15 September 2021
Wild Carp Trust trustees Peter Whipp and Fennel Hudson have just returned from a fishing pilgrimage to the famous wild carp lake at Chiddingstone Castle in Kent.
Peter reported: “Chiddingstone is a legendary wild carp water and it has a perfect setting overlooked by the castle and is only a short walk to a traditional English pub. I’d not fished there for some years, so it was nice to take Fennel there for his first visit. We arrived as early as possible (fishing is permitted from 7am to 6pm) and the sun was still low enough to make the lake seem atmospheric with light streaming through the trees. We saw carp straight away, especially at the southern end next to the lily pads, and three other anglers were present. Out in the more open section of the lake, the carp seemed to be mostly hugging the far bank (fishing is only permitted from one bank) which made reaching them with centrepins quite difficult. So I opted for a fixed spool reel and float tactics, while Fennel opted to stick to his favourite centrepin and floating crust method – allowing the wind to drift his bait to the fish. The fishing was tough going, with the fish being line shy and easily spooked. Clearly they get a lot more pressure than the wildies in Wales. But we did see a fish on the bank – what a glorious creature it was – and positive confirmation of the quality of the strain of wildie in Chiddingstone. Fennel and I will be back, leading a Wild Carp Trust trip there next year.”
Wild carp fishing at Chiddingstone Castle is available via a day ticket: £10 payable on the bank or into an honesty box by the car park at the end of the day.
