Latest news from Albury, Surrey

Updated November 18th

Please note that we are currently draining Wood Lodge Pool down for maintenance.

A good weeks fishing despite some wet weather towards the end of the week with 122 fish caught. Vale End and Powdermills are still producing the best of the fishing however catches did start to improve at Weston especially after a couple of frosts. Some more nice fish taken last week with the larges for Karl Knight at 12lb’s taken from Weston (see pic below).

Simon Chamberlain with a superb 6lb 8oz brown trout from Powdermills.

Below, a good bag of fish for Dave Homer from Vale End.

The colder mornings have meant that the fish have been sitting slightly deeper first thing but any rise in temperatures will see the fish move up and start feeding in the first couple of feet of water. The fish certainly appear locked onto larger lures at the moment with damsel and fritz patterns doing well. Its always worth carrying different styles of damsel patterns with you not just the gold head blue flash damsel version. Try orange and green bead damsel patterns which act as a hotspot for the fish to lock onto. With any rise in temperature during the day will normalluy be met by some form of buzzer hatch so make sure you have a few in your box.

The fishing lodge is coming on nicely and it is hoped we should be open for the start of next season.

On the 17th October we ran an away day fishing to the Lower Itchen Fishery in search of grayling. The event was really well attended with just over 20 people with a mixture of river experience. Some had never fished a river before and some had more experience but I am pleased to say that nearly everyone managed to catch a fish in fairly challenging conditions after heavy rain the days before we fished. Below are a couple of pics from the day.

A stunning brown trout weighing 8lb 12oz taken from Powdermills by Neil Eyles (see pic below).

Please note that the police and environment agency will be carrying out regular patrols of the fishery so please ensure you have a valid rod license and all fish caught are declared and paid for. The picture below is of a recent patrol.

ATTENTION ALL ANGLERS. We have recently caught and banned some anglers abusing our system and practicing catch and release which is NOT permitted on any day ticket Albury water. We now have a number of voluntary bailiff’s who will be on the look out.

We now have for sale through the website ‘Starter Fishing Outfits’ for £69.99. Included is a 9ft 5\6 weight rod, reel loaded with a floating line, tapered leader, flies and safety glasses.

In the absence of Albury Game Angling shop we will now be selling Fulling Mill flies, spools of leader and tapered leaders. These will be available from the bailiff. We will look to expand our range over a period of time.

Latest news from Syon Park, London

Updated November 13th

Day Member entry 08:30. Last entry is 18:00. Fishing permitted until Dusk . No Catch and Release Permitted.

Cash will not be accepted on the bank for Day/Season Memberships or for Fish Tokens. They can all be purchased online or on the bank using a Credit or Debit Card

If you are a first time visitor please call the bailiff on 07956 378138 the day before to get the gate entry code. Just start fishing, we will issue your membership/entry card and tickets on the bank.   Please note that the gate entry code changes often, get used to using your card to gain entry or you won’t be able to get in!

Winter is Coming

Another 70 fish out in the last week. Half of those were brown trout, unsurprising due to the large stockings of browns introduced since October. It’s also been an amazing week for big fish with Roy Lyu and Lawrence Beazley landing some specimen trout. Pictures and information in the Trout Masters section below.

Blue Flash Damsels, Cat’s Whiskers, and Cormorants have fished well this week. Very little fly life to see on the lake so a larger fly pattern fished with a bit of speed should tempt the hungry trout! Epoxy minnow patterns have also taken fish in the deeper area of the lake, an intermediate line to reach the 6ft mid water depth whilst maintaining a fast retrieve could be a smart option over the coming weeks if fishing around the island area.

A floating line with a 9-12ft leader is perfect for the shallow end of the lake. Anywhere from the sheep dip outlet to the bridge. More and more fish seem to be holding in this area with the majority of fish being caught around the bridge at 2-4ft deep.

Trout Masters Competition – November

Lawrence Beazley has two entries for this months Trout Masters! A solid 6lb8oz brown caught on a BFD followed by a beautiful 6lb12oz rainbow caught on a Cat’s Whisker.

Roy Lyu has also had a fantastic November at Syon. Halfway through the month he’s managed an 8lb2oz rainbow and another even bigger fish whose weight has slipped my mind but will update A$AP. Both caught on Cats Whiskers around the bridge.

Johnny Halasi had a hard fighting 10lb rainbow on a homemade lure. The long blue creation took the fish just beyond the island. A hard fight on his split cane fly rod currently puts Johnny in pole position. He also had two beautiful 3lb browns on the same lure.

What happened during drain down?

The lake hasn’t had a substantial drain down since 2012 when the Wyatt Bridge was restored. Our main aim this year was to restore the island that had disappeared under the surface of the lake. We received funding from the Environment Agency which allowed us to hire a digger and purchase materials to rebuild the island and create wetland hemispheres at various points around the lake.

The funding was provided  by the Fishery Improvement Fund. Money could only go towards habitat and environmental improvements. We reclaimed some of the deeper areas of the lake, created areas to plant a larger variety of plant species, and most importantly rebuilt the island with the addition of an outer ring for submerged vegetation.

We’ve uploaded videos of Syon Park from the Sky! You can really appreciate the seclusion provided by Capability Browns tree line when you fly over the top and see the city sprawl around us. See Lakes From Above Page.

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