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Ashlea Pool in Gloucester was made famous by Jack Hilton in his book 'Quest for Carp' (Pelham Books, 1972). It has always had a reputation as being a water that not only held big fish - but was where 'apprentice' would-be Redmire anglers got a 'foot in the door'. In those days, Redmire Pool was still the Mecca of Mecca's and was the place to get in, if you had aspirations to fish Redmire - Ashlea was the first water you had to obtain membership of - and catch from. I don't know if it is true or not but it used to be said that Tom Mintram (then controlling the Redmire Syndicate) used to take prospective Redmire members from the Ashlea list. It's probably just one of those Carp Fishing Myths....

Ashlea Pool - from atop the Climbing Tree off The Dam, 1980

Close Season Working Party (hence the lack of lilies.....see later pics!)

(Hilton's Platform to right of picture)

I first got offered membrship of Ashlea when I was Kent Regional Organiser for the British Carp Study Group (BCSG). I was at a BCSG function and Peter Mohan (then controller of the syndicate) came up to me after the meeting and said,

"How would you like to fish Ashlea?"

Would I!......It was one of the top five waters in the country at that time and to be offered membership was a real honour; I accepted immediately.

The first time I set eyes on Ashlea I wondered just how I was going to fish it! I had read Jack's book of course and got a pretty fair idea of what the place was like - but nothing prepared me for the lilies which covered the whole of the Pool. Oh those lilies!......I can remember setting-up my gear for the first time thinking,

"Where the devil can I cast out amongst this lot?!"

Where indeed?!...

The 'form' in those days was to try and find a hole amongst all the vegetation and fish down through it. If the place you had chosen to fish was near a 'climbing tree' then so much the better because you could spend most of your active time on the water up in the topmost branches on the lookout for fish, as soon as you saw one it was down the tree, pick up a rod and after it. I can't say the technique worked for me because I didn't catch anything - in fact I never did catch a single fish at Ashlea, giving up in frustration after two seasons of fishing. At least it was a comfort to know others more able than I had aslo given up without success.

There were two rotas on the Ashlea syndicate - the 'top bananas' and the rest of us. Kevin Maddocks, Lenny Middleton, Alan Downie, Geoff Booth and others were in the 'top bananas', Geoff Kemp, Tony Howells, and myself (amongst others) were  'the other lot'. Needless to say Kevin's rota caught all the fish (they were the better anglers) and after I had finished with the place (exhausting myself and becoming totally frustrated) I found out how they were catching them.....

In order to get a bait down through the lilies, Kevin devised a plan (which he naturally kept to himself) of PVA-ing a bait to a very heavy lead and 'bombing' down through the lilies from a great height. This worked and Kevin caught all the big fish including 'Humpy' and 'Lucky', although I don't know if this was in the same season; he achieved his ambition though of catching three twenties from different waters in the same season - totally unheard of in those days - the other waters being Savay and School Pool.

Typical Ashlea fish-spotting. You could walk round and round the Pool for hours and not see anything - and then one would appear from no-where. Inevitably you'd be completely unprepared for its appearance......

Ashlea was not so much a place to go and catch fish but was an experience. I can truly say I met some of the finest anglers this country has ever produced there and just meeting with them and fishing the same water was an education. What I learnt did not enable me to be successful at Ashlea but the experience gave me something which I don't think I have ever had on any other water - an intagible something which I can only describe as 'knack'. Sorry to be obscure, I think what I'm trying to say is, if you get the chance to fish a major syndicate yourself give it a go; don't think only the 'best' anglers get a shot at these waters - I discovered myself there are all sorts of reasons why syndicate controllers want you on their list, one of wich may be they don't think you'll be much of a threat to the fish!....Get in there and prove them wrong!