Longford lines 2017

LONGFORD ESTATES
Tel: 01722 411616 Email: office@longford.org.uk www.longfordestates.co.uk
Longford Lines 2017
Agriculture • Aquaculture • Residential • Commercial • Woodland • Sporting
Land Agent: A Jones-Perrott Esq M.R.I.C.S
Trustees: The Rt Hon The Earl of Radnor, The Hon P J Pleydell-Bouverie, Miss S A Laing, Mrs H Clark
Estate Office Longford Castle Salisbury Wiltshire SP5 4ED

Longford Lines 2017
Foreward
A huge thank you to you all for your continue to support of our fishery at Longford as without
you we would be unable to fund the vital work that is needed to protect and enhance our
waters.
Pete and I have a very close working relationship and every year we have projects that we
would like to achieve to make your experience of Longford more exciting and varied.
There has been investment this year in the coarse fishery with the creation of ponds at
Standlynch, we still have work to do over the winter and spring.
The game fishery now has a suitable base at Matrimony Farm, please use it, it is a great
space to shelter and meet fellow anglers.
I have been in negotiation with the Environment Agency regarding the installation of a further
all species fish pass at Dog Kennel Hatches on the Navigation which is likely to come to
fruition during 2018 subject to funding negotiations.
In terms of membership please be rest assured that we are content with the number of game
anglers we have and the Trustees do not wish to exploit the fishery further. With more to
offer on the coarse fishery we are looking for an additional ten rods to help maintain the
fishery to the standards that we now employ.
With very best wishes to you all.
Alasdair Jones-Perrott
Even I have a dabble from time to time 6lb 1oz Chub from the Castle Stretch
under the watchful eye of Peter!

Pete’s Preamble
It’s November as I write this annual review of the fishery here at Longford and outside my
office window the rain is falling steadily at long last. It’s been a long time coming unless of
course you are an arable farmer who would have had your head in your hands with such an
unsettled harvest. For the moment though we go back to the winter of 2016 and we
experienced a lift of water during November that saw a decent run of Salmon push upstream
through Standlynch seeking their spawning grounds in the upper reaches of our catchment.
The sheer numbers of fish was incredible with some very large specimens among them.
Their biological clocks had timed this migration just right as this was the best chance they
had to get above Salisbury during this crucial period in their spawning calendar. Although if
they are unable to get upstream they still spawn in the main river and some of the side
streams on the estate. This was the first time I’ve seen a pair of fish spawning in the lower
Cowbridge finding this habitat suitable spawning substrate.
Coarse Fishing
The winter was tricky for our coarse rods with a persistent easterly air flow made for difficult
fishing conditions with Chub making up the bulk of the catches. On the estate we have such
a variety of stretches there is always somewhere that might save a blank day. The Barford
carrier located behind Standlych Mill is one such place.
Mary with a common Carp from the Barford Carrier
It’s an interesting stretch home to a variety of species, carp are present in large numbers to
mid double figures with an increasing Chub population and of course Roach which are finally
starting to make headway in some parts of the fishery. Among these are also resident Bream
which show up from time to time. On the west side of the main Avon is the Newcourt carrier
which flows parallel to the west side of Barford fish farm which flows past Downton where it
again enters the main Avon. In my early years at Longford I used to stock this stretch with
Brown Trout but it was hardly ever fished so about six years ago I decided to stop and
manage the carrier for coarse species with emphasis on Roach regeneration .In the last two
years this has been helped by the installation of an all species fish pass at the site which
give free migration up and down the carrier. Again there are a few carp present along with
Chub and increasing Roach along with some very large specimens over two pounds. The

