A Day on Avington
To a fly fisherman who concentrates on rivers and streams with wild and naturalised populations of trout and grayling, I would describe Avington simply as the equivalent of fly fishing porn, or in other words absolutely bloody fantastic!!!
Pulling into the venue car park the first thing you notice are the stock ponds, they're absolutely bulging with some of the biggest fish I've ever seen in my life; Trout of over 20lbs, and nothing smaller than about 4lbs (around my biggest wild catch ever to this date) simply heaving themselves out of the water to get at the pellets being fed by the staff. Setting up was a rushed affair to say the least.
Scenic shot of one of the stock ponds
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The fishery consists of three lakes fed by a carrier of the River Itchen. As a result the lakes are absolutely gin clear and full of natural food. Lakes 1 and 2 are relatively shallow, with visibility to the bottom all the way across the lake. Lake 3 is a good deal deeper and visibility is not as consistent. It also has a head of carp that muddy the water considerably at times. The carrier that feeds the lake can also be fished and contains a population of wild browns and grayling in 'normal' sizes with the odd escapee rainbow here and there. But beware, the river fish are extremely spooky and difficult to tempt.
I started the day on lake 1, the nearest to the fishery lodge. As you move round the lake trout are visible, but not present in ridiculous numbers. The bigger fish seem to stay deeper, whereas the new stockies (the fishery is trickle stocked daily) averaging around 4-5lbs minimums were present in the upper layers, chasing, but not necessarily taking anything that moved. Overall the fishing provided challenging but not impossible targets, just right really.
As recommended on the forum I started the day with a leaded Walker's mayfly nymph. This got a good number of follows from the 'smaller fish' and one hook up (which I lost), but the bigger fish remained deeper. It sounds funny but when you're at a lake with fish the size of Avington's you spend a large proportion of the day avoiding the 4-5lbers in the hope of targeting the individual bigger fish. With the correct depth being paramount to stalking these monsters, I changed my fly to a stonefly nymph (size 8) with a double gold head. This got down to the bigger fish fast.
Taking up position by a marginal tree I waited for one of the biggies to drift past.
Finally one I estimated at about 6lb came into view, I made a cast about 4 metres ahead, let the fly sink then started a jerky retrieve the minute the fly drew level with the fish. The rainbow turned and nailed the fly straight away, the four weight rod I was using buckled as the fish set off for the nearest weed bed, Still on a 6lb leader I was confident I'd land her. A few dogged minutes later she was in the net, all 7lb 12 ounce of her!!! I was gob-smacked.
The fish are a lot bigger than they look. They're quite possibly the deepest bodied trout I've ever seen. Another fish of 7lbs 8 ounces followed to exactly the same tactics half an hour later in lake 2, before I was broken off by an even bigger fish in the weeds.
An great example of an Avington perch
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After lunch I discovered what I consider one of the best features of Avington, the Perch. All three lakes have wild populations of perch, they average 8 ounces to 1.5lbs and some go over 3lbs. They're easily visible in the water and come readily to nymphs and mini lures, They are of course all returned, and provide excellent visual sport on a 3 weight and light line. It is these fish that help to space out your day at Avington as you can catch and release as many as you like.
They seem to patrol the margins and root structures of the trees and some of them are absolutely huge. In total I had 6 around the 1lb mark. And lost a few more due to poor hook ups. The pictures show what beautiful examples they were. I don't think that many people even target them.
Another beautiful perch landed!
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After lunchtime the trout started to wise up. This was especially true of the larger fish, who being a lot more visible to the angler due to their sheer size, have had all sorts of flies pulled past their nose in the morning. After a long afternoon I finished off the day on the lakes with another Rainbow of 5lb 4 ounces, on a mayfly nymph. This fish refused the fly about three or four times before taking (probably out of annoyance!).
Around 20lbs of prime rainbow trout - tasty!
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The key thing I learnt on the day was backed up by the advice given by Ron and Co. on the game fishing forum. Make sure your flies are at the correct depth. The fish don't seem to come up and down in the water to intercept your fly. You have to get it to them.
I highly recommend a day out at Avington. It would never be my every day fishing, it's just not real, but for an occasional special day out, this place has it all; Great surroundings, huge fish (in absolutely perfect condition I should add), plenty of perch to go at as a back up species, and even a stream with wild brownies.
People will say that this is an expensive fishery, sure it is, but think about it. I went home with around 20lbs of prime rainbow trout (normally 2lb a pound in the shops) so there is £40 of value, and I was one fish shy of my limit. The set up is stunning, there is a lodge with a fully stocked bar and BBQ at reasonable prices, the perch fishing is superb, and as for the carrier, there aren't many beats of the Upper Itchen available for £60 a day in May!
If you go, be sure to let us all know how you get on.
Facts about Avington
Price - £60 a day for a four fish limit, Catch and release on the Perch until you've reached your trout limit, and catch and release all day on the Carrier.
Website: www.avingtontrout.com
Contact Details
Steve Welch
AVINGTON TROUT FISHERY
Avington, Winchester, Hampshire
SO21 1B
e-mail: avingtontroutfishery@tiscali.co.uk
Tel or Fax: (01962) 779312
Neil Maidment
