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Discover everything to fish in Holywell Lake

Find the best moment to go fishing in Holywell Lake, the most caught species, the techniques used, go fish with anglers nearby, find a fishing charter or guide, save your spots and discover new ones.

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N°1 | The Vendace fish

The vendace fish belongs to the Salmonidae family. Its average size is 45 cm and its weight is 1 kg. The oldest specimens observed were 10 years old. It breeds from October to December. The female lays 30,000 eggs per kg of weight. It is fished from March to December. The vendace is a small, slender and streamlined fish that is very easy to confuse with a bleak, a small lavaret whitefish or a peled whitefish. Unlike the bleak, the vendace is a member of the Salmonidae family, which is why it has a fat fin. It differs from the lavaret and peled whitefish by its much longer lower jaw. In the lavaret whitefish, the upper jaw is longer and in the peled whitefish the jaws are of the same length. It is silvery on the sides, with a white belly and a brown-green, grey-blue or blue-green back.

Fishing period : from March to December

Minimum size : 30 cm

Difficulty :

N°2 | The Spined Loach

The Spined loach belongs to the Cobitidae family. The Spined Loach has a size of 6 to 12 cm. it can live up to 10 years. The breeding period runs from April to July. The female can lay up to 1500 eggs. It can be fished all year round. Its elongated, ribbon-shaped body is covered with very small scales. Variable in color, light brown to dark brown, its flanks are marked with dark spots aligned longitudinally (the points in the lower row are larger). His belly is very clear and almost white. The head is narrow. The inferior mouth (in the ventral position) is surrounded by six small barbells (4 on the upper jaw and 2 at the corner of the lips). Under each eye, there is a small moving spine that is very inconspicuous (it can be detected mainly by touch). The caudal fin has a black spot growing at its birth and is then marked with four lines of dark dots. The pectoral fins are long. If you have good eyes, you can tell the male from the female by the longer and thicker pectoral fins.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 8 cm

Difficulty :

N°3 | The Ghost Carp

The Ghost Carp belongs to the Cyprinidae Family. With a life expectancy ranging from 40 to 50 years on average, it can reach up to 80 cm long. The breeding period is short, from May to June. The female lays 100,000 eggs per kg of weight. It can be fished all year. From its transition from young to adult fish, many physical characteristics will change. Its scales change color over time, as does its size. Many people tend to confuse a young ghost carp with a goldfish because of its physical appearance and colors. However, the two species are distinguishable: the ghost carp has a flat belly while the goldfish has a more swollen belly. In addition, towards her lips we notice barbells similar to two small moustaches in the ghost carp.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 45 cm

Difficulty :

N°4 | The Gwyniad fish

The Gwyniad fish belongs to the Salmonidae family. It is a fairly large species: 40 to 60 cm. It reaches 70 cm for 10 kg in the large lakes of northern Europe. Life expectancy would be about ten years. Its breeding period extends quite widely between 15 November and 31 January with a maximum activity between 10 December and 1 January. The female lays 30,000 eggs per kg of weight. This fish is on the IUCN Red List. Fishing is therefore prohibited. It has the fat fin characteristic of Salmonidae. It has an elongated body, silvery grey, bluish grey, with a more or less brownish back and fairly large scales. The caudal fin is very indented. The mouth is small. Two details that differentiate it from other salmonids. The number of gillospines (here 15 to 70) confirms that they belong to that species. The male has prominent scales on the lateral line, rough to the touch.

Fishing period :

Minimum size :

Difficulty :

N°5 | The Common Carp

The Common Carp belongs to the Cyprinidae family. Its average size is 40 to 60 cm (up to 1 meter for some specimens) with an average weight of 6 to 8 kilos (up to 37 kilos for some specimens). It can live up to 20 years in the wild. Common carp breed from spring to summer. The female lays 250,000 eggs per kg of weight. Carp can be fished all year round in the 2nd category rivers! It is a massive fish, green in color (except the koi). Its head is conical, its mouth is protractile, it has no teeth but has 2 pairs of barbels. Its growth is fast; it exceeds one kilo in 3 years. The fins are strong and grey, except for the pelvic and anal fins, which are slightly orange.

Fishing period : All year

Minimum size : 40 cm

Difficulty :

N°6 | Brown Trout

The Brown Trout belongs to the Salmonidae family. According to the location, the adult size varies from 25 cm to 80 cm for 300 to 800 g. It lives for 3 to 6 years. The spawning period starts in October and end in January. The female can lay up to 4000 eggs. The fishing period is open from the second Saturday of March until the third Sunday of September. This fish is not hard to catch but the fishing needs complex skills. Depending on its environment, the brown trout have a very variable color, but the brown trout, as its name shows, is rather brown with scattered black and red spots, depending on the spawners. It has a certain mimicry according to the bottom of its living spaces since the dominant brown will become a green dress if it lives close to the banks where yellow and even sometimes silvery white will mix. It has a "useless" adipose fin between the dorsal fin and the caudal fin. The head is tapered, strong and has a powerful jaw. Its back is a pretty black or night blue.

