Stirchley Top Pool

Brief description of fishery:

Stirchley Top Pool is a 1.8-acre lake, set in the mature woodland of Telford Town Park. It is owned by Telford & Wrekin Council has leased the pool to the Society since 1952.

This pool was originally constructed in the late 1700s as a reservoir to maintain the level of water in the newly opened Shropshire Canal. Society records show that the pool was originally stocked by the Severn River Board on the 5th May 1952 with 6000 Roach and Perch, netted from Lord Bradford’s estate in Shifnal. This cost to the Society was £25 at the time and was the start of a program of regular fish stocking, which continues to the present day.

The pool is triangular-shaped, with three main banks for fishing (see map). Most pegs have an average depth of 10 to 12 feet at 13 meters (apart from the pegs in the car park corner, which are slightly shallower). At the deepest point towards the middle, the pool is around 20 feet deep. Marginal depth can be up to 3ft and is a good area to target the large carp in the pool.

The latest stocking in 2021 saw the introduction of 400 Ide, a new species of fish for the pool and a popular choice, as they continue to feed all year round, providing bites on the hardest of winter days. Other species stocked in 2021 were 600 Bream, 250 tench, 250 Crucian Carp, and 200 Common/Mirror Carp, all from 4 to 6 inches in size.

The Top Pool is a true mixed fishery and each time your float dips or your rod tip goes around, you’re never really sure what the fish will be. Common and Mirror Carp up to 10lb can be caught on a variety of methods, including a pellet waggler fished shallow during the summer months, when they tend to cruise on the surface. There are many Specimen Carp up to 20lb in the pool, which is often targeted by specimen anglers. There is a fantastic head of Roach, Rudd, and Perch, which along with newly stocked Ide, which will keep you busy on a short pole or waggler line, loose feeding maggots, or casters. On a longer pole line fishing over ground bait, the resident Bream, Tench, and Crucian Carp provide good sport and are the mainstay of match weights. The Bream, some of which have grown to 5lb in weight can also be caught on feeder tactics fished further out towards the middle. The sliding waggler can also be a good tactic during the cooler winter months. The fish in this pool tend to continue to feed later in to the Autumn/Winter months, largely due to the good depth of water and the pools sheltered position within the woodland.

This is a good pool for beginners and junior anglers and the society often uses the pool to run coaching sessions to introduce younger anglers to our sport.

In 2022 Telford & Wrekin Council will be constructing a purpose-built disability platform with easy access from the car park, especially for our mobility impaired and Senior Citizen members. The platform will be built in the memory of our Life Member and long standing Committee Member Steve Brown ‘Browny’ who was a regular angler at this pool.