Welham Lake

Welham Lake sits on Welham Road in Norton, near Malton, North Yorkshire. It’s one main lake rather than a complex of different waters, with 5.5 acres of fishing set within 18 acres of woodland. If your idea of a session centres on specimen carp rather than hopping between match pools, that’s the attraction here. One water, a woodland setting and some proper fish to aim for.

• 1 lake: Welham Lake
• Fish: carp, tench, eel
• Find it: Malton · YO17 9QE

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

Welham Lake sits on Welham Road in Norton, near Malton, North Yorkshire. It’s one main lake rather than a complex of different waters, with 5.5 acres of fishing set within 18 acres of woodland. If your idea of a session centres on specimen carp rather than hopping between match pools, that’s the attraction here. One water, a woodland setting and some proper fish to aim for.

The fishery advertises carp to 26lb-plus, tench to 10lb-plus and rare eels to 4lb-plus. The carp will grab plenty of attention, but those tench deserve a second look too. A double-figure tench is a serious target in its own right. Treat those advertised sizes as an indication of the lake’s potential, not a promise that you’ll turn up and have a lump in the net.

The lake is spring-fed, with borehole supplementation in summer. That’s a useful bit of background, though it doesn’t tell you which swim will produce or when the fish will be on the munch. There’s also a small wrinkle with the peg count: the homepage says 12, while its footer says 10. Best to check the current layout and availability before building your session around a particular amount of space.

Access needs a little planning. Membership is required, the homepage describes it as free, and you’ll need identification on your first visit. The rules point annual membership applications towards Swimbooker, fishery 11997. Current fishing-ticket prices and official arrival and departure times aren’t confirmed here, so get those pinned down before travelling. For a longer session, check today’s overnight arrangements too; an old 24-hour ticket listing isn’t enough to plan around.

Tackle preparation matters at Welham. You can use a maximum of three rods with the appropriate licences, but mainline must be at least 10lb and braided mainline is banned. Hooks must be barbless or micro-barbed, fixed rigs are out, and pole fishing isn’t allowed. A padded unhooking mat is compulsory. The big bait detail is easy to miss: only bait bought from the fishery may be used. Sort that before packing your usual bucket of favourites.

There’s a car park, and the nature-hide page lists flushing toilets, drinking water and charging points; check access to those when arranging your fishing. Bivvies are permitted, tents aren’t, and dogs must stay at home. Keep noise down, leave your swim clean and keep gates closed or locked. All told, Welham has a clear specimen-fishing appeal, but the bob-on approach is to sort membership, bait and session terms before loading the car.

We're not sure on ticket prices here — we couldn't find reliable, up-to-date prices online, so give the fishery a ring or check their own site before you go.

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 — “Welham Lake is a 5.5-acre specimen water near Malton, with advertised carp to 26lb-plus and tench to 10lb-plus. Woodland surroundings, membership-only fishing and firm fish-care rules give it a clear focus: come prepared and look after your catch.”

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.