Lake design

Oneabung · #1 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 12:22 PM

Well as a few of you will have read on here I am in the process of designing and building a fishery from scratch...

I'm not going to build just a "hole in the ground" and I'm looking for advice on the depths and shelves etc... one of the lakes will be a snake type lake but loads of the snakes I have fished are all the same - six foot deep in the middle and shelving up to nothing with no noticable shelves or depth changes - question is this -

If you were digging a snake type lake what would you have and what would you avoid?

Gem · #2 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 12:50 PM

Where abouts is this lake your in the middle of sorting?

Oneabung · #3 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 01:35 PM

In a currently secret location Gem... needless to say you can see where in the country I am and I'm not building it in Birmingham!

Gem · #4 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 01:51 PM

*tuts*

Aslong as there was a good head of fish in there i wouldnt be bothered too much about depth (aslong as it wasnt 1 or 2ft all the way along). As at the end of the day im there to catch fish and enjoy myself not to inspect if someones gone very carefully with a tape measure! or if they had a few beers before digging the depths

Martin B · #5 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 02:48 PM

Isnt the very nature of the Snake lake to be as even as possible.... to give all anglers the same features and make it a fair match venue...
I would say one of the main things to remember when digging a lake, dont bank the soil to close to lake otherwise its a nightmare for fishing the pole... Willows at Decoy as a good example..
Also if its going to be match venue then you need to try and make it fair... nothing worse than a peggy venue... willow, Lawn Farm another good example.. Oh maybe its somthing to do with the name??? dont call it Willow!!!!
If I had the Cash to build a fishery I would love to incorperate a fast flowing stream for Barbel not sure how I would acheive it but I would give it a go..

Larry Teepot · #6 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 04:09 PM

we already have some of those fast stream type ones with barbel in they are called severn and teme the one is 200 odd miles long..

Martin B · #7 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 05:01 PM

thats one of those that runs down hill... init?
dont they call them rivers or somthing like that...thing of the past they are!!!

Larry Teepot · #8 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 06:18 PM

you got no hills in cambridge have ya...

Martin B · #9 (**permalink**) 7th June 2007, 08:32 PM

You got me on that one Larry..
Although, we do make our own normally around our lakes... init!!!

x-man1 · #10 (**permalink**) 8th June 2007, 08:09 AM

Hi Simon, if you want a good example of a snake to look at take a trip to Sessay and have a look at Cedar lake. It is match only so you would have to fish a match to plumb up and appreciate the way ledges etc. are incorporated. but it really is impressive and about as fair a venue you will get. you can never guess which peg will win, even in winter when fish are notorious for favouring to live in just a few pegs.