This attractive landscaped feeder reservoir for the Oxford Canal with its fitted wooden walkway has quickly established itself one of the Canal and River Trust's most popular and interesting fisheries.

A mixed coarse venue, it is heavily stocked with carp from 3lbs to 27lbs, tench to 7lbs, Crucian Carp to over 3lbs, perch to 3lbs, bream to 7lbs, pike to 27lbs and a large head of roach to 2lbs.

There are also some chub which have been caught to 4lbs 8oz, although these are rarely seen.

With 100lb-plus nets of carp commonplace, bream bags in the 70lb range and roach weights of well over 20lbs regularly taken, Clattercote is a popular venue with those who know it and can master its many moods.

Most matches are won with carp and bream nets whilst 2007 has been a particularly good season for the bream with catches in excess of 70lbs being reported, even in matches.

Clattercote is said to fish best when the wind is blowing towards the dam wall whilst generally the favoured pegs tend to be 90 - 120 with maggot, sweetcorn and trout pellets being best for attracting and catching the fish.

The most popular techniques when fishing Clattercote are waggler fished in about eight feet of water about a rod length out for the tench and silver fish and traditional feeder, Method Feeder and increasingly the Bagging Waggler for the carp fished in open water.

Traditional feeder techniques also work well for the bream in open water.

Most popular baits for non - carp anglers are bread, maggots, pellets and all the meats with sweetcorn being particularly effective, especially during the summer months.

Carp anglers generally tend to stick with recognised carp baits such as boilies, paste baits, sweetcorn and meat whilst white chocolate boilies were proving very successful in 2007.

A lot of anglers who particularly target the carp tend to fish the pegs at the top end of the reservoir, particularly Pegs 40 to 50, using large baits to avoid the roach, tench and bream.

When going for the carp it is recommended that anglers use a minimum line strength of 10lbs straight through to a maximum Size 8 hook.

Strong line is essential as once hooked many fish tend to bolt towards the bank, trying to find refuge under the staging and in the weeds where they can easily break free.

Said to be at its best between June and November, groundbait is allowed at Clattercote but not keepnets apart from during matches when two nets are required.

As one would expect from the shape of the reservoir, the deepest water is at the dam end where it runs to about 25ft near the outlet.

The dam wall is a very productive spot and is particularly popular with night anglers because it is flat, level and ideal for erecting bivvies.

At this point floating baits such as dog biscuits are particularly effective.

About a rod length out from the sides of the reservoir the water is betweenfive and eight feet deep, running to about 12 feet in the middle.

At the top end the water is naturally shallower at about five feet and this is a favourite haunt for tench and both a very pleasant and productive part of the reservoir.

Also at the top end of the reservoir are three conservation islands which provide obvious features to fish towards.

Lake Rules