The Serpentine Pool Knypersley

Night Fishing Allowed – Book On

General Information

The Serpentine is a 17-acre lake that is situated in Greenway Bank Country Park, Staffordshire. This water varies in size and depth, depending on which part of the pool you are. The section nearest the dam is the largest part of the lake with depths going down to 26ft in places. The middle section of the lake starts to decline in width but depths still go down to around 14ft. The last section, known as the shallows, is at the western end of the pool. This is where the pool is at its narrowest, and as the name suggests, the depths, particularly in front of peg 1 are very shallow (compared to the rest of the lake), rarely exceeding 6ft. The bottom of the pool is made up of mostly silt. There are several large snags in the lake, but these do provide some excellent fishing spots. There are currently 29 pegs on the pool. These pegs are in general, quite comfortable, although access to some pegs can be awkward. Please take care when accessing these pegs. The pool perimeter is surrounded by trees and bushes apart from the dam wall which is grassed over. The trees encroaching onto the pegs are regularly maintained by the team of bailiffs who patrol the lake on a regular basis. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the pool is one of the most picturesque places in the local area and is definitely worth a visit for that reason alone.

Known Species

There are Roach running well into 3lb+, Perch touching 4lb and Bream into double figures. There is large carp present, many of which are over 20lb, with the biggest known as Big Linear. The current weight of this fish is around the 32lb mark depending on the time of year. These large carp are backed up by 80 young carp (5-10lb) stocked in late 2007. We hope these fish will very soon be well into double figures pushing for 20lb+. There is also massive pike to go at. The biggest caught going just over 23lb, but a number of experienced pike anglers have spotted a fish, that they say will go over 30lb pike. On top of all of these specimens, there are massive shoals of smaller fish consisting of roach, perch and skimmer bream. There is also a good head of jack pike making the Serpentine one of the easiest pike waters in the local area.

Directions and Parking

From Biddulph take the A527 and head towards Tunstall. Just after the Mill Hayes Road turning, (on the left), turn left into Childerplay Road. From here follow the road past the entrance to Bemersley Public Household Waste & Recycle Centre, and take the first left following the sign for Greenway Bank Country Park. This road leads to both car parks. From Tunstall, follow the A527 towards Biddulph. Just after Brindley Ford, turn right onto Bemersley Road. At the top of this road, turn right into Childerplay Road. Follow the road, past Bemersley Public Household Waste & Recycle Centre, and take the first left following the sign for Greenway Bank Country Park. This road leads to both car parks. There are 2 main parking areas to fish the Serpentine. The first is Knypersley pool car park. Once parked, a walk along the pathway is required. The path is a steady incline with one moderately steep bank to walk up. At the top of this bank, the Serpentine main bay can be seen. The path then forks off, left and right. A left turn takes you to pegs 17 – 30 and eventually leads to the shallows, whereas a right turn takes you down to the dam and is the quickest way to the pegs on the point. The other parking area is Greenway bank car park. It is worth noting that the gates are locked at dusk and are not opened until 10.00am. From the car park, the walk is quicker than the other car park, but there is a steep bank, which is OK going down but can be a nightmare coming back. This path eventually will bring you out right at the top of the shallows.

PREDATOR FISHING RULES

Braid Line allowed solely for Predator Angling.

These rules apply to all BMAC river & Lakes

Pike may only be deliberately targeted from 1st October through to 14th March (Could be 31st March where no close season applies). Perch may be targeted all year round.

In accordance with standard club rules, a maximum of 2 rods may be used when predator fishing with dead baits.(apart)from The River Dane 1 rod only

1. You may fish for predators with dead-baits and lures. Live baits are NOT allowed.

2. When dead baiting, some form of audible & visual bite indication MUST be used.

3. When baits are in the water, you must be no more than 5 metres away from your rods. If you need to leave your swim, you must wind in your baits.

4. You must always carry wire cutters and suitable long forceps or, preferably, long nosed pliers. If targeting pike both of these should be approx. 12” long.

5. You must have a landing net with at least 36” inch arms or a round net of equivalent size. The net MUST always be assembled whilst fishing.

