TANSLEY MILL POND OR MIDDLE POND
I thought it might be of interest to some members if over the next few months I gave a little bit of history on the club waters and how to fish them with a peg by peg break down. I feel a good place to start would be with the clubs oldest still water Tansley pond.
Tansley Middle Dam Early1900s
Tansley Middle Dam 2015
Middle dam was built around 1783 to power scholes mill which can be seen in the postcard above, The iron shuttle gate seen in the picture is still present today.The mill pond provided water power to drive the machinery.The water in Tansley had the advantage of containing little lime as it had flowed over the acidic rock Millstone Grit. This made it suitable for treating cotton. The pond is fed by two brooks which are Knabhall brook and Oaksedge brook both are contributories to the river Derwent. A pipe carried water into scholes mill from the pond to power the water wheel.
The pond is said to be stone lined and i myself have seen evidence of this on some pegs. In the late 1950s the pond was dredged and the older anglers in the club and local residents have told me the tale of how a digger which was doing the dredging got stuck in the silt, whether they got the digger out or not i will never know. All hard to believe i know considering the pond now has a average depth of about 3 feet, but when it was first built the pond was 15+ feet deep.
I have been a resident of Tansley for 37 years and fishing Tansley pond for about the last 25 years. Without the work of the club the pond would be vastly overgrown and probably about a foot deep. The only major difference for me in the last 25 years is that the oaksedge brook end was once heavily populated with reeds, but these have all died in the last ten years. The fishing is definately better i am pleased to say. The club constantly fights a battle with the pond leaking down the old coach road, but we think that we have cured the problem with the removal of several trees.
I have fond memories of this pond growing up in Tansley and spending a lot of time there with friends has a youngster. We never caught a lot, Perch seemed to be the main spechies 25 years ago, but my friend always went for the Carp in the reeds fishing luncheon meat, He actually named two of the Carp. one was called Larry a leather carp of 7lb+ the other called Lional 8lb+. Not big, but back then they seemed big.
Tansley pond is now a well established mixed coarse fishery and responds well to most tactics.
Spechies
Roach,Perch,Rudd,Skimmers,Bream,Chub,Tench,Gudgeon,Ruff,Carp,Crucian Carp.
Depth
Average depth is about 2.5 feet
The best methods to fish are Pellets, worm and castor, Breadpunch and a groundbait/maggot approch. Float fishing is the best method due to the pond only being 3 foot deep.
PEG 1
This is the first Peg if you access the pond from the Coach road end. Its about 2 feet deep. Its a peg with limited options really with it being a little narrow. A good approach is to fish under the far bank to target the carp which can be seen basking in the Sun. You will catch at about 4 metres, but don't expect to bag up, you are ore likely to catch Perch and Roach here.
Peg 2
This Peg is a favourite with pleasure anglers, mainly because of the reed bed to the left. Carp are always present in the reeds, often they are caught on floating bread or worm. This Peg is wide and Skimmers are often caught in the open water, Pellet approach works well in the summer for the skimmers. I would say this Peg is a little inconsistent, someday you will catch and the next day you will struggle, I put this down to it being towards the end of the pond.
Peg4
This Peg again benefits from the reed bed which is on the right of this Peg. Carp are caught from the reeds. This Peg also benefits from a ledge at about 13 metres which always holds the odd skimmer.
Peg 5
This Peg features a island at about 10 metres, Perch can always be caught up to the island and fishing past the island always produces Roach and Skimmers. This Peg is very open and wide. Waggler can be fished here and can produce good weights of Skimmers and the odd Bream.
Pegs 7/6
Very similar to Peg 5 but without the island. There is also good cover from the trees on these Pegs and fishing short always produces few bites in the summer. Open water at about 14 metres always responds to pellets and chopped worm.
Peg 8/9
Both these Pegs are in the corner of the pond. Like any island Peg it is always a good holding spot for fish. I would say that Peg 8 is the slightly better Peg because the island is slightly closer at 14 metres. Fishing close to the island is always the best bet, but be aware of the hidden snags near the island. Fishing at 10 metres always produces fish also. Peg 9 is a good waggler Peg if you like to chuck the waggler.
Peg 10
One of the widest Pegs on the pond and always hold a few fish in the open water. One of my favourite ways to fish this Peg is by chucking the Waggler to the far bank. I have caught a lot of chub doing this and lost plenty of Carp. Feeding heavy with castors or maggot to tempt the fish out of the far bank bushes.
Pegs 11/12/13/14 THE BUSHES
Over the last 15 years these Pegs have probably produced the most fish. Carp,Chub,Tench are all caught from fishing tight over to the bushes. The last few years have seen these Pegs not so productive. You can catch down the middle but fishing long is the best bet. Chopped worm and castor is the best bait, with lucheon meat also producing Carp.
Pegs 15/16
These Pegs are very shallow. Lots of Carp are always present and can be seen basking in the shallows. These Pegs benefit from having a island and now have a large fallen tree in the Peg. Good nets of Skimmers are achievable from this Peg fishing past the island.Not the best winter Pegs but very good in the summer months. Floating bread works well.
Peg20
One of the best Pegs on the pond with lots of options, whether it be fishing to the island,under your feet, or tight to the inside bushes. This Peg responds well to all methods.
PEG 21
This Peg is the deepest part of the pond at 3 feet, fishing under your feet will produce Carp,tench and Perch. Its also one of the widest Pegs and the open water will always produce skimmers. This is a excellent winter Peg due to its depth.
Pegs 22/23
These Pegs are very similar to Peg 21 and catching close in next to the bushes always produces bites.
Peg 24
The near bank always produces a few Pech and Carp. Lots of bites to be had in the open water but can be inconsistent due to it being near the end of the pond.
