The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Can anyone name all the pitches at Redmire, in the order that they circle the pool. It's not a quiz I would just like to know, I'm not sure if any of the original pitch names have been changed or how many there are.

This might help Mark although it was printed in 1982.

Willow pitch (Walker's), In-Willow, Climo's,The Stile, Keffords, Bramble and Climbing island, No.1 Pitch, Top Pitch, Hilton's(35 pitch), In Between pitch, (Two Down and One down ??), Open pitch/Greenbanks??, Fence Pitch, Stumps, Pitchford's, Evening pitch, Oaks, Cranstouns......There are disputed areas, but this is the main jist...I think.

Mark

Here is something I posted on the Redmire site a while back, the question asked was "What is your favourite swim?"

Well I had to write a little about each of them.......

Ok, mine would have to be Keffords, and purely from a fishing perspective. Great centre channel to fish to which gently shelves in the shallow area of the lake and gives you the advantage of being able to rise early and get to the shallows before anyone else…….it will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first swim I fished and the first one I caught from.

But, and I’ll contradict my first post here, there are so many fantastic swims all around the lake that have such quality it’s nigh on impossible to choose a favourite. To start with Walkers Pitch, well no introduction needed here, and although the mighty Willow is no more, it’s still probably the most famous swim on the entire pool. I’ve not fished the swim as yet but would like to at least spend a couple of nights in there next time. In Willow is another wonderful swim that commands a fair amount of water fishing off the back of the Evening pitch’s water, a nice deep centre channel which, I should imagine would fish well during the darker hours of the day. The Willow and In Willow would make good social swims for two friends due to their location, giving the advantage of not being too far away from a mate if anything spooky was to occur in the night.

Next along we have Climo’s and the Style, I like to think of these swims as stalking swims, in summer they do tend to close up a bit making erecting a shelter fairly difficult, but I don’t say that in a bad way, only last October I stood in The Style floater fishing and being driven mad by Carp eating all but the hookbait, but what an enjoyable afternoon it was….In the winter these swims open up a tad so small brolly type shelters will fit.

Keffords I’ve already spoken about and next up we come to the islands, Bramble, Wasp and Climbing. Bramble was the swim Chris Yates caught his first ever carp from the surface of Redmire during A Passion for Angling. I always tend to leave this swim alone as the Swans nest close by and I prefer not to disturb them. The last of the islands is the Climbing, so named as the tree adjacent to the platform is easily accessible. It was whilst up this tree I noticed the spool of my reel revolving and the result, a beautiful winter twenty.

The extreme shallows are worth a look whilst you’re down that way, fish can often be seen cruising with their backs out of the water looking catchable, that is until you cast and they disappear!!! Yes it's very shallow but if Chris Yates can catch a fifty in just 18 inches of water it certainly wouldn't put me off. I’ve never been able to walk the whole way around the top end of the pool so usually retrace my steps back along the bank back to the dam, but before we reach the dam we have what are quite possibly the best Gudgeon swims in the land, The Boathouse and The Dam. I’ve seen hoards of these little monsters whilst not fishing, but turn up with a rod and half a pint of maggots and there nowhere to be seen. My next trip will be the Gudgeon trip, I hope to spend at lest a couple of afternoons staring at a float waiting for it to dip and dearly hope to catch my first from the pool.

Cranstouns is a very interesting swim. I can see massive potential here as a stalking swim, maybe baiting up during late afternoon and revisiting early evening to see if there are any takers. Not a swim I'd pitch in personally but I know some who have and they have done well. I like to separate stalking swims and night swims and class this as the former. The Evening Pitch speaks for itself, fishing wise it has produced some wonderful captures over the years and gives a nice central view of the lake with plenty of water at your disposal. Cranstouns and The Evening Pitch are also very close to the toilet should supper not agree with you. But it’s the stories of ghosts and other such eeriness that this swim is better known for in recent times. I have spent a couple of nights in this pitch both fishing and at work parties and must say that the spirits must have taken a liking to me as I was left well alone.

Pitchfords is a swim close to my heart as the great man the swim was named after is one of my favourite authors. I can relate to everything he writes and his style always brings a smile to my face. As we all know, there is controversy surrounding whether or not he actually did capture a Carp from Redmire, perhaps we’ll never know, but what he did was to bring us such wonderful literature that inspired many including the late great Richard Walker. I’ve not fished Pitchfords yet but it is high on my list. Stumps I had a little dabble in back in October, albeit a quick set up just to find fish elsewhere and moved shortly after. Having said that, it’s a swim I hear a lot of good things about and I believe produces some great hauls. Next up is The Fence Pitch, recently opened up there is ample room here now to stalk for an afternoon and is a great place to say hello to any passers by being quite close to the path.

The Open pitch, or Greenbanks as I wrongly called when I fished there, is in my top three. One sunny autumn afternoon I stumbled across some feeding fish and soon found that the rest of my session was spent watching and fishing for them. The spot was only a few rod lengths out and in the perfectly clear water I could observe all that was going on, and I’m sure so could the carp as the only time I received any action was as darkness began to fall and early in the morning. A little tight for a bivvy a brolly would be more suitable for this swim, and it shelves forward slightly so you do tend to sleep on a bit of an angle. But, when you see what I did that day, you’ll put yourself through anything believe me!

The next few small swims are, again, ideal stalking swim that the fish love to frequent during the day, but they do tend to be spooky at this end of the lake so getting a bait into position can be tricky. The bank culminates in Hilton’s pitch, One I really have my eye on for my forthcoming trip. I watched the Carp spawn here this year and that alone was a joy in itself, but the fishing possibilities here are a bit special, perhaps a daytime swim but I could think of nowhere better to spend a few days observing and admiring the wonderful view of the whole of the shallows.

So, excuse me for waffling on for so long, but as I can’t really decide which is my out and out favourite, I thought I’d write a little about them all.

SK

Ps. In between In Willow and Climos is where Inghams used to be, its a bit overgrown now but in winter you can still see a bit of the old swim front half submerged.

Also, there is a small gap opposite the main gate to the car park, the gap is between large tree trunks, you'll not miss it. This spot is where Jack Hilton caught his forty, although I'm unsure as to whether the swim was actually given a name.

I agree with Gurn. :thumb:

I'm going to fish the Toilet pitch if I ever get to fish Redmire.... :chuckle:

No toilet there now just an empty shed. You could turn it around to face the water and sit in it like a wooden bivvi I suppose. :chuckle:

Wooden Bivvi, now that is an idea. :think: :chuckle:

J.T wrote:Wooden Bivvi, now that is an idea. :think: :chuckle:

Yes. Turn up with a flat pack garden shed!