recommendations on where to fish, but the whole place looked promising. Some of the pegs have been built and placed out into the lake; some are straight from the edge into the water. There are lily pads near most pegs, which to me screamed tench. I walked down towards the lower-numbered pegs and found the anglers.

Clearly regulars to the lake, they were talking about the bream that had come out recently. From behind a brolly, a chap called Terry appeared. “Just had a carp about 7lb,” he announced. I started to get excited; this was going to be fun. After a brief chat, I decided on Peg 7, opposite the end of the nearest island. I returned to the car, loaded up my trolley, and began the walk to the peg. For my setup today, I had chosen a helicopter-style rig. My setups would be as follows:

• 13ft Feeder Rod, 8lb mono mainline – Helicopter bead, which connected the hooklength of 6lb Acolyte Fluorocarbon to a size 16 Kamasan B911.
• 12ft Feeder Rod, 8lb mono mainline – Helicopter bead, which connected the hooklength of 6lb Acolyte Fluorocarbon to a size 16 Kamasan B911.
• 12ft Avon rod with 12lb mainline – purely used to bait up at the beginning of the session.

Behind my peg, I had my distance sticks set up at 12ft and measured the cast. The island was 11 turns on the stick, or 40.2 meters. I would only have a few hours, so I decided to aim for the lily bed close to the island and hope for the best. I could hear the grumblings of some of the other anglers; apparently, a blank on the lake isn’t uncommon, so I consciously prepared myself for what might be a hard day.

I slung out 10 feeders full of my groundbait mix, switched to a rig with a hook length, and cast out in the same spot. The waiting game had begun. I sat with bated breath, waiting for that ever-elusive tip twitch…This isn’t an advert for Sherborne Castle, but for those who haven’t been there, the grounds are genuinely amazing. I sat there at one point and switched on the Merlin bird app, and I couldn’t get over the sheer number of bird sounds it picked up. My turning to an app for something to do might give you an indication of how the fishing was going! There was a steady 18-20mph breeze blowing from left to right, with the occasional gust which made casting into a specific spot interesting.

I noticed Terry had caught something: another bream of 9lb. But it was slow going for the other anglers. I switched through my bait options: maggot, dead maggots, caster, worm, and wafters. Nothing could tempt these fish. Two hours had passed. I’d had one indication, which, frankly, I wasn’t sure was an indication until I wound in to inspect the maggots and noticed it had been mouthed a bit. There was also a top-layer tow in the water, which was creating a distinct bow in the line.

Around the three-hour mark, a grebe popped up in front of me with a roach of 4-5 ounces in its bill. Straight down the hatch, and back under it went. So, there were obviously fish there. I switched my second rod to a maggot feeder and cast it short. Watching two quiver tops in windy conditions is hard work. Neither rod produced a fish, and I was very quickly approaching the end of my four-hour session.On one of my final casts, I decided to hammer the area with bait. I set up my bait-up line, and for whatever reason, as I cast, I heard the line snap, and the 60-gram full feeder just popped two feet out in front of me. I took that as a sign. I cut my rigs and began the packing-up process.

The walk back to the car showed how uneventful the session was. Terry had caught five, but of the 6-7 anglers I saw four hours ago, only three remained. On the way back to the car, I saw someone fishing the pole off one of the wooden pegs. “I’ll have to try that one day soon,” I thought to myself.

Sherborne Lake is an enigma. I have never fished somewhere, blanked, and wanted to return immediately. There are clearly big fish in there, but I just need to find them. This tale is not over, and I will return for one of the resident “dustbin lids.”

I’m reticent to rate this lake properly but my first impressions are,

Fishability – ** (2/5 Stars) Looks very fishy, but in truth, it was a hard, slow day, and the fish have a lot of water to hide in. It might be disheartening and intimidating if you’re used to commercials.

Value for money – ***** (5/5 Stars) Free (if you have a Yeovil and Sherborne Angling Association License).

Disabled access – *** (3/5 Stars) You could definitely get to the wooden pegs with assistance, but some of the areas towards the lower pegs are quite uneven; you have to negotiate a gate, etc.