6. You must have an unhooking mat, appropriate to the species in the water you are fishing.

7. When targeting pike you must use a minimum line breaking strain of either 15lb mono or 45lb braid.

8. When targeting pike you must use a wire trace of a minimum breaking strain of 20lb. If dead baiting, this trace must be at least 18” long and the use of an up-trace is highly recommended. If lure fishing for pike, traces must be at least 12” long.

9. Fully barbed trebles are NOT allowed at any time. Semi-barbed trebles may be used for dead baiting. Single hooks and lures MUST be barbless (crushed barbs must pass the woolly jumper test, ie they must pull free of a woollen or towelling garment without pulling threads)

10. All fish must be returned alive to the water they were caught from.

Lure fishing
1. Rules 4 to 9 above also apply to lure anglers when targeting pike.

2. All hooks must be barbless (crushed barbs must pass the woolly jumper test, ie they must pull free of a woollen or towelling garment without pulling threads)
Drop Shotting – At all times, in waters containing pike

1. Maximum lure size is 3” or it will be classed as “Lure fishing” and the rules above apply.

2. 6lb mono or 15lb Braid to be used as a minimum.

3. Strictly single hooks only, max 2/0 or weighted jig heads.

4. 10lb wire trace or 15lb fluorocarbon to be used as a minimum.

Rules for BMAC still waters
Still waters & River containing pike are – Lymm Dam 2 rod only The Serpentine 2 rod only Knypersley Reservoir 2 rod only. The River Dane 1 rod only

1. A maximum of 2 rods may be used when predator (apart) from the river Dane 1 rod only.

2. You may only fish for predators with shop bought dead-baits and lures. Absolutely no live baits are to be used at any time.

3. You MUST always carry wire cutters and suitable long forceps or, preferably, long nosed pliers. If targeting pike both of these should be approx. 12” long.

4. You must have a landing net with at least 36” inch arms or a round net of equivalent size. The net MUST be assembled whilst fishing.

5. You must have an unhooking mat, appropriate to the species in the water you are fishing.

6. When targeting pike, you must use a minimum line breaking strain of either 15lb mono or 45lb braid.

7. When targeting pike, you must use a wire trace of a minimum breaking strain of 20lb. If dead baiting, this trace must be at least 18” long and the use of an up-trace is highly recommended. If lure fishing for pike, traces must be at least 12” long.

8. Fully barbed trebles are NOT allowed at any time. Single hooks and lures MUST be barbless (crushed barbs must pass the woolly jumper test, ie they must pull free of a woollen or towelling garment without pulling threads)

9. All fish must be returned alive to the water where they were caught from. Lure fishing between March 15th and September 30th inclusive in waters containing pike:

1. Strictly NO treble hooks.

2. A wire trace must be used with a minimum breaking strain of 20lbs unless “drop shotting”.

3. Lure fishing and “drop shot methods” are allowed but the bait must be max 4″ and only have 1 single hook size 2/0 max.
Drop Shotting – At all times, in waters containing pike

1. Maximum lure size is 3” or it will be classed as “Lure fishing” and the rules above apply.

2. 6lb mono or 15lb Braid to be used as a minimum.

3. Strictly single hooks only, max 2/0 or weighted jig heads.

4. 10lb wire trace or 15lb fluorocarbon to be used as a minimum.

Rules

Victoria & Biddulph A.S and Bay Malton A.C
Permits to be shown on request to either Clubs Bailiffs.
Closed season dates 1st May to 16th June both dates inclusive.
Fishing from numbered pegs only No fishing off the Dam.
3 rods may be used along with the required amount of rod licences.
No tin cans to be used for any baits.
No alcohol or drug substances allowed at the pool.
Bloodworm, tiger nuts kidney beans & peanuts are not allowed.
No bait boats allowed.
Barbless hooks are highly recommended to be used.
Carp and pike are not to be retained in any type of net or sack.
Unhooking mats must be available and used for specimen fish.
There is no camping allowed on the country park tents are not to be used but bivvies are allowed at the poolside for fishing.
Night fishing is allowed but members of both clubs must be prebooked in giving Dates, name club etc to the bailiff Paul.
Telephone Paul Hammond (VBAS) 07791 127476.
The starting date/day of the season may be altered for general fishing to accommodate anyone attending the work parties who will receive preference to fish.
Contact Bailiffs for work party dates.