LONGFORD ESTATES
Estate Office, Longford Castle, Salisbury. SP5 4ED
Tel: 01722 411616 Email: office@longford.org.uk www.longfordestates.co.uk
Longford Lines 2018
Longford Lines 2018
Season 2018 – Game Fishing
It’s midday on the 18 th October 2018. I’m having a day away from the fishery, and am sitting on the
banks of one of my favourite lakes in Southern England, trying to tempt a large Carp to make a
mistake. Nothing really unusual about that aside from the fact that I am sitting in unbroken
sunshine with 17 degree temperatures dressed in just shorts and Crocs.
The 2018 season will long be remembered for the coldest March as we endured the beast from the
East with heavy snowfall, the likes our part of southern England hadn’t seen for decades. This was
followed by torrential rain in April which persisted for days, raising river levels and flooding
banksides which had a dramatic effect on the fishery this year.
Logistically running a fishery of this scale will always be a challenge. Even when you have the
weather on your side! With the last 12 months of extremes, a good analogy would be, ‘like trying to
herd CATS’! With the fishery membership being a
mix of coarse and game anglers, it can be a
challenge. Conditions that are good for coarse
anglers, are not necessarily good for game anglers
and vice versa.
1 st April sees the start of the Trout season. The
fisheries banksides grass has already been cut twice
and the margin fringe has had its first trim of the
year. The early season rods look for what can be
some good sport with the arrival of the Grannom
hatches, although it was not to be this year! Early
April saw the main river and carries flooding over
their banks with the water the colour of Ovaltine. On the days when we did see some sunshine, it
triggered some sparse Grannom hatches which were slightly in vain with the Trout being able to see
little in the turbid water. The arrival of the Grannom normally enables our rods the chance to fish for
wild and over wintered trout prior to stocking taking place in the last week of April. By this time,
water levels are usually starting to stabilise. Increasing water temperatures encourage steady weed
growth and an increase of aquatic food, enabling the freshly stocked trout to settle into their new
environment and make the transition from farm to fishery.
As a consequence of the extreme
weather I was unable to get
mowing equipment on the banks
of the fishery, let alone 6 tonnes
of vehicle, trailer, water and
trout to enable stocking to take
place by the 14 th May. Stocking
of the river as a result was not
completed until three weeks
later than usual, this
unfortunately had an adverse
effect on the fly angling. But
with the changing environment
and climate, what is a normal
season?! In 14 years, I have only
experienced one other season
similar to this one, 2007, where
we had relentless rain in mid‐May. The difference in the 2018 season to the 2007 season, was that
the stocking had been completed in the April prior to the rain and the rising river which provided the
stocked trout plenty of time to acclimatise. Interestingly, in 2007, during the peak Mayfly period,
the river was high and coloured but the fish were still rising to the hatching Duns. This highlights the
importance of the second half of April and the need for the river to be in a reasonable condition to
stock the fish. This is not an exact science but is heavily reliant on the experience of the River
Keeper.
The Trout season on Longford is a lengthy one, running from 1 st April to 14 th October. As the River
Keeper, you are always going to have peak periods; May through to the end of June, would normally
see the most peak footfall of fly anglers in anticipation of the most consistent fly hatches and of
course, the arrival of the Mayfly. Early June did see the Mayfly starting to appear, but hatches were
quite sparse. This was in contrast to the 2017 season which saw some of the heaviest Mayfly
hatches I have seen in 14 years at Longford. Could this just be nature adjusting itself or is it a direct
result of the weather? A bumper year, followed by a subdued hatch. You might want to see the
reflections of Mr Bonford’s experiences on the fishery as rod in the 1950’s later in the newsletter.
His observations of that season 60 years ago, show that things were not always as perfect as they
are made out to be and prove that nature does what nature does!
