Salmon Fishing Forum banner
Cancel

Hampshire Avon 2023

28435 Views 253 Replies 43 Participants Last post by  HantsAvon, 
HantsAvon
Wishing all Avon anglers the best of luck for the coming season.....although it maybe difficult to access the river in some places at the moment!
Think it will be a little while before I cast a line, as I have some ongoing back issues, which are proving troublesome at present.
Sean
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 1
1 - 20 of 254 Posts
A
SomersetJock said:
Good luck and tight lines to all for the season ahead! 🎣🐋
I’m looking at getting a CAC ticket and fishing the Winkton stretch. Does anyone fish it regularly ?
any recommendations on required fly set up??
TIA
John
Click to expand...
Hi John,

I fished through my first ever salmon season at Winkton last year, hooked 5 and landed 2; I wasn't fortunate enough to receive advice on where to fish but as long as you can tell how a salmon pool looks like you will figure it out, they're only a handful! On fly fishing, I got into sink tips+leaders and normal or plastic tube flies. The setup is more difficult to cast and handle but I became convinced they wobble better than heavy tube flies, I may be wrong, but it's how I landed my first ever salmon so I will try stick to it for a while. I wish I had a chance to speak with Paul (Isisalar). In fact I came back to the forum decided to send him the first PM and found he passed, God bless him. From the information I have, he was very knowledgable, specialised in prawning and had a primarily static approach waiting for new fish to pass by. I also hear he caught salmon on the Thames which is just insane, he was based in North London like myself. Steve was also an amazing character and river keeper but I only got to speak with him about pike. Nonetheless, if we meet on the banks I'm happy to show you around.

Best,

Alex
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
A
SomersetJock said:
Hi Alex

Thanks for your reply, very helpful and congrats on your first season. Hooking 5 is no mean feat going by what’s said on here and other sites. 👍
I’ve no problem going exploring and working it all out for myself. Hopefully see you on the bank this season. 🎣
Click to expand...
It's well possible that a newbie like me finding a few fish on that stretch (which is not a top Avon water) had to do with the very low flows we had last year. I know of subprime salmon beats on other rivers i.e. pools without significant features or barriers, which perform better in low water conditions, whereas in normal times those fish would just push through to better spots, closer to their redds. This year will surely be different, so curious to see if there will still be a good number about.
Reply
Save
Like
A
Thanks CPM, this is all very interesting - your father must have been very knowledgable. I always thought the confluence at Sopley is a perfect looking pool in good flow but never got to fish it. You should have seen it in June last year, there was stale water and solid weed to the top, looked like a marsh rather than the Avon.
Reply
Save
Like
A
Daunker said:
For those asking about Winkton I looked into joining the club and the secretary who is in charge of the trout lake (white sheet?), has a map and it has the salmon lies on it. I don't have a copy of it, but saw it. Sounds like some of you new members might not be aware of it. If you can't find the name of the chap drop me a PM and I'll let you know, don't necessarily know if he wants his name on the internet.

Well done to the rod who hooked five on there! Very impressive!!
Click to expand...
Thank you Daunker, the map you mention is pinned inside our salmon hut but I find 80% of these named pools are not adequate, particularly during summertime; i.e 3ft deep water, too slow for chub and barbel to reside in doesn't look like a suitable lie. Maybe some decades ago, maybe during years with strong flow.. definitely not last year.

