Anglers looking for the bigger fish at Astwood are probably best advised to head for Bluebell Pool, indeed, the attractiveness of this water and its head of Mirror Carp - which now run to just over 30lbs - are starting to attract the interest of a small number of specimen carp anglers.

Similar in size to Smokey Joe's at about an acre, Bluebell Pool has 24 pegs and an island at the far end which usually attracts the 'early birds' as the carp are often to be found cruising round the island and in the margins.

The match record here was set by Peter Bailey who beat the previous match record of 143lbs which he set with a net-busting 156lbs.

The commons and ghosties can also give good sport, although at up to 20lbs and 24lbs respectively, they do not run as large as the mirror carp which were introduced when the fishery was first developed and now come in at just over 30lbs.

For the silver fish angler there are bream to between 4lbs and 5lbs; roach to 1lb; rudd between 14oz and 1lb; and plenty of hybrid crucians / goldfish to about 1lb which can be quite prolific when they are on the feed.

In addition, there are some Common Carp hybrids which generally range in size from 2lbs 8oz to 4lbs 8oz.

These fish, which have spawned naturally in the pool, look like Common Carp but have no barbels.

An added attraction is that there are known to be a good head of large bream to over 8lbs but for some reason these have not shown over the last couple of years.

One reason for this may be that the pool was orginally 12 feet deep throughout much of its length with a deeper hole of about 15 feet.

However, over the past few seasons a large amount of silt has built up on the bottom and this is known to contain large amounts of bloodworm which may have become the larger breams' predominant food source.

The result of the silting is that much of Bluebell Pool now runs between five-and-a-half feet deep around the island and about 10 feet deep everywhere.

Shallower water can also be found around the sides of the pool which, like Smokey Joe's, shelve at an angle of about 45 degrees to the bottom.

Those going after the carp - a great many of which are over 20lbs - are advised to use more traditional baits and techniques with good old fashioned float fishing on the bottom in the margins being as successful as anything.

Interestingly enough, big fish don't tend to be caught using big baits and although anglers can use up to two rods equally good results are achieved using just one.

Packing a selection of feeder pellets and hook samples in a pva bag should help to keep feed concentrated in a small area.

By and large, the techniques and baits which work well on Smokey Joe's do well on Bluebell with a 12 to 14s elastic and a 12 or 14s hook to a minimum 4lb line being recommended.

Again, sweetcorn, luncheon meat, maggots and, especially in winter, worm are all goo baits although floating baits are discouraged.

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