Venue information
WHEN you pull into Tylers Common car park and look out across the fishery it looks very similar to any other commercial complex that you may encounter.
In front of you there are three normal looking pools called (from left to right) Wagtail, Willow and Ash.
And on the day that I arrived, each one was surrounded by more than its fair share of anglers enjoying a day’s rod-bending sport. This is always a great testament to how popular a fishery is. Anglers tend to ‘vote’ with their day ticket money!
However, it is only when you have a walk past these first three pools and look over the brow of a hill at the opposite end of the fishery that you realise how VERY different Tylers Common is from any other commercial complex. I have certainly never seen anything like it.
The strange thing about Tylers’ forth pond, called Horseshoe, is that every single one of the 60 pegs has an island in it, well two to be exact as you sit facing the gap between the islands.
Yep, you did read that right. The lake has SIXTY islands in it!
The other strange thing about Horseshoe is that each peg is also built on a promontory which allows you to fish into the margins, 45- degrees behind you!
This bizarre concept was the brain child of fishery owner, Tony Pearson.
“When I dug the fishery in 2000, I wanted to produce a complex that not only provided good sport for the many pleasure anglers in the area but was also the perfect match pool. I wanted a lake that fishes well but which is also very fair, regardless of which peg you fish,” Tony explained.
“So then Tony, where do you suggest I fish today?” I asked him.
With a slightly wry grin on his face he replied, “I’d fish on Horseshoe, but I’d be hard pushed to recommend a hot peg!”
Getting down to the waters edge, I decided to fish in peg 35. My only reasoning was that it was the closest swim to the path. This may sound lazy, but I wasn’t looking for a swim with a feature in it – they all had one!
The other, not-so lazy reason I’d plumped for this peg, was because Tony had fired a few pellets into it an hour before my arrival.
“One of the best ways to get fish going,” Tony said, “is by feeding a few 4mm pellets little and often.”
To start the day I first set up a pole. This I was planning to fish in open water about 9-metres out over the pellets that Tony had catapulted in.
The second tactic I was planning to use was a small groundbait feeder cast tight to one of the island margins. Plumbing up I found that the bottom was very flat with a depth of four-foot, this added to Horseshoe’s claim to be one of the fairest venues in the country.
To start the session I put a caster on the hook and alternately catapulted 4mm pellets and casters into the swim every two minutes. This seemed to be a good choice because a few minutes later the float buried out of sight and I was soon guiding a feisty 1lb brown goldfish to the net. By continuing in this vein, as instructed by Tony, I was very soon filling my net with hard-fighting brown goldfish and fin-perfect roach and buttery rudd.
After fishing for a couple of hours I had landed almost 20lb of mixed fish - it was great sport. Taking a quick break I went to chat to a few of the regulars and soon met William Benson fishing on Willow. William usually fishes Tylers once a week and in all his years of fishing the complex he is yet to blank.
“In summer I tend to fish corn or meat and I regularly break the 100lb barrier. In the colder months maggot and caster get you among the fish. Tylers Common is a real bagging water,” he said.
Another one of the regulars is 73- year-old Ernest Gunner. Ernest loves the place so much that EVERY DAY he travels 45 minutes by train from his house in the East End of London. He then gets a bus to the edge of Brentwood and completes his journey by walking nearly three miles uphill and across country!
Back in my swim I decided to give the feeder a go. My set-up was simplicity itself. The feeder was attached to a running link with a quick change connector. This would allow me to change the size of the feeder if I needed to increase or decrease the payload. The hooklink was a two-and-a-half foot length of 3lb line and a size 16 hook. This was baited with two casters and the feeder was filled with casters and pellets.
Unsurprisingly, the feeder had only just settled before the first bite came – a stocky carp.
Regular casting again brought biteafter- bite, when I packed away as the light faded I’d not only had a great day but I was absolutely exhausted. Now that’s evidence of a top water!
MY VERDICT
Tylers Common is clearly a very good, well planned fishery.
It is easy to find, as it is only a mile or two from the M25, however it is still far enough away from the motorway to maintain reasonable tranquillity.
The pools have a great diversity. Horseshoe is not only unique but is a fair venue offering good sport in every peg. Willow and Ash pools are ‘black’ with silver fish, tench and single-figure carp and Wagtail keeps the specimen hunters happy as it contains plenty of double-figure bream and carp to 25lb.
On the downside the fishery has yet to fully mature and on-site facilities are fairly meagre as there is no café, or tackle shop. There is a clean toilet. The only other negative concerns disabled access. This I felt was quite poor as the fishery site was fairly flat but there is not a hard path round the lakes. The only way to get bankside is ‘cross country’, while this is fine in the dry it will be difficult when wet.
This aside, Tylers Common is a very good, prolific and unique fishery that’s well worthy of a visit.
