Whilst central London has – for obvious reasons – very few places you can fish. Legally or even literally, there are some fantastic carp fishing spots in the capital. If you’re serious about starting, we recommend our guide on how to find a fishing mark, great for both coarse and sea fishing.
The abundance of canals and rivers can make for some seriously exciting fishing. The wild carp are serious fighters and can grow to monstrous size. The challenge – as ever – is finding where they are and avoiding the crowds. Another challenge in a city of 9.5 million.
But if canal or river fishing isn’t your scene, there are some very good (and very average) lakes where you can fish for carp. Some of these monsters have been recorded at over 40lb. But it’s not easy. You need patience, good tackle and – above all – some time.
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For some more general fishing advice, this beginner’s guide to fishing in London is a good start. If you’re running a little low on carp fishing gear, try one of London’s best fishing stores out.
Picks Cottage Fishery
Picks Cottage is a five-lake fishery complex exclusively for members that’s a bit of a coarse fishing mecca for Londoners. In fact, Picks Cottage is so good it features in London’s best fishing locations. It’s not just for carp.
Each of the five lakes serves a clear purpose, catering to the full angling spectrum. The Float Pond is great for beginners whilst Barrow Lake and Bottom S Lake are prime for specimen carp anglers.
Walthamstow Reservoirs
Arguably the most picturesque venue in London, Walthamstow Wetlands is the city’s largest carp fishing venue. Located in the heart of the Lee Valley in north London it is made up of nine individual reservoirs (and a river) stocked with huge specimen carp, alongside; bream, chub and barbel, pike and perch.
The Coppermill Stream – a beautiful 1km long coarse fishing stretch that runs directly through the centre – has a good head of carp and is an extraordinarily clean, beautiful body of water.
Fishing can be a real challenge here if you’re ill-prepared. Reservoirs one, two and three are good starting points for carp fishing especially. The largest carp pulled from these three waters is a whopping 45lb 12oz and 30lb + are not uncommon. The Lower Maynard reservoir has had a 46lb 8oz carp – the biggest on record here – but can be an uncompromising water.
Walthamstow Reservoirs is also an excellent option for London-based fly fishing and fishing for pike in the capital.
Jacks Lake
Jack’s Lake – or HAPS (the Hadley Angling and Preservation Society) – is a fantastic lake for carp fishing in north London that has 44 pegs, 29 of which are available on a day ticket for just £8 for one rod or £13 for two.
Just remember to bring cash as the bailiff doesn’t take card payments. If you decide to purchase an annual membership you get access to an otherwise closed-off section of the lake and a night fishing permit.
In May of 2022, the lake was restocked with a couple of hundred carp. We fished there just after the restocking and ledger-weight fishing around the manmade islands was fantastically effective.
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Barnes and Mortlake Angling Preservation Society
BMAPS has three separate lakes all in southwest London that are all exclusive to members. No day tickets are allowed, which is of course both a blessing and a curse. These lakes are:
- Shadwell’s Pool, Barnes is a shallow, silty bottomed one and a half acre lake with carp to 25lb+
- Thames Young Mariners, Richmond is a large lake naturally stocked by The Thames (making it a really unique venue) and has had carp to 30lb+ over the years
- Potomac Lake, Gunnersbury Park is an old clay pit with depths up to 24 feet with the largest confirmed carp – a common – reaching 28lb
One of the club’s best features is the lake access. Instead of being bailiff-reliant – although of course there’s always one present – you are sent access codes as you become a member or when you book a session.
Surrey Docks Angling
Surrey Docks Angling Club is one of London’s most recent gems when it comes to carp fishing. The recent renovations have made the incredibly urban area fantastic for budding city anglers. With day and night fishing permitted from specific zones around Canada Water, South Dock, Greenland Dock and Surrey Water, there are some truly fantastic fish. See Jacob fishing the docks in 2022:
Clapham Common Ponds
As a staunch East Londoner, I generally try and avoid Clapham. It was once described to me by an ex-colleague as ‘the place where all the people who bullied you at school’ live. Which I think is apt.
