Weeks Holiday Day 1 - Avington

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

I'm off all this week, supposedly to open up the river season in style with some barbel. But today I had another opportunity to fish Avington - home of the big rainbows. Wandered around all three lakes for some while before even casting a line, plenty of fish but couldn't spot any of the really big girls. The weed, floating algae and occassional ripple didn't make it easy to spot fish but I eventually "gave in" and targetted what looked like a slightly bigger "average" fish from the top lake:



After several attempts I finally tempted it on an Orange Stalking Bug and after a spirited fight a 6lb+ rainbow slid into the net. That one was soon followed by another fish hooked from beneath a raft of weed on the same tactic - this one turned out to be a thick set 8lb+



I was half way to my limit so I took a slow stroll back to the weighing room, had a drink and resisted the urge to spend a fortune in the shop!

I was determined to find the bigger fish and decided I wouldn't even cast a line until I found "that" fish. A couple of hours later (!) - I must have walked a few miles around all three lakes - I finally found a superb rainbow, well into double figures, right in the nearside margin under the rod tip. It was very slowly patrolling a route up and down the margin. I tried for over 45 minutes to intercept the fish, literally presenting the fly right in front of its head - all to no avail, it totally ignored it and carried on with its patrol. And then it just flashed its gills and I hooked it! All hell broke loose as it thrashed around under the rod tip and threw the fly back at me! It just slowly sulked away toward the middle of lake and that was that!

I continued my afternoon stroll but failed to find any more "doubles". I did go for several better than average fish and managed to complete my limit with another 6lber+ and 7lber+. Four fish for a total of over 27lb:



Still waiting for my boss and Brewery Owner to complete his "smoker", when it's ready, these will provide some decent sized fillets!

[barbelblanker]

OO
\./ Blinkin heck they are nice fish.

[fishypaul]

some lovely rainbows neil,well done mate

[BoldBear]

I bought myself a fly rod, fly reel, line and a box of different flys/nymphs but they have stayed in my tackle shed without being used for over 8 years now, I keep promising myself that I would have some casting lessons and have a go at fluff chucking both for Trout and Chub, and your post has renewed my interest, what a smashing day you had and great pictures.

[pingu]

nice one neil
enjoy river tommorrow

dave

[Madaboutfish]

You certainly had a great day out! I've never fished Avington, even though its close by, because I was led to believe it was overpriced and overrated and not what is used to be. This report dispells that 'myth' as the average size there seems pretty good and its looks like a very nice place to fish, which is my primary factor, followed by price, fish condition then size. How are the owners/managers?

If you had the choice of any fly venue in Hampshire, which would be your first and would you pay to fish Avington in the near future?

James

[Norfolkboy]

Nice one Neil

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

Originally Posted by Madaboutfish

You certainly had a great day out! I've never fished Avington, even though its close by, because I was led to believe it was overpriced and overrated and not what is used to be. This report dispells that 'myth' as the average size there seems pretty good and its looks like a very nice place to fish, which is my primary factor, followed by price, fish condition then size. How are the owners/managers?

If you had the choice of any fly venue in Hampshire, which would be your first and would you pay to fish Avington in the near future?

James

I first fished Avington well over 30 years ago, in the days of Sam Holland, pioneer of breeding big trout. It's not everybodys cup of tea but is a very well run fishery, the trout are usually in very good condition and some are very big indeed! The staff are excellent. IMHO it is one of the rare big fish venues that consistently lives up to it's billing, there are always big trout in the lakes, but are not easy to catch!

As for value, it is very expensive - a full four fish ticket will set you back £69 - so it all depends on how you define value for money. For me, Avington has a lot of history surrounding it, is a very nice place to fish and is a big challenge.

If you fish "blind" there, you will get your limit of fish probably averaging 5lb. I reckon too many visitors turn up, fish normally, just casting everywhere, catch their limit fairly easily and then moan like hell that the average size is nothing special and it's a "rip off". They are very wrong and need to watch, chat to the regulars - who are very helpful and friendly.

Being selective, patient and disciplined will produce a bigger average size - perhaps 7lb+ with good chances of one of really big ones (well into the teens and perhaps more!). At least three doubles came out yesterday, all between 11lb and 13lb. I will continue to fish it occassionally. Pop in, have a visit, if only to ogle at the huge fish in holding pools by the shop!

As for the rest of Hampshire:

Woodington (alongside Whinwhistle Fishery) is good but if I could, I would fish the Lower Itchen Fishery as much as possible!

My other current favourite fly venues are:

Haywards Farm (Theale Berks)
Frensham Wood (Surrey)
Hazel Copse (Surrey)

[fullcreel]

Lovely fish. may I ask what weight rod /line you take when you go to Avington?

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

Originally Posted by fullcreel

Lovely fish. may I ask what weight rod /line you take when you go to Avington?

4 piece, 9ft, #6 weight rod coupled with a full floating WF line. Usually a fairly short leader - maybe 9ft - makes it easier to cast/drop to a specific fish/area. The last 3 - 4 feet of that is 9lb fluoro with a stalking bug tied to a #14 hook on the business end - heavily weighted to get down fast. A good method when targetting margin cruisers is to get the fly on the bottom and lift it as the fish approaches.

One problem I've had is that when you hook a fish at very close range it tends to thrash around under the rod tip a lot before it takes off. If you're still attached when it moves off, you're in with a chance! The bigger the fish the bigger the problem. Clear shallow water trout tend to be very, very fast, a good reel is pretty important but beware you're fingers, I have a couple of line grooves on my index finger which is very sore!