Landbeach and Waterbeach are two small, historic villages on the fen edges just several kilometers from Cambridge. Quiet and cozy, the villages might seem like the usual sleepy English places, without much happening. But here, on the edges of the famous fen lands, it’s not all so sleepy – nearby is very good fishing venue, with fantastic carp and coarse angling prospects. Magpie Lake is well known to the locals, and a perfect chance for Cambridge and Cambridgeshire anglers to explore good carp fishing on their own doorstep. The venue is set in idyllic natural reserve landscapes, with an abundance of flora and fauna all around. It is the perfect chance to experience the pristine ambience of the fen lands, while also enjoying some first class angling.
Location
The venue is located north of Cambridge, and you can follow the A10 towards Waterbeach in order to reach it. Simply turn off at Waterbeach road and you’ll reach the venue in no time. This is a single, mature natural water with quite a decent size of around 5 acres. It has 32 evenly spaced out pegs with good reinforced stands, and you are guaranteed plenty of space and quiet. The water has quality stocks of coarse fish and specimen carp, with a lot of variety for all anglers. There is plenty of good sized tench reaching 4 lbs, roach up to 2 lbs, rudd, pike, bream, and perch averaging at 1 lbs. The specimen carp is going up to high doubles, with anglers reporting some very good catches at this water. Another proof of good fishing at Magpie is their match record – 300 lbs caught in just 5 hours! There is no lack of catches here.
Features
Magpie lake is roughly moat shaped, with a large, wooded central island. It has a unique look and ambience, with a lot of hedges and fencing all around, with gardens, bushes, and a lot of various trees all around. All of this gives it a cozy, sheltered atmosphere which also protects from the elements. Either way, it is a beautiful, green slice of nature that is definitely lovely to be in. The water itself has a lot of features, the major being the very large central island. Deep margins and plenty of reed beds also bring some variety. The depths all around are roughly 5 feet. The unusual look of the water offers several different approaches to angling, so don’t hesitate to try something different.
Day Tickets
Magpie Lake is luckily a day ticket venue, even though it is under the care of the Waterbeach Angling Club. Day tickets are priced at £6 for adults, with the concessions priced at £4. On the other hand Waterbeach Angling Club permits are priced at £25, with £10 only for registered disabled anglers. On site there are free parking and toilet facilities. The venue operates on a dawn to dusk basis, throughout the whole year. In summary, Magpie Lake has all the prerequisites to be one of the best angling venues in Cambridgeshire!
Mike has over 30 years of fishing experience in carp fishing and general coarse fishing. He is always looking for the latest fishing kit to try out and talk about and needs a bigger shed due to all the fishing tackle he owns. You can read more about him here.