middle section of this stretch is very much a wilderness but holds good fish and when the
main Avon is in full flood the lower reach around Newcourt dairy fills with dace even though
this area is busier with dog walkers great sport can be had trotting these areas.
Interestingly the Newcourt was one of the late John Searl’s favourite flood water haunts
especially when the river had been high for several weeks and when the clarity returned he
had some great catches that he documented in his books. After Christmas we generally
start to see more consistent catches, however it was during the last fortnight of the season
that the fish started to really go on the feed. Encouraged by longer daylight and high water
temperatures brought about significant rain to colour the water encouraging the Barbel to go
on the feed with more caught in the last ten days of the season than the preceding 4 months.
Two notable Barbel from that last week were fish of 14lb 10oz to Paul Young and another of
13lb 10oz to Dave Dietman.
On the last Sunday of the coarse season we have resurrected the Longford Castle Coarse
Fishing Match which is open to our membership and gives the chance for rods if they pick
the right number in the draw the chance for fords to fish Lord Radnor’s private stretch. It’s a
nice sociable day concluding with dinner and presentations of prizes at the Radnor Arms.
The match is limited to around thirty participants so if would interested in taking part just let
me know when you return your renewal and I will forward the info at the end of January
2018.
Rogues Gallery !!
Last years match was won for a third time by Bob Gibbs with a weight of 73lb of Chub and
Bream. In second place was Pete James with 59lb 4ozs one of our female rods Sandra
Dietman came in third with 36lb 7ozs of Chub.
The coarse fishing on the estate waters has always been important. It runs in tandem with
the Trout fishing and sits well together having such a large and diverse fishery. In the long
term it has always been my aim to make the coarse fishing as good and interesting as
factors in my control allow. We are living in a changing environment with lots of demands of
our Avon catchments water resource. Abstraction is one of the main concerns.

The River keepers that
I trained with are long
gone they carried out
their profession in a
much more sedate
fashion where
manpower was more
available and modern
life aspirations not so
high. Modern day
anglers quite rightly
want to feel they are
getting value for their
hard earned buck. On
this subject you will
have noticed over the
previous twelve months
we’ve been doing
excavation work
creating ponds for the syndicate to
fish whilst this creates different
angling experiences and the ability to
offer twelve months fishing. The
upside it also provides habitat for the
recruitment of Roach which for
reasons I don’t think anyone can
really fathom struggle naturally in the
Avon but in ponds on the same
watercourse seem to thrive. Certainly
evident this summer in what has
probably been one of the best
Cyprinid spawning summers for years.
Currently we have three ponds
available for you to fish. These are
still work in progress just needing
some finishing touches. We have also
dug a new lake from scratch in the
area above Standlynch Mill this is
going to be extended in spring 2018
and will open later in the year once it’s
had time to settle. We have plans to
revamp the car parking situation at
Standlynch so please bear with us we
realise that there is not enough room.
Please be courteous to the occupiers
of the Mill as it is important that they
are allowed free vehicular access to
come and go. We also have plans for another pond behind the area around the Trout farm
bridge so all in all busy times for me but exciting overseeing these projects come to fruition.

Work in Progress
First Phase completed

One other notable fish from the winter was a pike of 27 lbs to Vaughan Hawker, I think it was
probably his personal best.
As June the 16th saw the start of the new coarse season on the fishery a few rods where out
and about on the banks.
Jonathon Tingle was among them and gives an account of his day in this review. It’s been
quite a tough season but there has still been some good results, husband and wife Dave
and Sandra Dietman have both caught large Barbel just over a week apart so the pressure is
now on to try and catch one over 15lbs.
Sandra Dietman with her Barbel
And Dave with his!

Many of the rods are aware that I
personally have a passion for Carp
fishing and it has been noticeable
this year there appears to be more
of them present on the fishery.
Stuart Morgan who came as a guest
not only managed an 11lb Barbel
but also a stunning 28lb common
Carp in the same session.
One final thought, as anglers we do
suffer from a succession of blank
days and we all question our ability
or are the fish actually there at all.
They can and do switch off the feed
for many climatic reasons.
Pierre - November 2017 25lb 12oz Pike
Before moving onto the game fishing I would just like to say many thanks to the Sunday mill
crowd for their work on the Barford carrier, its much appreciated thanks guys and girls.
Game Fishing
We start with our Salmon fishing. The previous two seasons had been incredible with the
2017 catch totalling 34 fish. As the season opened we didn’t have the head of water to get
fish up to Longford in significant numbers which is imperative.