That aside, you may be aware of the situation that has been highlighted in publications and on the
internet of the plight of the fly life on our southern chalk streams. Various factors are contributing
to this. The higher demand for water leads to low flows, poor water quality and a general lack of
managing our natural water sources. But it is never too late to change things, the industrial
revolution saw our rivers turned into nothing more than running sewers, but we have now rectified
that. So we must be positive! In the short term, I feel river fly anglers are going to have to adapt
their approach. I was fortunate to have fished SADAC waters above Amesbury 40 years ago and I
can remember strong flows with hatches of Iron Blues, BWO’s and various other Olives, the hatches
were almost predictable. Yet by the time I reached my 20’s in the mid 80’s, river keepers and
angling bodies were starting to make noises about the diminishing upwing fly life on our rivers.
Being around these rivers most of my life I have seen fluctuations of various species but nature
always adapts and fills a void, so I always remain positive. One important lesson I have learnt as a
full time River Keeper is to concentrate on what you can effect and not to waste time on things you
cannot or that are out of your control. One of our Longford rods summed this season up perfectly
with what may be modern anglers perceptions of their sport, in a conversation with Will Templer
who guides on all the southern chalk streams. He spoke of an experience this season with a team of
rods who had booked the same Mayfly week for the last 3 years, up until this year they had
experienced almost predictable sport and hatches. When this did not go according to plan this
season, they asked what’s happening? To which he replied, ‘I think they call it nature!’
I always encourage our rods to contribute to the Longford Lines and again this year, we have some
interesting articles on their experiences of this season. I would like to thank them for their
contribution. While this Trout season has been a struggle for some, others have reported great
sport by choosing the times to be on the fishery. One article in particular, written by Jim
Wregglesworth, describes his seasons experiences, including references to our stretch of the River
Ebble and the success he enjoyed. One noticeable fact and one I have mentioned before, is few rods
seem to be around the river later in the day in anticipation of an evening’s sport. Even though rises
are not guaranteed, even a slight drop in temperature can put a halt to any surface hatching flies,
the temperature of last Summer saw many weeks of surface feeding activity. Albeit it might be a
short window, sometimes lasting no more than 20 minutes. After these hot days, any evenings
fishing is generally going to evolve around Sedge hatches but I did witness a few BWO hatches into
the darkness, which saw the trout respond accordingly.
Fly pattern size is another reason I think some rods struggle at times. Most rods will have Mayfly
patterns, Sedge and various Olive imitations down to size 16 in their fly boxes but if you glanced into
the fly boxes of some of the most consistent rods, you will find your big Mayfly imitations but also
find many other patterns ranging down to size 20 and 22. I think some anglers need to take a leap of
faith and use small imitations as the season progresses, and particularly when hatches of
Chironomids, Simulion and Caenis become more apparent and the trout are focusing on them if you
are to enjoy consistent success, you have to, ‘match the hatch!’ I can assure you, the trout have no
problem seeing these minute food items and while close copy patterns are not really needed, a
suitable sized suggestive imitation will generally do the trick.
Apart from the difficult fishing conditions this season, all rods
have commented positively on the quality and fighting ability of
this year’s stock fish. This is testament to the skill of Wesley
Hulme who manages the estates Bowerchalke trout farm and
who now provides all my fish for restocking. These fish are
hatched on site before being grown on in water at aconstant 10
degrees and are fed on a complete diet of floating food. The
ponds the trout are grown in are lightly stocked to enable
perfect confirmation. And Wes assures me, if they could have
been improved, the fish for 2019 are even better, which I can
testify to after visiting the site last week. There may be an
opportunity for some small groups of rods who are interested to
visit the farm with myself to meet Wes and see the trout that go
into our fishery. Thank you again Wes for your support. It goes
to show that a lot more goes on behind the scenes in running a fishery of this scale than people
realise.
I would also like to thank James Morgan, the estate Gamekeeper for helping me to stock each
season, Lizzie Parsons for doing the admin, Ed Gray from the farms, for helping me with the lake
constructions and lastly to my long suffering wife Deb, who is my constant support.
