Mixed bag today..

Conditions were not good for stalking today, although the lakes were very clear again. That said i don't think there was a lot in there today. I saw a big brown in lake 1 that's been in there yonks, 2 big browns in lake 2 and one moderate rainbow, and a decent rainbow in lake 3. I probably missed a few cos of the conditions, with wind and cloud but i really don't think there were many 'new' biggies in it.

Anyhoo. I had a crack at the brown in Lake one, and to be fair, might as well have cast behind me for all the effect it had. THe rainbows were suicidally easy and it was a job getting the fly away from them!

Wandered to lake 2 and spotted the first big brown, again no interest, so got talking to a chap who'd fairly recently started fishing. he was struggling and so i gave him a fly and told him to cast where i'd been playing with some stockies. First Cast and bang! he had a nice 5 pounder! after he landed it, i spotted a couple more fish and he had a cast at them, Bang! another 5 pounder and he was chuffed to bits.! I then wandered onto lake 3 where the top third is blocked due to building. Irritatingly there was a big fish cruising there that every now and then came within range! the b'stard chased, chased and chased my fly but wouldnt take. after 2 hours he disappeared into the verbotgen area and i never saw him again

So far, so frustrating, so i wandered back to lake 2 where i had a lovely 9.5 pounder in perfect nick. i then spent some time stalking a 9-10lb brown when my gold head daddy was engulfed by a brown i hadn't seen! it rolled over, shook his head a couple of times and gave me a clear broadside befire the fly fell out! I was gutted as he was a true monster. I'd guess that brown was 18lb....

I was then summoned by the wife so wandered back up lake 1 again, the big brown was there and i got the fly in front of him many times, but no, he just wasn't interested. Just as i was packing up i spotted the decent rainbow i saw earlier, and thankfully after a couple of casts he chased the fly and took. At last one stuck and that was my double. 10lb 8oz.

Great day overall, lots of fun stalking, If the conditions were better i bet it'd have been great.

Cheers

Alex

Sums up Avington at this time of year Alex! Positive thinking tells me there's more big fish in there somewhere, but....

Monday and Tuesday were almost perfect winter stalking conditions, hardly any wind and bright blue sky with good light, but I've been stuck in work so very frustrating.

The browns are a hell of of a challenge and worthy of a lot of effort. I almost gave up on the one I had a couple of months ago but he eventually made the mistake after several hours and at 15lb was a stunner!

Hi Neil, yes i was looking lustfully out of the windows on Monday/Tuesday.. Sadly the Sunday i went was after a corporate day and a full saturday, so i just don't think there was much in there. I was pleased to get a double though, even if i did lose that Big brown. Speaking to Sam on the way out, it was reckoned to be the one that's about 18lb. It certainly looked as big as the one in my Avatar, especially across the back.

The closed part of the lake is a pain too. there was a big bow down there with a fly in its mouth. it was acting very spookily, and occasionally would venture out for a few feet before slinking back again. i had him chase a gold head daddy hard a couple of times, before he retreated to the building end never to come out again. I am absolutely convinced by the way he was charging up to the fly that it was only a matter of time. Just a shame i couldn't follow him

Managed to get there myself yesterday and the conditions were just as you predicted, although it was difficult early on due to the mist coming off the water. Conditions in the afternoon were beautiful and only about 4 fishing

Unfortunately I'm not in the same class as you guys when it comes to stalking and I didn't manage to find any of the doubles. Though I did see one early on in the top lake, but lost sight of him as he headed up towards the top end where you can't get to.......never managed to get a cast at him

That said, I finished with 4 all around the 6 - 7 lb mark and they all went like steam trains, not seen my backing that often for a long time .

But the best part of the day was in the afternoon when I got my 6' 6" #2 wt out and went for a play on the feeder. The Grayling were feeding really well and I ended up taking a total of seven, with 4 over 1lb, including this lovely 2lb fish (sorry about quality, only had the phone camera).



All in all, a glorious day. Not fished there for over 2 years, but I will be back a lot sooner, I had forgotten what a lovely place it is

Cheers,
--
Bill.

Sod the doubles Bill, 4 grayling over a pound and one of 2lb from that tiny stream is an awesome effort! Well done!

I'd bet that biggie you saw in Lake 3 was the one i had chasing me round the place on Sunday, and i'm pretty sure he's the 'iron jaw' fish discussed earlier.! I also struggled to see much in the way of very big fish when i was down there, perhaps after the number of fish that came out in Sept, they're stocking a few less this month. The conditions were poor when i went, but if there was another double in lake one apart from the one i caught, i'll eat my hat. Likewise Lake 2 where i only saw one rainbow in the 10lb class and that big brown.

Next time....

Thanks Alex,

Must admit I really enjoyed the grayling and ended up being the last to leave.

Best fish I saw come out was a 9lb from the middle lake, but I didn't check the book at the end as they had already locked up the gutting room by the time I had walked back down from fishing the feeder

Cheers,
--
Bill.

My neighbor was there same day as you, Alex, and he had what sounds like a very nice day while I was off getting skunked and rained on at Lechlade. He and his mate had both bagged up by noon and then spent the afternoon catching grayling and little brownies out of the carrier stream. For my next stillwater expedition, I think Avington will be the destination.