Fishing period : March to September

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°7 | Barbel Fish

The Barbel fish belongs to the Cyprinids Family. Its maximum weight is 9 kg, and its maximum size is 90 cm but sometimes, it can reach 1 m. It can live 15 years. The Spawning period starts in May and end in July. It can lay up to 9,000 eggs. You can fish Barbel all year. The minimal weight catch is 3 kg. The barbel fish is hard to catch especially in an area where it feels at ease. The Barbel fish, with its streamlined body, shows its perfect adaptation to rivers animated by a more or less rapid stream. Depending on its layout, its color, which may be different, is uniform and slightly lighter on the belly. Barbels are sometimes "grey", sometimes "greenish", and sometimes "golden". Its snout is characteristic and clearly protrudes from its mouth. Note that the dorsal fin has a highly ossified thorny radius.

Fishing period : all year

Minimum size : 3 kg

Difficulty :

N°8 | The Three Spined Stickleback

The three spined stickleback belongs to the Gasterosteidae family. The usual size of the three-spined stickleback is 4 to 5 cm for females, with males being a little smaller, about 3 to 4 cm. The life span of the three-spined stickleback varies from 3 to 5 years in natural environments and up to 8 years in captivity. Spawning season extends from March to June. Fertility is 200 to 400 eggs. It is fished from June to March. The three-spined stickleback is a tiny fish with a tapered, laterally compressed body. Its head is quite small, with fairly large eyes, and ends in a narrow mouth that is slightly oriented forward and upwards. The caudal peduncle of the three-spined stickleback is very narrow with a slightly indented caudal fin. The long dorsal fin is set far back, plumbing the anal fin. The dorsal fin of the three-spined stickleback is preceded by three spines, two long and one short, placed on the back of the fish. A curved spine also precedes the implantation of the anal fin. The pelvic fins are replaced by two thorns. The color of this fish is greenish brown for the back, with metallic reflections, silvery for the sides and whitish for the belly. Along the lateral line of the three-spined stickleback, there are no scales but bone plates called "badges", a kind of natural shielding that accompanies the thorny defenses of this fish.

Fishing period : June to March

Minimum size : no restriction

Difficulty :

N°9 | The Salmon fish

The Salmon fish belongs to the Salmonidae family. It can reach a maximum weight of 47 kg for a height of 1.5 m. The current size of the salmon is 50 to 70 cm, with a weight of 2.3 to 9.1 kg. It can reach a maximum weight of 47 kg for a height of 1.5 m. The current size of the salmon is 50 to 70 cm, with a weight of 2.3 to 9.1 kg. Spawning season is in October-November. Fertility is 1,500 and 1,800 eggs per kg of weight. It is fished in March in October. Salmon have a hydrodynamic and powerful body. The caudal peduncle is elongated and narrower than in trout, with which salmon share many characteristics. The mouth does not extend beyond the plumbing of the posterior edge of the eye. Adults have sexual dimorphism in the muzzle. Females have a rounded snout, while males have an elongated snout and their jaws bend sharply as they age, giving them the name of becard. The caudal fin is fairly indented, with a concave posterior edge and well defined tips. The adipose fin characteristic of Salmonids is present in salmon. The livery is different depending on the reproductive stage of the individual. The parr have 8 to 11 dark-colored vertical bars on the sides. The smolt and the adult have a silvery livery with black cross-shaped punctuation above the lateral line. At the time of reproduction, the male is adorned with bright colors.

Fishing period : from March to October

Minimum size : 50 cm

Difficulty :

N°10 | The Ide fish

The Ide fish belongs to the Cyprinidae family. Its size is generally between 30 and 50 cm but this fish can reach a maximum length of 80 cm for a weight of 5 kg and an age of nearly 20 years. Spawning takes place from March to April. Females lay between 60,000 and 160,000 eggs. The fishery is open from June to March. The body is long and laterally compressed with a terminal mouth pointing upwards. The head is strong with a small mouth, obtuse snout and yellow eyes. The back is rounded. The anal fin has a concave rear edge. The back and upper part of the head are greyish-green to brown; the yellowish-brown flanks have silvery or golden reflections; the belly is whitish. The fins are dark except for the pelvic, ventral and anal fins which are frankly red. In older and larger specimens, the body color may turn yellow/bronze.

Fishing period : June to March

Minimum size : 25 cm

Difficulty :

7.6

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The fishing forecast allows you to forecast your fishing trips and always go at the right time to the right place!

How it works

This is a score of 1 to 10 calculated city by city according to some forty criteria affecting fishing: moon, weather conditions, atmospheric pressure, sunrise / sunset. sun, tides, swell etc .