Avington Trout Fishery

[tjnorton]

After my previus visits to Avington trout fishery I couldn't wait for the first trip of the year.

Paul and I arrived at the fishery for 7.45am we paid our £80 for four fish. Prices up again. We then walked to the lakes.

1st lake, the water looked crystal clear and perfect for stalking. I was after a nice brownie. The only thing we could see tho was silt and weed. Alot of weed at that. All fish seemed smaller than the 6lb stocking size. No sign of a bigun. There was alot of floating weed which made presentation tricky. Not best pleased so on to next lake.

2nd lake alot less weed on the surface but alot growing from the lake bed to just under the surface. We were also greeted with even more silt. I was getting alot of follows with a green fritz which has always worked well but the trout would turn at the last second. I even switched to 4lb tippet invade they were spooky but still the same results. I saw a noticable bigger trout which was caught at 12lb not big by Avongton standard. My first fish came in at 6lb caught on a stalking bug plonked in his path. Was after his bigger friend but never mind. I then made my way to lake 3

3rd lake where do i start!!! The first 1/3 of the lake non fishable due to floating weed!! Also not helping was the building works which stop you from fishing the whole lake a year and counting on the building!!!

Again fish were turning away from the fly. In the end I used a pellet shape fly and surprise surprise fish on! Small at 4lb tho second cast with pellet fly fish on. Tried the 2nd lake same results.

In summarisation I got the feeling that the £80 asking price is a rip off!! I lost 6 fish due to weed!! which according to the web site they keep on top of yet the machine they use is grounded on SILT in the boat house!! Not being able to fish the 3rd lake due to weed and building works.

Also no double fish in 3 sessions there now. I'm beginning to think only one is in each lake. My main concern is the trout taking a pellet looking fly to easily. Are they now feeding the fish in the lakes so people catch less? Meaning less stocking and feeding?
This could also explain the weed problem. Weed needs nitrate to grow. Any food left over from feed in the lakes would only help the weed.

After a 240 mile round trip and £80 I'm thinking next time back to dever springs. Although not a stalking water it's cheaper and fish are bigger.

The owners at Avington will be receiving a rather unpleasant e-mail from my self and Paul.

tj

[dave fish]

sorry to hear you had a bad trip, i would be to at those prices its just a shame these fisheries are heading this way more interested in the cash than the anglers .

[Greenheart]

That's bad news TJ. Glad I could'nt make it now. When are you thinking of doing Dever Springs? Hopefully I can make that trip. Have to be a weekend though.

[Dubbed Squirrel]

It ruins your day out TJ, unfortunately more than a few fishery owners stooping to underhand tactics nowadays. We`ve stopped going to a couple, because of the stocking, feeding and maintainance policies.On one island fishery 3/4 of the loch was covered with surface weed, impossible to get through. Hope your next trip goes better.

[tjnorton]

It's a shame my last visits ad left me wanting more but the wk end left me with a sour taste.

I know there is a recession but it took the biscuit. When you are paying that sort of money ifs a huge disappointment. I just wish I had taken photos

tj

[Rob M]

My god, that's a lot of money to blank mate. I didn't realise it was so expensive to fish for trout (pardon my ignorance)

[tjnorton]

Luckily I didn't blank. It's expensive because it's a big fish water. But the price is just silly now.

tj

[chub1]

Originally Posted by tjnorton

After my previus visits to Avington trout fishery I couldn't wait for the first trip of the year.

Paul and I arrived at the fishery for 7.45am we paid our £80 for four fish. Prices up again. We then walked to the lakes.

1st lake, the water looked crystal clear and perfect for stalking. I was after a nice brownie. The only thing we could see tho was silt and weed. Alot of weed at that. All fish seemed smaller than the 6lb stocking size. No sign of a bigun. There was alot of floating weed which made presentation tricky. Not best pleased so on to next lake.

