Mark Pitchers’ lake to be open access from 2020
The big news this week comes from none other than Mr Carpy himself, Mark Pitchers. The popular YouTube star and Fox consultant has decided to open up his own Wainstones syndicate water to exclusive weekly bookings. Currently the big fish venue is closed for maintenance work and won’t open again until it goes open access in 2020.
The famous northern venue was created by Mark in 1994, and many of the early issues of Carp-Talk featured the development of its life. Mark treated the lake like a garden pond but eventually, with his fish growing to very large sizes for the region, he opened it up as a private syndicate. After many successful years as a syndicate, with several thirties present, disaster struck a year ago when the fishery suffered a fish kill. Over 20 of his prime fish died as a result of a super aggressive bacteria invading the fish’s gills and starving them of oxygen. Amongst the casualties was one of the jewels of the lake, Big Mac at over 37lb. The lake was immediately closed as a result.
Commenting on recent events Mark told Carp-Talk: “After the events of the summer, the last few weeks have been very busy. With the lake still closed I set about transforming it into something I could be proud of. This involved a total drain down and the removal of 25 years of silt build-up, re-sculpting the bottom and re-landscaping the surrounding land. Although this was a mammoth task, it was the only solution. The hope is that with less silt and leaf matter entering the water there will be a reduced chance of any bacteria build-up in the future.”
While all the work is taking place, the surviving fish have been moved to a brand new stock pond next to the original lake. The survivors include a handful of thirties, plus several twenties and a few doubles. These fish have been added to from quality suppliers such as VS Fisheries, Fishers Pond and AJS Fisheries. Mark now hopes to produce the fishery of his dreams and return the lake to its former glory.
He continued: “All the fish in the stock pond will be removed and placed in their new home as soon as the work has been carried out. I know it may seem like a stupid thing to say, but I’m almost glad of the fish kill. Don’t get me wrong, I was sick to my stomach, seeing so many of my stunning fish belly up and I still wish I’d noticed the problem sooner. What I mean is, back when I dug the lake 25 years ago, I was a little naïve. I am now much more knowledgeable, and believe I am better placed to run a fishery. This totally fresh start gives me a chance to build my ultimate dream and make it a reality.”
Having fished some amazing waters in his time as an angler none of them has struck a chord as much as Rich Wilby’s amazing Spitfire Pool in Norfolk. The atmosphere surrounding that intimate little pool, not to mention the stock, is just incredible and Mark aims to use that fishery as his benchmark. He said: “I’m using Spitfire as a template for what I would like my fishery to become. I don’t expect it to produce a 50lb-plus common, but then again who knows. I just want it to feel as amazing as Spitfire does, where every fish is special and your knees knock at the thought of what could be on the end of your line following every take.”
Due to open in 2020, Mark expects his fishery to be bookable on a weekly basis in five-day blocks, Monday to Friday. Prices are yet to be confirmed, and Mark will limit the number of anglers to a maximum of just four on the two acre pool. Only time will tell what will come of this venture, but we can’t wait to see how it all turns out. With Mark as enthusiastic as ever, we’re sure it will be a massive success.
