The fishery that I will be visiting later this week has sent me a "latest report" via e-mail (nice of them)
According to this report the rod average has shot up from a truly fantastic 1.8 fish per rod to an unbelievably phenomenal 2.4 fish per rod

My question is,does the catch return indicate a seriously poor stocking policy,or are the regular anglers the sort who would have difficulty catching pox in a knocking shop?

Sounds like a challenge!

I would suggest that trying to extrapolate any meaningful info from the rod average is impossible as there are too many variables.

Bet you'll be in fishing heaven and showing the poxless masses a thing or two.

Please post on how you get on

Bill
Last time we fished it I think our average was 1.
Hope we do better on Thursday.

For the benefit of others in the Plumstead area, where might this fishery be?

Just past Frant on the A267 Sussex

Chasing published catch returns around the fisheries is the way trout anglers used to carry on in the 1970s and 1980s when there was a weekly table of such results published in "Angling Times".

I would suggest a better strategy might be to find 3 or 4 fisheries that are well run and that you enjoy visiting, and get to know each of them as they fish through the season.

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"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

I'd be happy with 1.8 or 2.4 fish per seesion but I'd rather catch whole fish. Actually the best place I fish doesn't advertise but fishing can be very challenging and your not guaranteed to catch but isn't that what fishing is all about. I mean it would surely be boring if you knew yoiu could catch fish every time. The other thing is that the fish at the fishery are of simply outstanding quality and fight extremely hard to your efforts are well rewared when you do catch.

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Location - Ospreylia

Well there is one lake reserved for Brownies only, and it was stocked last Friday, so with that kind of rod average there should be loads left for me to christen my new rod with on Thursday

A rod average of 2.4 seems quite healthy, unless of course you are a "stockie basher" or expect the fishing to be too easy.

A mate of mine took up fly-fishing and on his first ever trip he went to Arnfield. He caught six fish, up to 5lbs, on a GH sedge - in March! Overstocked waters may be "entertaining" but are hardly a challenge for a true fly-fisherman.

Comparing your average, over a period of time, with the average for the water should indicate just how good an angler you really are - see it as a challenge!

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How poor a thing, sometimes I find,
Will captivate a greedy mind - Isaac Walton.

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Have a look at the posted returns for most of the large stillwaters - Chew, Grafham, Bewl, Rutland etc and you'll find they average out at about 2 fish per rod/day over the season. This is nothing unusual. I would expect a small stillwater to average a bit higher, but not excessively so. Let's face it, if the limit is four, the owner doesn't want too many rods catching a limit as he'll be out of business in a very short time. Call it a 2lb average fish, so 4 of them will weigh about 8lbs. It's a £30 day ticket so do the sums and you'll find the owner has made a loss on that angler. It's the blanks, 1's and 2's that make his living, 3 and he breaks even, 4 and he loses. No way would I run a fishery for a living and expect to have a comfortable lifestyle.