Darren White with a Silver Bar
Reports of the more traditional lower Avon Salmon beats were not reporting catches so there
were generally fewer Salmon across our catchment. The salmon of the Avon continue to be
an enigma but by nature of a migratory species their presence is going to fluctuate from year
to year. I wouldn’t want to be to presumptuous but 2018 if conditions allow could see an
increase. The number of the multi winter fish present the previous two years spawned
favourably. There were certainly large numbers of smolts evident so with a bit of luck they
made the journey to the estuary successfully.
Andrew Thornton who is a very proficient trout angler seems to of got salmon fever and is
seen as much with a salmon outfit as his trout kit. Andrew managed a cracking 19lb Silver
fish in May as did Darren White a couple of days later with another bar of silver of 13lbs.
The total catch reported to me was 15 fish for the season. As a reminder could I ask anyone
who fishes for salmon to give me an accurate return of fish caught by the 1 st October 2018.
It is essential for our records and therefore phone or email would suffice. Year on year I am
seeing an increase of Sea Trout on our waters with some real big fish turning up towards the
end of the coarse season. I witnessed one such fish with had taken a liking to bread flake, it
was all of 8lb and in stunning condition.
The Trout season on Longford started on 1 st April and it’s always nice to see the rods out on
the bank in anticipation of the coming season.
For Longford to fish
well early in the
season we need to
have river levels that
are on the low side
which is what we
experienced this
season.
I don’t think anyone
could deny our
seasons are a mixed
up certainly with
southern England
warming up quickly
from mid-April.
Warm days with sunshine triggered what was probably the biggest single hatch of River fly
we have at Longford the Grannom.
Over the last couple of seasons it’s good to see more of our rods making the most of this
annual event. The jury has always been mixed as to whether Trout actually like the adult fly

and from my l observations I think they prefer an imitation of the emerger. The volume of
hatches though some can be short is an incredible event to witness. This year we had
without doubt the largest hatches I’ve seen and some quality overwintered and wild Trout
over 3lbs were caught.
As the Grannom petered out so the Hawthorn or St Marks Fly appeared. The latter a gangly
terrestrial doesn’t seem to make good numbers every year but something was right this time
because there were good numbers present. A breeze to get them on the water and Trout
adore them but again this bounty was short lived.
I would imagine the most eagerly awaited event of our fly fishing calendar is the appearance
of the first Mayfly. On Longford you normally see the first few front runners around 16 th May
but this year they started hatching off in the first week. The Trout were on them from the
start and three weeks of great sport was had by all. It’s been more difficult to predict hatch
times in what is normally a late afternoon emerging dun generally showing from around
3.00pm for a couple of hours. This season they hadn’t read the manual and on some days
were hatching in the mornings, others as predicted mid-afternoon then not until around
6.00pm and on the odd day hardly a hatch at all!
The spinner falls were less predictable but some rods such as David Plumpton and Chris
Paris had some great sport as darkness fell. Another successful rod, Ronnie Butler he
haunts some of the lesser stretches seeking larger wild fish and enjoys some great results
and it is generally the only two weeks of the season I see him.
It does seem that a number of rods base most of their Fly fishing effort during this period and
rarely fishing again throughout the season. Also notable is that some stretches are more
popular than others with some areas hardly seeing any footfall and this becomes more
apparent as the
seasons progresses.
As the Mayfly came to a
close the fishery
quietened. During the
latter part of May
Welshmen’s buttons
made an appearance
but not in the numbers.
As daytime temps
continued to rise
through late June and
July most surface
activity was limited to
early mornings late
evenings. The Trout
during this period
preferring to gorge
themselves amongst the
weed beds on the huge
amount of damsel nymphs present during the daytime heat.
Olives are still very unpredictable, the plight of our upwing flylife is being well documented
with phosphates being the main culprit for their decline. Let’s hope the future will be better
for them as nature has an amazing ability of repairing itself if given the right opportunity.
Today we are dealing with lower flow regimes on our Chalk Streams certain species are
thriving i.e. the chronomid family of fly. The American fly anglers have known of their
importance for years and with their increasing presence on our southern rivers they are
becoming the Trouts’ diet of choice certainly when feeding off the surface. I am sure with
the importance now of the chronomids anglers are going to be faced with imitating such a
minute food source. In the future you will have to stock more extreme pattern sizes ie 10 `s
for Mayfly and at the other end 20 or even 22`s in your fly boxes.

