A brief history
On the 5th of October 1999 the Northern Ireland Carp Anglers Society was formed, at this time Carp were not deemed indigenous to Northern Ireland. To cut a long story short, carp were netted by the Ministry in Willis’s Lake Belfast therefore proving their existence of the species in Northern Ireland.
Even after this discovery the society would require Governmental authority to stock carp, this was done in person by society members at Stormont House on the 18th of September 1999. It was early 2000 before the society were able to lease an old Trout Fishery in Dromore, County Down.
This consisted of three small Mill Ponds covering an area of approximately two and a half acres. Before any carp could be stocked into the venue some major preparation work was carried out by the members, after months of gruelling labour the ground work was complete and Mill Lodge was ready. On the 12th of October 2000 the first ever legal stocking of carp in a Northern Ireland water took place this consisted of twenty five fingerlings from Gurteen Estate, the next major event in our history happened in 2007 when after years of searching we finally secured another lake on the shore of Strangford Lough namely Swanhole. In 2015 we secured our third venue Glenvale in Newtownards which was stocked initially with 2-3lb fish although it already had 60 Carp up to 10lb. The members worked through the winter of 2015 to ensure that the new venue was ready for another stocking of carp between 10-14lb.
Mill Lodge Fact File
Location: Lurgan Road, Dromore, Co. Down.
Lake Size: 2.5 acres approx.
Lake Features: Lots of Islands and overgrown margins to keep you guessing, the lake contains some weed and has an average depth of 5-6ft.
Difficulty Rating: Moderate although multiple captures are possible.
Fish Stocks Over the last 4 years a major restocking programme has seen 188 new fish between 2-5lb plus 13 ghosties approx 2lb introduced to augment the existing stock of approx. 150+ carp average size 11lb. In 2015 we stocked three fish around the 20lb mark. Other fish include Perch, Eels and Tench it also contains specimen Roach and Gudgeon.
Best Methods: Good quality boilies.
Swanhole Fact File
Location: Portaferry Road, Greyabbey, Co. Down.
Lake Size: 10 acres approx.
Lake Features: A weedy lake with good clear margins, very productive silt beds and gravel bars make this a challenging lake, the average depth is 5-6ft.
Difficulty Rating: Moderate.
Fish Stocks300 Carp, lake record stands at 21lb, the average size of carp is 14lb. There are bigger fish seen regularly. Other fish include Rudd, Perch, Tench, Pike and Eels.
Best methods: Fishing close to the weed in the margins over beds of mixed particle and boillies.
Glenvale
Location: Mountain Rd, Newtownards, Co.Down.
Lake Size: 3.5 acres approx.
Lake Features: A dam wall with over hanging trees on the banks, fed by a river. Silt and clay bottom with a number of deep holes depths range from 4ft to 17ft.
Difficulty Rating: Moderate, but as it is a new venue only time will tell. But in the first year a number of the original carp have been captured.
Fish Stocks: 200 carp up to 14lb. Other fish include Rudd, Perch and trout.
Best Method: So far boilie and maize.