Fishing

Windmill Lodges, Saxtead Green

Located near Framlingham, Ipswich this mature lake is situated on an old strawberry field, now beautifully landscaped and surrounded by 7 luxury log cabins. The lake itself is exclusive to those who reside at the one of the log cabins, giving anglers of all abilities the chance to relax in the serene Suffolk countryside, whilst indulging in their passion for angling.

Following two visits here in late March and late May we found the fishing at this intimate water to be great entertainment. Any discerning angler would note on approach the vegetation features. There is plenty of reed cover on the outside bank and plenty more on the inside bank of this donut shaped lake, providing hideouts for those weary carp and tench. The colour of the water is immediately encouraging with evidence of fish burrowing the bed for food and churning up the clay to give a rich clouded appearance.

Over the two visits we found the fish were feeding confidently on a wide variety of baits, ranging from red maggot, sweetcorn, pastes, pellet and luncheon meats, generally on hook sizes 14 & 16, float fishing off the bottom. Though we preferred to fish with pole in hand to 7m on inside bank, middle swim and far bank the rod and reel approach with light tackle should still prove successful, though watch for over casting into the far bank!

28th & 29th March
Despite the weather turning wintry with rain and high winds the fishing remained consistent over the two days, ranging from small silverfish to common and mirror carp up to 1½ lbs and accumulating over 40 fish in total. We fished far bank predominantly, onthe bottom with a “little & often” feeding approach using 2mm pellet as loose feed and red maggot hook baits.

31st May
This late May visit proved a lot warmer than the previous visit with temperatures topping 200C, weather more favourable to tempting the larger fish. Sticking to similar methods we used in March the fish still responding to a wide variety of baits, though the quality of fish improved slightly. Many more young carp came to the fore reaching nearer the 2lb mark, even hooking into some elusive yet hard fighting small tench. In the early summer sun there was further evidence of the larger fish, two decent sized mirror carp were seen cruised the far bank, we guessed these 5lb plus specimens were more interested in spawning locations as they wouldn’t be tempted with our floating dog mixer biscuit. Overall the day was wholly entertaining with our keep net weights fast approaching the 15-20lb figure in total.

To summarise our visits we would report the fishing to be a consistent sport for experienced, amateur and even youngsters starting out with their parents whilst on holiday. With a good head of fish in and around the 2lb mark and a small number of fish potentially hitting 6lb plus there is plenty to offer the pleasure angler. With access limited to the cabin residents there is enough water to hone those developing skills whilst the rest of the family enjoys the hot tubs and local attractions, there is also the possibility of landing those big bonus carp and tench to make your visit even more memorable, good luck.

Kind Regards