August is always quiet on the fishery which I guess is down to holiday commitments etc even
though conditions were tricky to say the least some fared reasonably well with catches
during the month.
Some years September can provide some great sport even with fly hatches tailing off.
Evening rises are now a distant memory however the water clarity is superb. Bodenham
Lane fished really well this back end with some good trout caught right up to the last day of
the season. Interestingly I’ve seen better upwing fly this October than the rest of the season.
Daddy Long Legs also providing sport on certain days. Bodenham Lane is a great example
of how fencing livestock off river banks is so important. The work carried out two years ago
has made a difference with a margin appearing enabling anglers to wade along it and
providing the all important cover for fish.
I’ve nearly come to the end of my reflection. My wife Deb who many of you know is off to
her homeland of South Africa to work on a Rhino Sanctuary for a couple of weeks, so I have
decided to have some time off as well and am hoping to chase some big Carp which just
leaves me to say whatever your chosen angling discipline I hope you have enjoyed the last
season and look forward to seeing you on the bank some time.
Tight Lines ete.
My opening day – Longford 2017
By Jonathan Tingle
The 16th June has always been a special day for me. It’s my favourite day of the year, as I
am sure it is for many anglers across the country.
Being a traditional course river angler who does not practice the art of casting a fly or choose
to fish still waters across the months of spring, the 93 intervening days of the close season
represent a time to reflect on the previous season and look forward to what I hope will be my
most successful yet.
So when Friday 16th June 2017 rolled round I was chomping at the bit for my father and I to
hit the M3 at Sunbury, crawl through the seemingly never ending upgrade work and average
speed limit that has delayed so many fishing trips over the last two years and reacquaint
ourselves with the fishery.

After a brief stop at Reid’s to stock up with maggots we arrived late morning at Standlynch
Mill. Standing in the car park we could see roach, chub and dace darting across the gravel
and in and out of the weed, disappearing as quickly as they appear.
Moving upstream to the eel trap for a better view into the deeper water we spied more roach.
Edging across the overgrown staging I misjudged the end of the scaffold timber and the
bank and promptly plummeted into the river. Thankfully a full-scale submersion was avoided
with Dad on hand to haul me out.
Leaving my boots to spend the afternoon drying in the car park I headed back to the top of
the eel trap to see if the roach would cooperate. A loan roach about six inches long and a
dozen or more dace were tempted but the more substantial chub and roach remained
resistant to my approach.
It was time to move on to a different spot. I made my way over the weir up to the great bend
and immediately started catching dace and small chub plus a larger one of around 3lb 8oz.
Despite the promising start I sensed that on this occasion that the great bend was going to
offer me little more and I made my way back to the car park stopping briefly to pick up my
barbel rod and headed down the track to the fish farm bridge.
I was pleased to find the area surrounding the bridge now abandoned by the anglers who
had been there throughout the morning. I picked a spot that I was hopeful would yield me a
barbel, and prepared my chosen swim with hemp and boilies.
Leaving the swim to settle I moved across to the east bank directly above the bridge and
started catapulting maggots across to the far bank. After a few minutes of doing this I began
to fish. Casting my shallow set float and double maggot across the river to follow the
catapulted maggots downstream and under the bridge.
I was quickly rewarded with a hard fighting chub approaching 4lb that put up a good account
of itself in the shallow water. I kept the bait flowing and was rewarded with three more chub
similar in size plus a lone trout and a bonus grayling.
Happy with my efforts I returned to my baited spot and swapped my trotting rod and maggots
for my sturdy Harrison and a boilie. I gently cast my bait a couple of yards down and close to
the bank and settle back in my chair after a busy day so far.
My riverside relaxation did not last long. Several minutes later the rod tip pulled round, and
the reel began to churn. Immediately I could tell this was a big fish as it moved powerfully
upstream keeping close to the river bed. After an intense battle I was able to slip the net
under my prize. The scales revealed she weighed in at 12lb 1oz of fantastically conditioned
Avon Barbus barbus.
November 2017
I fished on until the light faded and
managed to add two more chub. What
a great start to the season at Longford
and one I won’t forget! Unfortunately,
the summer months have not been as
successful but writing this article at the
beginning at November has made me
look forward to the winter ahead and
exploring the wide variety of fishing the
beautiful Longford Estate has to offer.

