Caravanning and Fishing: Get hooked

Caravanning and fishing go together like cheese and crackers. Our freelance ‘angling-caravanner’ delivers some top tips on where to go and what to do

Written by Mark Williams

Whether you are already an angler, are a fishing widow or just fancy trying your hand at casting a line, there's no finer place to go than a caravan site.

Picture this; as the first rays of sun kiss the caravan windows and the dawn chorus wakes you gently, you feel the urge to pick up a fishing rod. You carefully slide out of bed and slip on your clothes, grab your fishing tackle and, within two minutes, you're casting a float on to the shimmering gold of a lake at sunrise. No long drive or hassles with buying tickets and the promise of a hot cuppa brought to you by the bank. Depending on your partner, obviously.

That's what anglers want; the chance to grab a few hours' fishing while the family sleeps on, and perhaps again when they're watching to EastEnders. Better still, an opportunity to teach their children how to fish, in the knowledge that if their attention wanes, they can just saunter off with a football and leave dad to it.

Caravan site owners know this, and it's the reason so many sites sport a lake or stream. Some take their fishing visitors so seriously; they even offer angling tuition and courses. Angling and caravan holidays are made for each other.

Types of fishing

You can roughly divide angling into three kinds, namely coarse, sea and game fishing. The most popular by a significant margin is coarse fishing.

'Coarse' fish are fish that are more or less inedible, caught for sport on bait in rivers and lakes. Of these fish, the most popular are the carp – they can grow enormous indeed, and thrives in almost any lake or pond. You need a coarse fishing rod licence (£27 a year, from the Post Office or on-line) no matter where you go coarse fishing.

Sea fishing is self-explanatory but can be fishing from the shore or going to sea on a chartered boat to catch fish, almost all of which are edible. Most people's first fishing trip is to catch a few mackerel on a hand-line at the seaside. You do not need a license for sea fishing.

Game fishing is fishing for 'game' fish – trout, sea-trout and salmon. In the main, people catch these fish on fishing flies and other artificial baits. The country is dotted with 'put and take' trout fisheries into which they stock trout for you to catch. But you can, of course, fish for these fish in rivers – though this can be very expensive. You need a game fishing rod licence (£72 a year) to fish for salmon or sea-trout, though a coarse fishing permit covers freshwater trout.

Research your site!

Though a lot of locations list fishing as being among their luxuries, not all locations offer fishing.

Those with a lake actually within the site boundaries have this as a private lake for their guests, though some make a small charge to fisherfolk. But those with a lake or river bordering the site do not necessarily own or control the fishing – commonly, a club or landowner has the fishing rights, and charges a fee for fishing.

We have also seen sites which sport a 'fishing' symbol only to find out that they mean that fishing is available locally, not on site. Always ask the site for details before booking if it is not plain as day in their literature.

Some of this fishing – particularly game fishing – has to be pre-booked, as there is limited space, so always check directly with the site before booking your holiday. Also, check what type of fishing the site offers because you can't use the same fishing tackle to catch coarse fish to catch game fish, and vice versa.

Sites offering fishing tuition often flag this up in their literature and on their website, but if you want to hire fishing tackle or a fishing guide, ask anyway – while the site may not directly have such a service, it may know someone locally who can provide tackle and teaching.

Finally, sites with sea fishing cannot 'own' the fishing, so it's free, but use Google Maps or an OS map to check that the fishing is nearby – again, some sites add the fishing symbol meaning fishing 'isn't far away'...

Want to go fishing for the first time?

There are a handful of caravan sites which specialise in fishing holidays, and many of these not only have a small fishing tackle shop but can offer tuition. In fact, some are fisheries with some caravan pitches, not the other way around.

If your chosen site doesn't have these facilities, our advice is to get some tuition locally, before you leave, remembering that there's not much point learning coarse fishing then going to a site which has sea fishing.

Google 'angling tuition' and you'll get a huge list of options. Take a look at the Angling Trust list of tutors on-line (see Fact File below). Alternatively, talk to someone who you know goes fishing – they might offer to take you. Or perhaps visit the nearest fishing tackle shop and ask how to get started; this latter option obviously gives you the opportunity to get your starter kit as well.

We're all led to believe that fishing is a simple question of putting a worm on a hook and bunging it in the water. It's that easy. But, it isn't, and a professional tutor will be able to get you catching fish within minutes, instead of spending days and weeks wondering how to use all that fishing tackle.

