Decided to give Avington the benefit of the doubt today, as ive heard it has pulled its socks up recently, and it did appear to be so! The stock size is decent again, and varied. fish of between 4 and 9lb are fairly common, although there aren't that many doubles about, and those that are usually on the slab by 8.30am!

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh because overall the place is back to good form. i saw 2 very nice browns in there (which weren't interested in my efforts) and it is without doubt one of the most beautiful spots in teh country.

I had a lovely rainbow of 16lb 7oz and met Neil Maidment of the board for a bit of a chat about stalking. We both had a crack at another very large rainbow but no joy. I left Neil with the fish and headed home very happy that overall Avington's getting back to its glory days..

Cheers
Alex
Waiting to hear if Neil got that other rainbow...

Good to meet you today Alex, congratulations on a fine Rainbow. Three possibly four doubles came out today as well as four yesterday.

I did find that Rainbow a bit further up the middle lake and fished for it for about an hour. It eventually took a small black buzzer but.... when I lifted the rod... sod all, it just melted away.

Also found the Brownie in the same lake (a very good cock fish with a big head!?). But couldn't get a reaction from it at all. So there's at least two fine fish still swimming in middle.

Ended up with a superbly conditioned 8lber from the top lake also on a tiny black buzzer.

In excess of 80 fish were recorded today and they were being replaced as I left (the doubles as well!).

Fun tomorrow morning

Hi Neil, good to meet you too, sorry that big 'bow didn't stick! he was a spooky fish, that's for sure!

That's tkhe brownie for sure. very red along the flank.. I had him chase a fly, once, but each other cast was met with disdain!

Good to see Avington back on form though, and that 16 pounder was my best so far this season..!

Cheers

Alex

Did what I had to do this morning, finished a bit earlier than expected, so dropped in at Avington for the afternoon. Pretty busy for a Tuesday but good conditions for stalking.

Managed to find what turned out to be a 14lb rainbow almost straight away from under the tree/bush at the top end of the first lake. It took a black/orange stalking bug at the third time of offering, went like the proverbial train!

Wandered around a lot but failed to spot any other "doubles" and eventually ended up back at the first lake. Several people talked of "the big sod" halfway down the lake refusing everything.... it was and it did! A superb brown that must be in excess of 15lb/16lb refused everything I tried for nearly two hours, a very spooky fish! Considered opinion says the fish has been frustrating everyone for quite a while!

Finally gave it best and walked over to the middle lake and stumbled upon another fine rainbow (probably the same one Alex and I had a go for on Saturday - roughly the same area). This time it hit my little green buzzer hard and was on its way to the far bank in no time at all. I can honestly say this was the first time a fish had taken me down to the backing and more - twice! A stunning pb 17lbs 04oz rainbow eventually came to the net.

Two doubles and caught in the afternoon!

I am biased now, but Avington is on top form!

I returned to Avington for the first time in well over 4 years a couple of weekends ago.

I used to really enjoy treating myself to one or two days there every year in the days when Robbie and Beverley Winram ran it and Avington was really a tip top quality small stillwater. I caught my PB rainbow of 14lb there in 2002. But I found the quality and particularly the size of fish fell away somewhat after Robbie and Bev moved on, which meant it was an expensive day's fishing.

I had a 3 fish ticket, and while the 3 fish I caught weren't as big as Alex and Neil's, they were all good sized and in fine condition. While I agree that doubles may perhaps now be harder to find and catch and an early start pays, I was delighted to see Avington back to near its best and I will definitely re-instate those twice yearly trips there in my fishing calendar.

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

Hey guys, I am off to Avington and Dever this weekend and would like to tie a few little flies up especially for my trip. What would you lot recommend that i should not be without? Any hints and tips would be gratefully received.

Dan

Be interested to see Alex and Neil's comments. I would always carry the usual suspects on a stalking water - When All Else Fails, heavy hares ear bug, damsel nymph, goldhead classic FM, superglue buzzers, one or two colourful marabou tailed flies for fish to chase. A couple of personal quirks would be a Cove pheasant tail nymph which can perform both as a quiet stalking fly with nothing for the fish to quarrel with and in its normal role fished slowly, and a few dries like daddy longlegs or claret hopper...I saw some nice fish taking terrestrials off the top under the trees on the third lake at Avington.

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

Avington:

My priority is to get the fly down to the depth at which the trout is cruising as soon as possible. Often like to lift the fly from the bottom as the trout approaches. Sometimes the time available to do that is very limited, so..

I prefer the #12/#14 leaded stalking bugs (definate personal preference for black body and orange tail.) Also use a variety of heavy buzzers, bright green, orange or black heads, black ribbed bodies all work well. Short 9ft/10ft leader of 7lb fluoro makes targeting and placement in tight corners a little easier.

First thing in the morning anything with a bit of marabou, damsel and the like will attract any and all the fish! But they soon wise up and switching to small and smaller as the day goes on is good advice.

Good luck, be patient and disciplined and have fun!

I went to Avington today & got a couple of 4 1/2 lb stockies (both taking a Walker's Mayfly nymph on the drop) and also a 6lb 10 oz rainbow on my new Demon #5 rod on a GRHE.
All 3 went really well & took loads of line

My second time at the place.
First time was in 1988 when aged 15. I took a 10lb 7oz rainbow then, which is still my p.b.

I did see a few bigger fish in each lake. Maybe 2 or 3 double-figure fish in total.
I tried for 'em but they weren't buying what I was selling!
Average stock size is a healthy 4 or 5 pounds with a fair number of 6-8 lb'ers.

George was telling everyone about Neil Maidment & I saw the catch return form from yesterday. Well done (again!) Neil.

Dorjee (George) doesn't say much about my high quality blanks tho!



Here's the big girl I had on Tuesday - 17-04: