Any carp angler’s dream is to develop their own lakes – to produce their own little piece of carp paradise containing the fish of their dreams.

I spent years, decades in fact, trying to find lakes for sale that were the right ones to realise my own ambitions to create carp history. After so many years failing to find a suitable lake I realised I had one choice and that was to dig my own – which is where my adventure and passion for carp fisheries began.

Once a barren moonscape when the first digger bucket began excavating, the journey to producing the iconic fisheries that became The Church and Copse Lakes has been as satisfying as any personal pursuit of carp in all my years.

Quickly they became venues that were the benchmark of other UK fisheries, producing carp to over 60lb and 40s and 50s in numbers that would never have been predicted. From the earliest days of hand introducing water snails to give my carp a future food source and the hard graft of planting reeds and trees to shape the landscape and seasonal colour scheme of the lakes it has been done with a passion.

What I learned is that the real joy is not in the creation of such great fisheries, it is the privilege of being able to share that dream with other anglers and watch so many moments where dreams have been made with personal bests and memorable sessions.

Developing Royston to become the fisheries people enjoy today brought different challenges, from chains and diving teams to remove snags to earthworks, roadways and car parking behind swims.

All these experiences continue to shape the future ambitions and expansion of Nash Lakes to bring more top quality carp venues on line for anyone and everyone to enjoy.

The vision of Nash lakes is to use the experiences of making my own dream carp lakes a reality to produce venues open to all where special carp can be caught in special surroundings, satisfying the wish list of the modern carper – from excitement to atmosphere to access and comfort.