As August moved into September and then edged into October, there was a slight drop in
temperature. For the rods who ventured onto the fishery for during the last 2 weeks of the trout
season, they witnessed some of the best fly hatches and rising fish of the whole season. This is
touched on, amongst other matters, in Philip Ellis’s contribution to this years newsletter. While this
isn’t an unusual phenomenon, there seems to be a shift from the productive end of September
period to the first 2 weeks in October. As they say, ‘it isn’t over till it’s over!’
Looking to next season, we will hopefully find ourselves dealing with something more stable weather
wise and more favourable to successful trout fishing.
It is nice to see the increase in interest in the pursuit of salmon in recent seasons which appears to
be the case all along the Avon valley to Christchurch. The local by‐laws see the start of the salmon
season on the 1 st February with fly‐fishing being the only permitted method during this time. Some
of our keener salmon anglers can be seen on the fishery prospecting with a fly in these early weeks.
To catch an Avon salmon by this method must be the golden chalice for salmon anglers. Salmon
anglers in my experience, always appear to be the most optimistic. After all, you are trying to tempt
a fish that doesn’t feed once it enters the river, so you are relying on a purely aggressive response.
And even then, you’re never really sure at that point that there is actually any salmon in the river in
front of you. Hence the endless enthusiasm, it really is true wild fishing where the next take could
be a truly wild fish in excess of 30lb.
Even though a fish in these early weeks would be a big event, the main push of salmon into our
fishery seems to start around mid‐May. Due to the large amount of rainfall we had during April and
May I thought this would set the estate for a successful year with high river levels enabling salmon
to make the journey to our fishery.
Towards the end of May, one or two nice fish started to appear and once spinning was permitted,
the odd fish started to get caught. Even at this juncture, I could sense it wasn’t going to be a vintage
year. Just looking at the reports down through Sommerley Estate, Biston to the Royalty rod catches
were definitely down, although the Longford fishery reported 11 fish caught over the season which
this year, finished in August. So didn’t allow us to have the September extension we’ve been
permitted in the last couple of seasons.
Again the weather hampered salmon fishing activity with very high daytime water temperatures
lasting for weeks, alot of fishing days were lost this season. From a River Keepers point of view, I
feel the by‐laws regarding Avon salmon fisheries and timescales probably need looking at a bit more
in depth.
With salmon anglers always (as previously mentioned) being eternally optimistic, the good news is
again this year, I witnessed a large movement of salmon smolts migrating their way through
Standlynch Mill. If they successfully make their journey to the estuary and then onto the open sea,
fingers crossed, they will appear back in the rivers of their birth at some point in the future. Also,
there appears to be large amounts of Salmon parr present in the fishery, especially on the lower
River Ebble. We live in hope!
Cheers
Pete
Wet & Dry
It’s almost impossible to remember, as the bare patches still linger on the lawn, that at the start of
the 2018 trout season, we were experiencing a very different set of circumstances.
After a cold and snowy winter, where actual precipitation totals were on the dry‐side, we were
viewing the forthcoming spring with some trepidation, as we faced the prospect of a damaging
summer of low flows.
However, we needn’t have worried, as Mother Nature had a rather damp trick up her sleeve, and by
the start of the trout season we had more water than we knew what to do with.
I’ve settled into a bit of an early season habit over the last 10 years, searching the same few fruitful
locations on the Estate, where wild trout seem to be willing to rise to the very first sparse hatches of
the year. Even before the Grannom you can usually tempt them one way or another, but things
were decidedly tricky during April this year.
The usually shallow carriers were spilling out into the meadows, and sploshing around the banks was
more reminiscent of winter pike fishing trips, rather than the supposedly gentile and delicate art of
chalk stream fly fishing. Retreating to the Ebble, I experienced the rather novel sensation of being
almost swept off my feet in places where the water would normally only be babbling around my
ankles. I finally caught a small trout, but unlike the usual Ebble fish this trout was dull in colour, soft
and flabby to the touch, and clearly not fully recovered from a freezing winter followed by an
untimely barrage of water. I apologised, and slipped him gently back into a slack as The Radnor
Arms was calling from across the valley, so I left the fish in peace and enjoyed a rather fine
ploughman’s lunch instead.