2nd lake alot less weed on the surface but alot growing from the lake bed to just under the surface. We were also greeted with even more silt. I was getting alot of follows with a green fritz which has always worked well but the trout would turn at the last second. I even switched to 4lb tippet invade they were spooky but still the same results. I saw a noticable bigger trout which was caught at 12lb not big by Avongton standard. My first fish came in at 6lb caught on a stalking bug plonked in his path. Was after his bigger friend but never mind. I then made my way to lake 3

3rd lake where do i start!!! The first 1/3 of the lake non fishable due to floating weed!! Also not helping was the building works which stop you from fishing the whole lake a year and counting on the building!!!

Again fish were turning away from the fly. In the end I used a pellet shape fly and surprise surprise fish on! Small at 4lb tho second cast with pellet fly fish on. Tried the 2nd lake same results.

In summarisation I got the feeling that the £80 asking price is a rip off!! I lost 6 fish due to weed!! which according to the web site they keep on top of yet the machine they use is grounded on SILT in the boat house!! Not being able to fish the 3rd lake due to weed and building works.

Also no double fish in 3 sessions there now. I'm beginning to think only one is in each lake. My main concern is the trout taking a pellet looking fly to easily. Are they now feeding the fish in the lakes so people catch less? Meaning less stocking and feeding?
This could also explain the weed problem. Weed needs nitrate to grow. Any food left over from feed in the lakes would only help the weed.

After a 240 mile round trip and £80 I'm thinking next time back to dever springs. Although not a stalking water it's cheaper and fish are bigger.

The owners at Avington will be receiving a rather unpleasant e-mail from my self and Paul.

tj

That's a shame.never been there but have heard similar stories of late!.£80 is a lot of dosh in my opinion .Have heard a few negatives on Dever as well.I do think that the fisheries go through spells of 'The doldrums' from time to time.I'm off to Chalk Springs next weekend with my club and that is £39 for four fish,always the chance of a decent fish there.

[avitsomemore]

feel sorry for you mate ,it was a great place in its day,stalking huge browns on top lake on grey wolf ,and 6 lb av size , when i worked at a famous fishery ,we had weed floating about ,and alge caused by osmosis. we had people moaning about weed at times of year , at 6 am i was out in a boat and drag net clearing the lakes ,you got to keep the anglers happy ,customer is always right ,you pay your money ,and you catch fin perfect fish ( tripoid) with a pair of peck fins ,can you still find places run like that ? chalk springs was one place ,look forward for fishing reports soon

ok on the other hand ,buy i load of split tailed crap hen fish ,like all the rubbish we didnt want ,after we graded out the best for are lakes from are own fish striped by hand ,well we did supply stock(orvis on the test) ,bung them in a lake feed them up on 12mm brooder pellets ,seem to be thing to do ,at some places

dever had it right years ago ,when jackson owned it ,buy 20-40 lb bloaters in ,charge loads of dosh ,first cast a bag of cement on you end of your rod ,but the point is ( happy fishermen) giving the public what they want from a huge fish water ha ha, still nice place to fish with present owners ,smaller fish ,but run well as i here !!!

[emma]

Originally Posted by avitsomemore

feel sorry for you mate ,it was a great place in its day,stalking huge browns on top lake on grey wolf ,and 6 lb av size , when i worked at a famous fishery ,we had weed floating about ,and alge caused by osmosis. we had people moaning about weed at times of year , at 6 am i was out in a boat and drag net clearing the lakes ,you got to keep the anglers happy ,customer is always right ,you pay your money ,and you catch fin perfect fish ( tripoid) with a pair of peck fins ,can you still find places run like that ? chalk springs was one place ,look forward for fishing reports soon

ok on the other hand ,buy i load of split tailed crap hen fish ,like all the rubbish we didnt want ,after we graded out the best for are lakes from are own fish striped by hand ,well we did supply stock(orvis on the test) ,bung them in a lake feed them up on 12mm brooder pellets ,seem to be thing to do ,at some places

dever had it right years ago ,when jackson owned it ,buy 20-40 lb bloaters in ,charge loads of dosh ,first cast a bag of cement on you end of your rod ,but the point is ( happy fishermen) giving the public what they want from a huge fish water ha ha, still nice place to fish with present owners ,smaller fish ,but run well as i here !!!

hi av
just read a well known trout mag ,saying the same ,like the way you have put the point across ,i agree with you ha ha its good to see the truth about some trout fisherys in print