However, I am reliably informed that the two ponds on Clapham Common – Eagle Pond and Mount Pond – do have multiple double-figure carp, the largest on record being 25lb. Mount Pond is the more popular of the two lakes and the island in the middle is a popular fishing spot for larger carp. So whilst it isn’t a specialist lake for the keen angler, the lakes are really accessible for most Londoners.
You need a permit to fish both of these lakes, which you can apply for from Lambeth Council. Fortunately, this permit covers both ponds, lasts for a year and is very reasonable value.
Hampstead Heath Lakes
In one of London’s most salubrious suburbs lies Hampstead Heath, one of North London’s premier carp fishing destinations. Fishing is permitted on five of the Heath’s 30 lakes, including:
- Highgate Men’s Ponds
- Model Boating Pond
- Hampstead Boating Pond
- Viaduct Pond
- Vale of Heath Pond
You can find the location of each pond on this map.
You do need a permit to fish the lakes, but at only £10.60 for the season, it is excellent value. You can apply for the permit here. The standard coarse fishing close season applies to these ponds – 15th March – 15th June, so whilst night fishing is allowed this is not a year-round fishery.
And whilst there are pike and perch present in the lakes, there’s absolutely no lure fishing or spinning allowed. Which doesn’t present a problem for the carp anglers among us.
Highams Park Lake
Highams Park Lake is one of the largest stretches of open water in Epping Forest with carp into the twenties commonly pulled from the lake. Like much of Epping Forest – excluding the trout fishery – the fishing is free and the surroundings are beautiful.
The lake itself is quite weedy and we’ve found fishing with lines 10 – 20% stronger than usual is an effective way to combat the snags.
The fishing platforms are excellent and the river banks provide ample space for multiple anglers. You do get a substantial number of dog walkers, but the overhanging branches provide super-structure for larger fish to hide around the margins.
Wimbledon Park Lake
Wimbledon Park Lake’s – unsurprisingly located in the leafy southwest suburb – fishing rights are run by the Wimbledon Park Angling Club, with membership strictly limited to 150 members. And whilst the lake offers general coarse fishing – there are roach, perch, rudd, pike, tench and bream present – it is better known for its specialist carp angling.
Repairs to the dam wall and weirs are due to have been completed in 2022 which will lead to a full restock of the pond with a variety of silver coarse fish including trout – all of which are native to the pond providing the CEFAS license comes through.
Victoria Park Lake
In East London’s most notable park you will find the East and West Lakes – the East Lake is a reasonable venue for carp fishing. Whilst you won’t net any specimen carp here – although they do go up into the double figures – you can fish for free. The West Lake however is more of a specialist boating lake that is very shallow and too crowded for enjoyable fishing in our opinion.
Over the years the fish stocks have dropped alarmingly. As part of the 2012 Olympics push, Tower Hamlets restocked the lake with 8,000 smaller silver fish to increase biodiversity and, supposedly, fish stocks for anglers. This EA-backed survey in 2016 found one 13lb carp and a serious lack of smaller fish, likely due to the number of cormorants in the park.
Epping Forest
Epping Forest is home to 25 different fishing lakes of which Baldwins Pond and Blackweir / Lost Pond are our favourites. Both are fairly small ponds, but absolutely beautiful and full of features for fish to hide in.
The primary fishery for carp – Epping Forest Ponds – has seen Common Carp to 23lb and beautiful Koi to 14lb. Whilst we’ve never caught a large carp here, the 11 swims around the pond are extraordinarily peaceful.
The River Wandle
The River Wandle is a fascinating little tributary of The Thames that runs from Croydon into the river at Wandsworth. This nine-mile chalk stream is host to some fantastic fishing and whilst it is famed for its trout, larger wild carp are not uncommon.
