GOODIFORD MILL
NEAR CULLOMPTON
DESCRIPTION (To visit the owners web site click HERE )
You may have read the book 'Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance'. If you have, you will recall breathing a sigh of relief when the author (eventually) concludes that 'quality is what you like'. Well, two things are certain about Goodiford Mill - I like it and this venue is QUALITY. I think that this is just about the best private fishery in the vicinity.
Goodiford Mill Fishery is a complex of five lakes, set in the most beautiful rural surroundings. The seven acre coarse lake opened for angling in June 2002 and it has been stocked with Carp (mostly doubles and twenties - but they run up to around 30lb), Tench (5lb+), Perch, Bream, Roach and Rudd. If you have no idea what size seven acres is, the lake takes about 15 - 20 minutes to walk around. The banks are planted with marginal plants and sapling trees that are a few years off maturity - this is a really lovely place to spend a day. All of the lakes are extremely well maintained and oxygenated - they are fed from the local river (The Ken). The bank sides are a tribute to the pride that the owners obviously have in the place. Mind you, if I lived here I'd be extremely proud of it too - but if it was me, I would keep the fishing to myself, 'cos I'm like that.
Succesful fishing technique here is quite straightforward - just loose feed maggots while float fishing two reds on the hook - and there is a better than evens chance of a very large carp turning up in your swim. The fish give confident bites and it is an absolute pleasure to haul out the superbly conditioned rudd and roach in the 1/2 to 3/4 pound range which are the stock fish in the lake.
And if you get teed off with coarse fishing, you can have a dabble at fly fishing - tuition costs £ 18.00 for a couple of hours, including tackle hire. You ought to book first though.
Owners telephone number is 01884 266233.
RESTRICTIONS
To keep this venue as good as it is, you'd expect the owners to have rules, and they do. Fishing starts at 0600 and the lakes can be fished until one hour after sunset. Barbless hooks only. Carp anglers must use an unhooking mat and a large landing net, no keep nets to be used. No tins on the bank, no unattended rods, no boilies.
And what about this next rule. All anglers are required to be in posession of a fish antiseptic (Klinik or similar - just over a quid at your local tackle shop). Now isn't that just one brilliant rule ? Its not one I've ever seen anywhere before. We've all had days where we have inadvertantly injured fish, so get down to your local tackle shop and buy a supply.
GETTING THERE
The complex lies a couple of miles to the north of the A 373 between Cullompton and Honiton. Leave the M5 at junction 28 (the Cullompton turn off) and take the A 373 towards Honiton. After about 2 miles there is a junction to the left at Dead Lane Cross (its the third road on the left that you come to after you have joined the A 373 at junction 28). The route to Goodiford Mill is extremely well signposted from Dead Lane Cross to the fishery - its about a mile or so down the lanes. A big thanks to the owners for the signs - the Mill really is very, very easy to find.
FACILITIES, etc.
Now this is another bonus - there are all the things you need to hand (and none of the things - eg roaming cattle - that you don't). There is a good car park and a large wooden building on site from which day tickets should be purchased before you start fishing. £ 6.00 for a single rod for a day and £ 1.00 for an extra rod. You can also get food from here (if ordered in advance - ring the number shown above) and for your comfort the owners have even provided a chilled drinks machine.
The coarse lake is the biggest - and the furthest from the car park. Having purchased your ticket, follow the path from the far end of the car park past the cattle shed (Please grin like an idiot at the penned beasts within) towards the lake that is surrounded by an electrified fence. (The fence is there to stop a local Otter with a taste for carp from getting to the lake !)
At the end of the day remember to enter
your catch details in the diary that is kept small shed near the coarse
lake. All in all, I think this is about as good as this type of fishing
ever gets. Absolutely brilliant - please give it a try.
DON’T BELIEVE ME ?
HERE IS AN UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL
In
October 2003 I received an e-mail from a reader who took up fishing three
years ago. He visited Goodifird Mill and the following are extracts from
what he wrote.
"My
son and I (14) decided to get up early and spend the day fishing. I took
lots of details off your site and we ended up at Goodiford Mill.
We
are not expert anglers. For some reason this year it has all started to
work for us. Goodiford Mill
was wonderful. We fished maggots and sweetcorn – the maggots brought a
series of medium sized Perch and Rudd, which fought like tigers. We nearly
had a couple of nice Tench (about 2-3 pounds each), but both escaped. One
actually managed to spit the hook out while in the landing net and then
jumped clear out of the net and back into the water, while my son was
trying to lift the net out. Best of all was the 4 pound common carp taken
on sweetcorn towards the end of the day. This may not seem large by some
standards but it is the biggest we have taken to date and it was terrific.
The
owner was really friendly and helpful, pointing us to the shallow end,
telling us what baits would work and chatting about the extra stock he had
coming in. We had a great time, thanks for highlighting these lakes on
your site – we will be going back there as soon as possible".