The Bowl is about one-and-three-quarters of an acre in size and is the least fished of all the Arden Fisheries waters - yet it holds some decent sized fish, not least of which are perch which run to 3lbs 8oz and mirror and common carp to 20lbs.

With steep walkways which lead to a fairly even flat bank running all the way round the water, The Bowl is up to 18 feet deep in the centre although it is shallower around the entrance side of the pool near to Fox's where a 10 feet deep shelf runs about 20 feet out into the water. On the opposite side from the entrances the banks shelve steeply down to a bowl shaped bottom from which the water gets its name.

In addition to the perch, commons and mirror carp there are a good head of bream which run to between 3lbs and 4lbs, plenty of skimmer bream and roach to well over 1lb.

Although there are plenty of small perch which have bred in the water, the average size of the more mature fish is generally between 1lb and 2lbs whilst the average for the carp tends to be between 6lbs and 8lbs. The water also holds some nice crucian carp, although these have tended not to show up very often over the past few years.

Whilst some anglers prefer to fish The Bowl with ledger tackle in the deep water, most anglers opt to fish either pole or waggler in the margins taking fish which hold up close to the bank. However, fishing the pole carries its risks as all the fish in The Bowl have been in there many years and are hard fighting. As a result many an angler has had his pole snapped when hooking into one of the bigger carp.

Many anglers tend to fish The Bowl with between 4lb and 6lb line and size 14 hooks, but whatever line strength you use you should play the fish patiently as they don't easily give up. You may think you are into an 8lb carp - only to find out that it weighs only 3lbs once on the bank!

Most popular baits tend to be maggot, sweetcorn, pellet, paste and luncheon meat whilst those after the perch tend to stick to maggots and worm.