Directions

It should take around 30 minutes to get there from Bishop's Stortford. From BS go north as if you were travelling to Stansted Mountfitchet on the B1383. Stay on this road until you reach Newport. Turn left onto the B1038, singposted Clavering/Buntingford.Stay on this road for 2 miles. On your right is Poore Street, signposted Arkesden (1.5 miles). Stay on this 1 mile until you reach a T-junction. Turn right, signposted Duddenhoe End, Audley End and Saffron Walden. Stay on this road for 2 miles and Rockells Farm fishing is on the right. Park next to the embankment and the lake is above you.

A little bit about Rockells Farm lake...

...it was excavated around 40 years ago and is stocked with carp, carp and carp. There are tench and lots of silvers as well. It is not very deep and is fed by a small spring at the far end of the lake. The carp are extremely confident feeders here, and I know it is where many beginners have caught their first fish. The most fish caught in one match is over 600lb worth, and most matches have to be stopped midway through to weigh in because their keepnets literally overflow. Almost like they have 'halftime'. A good bag of fish is around 50lb - 200lb depending on the time of the year and your ability.  

 

 Carp - There are surreal amounts of carp in this lake, averaging the 1-3lb mark and are mostly common carp. As it's quite a long way away and I don't visit this venue often, I like to have a bit of fun and try different techniques that you wouldn't try on other venues, because at the end of the day you're not going to blank at Rockells Farm  - because if you do you're doing something seriously wrong (unless it's the first time you've ever been fishing). Therefore, to tell you the truth I've only ever used normal float/feeder tactics once each at Rockells Farm.

 Every other time I've been I free-line - I either surface fish or touch leger - two methods that work really well here in the height of summer and are two very exciting methods indeed. For both tactics I use 8lb line straight through a size 12 Drennan or Mustad hook. This takes almost no time to set up and ensures that my bait's in the water within minutes of arriving, because time always flies by when you're at Rockells. 8lb line is clearly  sufficient and will allow you handle any situation easily. These fish don't seem to be bothered by line on the surface or big hooks, so don't have presentation as your upmost priority. Use bread crust as a hook bait because it's bouyant and stays on the hook better than bread flake. You can use dog biscuits on a bait band as well, but bread is a cheaper and easier alternative to use. As for touch legering, use a large pellet, corn, spam, worm, squeezed bread or paste and make sure it's securely on the hook. In addition, make sure your swim is fed heavily and the carp are competing for the bait as soon as you throw it in, this ensures your hook bait will get intercepted at mid depth rather than sit on the bottom all day - where the carp won't be, especially on a hot summer's day. To touch leger, simply cast out - not too far - and bring back a few inches of line, simply rest that line in your fingers. Bites are just tugs, but make sure the tug is powerful not just a nudge you can only just feel. To strike, gently lift the rod tip upwards, if there's no resistance, let the bait fall again. If there is resistance, you know the rest.

 In July and August myself and a friend always go up there once or twice for a session. Once we're catching them quickly, we give each other challenges - for example we picked the most obscure baits to catch them on, I was given a chunk of a KitKat and I gave my friend a tomato from my sandwich. Believe it or not, we both caught a carp with those baits, on the right is the carp I caught with a KitKat!