I see the River Dee was blessed by a priest at opening day and then had lots of scotch poured in, maybe that's where we're missing out😅. Tight lines to all rods!
Reply
Save
Like
A
What a beautiful fish. And on a fly when he could have conceded to the comfort and practicality of spinning. Excellent angling!
Reply
Save
Like
A
Gents, I'm curios to see some fish counts from last year, does anybody know if or when knapp mill will update their recent data charts?
Reply
Save
Like
A
Thanks Gary and Tony, understood - I won't be holding my breath. Shame to have the hardware in place and not make more use of it!
Reply
Save
Like
A
PeteJ said:
Yup, that was me. After two years of blanks somehow things have changed for the good and I've had four fish this season. Three kelts of 11, 11 and 13 and a fine springer on Tuesday at 21 pounds. I'm not doing anything very different to the last two seasons, but that's salmon for you...
Click to expand...
Very well done Pete, great to hear!🥂
Reply
Save
Like
A
Great to see so many perfectly mended kelts, so close to the harbour. Interesting that such a short fish is so heavy, must have been really broad!
Reply
Save
Like
A
I know the pool, it's the toughest one to get a pic in, no wadeable bank either side. Did you notice any sea lice on the fish?
Reply
Save
Like
A
PeterRoss said:
Fished a full day on Sat, very quiet and river pretty low for early March... Water looking good, lets hope a few more will be coming into the system soon.
Click to expand...
It looks like there are 10 days of rain and Atlantic weather coming which should push the river back up and set better levels for spring; may also encourage a bunch of fish to move up.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 2
A
Gents, as you probably know the river is on the rise but also carrying quite a bit of colour start this morning; visibility about 2ft.
Reply
Save
Like
A
PeteJ said:
Yes, one lice near the tail. It's the first "proper" Avon springer that I had caught and I was taken aback at the shape of it. I'm used to the profile of Scottish salmon and grilse from the Avon, but this fish was built like a tank! It was almost round in profile, with huge shoulders. Can't wait to hook another one...
Click to expand...
Interesting, so it wasn't in the river for long. As CPM's late father said, passed through the Royalty, Lower Winkton and the Upper Winkton weirs swiftly aided by high water. I guess is it did not hang for much longer there either.
Reply
Save
Like
A
Jason L said:
Two months into the season and I believe that there are only 5 Salmon for the river so far, 3 from Somerley and 2 from Winkton. Are we aware of any others?
Click to expand...
I reckon this time last year there was only one or two out and much fewer seen or hooked!
Reply
Save
Like
A
Just in case anyone is after a water update, river raising rapidly and well coloured as of this morning, 1ft visibility.
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 2
A
So to my understanding, there are 7 fish known to have been landed so far, of which 6 are from Somerley and 4 are the tally of David Windsor. By the sounds of it, the gentleman is doing one or a few things really well. At this time of year one fish can be good fortune, skill or both but 4? Quite incredible. It would be a great addition if a Somerley member here could invite him to join the thread.
Reply
Save
Like
A
CPM said:
Well it's 3rd time lucky, managed to get one to stay attached today at Somerley. A fine looking fresh fish of around 20 lb. It fell to classic Avon tactics of a devon minnow and 2 ounces of lead on a paternoster i'm buzzing !! Just heard of another similar fish from Somerley this afternoon pictures on the avon diary
Click to expand...
Amazing work sir, first and foremost for giving this high water a go! May I ask, did you find it at the bottom of the main flow, or on the edge of the pool nearer the margin? And did it take while you were stationary or when you were swinging/lifting the lure?
Reply
Save
Like
A
CPM said:
I was fishing an area that I only really fish in high water, under normal conditions there would only have been 2 feet or less depth. During high water it's always looked right to me, nice steady glide, out of all the turbulence, I try to get the weight right so the pull of the devon will bounce the lead across the stream without retrieving and then sink and draw along the bank. This fish was hooked 3/4 of the way across the river as the lead was slowly bouncing over the gravel bottom
Click to expand...
Thanks for this Colin, interesting indeed and great angling!🥂
Reply
Save
Like
A
PeterRoss said:
No fish or no fishing? Anybody been near the river this week? Looking forward to fishing at the weekend and hoping a few may be nosing up...
Click to expand...
No fish is the short answer as far as I'm concerned 😥 Not sure what the critters are up to
Reply
Save
Like
A
Jason L said:
Where have our Salmon gone. The whole of the Avon system has yielded 14 Salmon which is down on what is regarded a spring run river. One fish on the Itchen caught. One recorded on the Test and a 3 to 4 SWF from the Frome, these two recorded by the EA, so not caught. That's a catch return of 15 fish from four mighty rivers. Thoughts please.
Click to expand...
The first step is for a critical mass of people interested in salmon angling and conservation to acknowledge the problem, beyond the handful of active anglers who receive regular insights - us, here. There can't be a resolve if there isn't a problem. So I think fishery owners should publish and make their catch reports available to all, for the last good number of years if we want to have a glimpse of the trends. Similarly the fish counter needs a push to publish regular updates. Lastly, upholding the myth of the Avon as the country's big fish mecca without stressing the dangers our salmon run faces detracts from the real picture. I accept that fishery owners may view such transparency as detrimental to income in the short term, but I think it's a necessary first step if we expect solutions for the future.
See less See more
Reply
Save
Like
  • Like
Reactions: 2
1 - 20 of 254 Posts
Salmon Fishing Forum
Salmon Fishing Forum - Discussion board dedicated to salmon fishing.
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
General Board Off Topic Lounge Classified Sales Irish Rivers Reports & News Picture Gallery
Top