Above all, please don't take your kids fishing if you aren't confident of catching something. Adults understand that it's a good day even if you catch nothing; children do not. To them, it's like losing every point in a tennis match for three hours. You will put them off fishing for life. If you take your children, make sure they cannot fail to catch!

Already an angler?

If you're already a keen fisherman, booking the right site to suit your expertise may not be such a problem, though there are some wrinkles which will help you get it right.

• Most on-site lakes and ponds especially stock with moderately-sized carp and tench, and it's unlikely you'll need hefty carp tackle to catch them. Read the literature carefully and, if it's ambiguous, call the site manager to ask the stamp of fish you are likely to encounter.
• With bigger lakes and natural waters like lochs, it's often a bit trickier to get information, particularly when another landowner or club controls the fishing. But these can be fantastic places to fish, as the general public may not have access to them. Make an effort to find out the main quarry species before you go.
• Pick times which give you the best opportunity to catch. For example, sea-trout fishing is a midsummer activity, and night fishing far and away the most productive. Winter and spring bring floods to rivers and could make your fishing holiday a wash-out. Don't forget that rivers have fishing seasons! Choose your timing carefully.
• If there's a lake or river right on site, you have the ideal opportunity to pre-bait a swim – i.e. to begin feeding the fish, so they gather in one place, looking for food. Don't pass up this opportunity, but get up early; if you don't, you could get to your spot to find someone else is 'poaching' all your hard work. The only solution is to be polite and see if they'll move, or leave a note in the swim to say you've baited it!
• Sea fisherfolk note; you won't get a better opportunity to be fishing before the sun is up, and Dawn is far and away the most productive fishing time. Sea fish are HIGHLY seasonal, so make sure the fish you want to catch are available on the season you visit. You're unlikely to catch bass in winter or cod in summer at many places.

Great Fishing Sites

Sites which specialise in fishing

Eye Kettleby Lakes

Melton Mowbray LE14 2TN

• Charge £5 a day, no night fishing, eight lakes
• Qualified angling coach on site, £15 for two hours
• Can hire equipment
• Anglers' clubhouse on site

W eyekettlebylakes.com

T 01664 565900

White Acres Holiday Park

White Cross, Newquay TR8 4LW

• Massive complex of 11 lakes on site, two off-site
• Every type of coarse fishing, with lakes for beginners and specialist lakes

W parkdeanholidays.co.uk

T 0344 335 3450

Narborough Lakes,

Main Rd, Narborough, North Norfolk PE32 1GF

• Four large, established lakes
• Offers coarse and trout fishing
• Can provide fly fishing tuition
• Newly-refurbished touring pitches with hook-ups, and new shower block

W narfish.co.uk

T 01760 338005

Manor Farm Fishery

Great North Road, Lower Caldecote, Biggleswade, Bedfordshire SG18 9BB

• With 18 newly-built electric hook-ups, a tackle shop and a huge choice of different lakes to fish. Manor Farm at Biggleswade, just of the A1, is a fishing destination as well as a caravan site.
• It offers professional tuition and an excellent choice of waters for all levels of expertise.

W manorfarmfishing.com

T 01767 317835

Sites with coarse fishing

Woodland Water

Willoughby Rd, Ancaster, Grantham NG32 3RT

• Five established lakes, two large
• Range of coarse fish, catering for beginners and experts
• Night fishing allowed on specimen lake

W woodlandwaters.co.uk

T 01400 230888

Meadow Lakes

Hewas Water, Saint Austell, Cornwall PL26 7JG

• Four fishing lakes on site, FREE for residents to fish.

W meadow-lakes.co.uk

T 01726 882 540

Fields End Water Caravan Park

Benwick Road, Doddington, March PE15 0TY

• Two well-stocked lakes and decent facilities

W fieldsendfishing.co.uk

T 01354 740199

Sites near good coarse fishing

Boye Meadow Caravan Park

Upton Upon Severn, Worcestershire WR8 0PB

• Just a short walk from the River Severn, which has excellent day ticket fishing and even some free fishing, with barbel, chub, roach and pike caught

W boyemeadowcaravanpark.co.uk

T 01684 592799

Hurley Riverside Park

Maidenhead, Hurley SL6 5NE

• Pet-friendly park right on the River Thames, close to Westfield Fishery carp lakes and to a great Marlow Angling Club stretch (though you have to pay for a season ticket) and close to Marlow where there is even free fishing.