Longford Estate Fishery – Recorded Weights
Barbel 16lb 2 oz James Howes March 2016 Standlynch
Bream
Carp common 30lb 10oz Peter Orchard September 2005 Castle Stretch
Carp Mirror 34lb 2oz Peter Orchard July 2007 Castle Stretch
Chub 7lb 4oz Hugh Miles Feb 2006 Tannery cut
Dace 1lb 2oz Tony Ward December 2005 Pollarded
Willows
Grayling
Grudgeon
Perch 3lb 10ozs David Hazelden September 2016 Bet 1
Pike 35lb 12oz Darren White February 2016 Musselwhites
Roach 3lb 1oz Paul Witcher December 2015 Big Bend
Rudd
Brown Trout
Salmon 30lb (est) Colin Offen June 2016 Roundhouse
*Please report your catch to the Riverkeeper should you record a weight in excess of the
returns above

Salisbury
Navigation
Bridge
Avon
Turn
THE RIVER AVON
AND TRIBUTARIES
SHUTE END ROAD
Britford Navigation
End of
Beat
PARK LANE
Great
Island
Browsmead
Alderbury
Longford Navigation Private
A338
Castle
ODSTOCK RD
Nunton
Bridge
Longford
Castle
Stretch Private
The
Yew Tree
Inn
Odstock
Bridge
WHITSBURY RD
Odstock
The
River Ebble
River Ebble
The
Radnor
Arms
Nunton
Gauging
Station
River Ebble
Ebble
Confluence
Bodenham
End of
Beat
River Ebble Private
Castle Stretch Private
End of Beat
Cowbridge Hatches
& Weir Pool
Buckley’s
Hole
Cowbridge Carrier
Pound
Piece
A338
Duck
Island
Cowbridge Carrier
Extent of Fishing
Syndicate
Private Stretch
Matrimony
Farm Barn
New Cut
Bridge
New Cut Carrier
Bailey
Bridge
The Junction
Upper
Musselwhite’s
North
A338
Charltons
Shallows
CHURCH LANE
Charlton-
All-Saints
WARRENS LANE
CHAPEL LANE
LOWER ROAD
Newcourt
Head
Standlynch
Pond
Acre
Pond
Blue
Bridge
Tue High Bank
Blue Bridge Carrier
Lower
Musselwhite’s
Standlynch
Weir
Boulder
Weir
Distance in Metres
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Newcourt Carrier
Avon
Pond
Barford
Pond
Barford Farm
Iron Bridge
Middle
Pond
Barford
Carrier
Standlynch
Salisbury
A36
Barford
Island
End of
Beat
A338
WARRENS LANE
End of
Beat
Catherines
Meadow
BATTEN RD
Wild
Weirs
BARFORD LANE
Newcourt Carrier
Longford and Trafalgar Estates
Sporting Fishery
B3080
GRAVEL CLOSE
SALISBURY RD
The Bull
Hotel
The White
Horse
THE BOROUGH
Town
Bridge
Downton
Tannery
Cut
HIGH ST
MOOT LANE
B3080
Southampton
Fordingbridge
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