The Royalty Fishery,Christchurch.

[Neneman Nick]

I was invited to take part in the "Korum Challenge" fish-in on the royalty yesterday (as was speci from this site),it was part of a prize awarded for the big barbel i caught on a flooded ouse last year.Speci had the good tench from sywell earlier on in the year.

Although i only caught two spotty things in the morning on trotting gear,salmon parr i believe they were and a jack pike on lure tackle in the afternoon,i had a brilliant time.

The fishery staff gave me lots of advice and marked on my map the best places for trotting and lure fishing,they also supplied every one there with a cracking buffet lunch and the folks from korum/preston innovations and total coarse fishing magazine weremagnificent as well.

I have to admit i was a bit in awe of the place at first but once i got going and started roaming about,i was fine.

I can`t end this posting without mentioning the anglers rest room,with all the antique tackle and mounted fish,pictures on the wall and angling literature to read.....i could have sat in there all day and marvelled at all these wonderfull things.

I will be returning next year for sure......i have found my nirvana.

Royalty fish-in anyone????

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Nick,

You will remember that day for the rest of your life.

OK you may not have caught much, but you enjoyed yourself, that is what makes angling so special.

Fish in, yes please

 

[Jeff Spiller]

Speci, come on, how did you get on ?

Are you the new river record holder for the biggest barbel ever to come out of the Royalty ?

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Nick,

As far as I am concerned the Royalty is the 'Mecca' of coarse fishing. Granted it is not the fishery it was in the 70's but it is still the 'home' of fishing for me.

Any time you fancy a weekend down there just let me know, my home is about 50 minutes from the fishery.

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Oh wheres my invite

 

[Specihunter]

i had two small salmon parr/fry. I too enjoyed my day and intend to go again . A lad got it right trot in the slow part of the stretch . I agree with nick on the anglers restroom . The only part that wound me up was weed and the tide going out ,but thats something i have to learn how to fish .

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Ray,

Anytime you like.

I'm told my breakfasts are a right angler's dream, so just let me know, okay?



Speci,

Its a bleedin' chalk stream, what did you expect?

Alkaline rivers produce a plethora of weed, and the attendant fly and larvae life is what makes the Trout grow, and also makes them bl00dy wary of imitations.

[insert smiling thing . . . . . H E R E ]

 

[Ray Daywalker Clarke]

Nice one Peter.

Speci,

As they say, you learn something new every day. To get things right in fishing takes time, even then not everything goes to plan.

That's why we go back time after time, enjoyed it you did, and you still learnt something.

 

[Steve Spiller]

Nice one Nick, it's a special place for sure.

How did the Northerners do? I hope they had a great time too.

Wasn't Nigel talking about having a fish-in above the Royalty?

 

[Specihunter]

Peter it wasn't the weed that got me but when the tide changed alot of weed came down from upstream so every cast my rod got hit bigtime , when the flow was good i had no problem with the weed . Peter whats a tout.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Congratulations both of you. You could have picked more fish friendly conditions tho! The drop in temperatures this week has been incredible.

It's a fine piece of river and a lot of angling history resides between its banks. I fished it quite often this past summer (you should have seen the weed then!) and hada few good days when the barbel obliged.

Even though I used to fish it an awful lot 30+ years ago, and the rver has changed incredibly in that time, the Royalty remains a special place (except at weekends /forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif).

Speci .... how far downstream were you fishing?? Sure you weren't down in the harbour? /forum/smilies/wink_smiley.gif

 

[Phil Lambert]

I've fished the Royalty on a number of occasions, but tide?? I've never been aware that the royalty is tidal, but perhaps I'm wrong.

The weed can be a bit of a bugger but it all adds to the challenge. The barbel are getting way too smart and have seen it all before but it was nice to watch Mr Walton rolling meat along the various beats - a master in action if ever there was one. Sadly now no longer fishing this venue I hear.

Thenumber of species which get into this stretch is phenomenal. Fishing from the Piles swims, I watched an angler fishing the lawns opposite hook and land a hen salmon of around 8lbs on sweetcorn!! This salmon had clearly not read the rules.

By the way, some absolutely HUGE perch inhabit this venue. One day I'll take time out to deliberately target them.

 

[Bob Roberts]

Who was that man fishing just above the railway bridge as I passed by on the train?

Must confess I envied him!

 

[Mark Wintle]

The tide extends to about a hundred or so yards below the main car park but by that point the influence isn't much at all. Often on the Avon the weirs and hatches get cleared during the morning which can result in weed coming down later in the day.

 

[Phil Lambert]

Don't know who the bloke was Bob, but he was probably wearing ear defenders! That bridge has got to be one of the noisiest railway bridges in England. Still, doesn't seem to affect the barbel.

 

[Nigel Connor(ACA ,SAA)]

Glad you enjoyed the day guys.I was thinking of you and was a sorry the conditions were not a bit more clement but it does not seem to have effected your appreciation of the place which is great.

 

[Fred Bonney]

I learn something new everytimeI go down there, one day I'll catch a fish!

 

[Neneman Nick]

I think i`m right in saying i landed the biggest fish of the day from right next to the railway bridge-a pike of approx 5lbs or so. I must confess it wasan awesome take and because it happened virtually at my feet in clear water i witnessed every second of it....i shall return one day and aim to capture it`s bigger relatives!!!

Thanks for the invite peter,i will take you up on it for sure.I was planning a couple of days there next year,with a couple of nights in a b&b.

I intend to write a letter to the the fishery team down there thankingthem for their hospitality and good adviceduring the day.....if only other fisheries showed the same to visitors and customers.

I did take some pics in the anglers rest room and i will get them on the pc over the weekend.....i did show the pics of the mounted salmon to a couple of chaps at work.To say they were astounded at the size of them was an understatement.

 

[pons]

The conditions were diabolical for fish catching ,frost and very clear skies,plus sunshine in the morning ,it cloud up in the afternoon ,but remained cold .

Nearly everyone stopped for a splendid lunch in the big hut ,organised by the fishery staff,and then roamed after.

Up at the top weir was 60 and 70s Royalty legend ,Bob Buteaux who I chatted to and photographed .

A full report will be in TCF magazine plus loads of photographs,penned by Steve Martin.

It was a great day ,and really good to meet loads of new faces ,including Nick and Speci off here,even if the fishing was having an off day.

Pons

 

[Mark Wintle]

I'm glad you guys had a great day but the reality is that compared to many other local venues it isn't that good. The fame it enjoys and the fact that it is a compact and veryeasy to get onwater continue to blind many to the obvious. I have fished it a few times in recent years and had three great days (through getting away from the crowds) and several very average ones. There is a good head of barbel partly due to restocking. The chub fishing is below par compared to other local venues. The roach way past their best and the perch a very recent surprise that is being repeated throughout both the Stour and Avon. You can't get onto the best of the dace fishing which is truly special. It is probably unfair but the word 'over' applies to it; over-fished, over-rated, over-crowded.

However, it has changed much over the years, and somewhere in my loft I have a brilliant AT spread from 1971 on the Royalty which puts the fishing today into perspective.Striking sideways was not an option!

That said and done pick your day (this week was NOT the week to go!) and you can have some interesting fishing just remember that most of the fish have seen it all before many times.