Dinton Pastures

A history of Carp Fishing over the past 30 years at one of carp fishing's hardest and most celebrated venues

Words and Pictures by Andrew 'Jock' Downes

This series of articles looks at nearly 30 years of carp fishing at Dinton Pastures, delving into the memories of some of the anglers who have made the lake so famous, looking at some of the big catches made over the years and trying to discover some of the reasons the lake has gained its almost mystical reputation for hard, weedy carp fishing.

In Episode 1 and 2, dealing with the period 1980-1996, I described the early stockings and captures of carp at Dinton, and the first days of the WSSG (White Swan Specimen Group). From 1997 to 2007 Dinton’s meteoric rise to fame seems to have followed the growth of its stunning carp.

Episode 3 – 1997-2007 - MODERN DINTON

The Carp

In the period between 1985 and 1991, Bruno put on 10lb in weight, while other fish which have reached large weights since then, also showed little early promise. In 1997, Bruno was probably the only carp in the lake to have reached 40lb, yet today 11 years later the lake holds up to 18 different carp over 40lb, 3 of which are now consistent 50lb+ fish. How have so many Dinton carp reached such extraordinary weights in a relatively short time? Is it simply down to bait or is there an underlying quality to the natural environment of Dinton Pastures?

Some of the other lakes on the park have produced huge carp without any bait, so the conditions at Dinton are probably ideally balanced for growing big fish. The ecological balance of the lake probably did not reach full maturity until the mid/late-90s, about 25-30 years after the lakes were dug for gravel. The clay, sand and gravel mixture of the soil, and the vegetation in and around the lakes, has lead to the perfect balance of weed, nutrients, insect life and water quality. When you add in the extra food from bait then you can see how so many Dinton carp have reached such huge weights.

However, sitting as it does 30-40 yards from the river Loddon, the lake is susceptible to flooding events, and in July 2007 several feet of filthy floodwater connected the Loddon to the lake for about 24 hours, flooding out of the fishing lake and into the other ponds and lakes nearby. A handful of quick thinking Syndicate members who realized what was about to happen, were able to prevent numerous carp escaping into nearby ponds and ditches, but inevitably a few got into the adjacent lakes. There were a couple of big floods in the early 90s, so perhaps this explains what happened to the fish which went missing in the late 80s and early 90s.

A decent number of carp have been caught from Dinton since the floods, including a few of our prized big fish, but water quality and colour have still not returned to normal. We know that one of the nearby ponds still contains a couple of biggies from the fishing lake, but identification of these fish is not straightforward. In time these will be caught or netted and returned to their true home. A good example of this is Apple Slice which John Coxhead caught from Middlemarsh Pond and returned to the fishing lake. The fish is now happily back with its fellows and I was fortunate enough to catch her in July, when she looked fine and healthy.

Most of the above chapter was written in Autumn 2007 for the original series of articles in Advanced Carp Fishing, so now as I modify these articles in autumn 2008 for the Hinders Web Site I can tell you that Dinton has still not really returned to its pre-flood condition. Weed growth is still not back to normal and some of the fish have not returned to their pre-flood weights and feeding habits. For example Bruno was caught for the first time this year in September at just 41lb, when she would normally be at something like 46-47lb. Other fish have shown similar weight loss and incredibly Dinton does not contain a 50 pounder at the moment, despite there being 3 fish in the lake that were regular 50s pre-flood. Other fish have admittedly been caught at normal weights, such as Bernies Linear at 47lb+, but in general I think the fish are still suffering from the ecological damage done by the floods.

BRUNO AGAIN!

The late 1990s and early 2000s were an exciting time at Dinton. The fish were packing on weight and several big carp joined Bruno over the 40lb mark. Angling became more and more intensive and night fishing tickets became highly prized. My own angling at Dinton at this time was infrequent, but in late August 1998 I was fortunate enough to catch Bruno again at 40lb+. Really, there were plenty of other fish in the lake I would have preferred to catch, but it was still a satisfying moment as I had now caught the fish as a 20, 30 and a 40. People sometimes ask me why I still fish Dinton after all these years, but I don’t know if there is an answer to that question. I still enjoy every session, there are plenty of fish I’ve never caught, and the fish’s behaviour is constantly changing. The other Syndicate members are in general a great bunch of lads, many of whom I consider personal friends, and I will continue my membership as long as I enjoy my Dinton fishing.

Method Fishing at Dinton

One of my mates had done really well fishing The Method at various places like Yateley and Frimley, and he’d caught loads of big carp in France too. I thought The Method would be ideal at Dinton. Just one ball of groundbait sitting in a hole in the weed should have been ideal. Its hard to overfeed the fish with The Method since everything eats the groundbait, but The Method never really lived up to its early promise on Dinton. On one occasion I landed 20 bream and 4 tench in 3 days at Dinton, all Method fishing with scalded trout pellets. In about 3 years trying on and off with The Method from about 2001-2004 I managed to catch a few 20s and a couple of 30s, and after a lot of perseverance I managed a 38lb 4oz mirror at the back end of the season one year.

For some reason the Dinton fish were also very susceptible to foul hooking when using The Method. I foul hooked 3 fish this way and on one occasion that was memorable for all the wrong reasons, I landed the Twin at a colossal 45lb 12oz. When I looked in the net and saw what I’d landed I nearly crapped myself, but the joy turned to bitter disappointment when I found the hook about 3" outside the mouth. Although there was a hookmark in her mouth it didn’t look like it was mine. Perhaps I had hooked her fair and square and the hook had just slipped, but I don’t think so.

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