December News

Almost another year has passed on the fishery, and it certainly has not been without its challenges. However, as we move into December, things are looking much brighter with the fishing returning to its best, largely aided by much cooler weather and lots of rain which has helped replenish the aquifers.

We now have large volumes of water running through Weston fishery, as well as the River Tillingbourne, which feeds all the other fisheries. With this cooler weather, we have been able to stock some really nice spartic trout (Arctic Char, brook trout cross), which are always popular with our anglers and provide a lovely bit of variety to the beautifully conditioned rainbow and brown trout from our own fish farm.

2024 Events

We have organized a couple of events in January 2024, starting with drop-in sessions by Peter Cockwill. This will be at Weston fishery, and all anglers are welcome to drop in throughout the day and pick the brains of the best in the business. The day will be a combination of in-lodge activities, such as fly-tying, knots, and leader construction, among others, as well as on-the-bank casting demos. A date for this event will be announced shortly through the website and social media.

The other event is a tour of our very own fish farm by farm manager Richard King. This will take place on Wednesday, 10th January at 10:30 am, and it is a free event. To book a place, please email [email protected].

On the bank

In the winter months, a lot of our time is spent working on improving our stretches of the River Tillingbourne. We have approximately 1.5 miles of river to manage, most of which are only available to the Albury Park syndicate. The Tillingbourne is one of the few rivers in Surrey to contain a population of wild brown trout, and most of the work is done is trying to improve the habitat for these wild fish.

This year, we have been working on areas that have suffered from siltation deposits, which accumulate in areas of slow flow, often where the river has suffered erosion and become wider. There are several methods to help increase the flow, which include hinging trees into the river margins and the installation of in-stream features to narrow the river and increase flow, such as willow deflectors.

We use willow sourced from the estate, as once cut and installed, it will re-root and grow, creating a living feature. Positioned correctly, these installations will increase the flow and scour out the silt to expose the original gravel bed, which is vital for wild trout spawning. It will also promote weed growth and increase invertebrate numbers, which the trout feed on. These willow installations also provide excellent cover for juvenile fish from predators.

We have seen good numbers of trout redds on the river this year, a positive sign for the future generations of wild Tillingbourne trout. Anybody interested in joining the syndicate should contact Fishery Manager Cameron Craigs.

Tactics

Tactics-wise for the coming months, I can’t emphasize enough to focus on your leader set up. I see a lot of anglers fishing leaders that are way too short. Quite often, they are 4ft to 6ft, while leaders ideally want to be 9ft to 12ft, longer if you think you can manage it. Also, cover the water in front of you effectively, not just putting the fly in the same spot all the time. It’s also important to cover as much water as you can, not just staying and fishing the same spot all day. There is so much good advice online now and some great videos on YouTube on Smallwater fly fishing, not to mention the magazines.

Fish Farm News from Richard King:

WoW, what a year 2023 has been!

• Summer Water temperatures have increased to 20°C on the lower farm (trout stops feeding at 20°C) water supply has diminished by 50% creating very challenging conditions for rearing trout.
• My reliable source of eggs and fry of over 20 years will cease trading next year.
• At the same time, fish food has passed €2000 per ton!
• Dawn Fresh, the biggest trout producers in the UK entered administration.

Next year the fish farm will undergo major dredging works to help mitigate warm weather and improve the farm’s longevity. This will be a logistical challenge that will see an increase in large fish being stocked into the fisheries over the next 5 months. In addition to seeing more 4kg brown trout, I have a 1000 1kg browns ready for lake stocking and over 3000 brown fingerlings initially available for river stocking.

In the future, I think trout fishing will become a high-value premium sport. Currently, many fisheries are turning to sourcing their fish from table trout farms with dubious quality, to keep costs down. I suspect as costs rise, more farms will close. All the time Albury Estate Fisheries have the farm to subsidize the fish, the fishing prices here will be very favorable for the angler. Importantly, the low stocking densities on the farm are critical to producing the best quality fish.