The Avenue Fishery: A Luxurious Carp Fishing Experience
- Sep 25, 2025
- 7 min read
An Honest Review of The Avenue Fishery
3 x 60lb carp.
12 x 50lb carp.
40 x 40lb carp.
150 between 20lb and 39lb.
Nope, not a French fishery stock; this is the current stock of The Avenue Fishery, right here in the UK!
When The Avenue opened in Rob Hale's back garden, the intention was for it to be a syndicate venue with a head of HUGE carp. Fast forward to 2025, and RH Fisheries opened the new Avenue Luxury Cabin, situated in the southwest corner of the fishery and available for ANYONE to book.
Myself and Gavin booked the cabin for the second week of September. This is an honest review of the lake, the fish, and the syndicate members that we met.
The Cost of Luxury
First up, let's address the biggest elephant in the room—the cost. We paid £3500 for the week. No sponsors, no freebies; we paid the full amount. The cost is eye-watering, but we think we have found a way to justify it. More on that later.
I met Gavin at RH Fisheries HQ, where the monument lakes are located. We had to buy bait and get shown to the lake. It really is in the middle of nowhere. You may wonder why we had to buy bait. Surely we could just take our own? One of the many rules is that you can only use the RH Bait sold onsite. You can use your own hook baits and sweetcorn, but that is it.
We followed our new friend Bob from RH Fisheries as he drove through the deserted country lanes. He pulled up at the gate of The Avenue, and we trundled down the track, arriving at the luxury cabin. We caught our first glimpse of the lake, a stunning mature venue of around 10 acres. Bob showed us around, answered our questions, and left us to it, not before he pointed out some spots to get us started. Bob was great and really gave us good insight without being over the top.
Gavin wanted the left-hand side of the swim with the island, so I took the right-hand side. We both set about assembling rods and getting the spots sorted.
The First Nights
The first night passed uneventfully, but the luxury cabin was an absolute treat. We enjoyed a lovely sausage sandwich on Sunday morning, followed by a full roast dinner later in the day. The washing up was taken care of by the Hotpoint dishwasher—MEGA!
Sunday came and went, and on Monday morning, we were surprised not to have caught anything. I did witness one of the syndicate members catch a huge mirror, though. We saw events unfolding about 300 yards away. I knew it was a whopper, so I ran round to see. A fish known as 'Sweet Cheeks' weighed in at 63lb! The fire was well and truly lit.
One of the former syndicate members popped in to say hello. He was one of Gavin's mates, and we pumped him for info and tactics. He showed us a few ideas that had worked for him and even gave us a pot of hook baits that he had used with some success. Gavin took full advantage, dispatched new rigs to the areas, topped up the bait, and sat back.
It must have been 30 minutes or less when the sound of a Delkim broke the silence. One of Gavin's rods was away! The fish was a proper plodder, using its weight to hold bottom. When the fish finally surfaced, I knew it was a good one. I scooped the big mirror into the net, and we all let out a cry of relief. This was a BIG fish.
"What's your UK PB, mate?" I asked Gavin as I hoisted the behemoth onto the scales.
"36lb," he replied.
"Not anymore; it's now 52lb 3oz!"
We celebrated and got into the water with the fish. Anything over 40lb must be photographed in the water, so we put on the chest waders and got some pictures before letting the monster carp go. It turns out it was a fish called Moon Scale, a highly sought-after fish among the syndicate members! Gavin also caught two other fish that day—a 32lb mirror and a 21lb mirror around 10 PM. Things were looking good for him, but I could not buy a bite!
Struggles and Strategies
On Tuesday, my confidence was washing around the bottom of my boots. I hadn't seen much on my side of the swim and had caught nothing. Gavin was away in meetings all day, so even without the extra rods in the water, I still couldn't get a bite. This was becoming a proper head-scratcher!
We didn't fish that night. Instead, we reeled the rods in and had a mega dinner with a few beers. We crashed out, not before setting the alarms for first light.
Wednesday was Gavin's last full day. He was leaving early on Thursday, and I would then have two full days and nights to make something happen. All day, I thought about how to get something going. Then I thought about solid PVA bags. Could they be the answer to unlocking the code?
We had a mega curry that night, washed down with a beer. I drifted off to sleep with a million thoughts racing around my head about solid bags. Which spots should I fish? Should I bait over them or just fish them on their own?
