tilgate lakes

[asp383]

i've mentioned it quite a few times in my threads, so i thought i'd post some pics of tilgate 2 lakes at tilgate park in crawley.

situated in the borough of tilgate, the park & lakes are run & controlled by crawley council. it's only 5 minutes from the m23 (pease pottage exit) just off the a23 at the broadfield stadium roundabout. the resturaunt & bar has closed, but there is a cafe in the walled garden in the park & local shops at the bottom of the road to the park. there are 2 carparks, the main 1 is £3 entrance, but you can park all day. the other is free, but closes just before dusk. fishing is all year round & costs £8.50 for adults (full day) or £4.20 (1/2 day), collected by crawley council appointed baliff on the bank (although you don't usually see him during the week). toilets are in the walled garden & animal centre, but both are quite a walk. there are plenty of bins around the lake's footpaths & is kept tidy. there aren't any rules as to what equipment or baits you can have.

silt lake:
approx 1/2 mile circumfrance, this is the smaller of the 2 lakes. a shallow lake, i've been told it's only 4-5 feet deep, with the deepest part just off the north wall, but provides very good bags from most pegs. plenty of roach & skimmers, bream, tench & carp (so i've been told). as far as i'm aware, there isn't a best peg, but i do have my prefered peg. lots of margins, overhangs & shelter for the fish to hide in & a small island (submerged, but trees growing on it). this lake does fill up very quickly on weekends & holidays, as it's ideal for kids, beginners or if you want a good bag.

looking from the overflow on the north wall along the east bank & onto the south bank.

looking from the overflow on the north wall to the south bank

looking from the overflow along the north wall to the west bank.

lookinf from the overflow along the north wall


tilgate main lake:
approx 1 mile in circumfrance, this main lake is very popular with the carp guys, although quite a few fisherman i've spoken to say you need to spend more than a day if you can't get on the better pegs (i've known of 1 guy to spend 4 weeks solid there) with depths of up to 15 feet & maybe more, there are schoals of bream, plenty of tench & carp & i'm sure plenty of others.
i've been told the best pegs are from the boat house on the west bank to about 1/2 way along the north wall. there is a shelf off the north wall for about 10 feet, then drops to main lake depth, i've been told to avoid the area near the overflow though as it's very poor for fishing.

looking from the west to east banks

looking from the west bank to the north wall (other side of the trees)

looking from the overflow on the north wall along the east bank to the south bank

looking from the overflow along the north wall to the west bank

looking from the east bank to the north wall & west bank (any of the pegs in this pic are supposed to be the best)

looking along the east bank to north wall


hope this is of help to anyone that wants to try either of the tilgate lakes.

[fishypaul]

nice looking lakes there mate

[asp383]

thanks paul, the whole park is nice to just walk round, what with the lakes, walled garden & animal centre, plus a fenced play area, so ideal for the whole family, or fishing.
there were some idiots pretending to fish the other day whe i took the pics, but they kept going off on a monkey bike & doing doughnuts on it between the trees ... not very responsible or safe considering the number of mums enjoying the sun with their toddlers, i was with my girlfriend & our little girl too, so not wanting anyone getting hurt or things to be spoilt in the fishing department, i phoned the police to report them, but guess what ... even after best part of an hour & still no sign of the police, eventually 2 of the lads then left their mate to continue fishing while they pushed the monkey bike home. i'm sure it was a 1 off as i've not heard of or seen anyone else acting so irresponsibly there.

[Fishing Forum Admin]

good lucking water must be something big in there

[BaggieRich]

Cracking photo's there Asp, looks like a top place to spend a few hours.

[asp383]

thanks guys, it's definately worth escaping to tilgate when i can! was toying with going tomorrow (looked best day on weather forecast) but the girlfriend has decided i'm taking her & her mum into town tomorrow, so will keep an eye on the weather for later in the week lol

[pingu]

its a damn good day out if got little kids , yet to fish there , thanks for the pics asp

dave

[asp383]

you're welcome dave, thought i should put them up as i keep going there lol. you're right, can spend the day there just walking round the garden, animal centre & lakes. shame the pub/resturaunt closed though.

[glen-thecoursefisher]

next time get some pics of some fish ( that wil be nice mate looks like a good place to go! :)

[HyperRod]

Yer that looks real nice.

Hope you had really good day with the daughter and girlfriend, shame those idiots where on the monkey Bike.

Nice one for ringing the police, shame they didn't respond.

Rather Typical..


Great Regards,

Rob.