I gave the fishing a rest for a while, but it wasn’t long before the sun started shining, and didn’t stop
shining for the rest of summer it seemed.
By late May things looked very different although the river still had an uncharacteristic power, the
fish were enjoying the improved weather and were definitely looking upwards to feed.
The Ebble started to fish well, and the healthy flows seemed to add an extra sparkle to things. The
riparian fencing which was completed a few years ago has worked wonders, and the bankside
herbage forms a dense swathe of text‐book marginal habitat, perfect for insects, and great for giving
wary trout and grayling a bolt‐hole when they feel threatened. The gravel has cleaned up nicely too,
thanks to the grazing cows now being restricted to bespoke cattle‐drinks.
I use a 6ft 3 weight when I fish the Ebble and, when the brambles, rampant vegetation, and tree
canopies seem hell‐bent on grabbing every clumsy back‐cast, I find a short rod gives me a nifty
advantage.
The trout and grayling can sometimes group‐up into closely packed shoals, and a very sneaky
approach is often needed to avoid sending a bow‐waving flurry of fish ahead of you. Quietly getting
in and out of the margins, while keeping a low profile, seems to be the best bet if you want to catch
fish, consequentially I often end the day with a few scrapes and scratches and always go home with
tingling, nettle‐stung hands after an evening on the Ebble.
By the end of May the fish had undergone a miraculous transformation, from the exhausted grey
specimens of early spring they had changed back into the brightly coloured spotty jewels the Ebble is
famous for. Lots of the fish are very small, but the soft delicate tackle helps to make even the
tiddlers fun, as they skip and cartwheel across the stream once hooked, with ‘laugh‐out‐loud’
defiance.
The colouration of those small fish is simply stunning, and when they are in the mood they can give
fantastic sport for anybody who adopts a child‐like enthusiasm for this type of small‐stream fishing.
I love it.
Every now and then, often after the most delicate of takes, the rod bucks heavily under your hand,
and a more solid swirling resistance can rapidly turn into a surging high‐speed run towards
overhanging snags, or into a deep pool – you’d better react swiftly if you want to stay in touch!
To be honest I’ve never caught a truly ‘large’ fish, of the size I know the Ebble holds, but a wild fish
which is pushing a pound in weight, caught on a dry fly in such a tiny river, is still a fish to savour.
Every time I catch one I marvel at how fin‐perfect they are, and at their butter‐yellow bellies and
outrageously colourful spots.
Over on the main river things were still rather challenging. The Grannom didn’t really do it for me
this year, and the Mayfly seemed to stutter on and off for weeks on end, rather than coming in any
great hatches like they had the season before. Having said that, there was some very good fishing to
be had, although much of it was still restricted to fishing from the banks due to the continuing deep
and powerful water.
As the temperature soared, the usual time for prime fishing was pushed back into the late evenings.
Expanses of water which appeared devoid of fish during the heat of the day would come alive as the
daylight finally melted away, and a combination of sedge and smaller up‐wings often dictated fly
choice, with the odd mayfly spinner‐fall too, if you were lucky.
One thing which stood out for me this season was the change in stocked fish. Of a more uniform
size, and distinctly more handsome than in previous years, it was a real joy to treat these fish as a
truly desirable quarry. Shortly after Pete stocked them into the river they appeared to settle into
‘proper’ trout behaviour, and on more than one occasion I had my ego dented by one of those fish
as they briefly looked at, and then declined to take, my offering.
The other obvious difference with these fish, which immediately became apparent once you had
managed to hook one, was that they knew how to fight! None of that wallowing thrashing lark,
these fish took off and did their utmost to regain their newly‐found freedom. So impressed was I,
that I couldn’t bring myself to kill a single one this year…there could be some rather feisty overwintered
fish waiting for us next spring!
