Birkenhead Park

[DaveE]

Unlike many park waters, Birkenhead Park lakes lost few fish in the recent freezing weather.
However, they are now suffering attack from 6-8 cormorants!
Park rangers are looking to install some sort of bird scarer but I very much doubt it will work.
I just hope the damage to stocks isn't too bad.

[gnome]

Apparently the bottom lake had more trouble than the top lake, but the cormies have met with an unfortunate accident. Went round top park today and plenty of bites to be had from quality rudd, skimmers and small tincas on maggot or punch.

[fish41]

I understand the cormies suffered lead "poisoning" which is odd given the non-toxic stuff we use these days. Must have been a lot of Nr 8s or a 6oz break away

[john83]

how does the upper park lake fish? had a walk around with the dog the other day plenty fishing, coulnt speak to anyone because of my jack russell barking like a mad man at the ducks if we go anywhere near the lake.

[NeilQ]

Haven't fished it for many years but used to fish club matches there on a regular basis. I loved the place even though it was very "peggy".

If you're on one of the pegs round the island, you'll catch carp. They weren't massive, usually between 2 & 5 pounds, but they were very powerful. The match winner would invariably be drawn on one of these pegs (28 - 31).

The main bay that you first come to would be mainly for silver fish, crucians & the odd tench if you were lucky. There was also an area known as Dead Bay. This was at the far end of the lake & consisted of around 4 pegs that had no features to fish to. People never caught here (think it was pegs 16 to 19), hence it's name.

You could catch on a variety of baits & would need to take a good selection to cover whichever peg you'd draw. Corn, meat & caster for the carp pegs. Maggot, bread (flake or punch) for the pegs away from the island. This info is going back many years & well before people used pellets.

Probably changed completely now & I'll have given you completely useless information

[gnome]

Hi John,
Neil you are correct, all your info is from yesteryear..lol
There are now no carp in the top park. You should catch off any peg. It's been stocked with tench, crucians, skimmers, rudd, roach, and barbel. Feed a small amount of micros and fish 4mm pellet, maggot or punch on top, and you will catch on and off all day. The fish only go up to about a pound but you can catch between 50/100 in a session. Peg 24 seems to win a few matches, but you can catch off them all.
Fishing is on AWAC card Monday to Friday, matches only at weekend, which is (Ithink) £40 for the lake.

[NeilQ]

Haha - you live & learn. Shows how out of touch I am.

Peg 24 was always a decent peg....just a short chuck to the island.

What happened with the carp, did they die off or were they removed?

[DaveE]

They were removed when the lakes were drained and dredged as part of the £8m restoration of the park.
I was told they now live in Cheshire.

However, a few carp have been 'stocked' during the last year by mis-guided anglers.

[NeilQ]

Oh right....didn't realise that. They gave you a bloody good scrap for their size although it was probably a good thing as regards fairness. You simply had to draw a carp peg to win. Nobody else ever got a look in.

[john83]

cheers gnome, will get an awac ticket this week, top park seems a bit more quiet less scallies, etc. new stocking suits me down to the ground not a carp man myself.

cheers mate.

[john83]

had a few hours on the top lake at birkenhead park the other morning, good fun, fishing at 4m on 4mm expander feeding micros, skimmer after skimmer, good few hours bit bashing.

[fish41]

At AWAC meeting this week and report on the match lake was 120lb of fish between 9 anglers in a club match. Not expensive to hire lake for matches. Other lake fishing ok as well

[Tincaman]

Hello all
This is my first post. Firstly I'd just like to say what an excellent website and forum this is, well done all involved!! Secondly I haven't fished Birkenhead Park Lower lake for many years. Does anybody know what the stocks are like these days? It used to be full of nice tench, are these still in there?
Thanks
 
Carl

[DaveE]

As mentioned above, Birkenhead Park lakes were drained and ALL fish removed a few years ago. The lakes were dredged, permanent pegs created, refilled with water and restocked with fish. However, the fish were new, young small fish and are just beginning to grow so there are no big tench or carp in there at the moment.
Barbel are a new addition to the water and will hopefully do well.

The park still suffers to some extent from scallies and drunks.
 

[Tincaman]

Thanks for the information Dave. I've never been overly keen on stocking barbel into stillwaters but I'm sure they'll give good sport.

[john83]

had quite a few short early morning sessions on the top lake, before the drunks and other pain in the arses get out of bed, great fishing if your not just a commercial angler. still to have a barbel but I have been bagging up on tench and skimmers. great fun on light tackle. only need to fish a few metres out and all you need is 4mm expanders and micro pellet. I wouldnt bother in the day time unless you can put up with the super strength lager drinkers begging you for smokes and people with out of control dogs and loud voices, put your mutt on a lead for christs sake, and get a job and buy your own smokes.  

[FishingFreakJack]

haha hate them so many clubs that suffer from them and you cant shoot many of them and not when their breeding either

[fish41]

FFJ are we talking about drunks or cormorants?

[fish41]

FYI. match weights last weekend around 18lb. mainly small silvers. They are looking to stock  bigger bream in the near future.

[Something fishy]

what is fyi rob ?