If you’re lucky you’ll even see some Koi swimming through shallower stretches of the upper and middle river just south of Poulter’s Park through to the Collier’s Wood section. We’d recommend taking some bread for surface fishing and ledger weighted for fishing in deeper pools around weirs.
As a London resident, your best bet is to get the tube to Morden, enter the river at Morden Hall Park in the upper/middle river and head south to start your session around Carshalton and Hackbridge walking north until you reach Merton Abbey Mills. This excellent angler’s guide to the River Wandle is worth a thorough investigation.
But be wary. The carp are ultra skittish and the fishing is a real challenge.
The River Thames
The Thames is quite a daunting river to fish – particularly in London. The abundance of boats, murky waters, general size and current make the prospect of locating any carp a challenge. But there are huge carp in the capital’s main water source. As structures tend to be a big fish’s best friend, it’s worth finding the locks and weirs you can fish on The Thames here.
The best stretch of fishing on The Thames in London tends to be on the southwest stretch of water around Richmond, Twickenham and Hampton Court. The abundance of structures, weirs and tributaries – and slightly cleaner waters – are home to big carp.
Rumours of a 50lb+ carp in The Thames have been around the angling world for some time and this 44lb 14oz Mirror caught in Windsor makes the above feel a little more likely. The confirmed Thames Anglers’ Conservancy heaviest recorded carp weight is at 48lb 7oz. If you’re really serious about these monster carp, try to fish semi-tidal waters in the spawning season – mid-June.
The Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal runs from Paddington right into the heart of Birmingham – a whopping 137 miles in all. Initially built as a key transport link between the two, the canal provides a unique carp and coarse fishing venue in the nation’s capital. One of the canal’s key benefits is that there’s no close season for coarse fishing.
Whilst you will need an Environmental Agency License to fish the canal – and certain sections are owned by local angling clubs – you can buy a Waterways Wanderer Permit for access to multiple sections of the capital’s canal
And whilst the canal is more famous for the plethora of smaller perch, roach, rudd and other coarse species, you will run into the occasional solo big carp or schools of 3, 4 and 5lb+. We recommend starting a few miles west of Paddington and walking back into the centre, fishing the margins using different methods.
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Regents Canal
Following on from the Paddington arm of The Grand Union Canal, Regent’s Canal is an 8.6-mile waterway initially formed to create a new canal from Paddington to Limehouse.
Slicing London from East to West – you can walk from Paddington to Victoria Park and out onto the River Lea – fishing tends to be more enjoyable at the eastern end (around the Limehouse Cut and Fish Island) or the western end around Paddington.
There is a large head of carp around Fish Island and Old Ford Lock are well known for having 15lb+ carp weaving in and out of the margins and structures. That stretch of the river is exploding with life and has been markedly cleaned up.
The River Lea
One of London’s slightly lesser known rivers, the River Lea (leading onto the River Lee Navigation) is a lively 27.5-mile stretch of water that runs from Hertford, through Waltham Forest and into The River Thames at Canning Town.
The stretch of river that runs from Waltham Abbey to Tottenham is arguably the best stretch of river to fish and is owned by The River Lea Angler’s Club where you’ll need at least a day ticket to fish this six-mile stretch of water.
As the river can get so busy we would highly recommend early morning fishing to avoid the dog walkers, joggers and cyclists. Pre 8am and it’s very enjoyable. You’ll even bump into party boats still going from the night before.
One of the River Lea’s best features is the abundance of structure. Canal boats, overhanging branches, trees and banks are in abundance in the right areas and wild specimen carp are not uncommon. These wild carp are spectacular fighters, particularly when compared to their overfed lake-dwelling cousins.
FAQs
Yes, you can catch carp in The Thames. The largest recorded carp caught on The Thames is almost 50lb and huge Common, Mirror and – on occasion – Koi are frequently pulled from the river.
Hi, I'm Harry. A keen, albeit exceedingly average fisherman. I've spent the last few years trawling London's waterways with - if I'm being kind - varied success and would love to help you avoid the mistakes I have made.