Thursday morning came, and I bid farewell to Gavin. I put the kettle on; it was early, and I now had a game plan for the remaining 48 hours. I was going to fish solid PVA bags just off the baited spots. I made a simple mix of RH Baits Tuna boilies, 10mm pellets, and a whole bottle of the Tuna liquid. I deposited 5kg across the two spots but also baited a spot off the island to the left. It hadn't been fished all week, but you had to be VERY tight to the willow tree where the spot was clean. If you were a foot or two short, you were in thick, slimy weed.
By lunchtime, I had all three spots baited. My arms and back were killing me from spombing so much, but hopefully, it would all be worth it!
That night, I felt confident. At 2 AM (Friday morning), the right-hand rod was away. A short fight revealed a low 20lb mirror on the scales. Not the one I wanted, but it was a start. The bags were working, and a 28lb mirror a few hours later confirmed I was onto something.
By Friday lunchtime, I had six fish, the biggest being a 35lb mirror. Not a PB beater, but surely I was going to get amongst the big fish now. I was literally on the phone to Gavin when my left-hand rod rattled off, resulting in a 34lb mirror and fish number seven. Before dark, I managed two more fish, both 20lb'ers, which took me to nine fish in just 36 hours. I had definitely found the way to get bites, but none of the big fish were tripping up. Was it the tactics or the spot?
The Final Hours
My departure time was 7 AM as I had to get back. Nothing else happened through the night, so I reeled in, feeling a mixture of happiness and disappointment. It was great that I found a way to turn the week around, but I desperately wanted one of the bigger fish. Seeing Gavin with a 52lb'er was undoubtedly the highlight. Just to see such a magnificent creature was a real treat. Congrats to him on a PB that will be very hard to beat!
Summary and Final Thoughts
So, back to the cost—the cheapest weeks in The Avenue Luxury Cabin cost £2500, and it is A LOT of money. However, when you think about a week at a top venue in France, that £2500 becomes a bit more bearable! We checked the cost against a well-known big fish French venue.
£945 for a week's fishing x 2 = £1890
Tunnel return crossing = £540 (September Flexi Plus)
Fuel & Tolls = £200
TOTAL = £2630
I will be honest and say that the week we had cost £3500, so a fair bit more than the 'cheaper' weeks. However, we didn't have any hassle with travel, tunnels, tolls, or monster journeys. Plus, we had a luxury cabin with amazing king-size beds—no bad backs on bed chairs, that's for sure.
Was it worth it? For me, the jury is still out. I hope people don't book here expecting to haul 40lb carp for fun. It just isn't going to happen. No doubt some will have good weeks, but I already know that a fair few people have blanked for a whole week.
I did feel as though landing nine fish, with the majority being low 20s and the biggest being 35lb, was VERY unlucky. But that's fishing for you! Imagine if each one had been a 40lb'er or bigger! I guess it is possible.
The cabin was luxury, featuring a huge patio area with comfortable garden furniture, a separate outhouse with a freezer, chest waders, storage, and shelving for your fishing kit. There was even a gas BBQ and all the mod cons you'll ever need. It was strange sitting on a sofa watching the rods through the patio doors while the rain hammered down. But maybe in my old age, I am getting soft. I was glad I wasn't in a bivvy at some points; the weather was BRUTAL at times.
The Syndicate Experience
We met quite a few members during the week. The feelings were mixed regarding the cabin and the fact that anyone can book it. Some were indifferent, while others were more concerned. However, everyone we spoke to was welcoming and willing to share information about the lake. It was clear that it was a nice group of anglers in the syndicate, although not all were happy to share their captures!
We saw one chap packing up. As he walked past, I asked him how he had got on. He told us he had caught nothing and had seen nothing. But then the next day, there he was on the RH Fisheries page, holding a 40lb carp that he'd caught the previous night, wearing the same clothes and everything. You have to laugh!
So there we have it. The Avenue is definitely the theatre of dreams. It's not for everyone, but it was a great week in a very luxurious cabin! If you treat it as a holiday and don't rush to catch them all in the first 24 hours, you'll enjoy your time there, I have no doubt.
Finally, a HUGE thanks to the team at RH Fisheries, to Bob and Josh for the advice and encouragement, and finally to Rob's wife, who is a lovely human being, although I now feel terrible for forgetting her name!