Chadwick Dam. A Place for Every Level of Angler and a Hidden Gem in Tameside

Chadwick Dam or The Chads is a small fishing lake in Tameside, the North West of England. Originally built in the 1800’s by the Chadwick family for their cotton mills it’s now given a new lease of life by a fishing club, Ridgehill Angling. Rumour has it that the lake itself was left to the people of the Borough and for many years no one has had the rights to own or lease the lake and it became a dumping ground for everything. Fishing the lake did produce some great fish though including many crucian which were real battlers. The other problem was the swimmers in the summer which did put off many anglers, until recently. Thanks to the local council Ridgehill Angling have a home they are proud of and a base in which they can teach anyone who is in need of tuition, even disabled anglers.

Ridgehill Angling Club came about in 2007 with the sole aim of providing fishing for the local children. This, as one can imagine has proved very popular but not just with the kids of the area. Membership is growing all the time and includes adults, juniors and disabled anglers all wanting to fish a great lake full of carp, perch, roach, tench and others.

The club which is run by 4 anglers with over 75 years of angling experience between them want to teach anyone who is interested in angling, from hook tying to bankside etiquette and anything else in between. Sometimes DVD’s are shown which are educational to all those who attend, then afterwards the DVD is talked about giving the youngsters a chance to interact with each other and the main staff. They have taken the youngsters on many fishing trips culminating with a great trip to a wonderful French lake in which all those who went catching some great carp.

The club have recently built pegs into the bankside of the lake with some of them for disabled anglers and more pegs will be built in the near future. Members are encouraged to fish the Chads when they can and most weekends the banks have anglers from the club fishing for the carp, perch, tench and other fish which are lurking under the water. Anglers from the region and beyond have also found this hidden gem and fish it on a regular basis too as day tickets are available on the bank. Ridgehill Angling Club has just introduced 6000 small fish into the lake and have plans for another re-stock later in the year.

The club removed all the rubbish that had been thrown in the lake over the years then set about first dredging the lake then having a fish count which surprised everyone with the amount of fish still in the lake. The 2 small islands were cleared of debris and any deadwood then replanted. This also allowed the resident geese to have somewhere to nest during the summer, something I think they are very appreciative of! A new sign now compliments the main island stating that the water belongs to Ridgehill Angling and is looking great.

The members have planted many plants, trees and shrubs around their lake making an already wonderful lake even more beautiful. In fact many local residents compliment the club on their achievements and the way in which Chadwick Dam is now looking.

So, if you are at a loose end one day and want to go fishing, why not give Chadwick Dam or The Chads a try? It’s fishing really well just now with lots of fish coming out including many of the carp. 24lb 4oz is the biggest carp in the water and has been out recently to a member, so come on, you won’t be disappointed.