Sookholme Ponds are located in Sookholme, which is close to Shirebrook in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. If you are familiar with the area, it’s next to the Shirebrook Woods on the site of the old pit. Some people may refer to the venue as the Three Lakes.
Information on the ponds is fairly hard to come across, it doesn’t feel like a venue many people are familiar with. After fishing a couple of matches on the big pond, I can offer some insights. If you like fishing larger open style waters, this is a nice change to your typical snake lake style venues. It certainly feels more picturesque than a commercial that is built next to a busy road with loads of electricity pylons on the horizon. Despite that, the pegging is fairly tight, which can make for some interesting conversations with other anglers. The lake is partitioned across the middle with a series of plastic tubs that are all fastened together with a rope. A rough guesstimate on the depths would be that in the middle, the water is around 12ft deep.
The waters are stocked with a wide range of species. There is a big head of carp, F1s and crucians. There are plenty of silvers too, with ide, roach, bream and perch. Some of the ide are huge, if you get those going you could put a big weight together.
If you are planning a trip, then adjust your tactics to suit the time of year. In matches, I think most people will try to target the carp – even on the coldest of winter days. During the summer it has the potential to be a cracking pellet waggler venue. The fish come in close enough to be caught on the pole. If you are preparing rigs in advance, you will probably need to set them up on a top 4, otherwise they might not be long enough.
A typical sized Sookholme carp that took a pink wafter on the drop!
