SOUTH West Lakes Trust have announced some exciting news for Upper Tamar fishery in 2017 with the stocking of some fantastic large fish for the first time.

In September, 30 carp, weighing between 20lbs and 32lbs, will be stocked. This is the start of a longer term stocking plan that includes a further 25 carp in the same weight range in 2018 and 40 more weighing over 20lbs in 2019. This follows on from the stocking of around 250 smaller carp, transferred from some of other waters, weighing up to 20lbs over the last three years to add to the already good stock of fish that reside in the 81-acre venue.

In recent years, catching a fish over 20lbs or 30lbs from the venue has been a challenge, but that is set to change!

Upper Tamar forms part of the Tamar Lakes complex of fisheries with Lower Tamar only half a mile down the road. At 35 acres, Lower Tamar is home to a large head of 20lb and over fish with several fish over the 30lb mark and it’s growing very quickly.

The new fish are being sourced from local supplier Lana Springs Fish Farm in Devon. Owner, Chris Mannifold, has a great reputation for supplying premium carp.

Ben Smeeth, the trust’s angling technical lead, said: “I am delighted to be working with Chris on this exciting project. The majority of fish will be Mirrors to complement the large population of Commons already in the lake. With a really good weed growth providing a rich source of food, these fish will continue to grow with the aim of producing a large head of 30lb and 40lb fish within the next five to seven years.”

Upper Tamar has produced a lot of runs for anglers in the last few years with some anglers catching as many as 25 carp in a single 24-hour session. There are so many swims to choose from, each giving a different perspective of the beautiful lake and each presenting different challenges and features.

Updates to the new fishing website www.swlakesfishing.co.uk will mean people can view a map of Upper Tamar fishery including swim names before even visiting.

There is also a Facebook page ‘Coarse Fishing South West Lakes Trust’ for catch reports, pictures and information about coarse fisheries in the South West.