W hurleyriversidepark.co.uk

T 01628 824493

Sandy Balls Holiday Village

Godshill, Fordingbridge SP6 2JZ

• Very much a 'resort' style site but with excellent touring pitches, the fishing attraction here is the country's most famous fishing river, the Hampshire Avon. Day tickets are available for 500 metres of the river in town, but the investment in a Ringwood District Anglers' Association season ticket also gets you onto the popular Royalty fishery, too.

W sandyballs.co.uk

T 0844 693 1050

Luss (C&CC)

Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8NT

• This small site is right on the banks of Bonny Lomond - one of the finest pike fisheries in the UK. Ideally, you'll hire a boat to fish it (Loch Lomond Leisure, just north of Luss, and Balmaha has a hire fleet) but the pike can be caught from the shore, especially a little round the loch where the Endrick River enters it.

W campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk

T 01436 860658

Sites near trout or salmon fishing

Silverbank (CC)

N Deeside Rd, Banchory AB31 5PY

• Fishing nearby on the River Dee, offering salmon, sea trout and brown trout fishing

W caravanclub.co.uk

T 01330 822477

Newhaven (CS)

Winterbourne, Steepleton, Dorset DT2 9LH

• Just two miles from famous Wrackleford Estate (wrackleford.co.uk), with trout fishing on exclusive beats of the River Frome

Guiding and tuition at Wrackleford are available.

T 01305 889327

Fact File

Buy your fishing licence on-line

www.postoffice.co.uk/rod-fishing-licence

Join the Angling Trust and find a fishing tutor

www.anglingtrust.net

Find a site with its own fishing

www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/campsites/campsite-finder

Eat your catch!

Not every fish is edible. In freshwater, 'coarse fish', as opposed to 'game fish', are so named for a reason; they're tasteless and full of tiny bones.

Trout are fair game (though check the fishery rules first!) but carp, freshwater bream and pike are not only virtually inedible, most freshwater lakes and rivers have a ban on you killing them, so don't. By contrast, most sea fish are edible, and many are delicious.

Three problems confront the first-timer to the joys of eating what you catch. The first is killing the fish, the second preparing the fish and the third is cooking the fish.

To kill any fish, just clout it heavily on the head with a stout stick, just behind the eyes. It may give a shiver or flap straight afterwards but don't worry; if its mouth has stopped moving, it's dead.

If you've never filleted a fish before, practise at home on some bought mackerel or trout, using a good cookbook as a guide. On holiday, settle for cooking your fish whole. To gut a fish, you need a VERY sharp knife, which use to slit open the belly, starting at its anus. Sorry this description is a little visceral.

Run the knife through the thin belly flesh as far as the gills, then using your fingers, scoop out all the intestines and other organs and pull everything out. You may also like to cut off the head. Ideally, find somewhere to bury these remains, or tie them into a plastic bag and dispose of in the bins.

Give the fish a good rinse, lay it on a big sheet of extra-strong foil, and season with salt and pepper, a big knob of butter, perhaps a few slices of lemon, and any herbs you can get. Now wrap it up tightly, creating 'seams' in the foil to make the parcel almost airtight, and barbeque it. You'll know it's ready when you see puffs of steam coming out of the parcel.

Open the parcel, carefully peel back the skin and take the fish flesh off. All fish have bones joined to the spine going in four directions, shown as a dotted line in the picture of a salmon steak for clarity, plus a rib cage. With a knife or fish slice you can simply push the flesh away from these lines of bones; don't whatever you do, try to cut straight through the fish!

What our readers say

Paul Roddis
Our 2015 Raymond James Trolley Dash winner, Paul Roddis, is a keen angler, but where’s his favourite spot?

"I go to Napton near Southam, where the three fishing lakes at Dog Lane Fishery are linked to Lakeview Camping Park.

“The site has hook-up and loo/shower facilities, and the there is a specimen lake, for larger fish, like catfish; a Match Lake with smaller fish and a carp lake.

“I love it there because the wife can relax with a book while I fish, it’s very peaceful, and, most importantly, I always catch something when I go there.”