November News

Albury Estate November News

It’s hard to believe that as I write this report Christmas is only five weeks away especially with the mild weather we have received. This weather has meant tactic wise, smaller imitative patterns such as diawl bachs, buzzers, nymphs and even dry flies have continued to catch fish when normally small to medium sized lures would be taking the bulk of the catch. I am sure at some point over the next month we will receive a cold snap and that’s when small lures such as the ever reliable blue flash damsel, cats whisker, hot head damsels, montana’s and fritz patterns will come into their own. If possible it’s always worth setting up two rods in the winter, one with a floating line and one an intermediate or slow sinker. This allows you to search different depths to find the fish. If you only have a floating line its handy to have a couple of sink tips with you that can easily be attached to the end of the fly line to get down if you think the fish are a bit deeper.

The winter period normally allows us to get stuck into some maintenance jobs on the fishery that normally we just don’t get a chance to do during the busier months. Things such a pruning up tree’s around the lakes and rivers and carrying out bank work to improve some of the banks around the lakes and river. We have almost finished our lake drain down schedule, with just Belmont and Mill Lake at Vale End to be done before Christmas. We also plan to carry out river restoration work on the river at Powdermills to enhance the fishing we offer.

Just recently we have stocked some more tiger trout that have responded well in the mild conditions and have proved popular with our anglers. So with this excitement in catching a variety of species we will be soon stocking Spartic Trout which are a cross between a Brook trout and Arctic Char, read more below in the Syon News.

Keep an eye on the website and our social media platforms to see when they are stocked, which is currently looking like it will be Wednesday 28^th November.

SYON PARK NEWS

As winter approaches and temperatures drop, prolific fishing should hopefully be on the horizon. There was a brief glimpse of this recently when 41 fish graced the bank in one day. As always lures reign supreme with Blue Flash Damsels, Cats Whiskers, and Snakes already starting to dominate the token count. Invertebrate activity is still high overnight but will become dormant in the colder winter water. The majority of fish are currently feeding on natural food early morning and late afternoon. Almost all fish have come out deep in recent weeks, as winter progresses we should have a few more coming off the bottom in search of food.

A hard hot summer saw Andrew Freeman lose at least a stone in sweat and Joe Parker peaked at Volcanic Red 4 on the Dulux colour chart. Both have now settled into their winter clothing and are beginning to see some good catches including a 6lb rainbow by Joe. Some anglers opted for the cooler climes of Albury during the summer. Jonathan Kirk and Bradley Say were two such anglers and made their return very clear with 8 and 4 fish respectively on Blue Flash Damsels and Hare’s Ears. Patrick Gleeson was the original instigator of the big bag returns with 5 fish caught on a black buzzer fished two foot below the surface.

Winter brings with it news of some new additions to Syon Park coming from Torre Fish Farm. Spartics. A word often whispered but until now was only a dream at Syon. Thanks to Cameron a batch is currently getting ready for their arrival at both Weston and Syon. This is the first time we’ve stocked Spartic trout, a new fish to the UK, at any Albury Estate Lakes so here’s everything we know about them;

Spartic trout are a hybrid. Unlike our Blues which are a colour variation of a rainbow. Crossing an Arctic Char with a Brook Trout produces a more oval silver fish with a Salmon like head, yellow spots, and white tipped fins. Spartics follow the lead of our other hard fighting hybrid, Tiger trout, which were stocked earlier in the season. As with all hybrids Spartic trout are sterile. There is no chance of them breeding with any of our native fish (they’d struggle to get out of the lake first).

Catching a Spartic may require slightly different tactics than your regular rainbow. Feeding in deeper water tends to be a common trait with these fish. At the farm they are spotted feeding at least 12 inches below all other fish and although aggressively feeding they are rarely seen breaking the surface.

2019 PLANS

Looking ahead into 2019 the lake will definitely be closed for the whole of August. Actual dates of the drain down are still being finalised. During this time the banks of the lake will be assessed as well as the amount of silt and the island will hopefully be restored back to its former glory.

Another Young Angler’s Day is on the cards. A very successful day last year saw over thirty 10-16 year olds learn to cast and catch a fish. All being well it will take place in the second week of April. Wednesday 10^th is our preferred date but that may change depending on our guide’s availability. If you are interested in what promises to be a fun and successful day please email [email protected]

OTHER NEWS

I have a couple more Albury Fishing Club events in 2019. The first is to welcome back Peter Cockwill and his Winter Masterclass. This is on the 9^th January and will run from 9am until 12pm at Weston Fishery. The cost is £20 and £15 for season and syndicate members. To book a place and for more information please email [email protected]. The other event is another away day fishing, this time to Wherwell Estate Fishery on the River Test on the 30^th January. I have 12 river rods available and 6 lake rods. To book please email me at the above.

BLACK FRIDAY SEASON ROD SPECIAL

We have lots of exciting things going on at the moment. Firstly we are running a BLACK FRIDAY PROMOTION (23^rd,24^th and 25^th November) which is that you can pick up a 2018/19 winter season rod for £90 which gives you fishing until the end of March 2019. Use coupon code ‘Save30’ when purchasing.

As well as this don’t forget that we offer Gift Vouchers which offer a fantastic present for any angler or maybe someone wanting to try fly fishing for the first time.

Finally I would like to wish you all our best regards and Tight lines.

Cameron Craigs