Crummock Water

Sandwiched between Mellbreak, Grasmoor and Rannerdale Knott, Crummock Water can be a foreboding place when the wind blows down the fell and the rain is relenting. Yet with the right weather conditions it is a delight to fish, an amphitheatre of lush green fells and yellow gorse.

Crummock is the largest of three lakes on the River Cocker catchment at 2.5 miles long and 0.5 miles wide with a depth of 40 metres. It is joined to Buttermere in the south east by the Buttermere Dubs and connected to Loweswater in the north east by Park Beck.

There are plenty of beautifully-marked fat yellow trout in Crummock but you'll have to work to find them. Fish the western shore pulling a traditional team of wets and keep moving. You'll hit purple patches and the fish can lie very close to the shore. The area up to the peninsula has proven to be a hot spot but this might not be the case every visit. Keep moving and find those fish.

Weather conditions are everything on Crummock because of the water clarity. If you are greeted with a cold north-easterly or easterly and bright blue skies just don't bother. Cloud and a decent south-westerly is what is required to give you enough cover and bring these fish up. Early season is probably best from March through to late June but I suspect that the water fishes fine all season if the conditions are favourable.

Park at the Buttermere car park at the southern end of Crummock. Walk past the Fish Inn and follow the path until you reach a fork with a gate. Turn right through the gate and head for Buttermere Dubs and go over the bridge. Follow the track and start anywhere on the west bank, fishing northwards. Alternatively, you can park in the car park to the north and fish the west bank southwards.