Keston

[Velossembly]

Having searched all 13 pages of “Other Pools & Lakes” I was quite surprised that Keston Ponds get no mention. Maybe I’ve missed it?

Anyway, Keston was the first place that I ever wetted a line, using a borrowed “tank aerial” rod and a StrikeRight centrepin reel. That would have been in June 1957. I caught nothing, even though I could see all those small rudd swimming about, just the other side of the lily margin at the dam end of the Top Pond. In fact, I caught nothing all year unless you count the number 410 bus from Bromley.

There must be thousands of South East Londoners who fished there over the years. Any good stories?

BB.

[JW1]

Never fished it myself but seen plenty of people fishing there and never saw anyone catch anything bigger than 6 inches long, so maybe your experience was typical?

[Keston]

Hi BB
Were you still fishing at Keston from the late 60's through the 70's ? Chris Haswell , Steve Edwards and Ken Rowley were often seen at the middle pond . I lived about 6 miles away and particularly in the school holidays I was dropped at the ponds to fish quite often . You could set your watch by Chris Haswell turning up before and after work in his old van .
Some great Roach in the middle pond.
Kind regards
John

[Velossembly]

I regret that those names were not known to me Keston. At the age of 13, my Raleigh "Trent Sports" was taking me to the River Medway (33 miles each way!) and by 1961 I had passed my motor cycle test (on a Lambretta!) and was riding a 1938 Velocette MSS down to Yalding and the pits at East Peckham. In those days, a three pound bream was the catch of a lifetime.

When fishing Keston Ponds I really hadn't a clue and neither had the old bloke who introduced me to the pastime. With the bait dangling eighteen inches under a cork float fished double-rubber, nobody used wagglers then, it was a miracle that we had so much as a nibble in that crystal clear water. However, on one weekend a couple of older lads, who were probably in their late teens, were fishing down in the bottom right hand corner of the Top Pond. They were throwing bits of bait into the water which we thought was very strange, if not downright irresponsible. They were also fishing with the hook set just off the bottom. By Jove! they had probably even used a plummet!

When they packed up and emptied their keepnet it was full of roach; one of which was as close as I have ever been to a two-pounder. Honestly, that fish was as thick across the back as my wrist. What bait were they using? Bread flake of course. The World and His Dog were throwing bread into those ponds every weekend for the ducks and swans.

Why on earth were we wasting our money on maggots?

BB.

[Keston]

Hi BB
Forgive me , those anglers I mentioned went on to become quite well known .

Those spring fed waters were indeed often crystal clear .

The Middle pond had some fine roach in it . As a youngster I recall fishing the boathouse in the middle ponds and was meant to be carp fishing , I cobbled together some flat tackle with a plain section of peacock quill and a far too large hook . I recall my father coming round to see what I was doing and I felt a reprimand was coming , but when he the lovely big roach falling to simple lift method he was approving of the fun I was having .
John

[Velossembly]

I wish someone (Fred J Taylor preferably) could have instructed me on using the Lift Method back then!

One sun baked summer evening in the late 1950s I was catching nothing at the Top Pond but was able to see a carp pushing its way into the lilies at the shallow end of the Middle Pond. It was so fat that it had to turn on its side in order to make its way into the shallows. I guess it was grazing the snails off the underside of the pads. Of course no one was fishing anywhere near.

I was spellbound until a "grown up" arrived and announced that he was going to have that one out later on. Even at my young age I thought "Oh yes, you wish!".

The third or Bottom Pond was fenced off and strictly private. There were stories of huge fish in it but that could be said of any forbidden water. I seem to remember that it was owned by Wellcome Pharmaceuticals.

BB.

[Mr B]

Well! (Today at 1pm)
After reading your post and with a common interest I thought I would drive by and have a look to see how things were. ( Its a part of my job)
I parked up and had a very interesting chap with a man named Pete ( he was ok with me posting)
A very colourful character with a passion for Angling and good sprinkling of Anglo Saxon language when he was talking about folks catching and taking fish from the pond.. He had been fishing there for over 40 years.
He really did know allot about its history and knew all about the fish it contained.
He knew lots if the Carp by name. His best 27lbs.
He pointed out Moby Dick to me, a big ghost type of Carp laying quietly in the margin minding his own business with the wind and ripples hiding him.
He had two rods out for carp, both in the bottom and a rod with a dead bait (Joey Mackerel) for Pike.
As we were talking he had a take on his dead bait.
After a nice battle he landed it with the aid of his young fishing companion who cam running round.
What struck me was the care and consideration once he landed it.
From his net to his walled unhooking mat, and then insisting in "getting in" to return it..
Opps, is that the time, have got to get back to work now!

I'll be back to have a dangle myself.

Mr B

[Mr B]

Having searched all 13 pages of “Other Pools & Lakes” I was quite surprised that Keston Ponds get no mention. Maybe I’ve missed it?

Anyway, Keston was the first place that I ever wetted a line, using a borrowed “tank aerial” rod and a StrikeRight centrepin reel. That would have been in June 1957. I caught nothing, even though I could see all those small rudd swimming about, just the other side of the lily margin at the dam end of the Top Pond. In fact, I caught nothing all year unless you count the number 410 bus from Bromley.

There must be thousands of South East Londoners who fished there over the years. Any good stories?

BB.

Sorry... I meant to copy you in to my last post with the photos seeing as you started the thread.

Mr B

[Velossembly]

All good stuff Mr B, especially the photos. The gentleman called Pete would have beed horrified to know how pike were treated (i.e. murdered) in the 1950s.

Oh yes, the carp: assumed in those days to be quite uncatchable owing to the wide lily margins. It was “common knowledge” that 15 B.S. line was necessary in order to land any carp through those lily pads and all of us just knew line of that strength would be so thick that no carp would go near it. This was years before hair-rigs and none of us had read Dick Walker’s “Still Water Angling”.

There are tench too and I happen to know, now, that they tend to feed on the bottom! Even after the passing of 65 years, I reckon that bread flake, punch or paste would still fool those tench.

BB.

[Mr B]

Glad you enjoyed that.
As an add on...
talking about the lilies on the pond and the submerged stalks....
Pete uses 18lbs line.... he tells me anything less and you will loose the big carp and says, there's.... "Nuffin worst than a one of these big Carp trailing a' ook and line around" ( I am not mocking his regional dialect, its mine too)
The ponds are supposed to hold...after a bitbof research..
"Today the two top ponds are popular with fishermen who catch a variety of coarse fish some of considerable size.  Carp (over 20lbs),  pike (up to 17lbs),  tench, roach, bream, chub and rudd are the most common fish caught.  There are also freshwater crayfish and prawns."

And as a sad add on two Sturgeon that were released in there a couple of years ago.
One was caught a few weeks ago.
The pond is crystal clear and is fed by the spring at Caesars well... (were the Romans settled for a while) The source of the River Ravensbourne which Finds its way through suburbia and towns to the River Thames.
Mr B.
And a photo of our young apprentice videoing the release of the Pike