Anyone thinking of going to Arnfield beware of the following....

we went yesterday after seeing an article in a fishing magazine and reading their website. When we arrived we paid and just before starting fishing we were shown a piece of paper stating that to preserve the numbers of larger fish no fish over 5lb could be taken

Now I think £20 for 2 fish is a touch excessive especially when the only takeable fish are 2lb in weight. Fish at arenfield seemed to be either 2lb or 5lb+

compare this to £18 for 6 fish at Carsington or a more common £15 for 3 pretty much anywhere else in the UK

Lot of disgruntled anglers who wont be going again on the banks, not just because of the cost but also because of the way the bag limited is sneaked up on you.

visited here once when working near by, Once reading the prices on arival for a full day on a boat with 4 or 6 fish kill+c/r I had to point out how expensive the place was. I asked the manager if he'd give any discount for a booking of 5 boats(10 rods) yet the price he offered it was still cheaper for us to go to rutland/eyebrook/carsington. weired way to run a fishery in this day and age.

P.S. the manager/owner feeds the fish in the res with floating pellets at a set time in a set place, That came from his own mouth,he said it was his way of maintaining the weight on the fish. (i think he's treating them more like a petting farm than a fishery) Won't see me there !!!

I have to disagree guys, I suppose its what you value in a day out.
Personally I fish a lot of comps and soon end up with a freezer full of Trout, so when I go pleasure fishing I tend to C&R if available.
What Arnfield do supply is a huge head of fish/acre, I think there in excess of 8.5 tons stocked already this year into 40 acres, thats a lot of fish.
This manifests itself in terrific sport in the right conditions, I fish for sport not to fill my freezer.
The last time I was there I took umpteen fish in the 3 to 5 pound range , as well as 6 fish over the 5 pound cap,into double figures on dries!!!, however you have to remember these are the fish people will target to take home as he has capped the take home weight at 5lb.
I think the 5lb cap is sensible because there will then be larger numbers of the bigger fish which I personally really enjoy catching, not eating.
I get round a lot of fisheries and inmho this is a top class water with great fish stock/quality and facilities. No I arnt on the staff.
A full day on the water for two guys from sun up to sundown with a boat and motor is still comparible with the other reservoirs, yet you know you are always covering fish and can have some spectacular sport.
Dont slate me for favourism or anything like that , these views are my opinion only.

Sounds as i thought a stock pond.
I comp fish to,but im sorry mate this is a place for the beginer out and out.Covering fish all the time is great for spells but far from practice from any comp situations anglian/lexus/national trials to pick a few.
Surely most of the skill in comp fishing is locating the fish sorting the method all through fishing the dead water to find the best spots.Arnfield your never of the fish so god knows what comps you fish mate???

Prior to this years ticket alterations at Rutland a c and r ticket was £15.00 , therefore £20.00 for two fish , bear in mind it could be two up to 5lbs for a fiver doesn,t sound too harsh to me. Reading the Arnfield blurb what i dont like is this 8 hr and timed ticket jobs, if I go for a day out then i like to fish until I have had enough not when the clock dictates, however I will try Arnfield.

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its not how you tie your flies , its how you tease your flies

It depends what you want fellas, a sport ticket at Gailey £17 no fish, Brenig 6 fish £17 but you can't compare the two. You can't have a go at the bloke for filling a 40 acre water with a good head of fish and then taking care of them. Esthwaite is £25 for 4 fish but what a place. Don't you think its good to have the choice. Cut the bloke a bit of slack he's got 6 months to make some money and at £20 for a whole day...it costs me that to take my lad to the match for an hour and a half.

it was as much the underhanded non mentioning of the weight cap that annoyed me

IF the advert/website or anything would of said 2 fish <5lb for £20 then that would of been fine, I would of just gone somewhere else BUT to turn up have your money taken and then be told about the limit is ****

as to those with freezers full of fish, each to their own some people like to catch and take fish to offset the cost of the ticket - not here tho!

The all-day ticket is from 7 am until the fishery closes, and believe me that's late. I've fished there twice in the last 2 weeks and the sport there is fantastic. A few here criticising without trying (as usual) regarding how it fishes. If I may explain. I went there last Monday (bank holiday) and caught 32 fish from a boat on klink hammers, emerger buzzers etc, but at the same time there were boats there who had 4 between two anglers.

I fished it again yesterday and had 26 fish (again to dries) and again there were boat/bank anglers who weren't doing so well, even blanking.

My point is, yes there are a lot of fish in there, but if you think you can just go there and throw a lure out (or anything that the fish AREN'T feeding on for that matter) your greatly mistaken. It's as challenging as any water can be, but if hard fighting large fish are your prize, very rewarding.

Another thing that I found immensely surprising, and refreshing, I asked Steve (the owner) what time the boat had to be in, you know what he said to me? Anytime really, you can fish until it's fully dark, and boy was it worth it, the sedges had stared hatching about 9 p.m. and the place was alive with fish (yet again they weren't gimmies) I took my boat in at 11 p.m., and I wasn't the last! So you get 16 hours fishing for a £20 ticket!

What really hacks me off is when a fishery manager puts a lot of work into making his fishery really successful, and people still find something to moan about.

As for prices, another place I fish quite regularly - Brenig - well it actually works out cheaper fishing at Arnfeild!

As for the moan about having to put the larger fish back, stop being so bloody selfish, take a camera and take a pic. What the hell is the point in taking a double home anyway?

All my fish were returned to the water. After all, I have nothing to prove.

The prices for this lovely fishery are as follows;-£20 for 2 fish up to 5 lbs and £30 for two fish one of which can exceed 5 lbs. This fishery is full of good conditioned fish and most of them exceed 2 lbs. there are the odd ones under 2 lbs but they are few and far between. There are a lot of very big fish still in the reservoir waiting to be caught. Fishing is not just about how many you can take but the quality of the fish, the challenge of catching them and the amenities of the fishery. Yes it is a bit pricy but not as expensive as the ones down in the south of England and its just as good. As the weather improves so the hatches are growing and this can be a great top of the water fishery_ its not just a lure chuckers paradise. Give it a go and have a great day out.

Welcome to the forum.

Jim

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