Charity Farm Fisheries

Charity Farm Fisheries sits on Smithy Brow in Wrightington, near Wigan, Lancashire. There are four landscaped coarse-fishing ponds here, with approximately 80 pegs across the venue. That gives you the broad picture straight away: a mixed coarse fishery with room for pleasure fishing and organised matches, rather than a venue built solely around chasing one species. If you like a bit of variety in your fishing, that’s the main draw.

• 1 lake: Main water
• Fish: carp
• Tickets from: A day's fishing — listed price; current price and ticket coverage need confirming — £8
• Find it: Wigan · WN6 9PP

Based on how each lake is set up — not a ranking.

Charity Farm Fisheries sits on Smithy Brow in Wrightington, near Wigan, Lancashire. There are four landscaped coarse-fishing ponds here, with approximately 80 pegs across the venue. That gives you the broad picture straight away: a mixed coarse fishery with room for pleasure fishing and organised matches, rather than a venue built solely around chasing one species. If you like a bit of variety in your fishing, that’s the main draw.

The fish list has plenty going for it. Carp are reported to approximately 21 lb, bream to around 6 lb, tench to around 5 lb and chub to around 3 lb. Perch, roach, rudd and crucian carp are also listed. Those are reported sizes, not a promise of what’ll turn up in your swim, but they give a useful feel for the fishing: smaller species alongside carp with a bit more muscle.

For a pleasure session, that mix means you needn’t judge the whole day on whether a carp makes an appearance. Roach, rudd and perch are part of the picture too, with bream and tench adding another angle. There isn’t a checked pond-by-pond breakdown, though, so don’t assume every species or the biggest reported fish is in every pond. Ask which water fits the fishing you fancy before getting settled and clipped up.

Day-ticket fishing is available, with a listed day price of £8 and payment described as being by honesty box. The rod allowance and exactly which ponds that ticket covers aren’t specified, so those are worth a quick check rather than a bankside guess. Fishing is listed throughout the year, from dawn until dusk. Night fishing isn’t allowed, so this is one for a daytime outing rather than a cheeky overnight.

Match and club bookings are accepted and can be arranged by telephone with the fishery. With roughly 80 pegs spread across four ponds, there’s an established match-fishing side to the venue, although that total doesn’t tell you how many pegs each pond offers. Wheelchair-accessible fishing positions are reported, and there are toilets and a refreshment area. A touring-caravan park and camping area also share the site, which may appeal if you’re planning more than a day out.

One detail worth keeping straight: the surrounding working farm covers 115 acres, not the ponds themselves. Individual pond sizes aren’t confirmed. Also, the detailed published tackle and bait rules date from February 2007, so give the fishery a bell before packing around them. They cover barbless hooks, match-only keepnets and groundbait in moderation, among other things. A quick chat about current rules, ticket coverage and match bookings should save a fair bit of faff.

Good background reading. Most of it is a few years old, so treat it as a starting point and ask on the day.

Videos linked by the fishery

• Our read

  Checked Sept '26 — “Charity Farm Fisheries has four landscaped coarse ponds and around 80 pegs near Wigan, with a cracking mix of species for pleasure anglers and match clubs. Day tickets, accessible fishing positions and on-site toilets make it a handy option for a daytime session.”

This is our own summary of recurring public feedback and the venue details we checked, not a copied customer review or a promise you’ll catch. Feedback changes, so we keep it separate from the Tackle Index score.