“THE MEAD” has gone from a 3 acre bowl shaped clay pit with a ridiculous average depth of 23ft to a NOW, 3 acre gravel/clay pit with an average depth of 5-7ft with a very pleasing new shape without losing its charm. A few of the marginal bushes and some small trees fell into the lake when I drained down but these have been replaced with new young trees around the site which will mature and blend in perfectly. The mead has 5 purpose built swims, which protrude out into the lake, + the luxury cabin with its decking and its swim making 7 swims in total. Each angler will command a little under ½ an acre of water each to fish but the most important part of the engineering works have occurred beneath the water. I have had a central Island constructed which has already been grassed and planted with cherry trees and rhododendrons which will look stunning when in blossom. Beneath the water I have had installed around 8 substantial features comprising of gravel bars, humps and troughs. As you know underwater features make for fantastic fish holding and catching areas and as soon as half the carp were re-introduced into The Mead on the 16 November 2009 they were seen topping over the features within 2 days after some OM1’s and Trout pellets were introduced. Like people, I believe that carp enjoy congregating around features and objects which is why so many get caught around Islands and off or close to features. I have left one area in front of the luxury cabin completely untouched, it ranges from around 6-9ft in depth and has a huge blood worm bed with a huge bar going around it with a couple of light snags left in so this swim, for those who book the cabin, will become THE HOT SPOT on the lake.
As It was
Historically, Olivemead Lake was created in the 1960s.
The lake has a maximum depth of 26', and was originally let to a local syndicate whilst in private ownership, until it was further developed and restocked after 2001 to become one of the most sought-after private carp syndicates in the south-west. I took over ownership of the lake in November 2007 and further re-stocked the with 71 carp from Lana Springs all weighing between 10lb - 14lb, these fish are stunning and being crossed with Orchid Lakes and Horseshoe Lakes carp they have the potential to go over 40lb+. I then had a further re-stocking of 19 carp in February 2008 all weighing over 20lb+ from Heather Fisheries. The lake now holds over 215 carp of which there are 70+ different 20's and 7 known 30's, 3 of which are commons. There are also a very large head of specimen Tench with the lake record now going over 12lb and with Pike upto 30lb and Roach, Rudd and Perch going over 2lb The Mead really is a fabulous fishing venue for the specimen hunters out there.
The lake covers approximately 3 acres, and stands within its own very picturesque wooded grounds covering just over 7 acres in total. Being located close to the M4 and other major routes it is ideally situated for visitors from all over the country.
There are 13 swims which are very clean and have been designed to suit the needs of the modern carp angler, including Oak, Brambles, Woodland, Blackberry, The Snug, Motorway, The Bay, Island, Shelter, Cabin, Waterside, Point, and Deep. All swims are large and clean and covered with cotswold stone and bark chippings and we have 2 large double swims.
For those bivvied up anglers there is a separate shower and toilet block or you can choose to hire our luxury fishermans cabin.
The lake is protected by security gates and has infra red cctv, and there is an anglers car park plus a footpath leading all around the lake and to every swim. There is a manager available 24hrs per day.
Please click here to view maps of the area and pictures of the swims
