Something for everyone – that’s the beautiful Bury Hill Fisheries.

Bury Hill Fisheries is one of the prettiest and most productive day ticket fisheries around. At the heart of a 200-year-old estate, only 20 miles from central London, just outside Dorking at the foot of the Surrey Hills, the fishery was taken over in 1989 by the de Vere family, and has since been sympathetically updated and expanded to include four lakes totalling 22 acres, where you’ll find top class sport whether match angling, pleasure fishing, a predator or big carp fishing.

A one million pound investment in both fish stocks and facilities makes Bury Hill Fisheries the envy of its rivals. The magnificent Boathouse that sits on the Old lake boasts a lakeside café offering panoramic views across the lake as well as a comprehensive choice of quality hot and cold meals, which includes Bury Hill’s famous breakfasts, snacks and drinks. The recently expanded on-site tackle shop provides all those last minute items of tackle and bait that you might need for a successful day, whilst the ladies, gents and disabled toilets are all fully heated and renowned for their cleanliness.

Easy road, rail and bus access plus plenty of parking and disabled friendly spacious wooden

There’s great bream sport to be had
from the Old Lake.

swims ensures that Bury Hill attracts customers from far and wide. Add to this the superb diversity of the fishing, and you can see why Bury Hill is a firm favourite with so many.

 

Fishing at Bury Hill is a combination of ‘stunning location’ and ‘superb fishing’. The Old Lake at around 12 acres in size is a mature tree lined estate lake with magnificent views, flanked by dense beds of flag irises, reeds and lilies through the warmer months. A haven for wildlife, deer, badgers and rare birdlife add to the unique atmosphere of the fishery.

 

The Old Lake is run as a mixed fishery but holds a fantastic head of specimen fish. Bream and tench run big, with any number of 5-8 lb fish making big weights through the spring, summer and autumn months. Bream feature particularly from the middle pegs on the front bank with waggler, long pole and groundbait feeder tactics coupled with worm, corn, soft pellet or mini-boilies all capable of catching huge bags.

Also noted for its winter fishing, stacks of skimmers and 1-3lb fish make up the weights during the colder months when pole and feeder tactics coupled with maggot or caster come into their own often bagging 50lb or more! Boasting huge beds of lilies, the long bank is a haven for Tench which can be kept feeding throughout the day thanks to the cover of the dense lilies, providing great sport on traditional float tackle.

 

A wonderful venue where you can escape
and enjoy brilliant action

Carp also run big and feed all year in the Old Lake, the addition of 500 hard fighting double-figure fish during the winter of 2005/6 have produced bumper big carp catches with anglers catching upwards of 30 fish a session. A big head of 20s and several known 30s, both mirrors and commons makes the Old Lake very prolific whilst being a great venue to catch a 20-pounder – or perhaps several. Being more selective than pellets, which are favoured by the large head of tench and bream, a full range of boilies are sold in the shop.

 

Carp fall either to stalking tactics up amongst the lilies or baits fished in the Jungle and around the island with its large overhanging canopies. Even when virtually frozen solid the Old Lake can produce big carp in numbers making it a popular venue for magazine features.

 

Despite the huge stocking that the Old Lake boasts, two massive corkscrew pumps circulate re-oxygenated water around the lake ensuring fit, healthy and hard fighting fish meaning that sport is always on the cards even in heat wave conditions.

 

A unique feature of fishing on the Old Lake at Bury Hill is its fleet of flat-bottomed punts that

If it’s bites you’re after head for Milton
and Bonds Lakes.

hold two anglers plus plenty of tackle, allowing you to book a day afloat to tackle the most remote spots around the large island or in the snaggy and overgrown Jungle. Mobility is unrivalled, peace and quiet guaranteed, and presentation improved, allowing exciting and intimate encounters with the Old Lake’s specimen bream, tench or carp using strong float tackle.

 

When October 1^st arrives, it’s the predator fishing that kicks in and every year Bury Hill produces more double-figure zander than any other commercial fishery with fish running to a staggering 16 lb with 10-12 lb fish taken routinely. Pike also run big, to 30 lb and bigger. With live and dead baits are available on site, there is no better way than to start a days predator fishing than with a hearty breakfast in the boathouse before paddling out into the frosty morning mist!

 

Further down the valley lie Milton and Bonds Lakes. Milton at 3 acres is a more traditional fishery where basic float tactics will allow you to target the big head of golden crucians, tench, golden rudd, roach, perch and small carp. Whether you choose to fish a small float to the margins or the open water pole line, pleasure catches can be to 200 lb made up of tench to 6lb and crucian to 3lb, and three figure nets in matches. However, the best of the roach and perch fishing will not be found until the first frost arrives when even on the bleakest winters day, a good net of red fins and stripers can be caught using pole and maggot.

 

Temple Lake is packed with loads of quality carp like this and they feed winter and summer.

For the carp crunching enthusiast Bonds Lake at 2 acres might be our smallest lake but it is a no holds barred carp venue with hard fighting single-figure carp demanding strong elastic and plenty of stamina. Pleasure bags to over 400 lb have been recorded with 200lb match weights regularly taking top honours. Pole, waggler and feeder all work on the day with pellet, corn and meat always reliable baits. Whether fishing to the margins, the pole line or the island, expect good reliable sport throughout the year.

 

The most recent addition to the Bury Hill portfolio is Temple Lake, an out and out specimen venue packed full of huge English carp. Purpose dug and stocked with carefully sourced English pedigree fish, the average weight is a staggering 27 lb with a dozen or more different 30-pounders including ghosts, commons and linea’s. Growth rates are phenomenal, and each carp is carefully monitored through electronic tagging chips to ensure effective fishery management. Available strictly on a membership scheme which also permits members to night fish the Old Lake, Temple is set to produce several 40-pounders in the very near future.

 

Top Tip

Many big carp have been caught on both the Old Lake and Temple within a foot or two of the front of a swim platform. Watch for match and pleasure anglers throwing leftover bait off a platform and fish it a few hours later!

 

 

Bury Hill Fisheries, The Boathouse, Westcott, Nr Dorking, Surrey RH4 3JU

Contact: Tel: 01306 877540       
Fax: 01306 877545       
Email: info@buryhillfisheries.com         

Day tickets (2006): Adult £11, Concessionary £8, 2^nd and 3^rd rods £5.50 each, Evening tickets £5.50 per rod.

Membership: A limited number of Season Tickets are Specimen Carp Memberships are also available.

Directions: The fishery is just off the A25 Dorking to Guildford road less than 1 mile from Dorking, signed with a brown tourist sign on the right as you leave Dorking.

Website: www.buryhillfisheries.com

Tackle shop: On site at the Boathouse

Old Lake (75 pegs), Milton Lake (30 pegs), Bonds Lake (20 pegs).

Matches: Club bookings are available, but must be for a minimum of 10 anglers.

Restrictions: No access to the fishery before the arrival of the bailiff.

Barbless hooks only.

All nets must be dipped before fishing.

No keepnets except for organised matches.

No particle baits except hemp, sweet corn and carp pellet.

A standard size unhooking mat is compulsory for all forms of fishing.

Anyone fishing for specimen carp or predators must have a large unhooking mat and large landing net.

Method feeders and fixed leads are banned.

Predator fishing is only permitted between October 1^st and March 31^st.

Under 16s must have attended a Predator Clinic course before fishing for predators without an adult.