I’ve been fortunate enough to rub
shoulders with some very fine anglers,
and am always listening for any words
of wisdom which might be cast in my
direction. I have to say that 2018 was
a bumper year in this regard, and I’m
very grateful to all those Longford
members (you know who you are) who
shared their knowledge on what might
be a wise rod purchase to celebrate
the end of my first decade as a flyfisherman.
I’m still mulling it over, but
I’m hoping that my Shakespeare collection may get fewer outings next season, if all goes to plan.
I started this article with a photo of the submerged footbridge at the lower end of the New Cut
Carrier, and ironically it was in the same spot where I encountered a lovely fish, which turned out to
be my last Avon ‘wildie’ of the 2018 season. The idea that the conditions could go from such an
extreme in April, to such a beautifully tranquil scene by the end of August, is astounding.
Catching this particular fish was everything I love about fly fishing. It (eventually) required a stealthy
approach, from an angle I’d never waded from before, and the capture itself was nothing short of a
game of chess as I worked out just what the fish was waiting to see before it would drop its naturally
suspicious guard.
I saw the fish rise, just once, as I approached from upstream (there’s no other option at this
location). That immediately presented me with the problem of how I would get past it, so I could
cast from downstream, without it seeing me. I quickly realised that was going to be tricky. And so I
adopted my ‘nonchalant lion’ technique (don’t try it, it doesn’t usually work!) – the theory being that
of the lion which casually strolls past a herd of wildebeest without them batting an eye‐lid, due I
suppose to an unspoken understanding that the lion isn’t hungry, and so the wildebeest have
nothing to fear.
Well, sometimes I do the same with rising fish, especially when I know that even with the stealthiest
approach I still can’t guarantee to keep myself hidden, so I pretend to be a well‐fed lion
(metaphorically, not literally), and simply stroll past without pausing, and usually looking the other
way! On this occasion it worked a treat, and as I turned to look back upstream from a safe
downstream vantage point, the unmistakable dark nose of the same gently feeding trout broke
through the surface again. Don’t you just love a ‘sipping’ trout?
I lowered myself into the deep margin, and got myself composed. I spent some time carefully tying
on a fresh length of tippet. I often like to busy myself in this way for a few minutes when I’ve found
a rising fish; it allows my pulse to return to normal, and usually results in a better first cast. As I
stood in the water, a medium sized conker‐brown caddis came skitting and fluttering past me across
the surface. Seeing this as a sign, I attached a suitably sized tan‐coloured elk hair caddis ‐ the best
match I could find in my box. Everything went to plan and, having inched ever so slowly into
position, I made a perfect first cast, with the fly landing gently a yard or so upstream of the fish. I
held my breath. There was movement, an upward bulging of the water, and my fly shimmied slightly
to the right before continuing its downstream drift unmolested.
A second cast was totally ignored. I looked around, desperate for a clue and, just like with the
caddis, a small olive came drifting towards me like a heaven‐sent hint. I looked upstream, just as
that dark nose nudged up through the surface again. Of course! How silly of me, of course this fish
isn’t feeding on sedge – look at that delicate take, definitely taking those little olives. I tied on a new
fly. Several casts later, and with not the slightest hint of interest, I was feeling rather baffled. I
stood like a heron, with my line coiled and swaying in big loops around me on the water. I watched
as the trout continued to rise but by now there weren’t any caddis, and the olives had stopped
hatching too – and yet that fish kept coming, gently rising, again, and again.
I really looked at where he was rising, staring intensely, and realised he was taking nothing at all, or
at least that’s how it looked. It was about then that I noticed the drifting swarms of tiny gnats just
above the water, chironomids in their hundreds. A new ultra‐fine tippet was swiftly attached to the
tapered leader, and the smallest Griffith’s Gnat I could find in my box (size 20 I think) was neatly
knotted on the end. The excitement had returned, and a further few moments were required to
compose myself. The fish rose again, and after allowing time for him to return to his station, I made
my cast. Incredibly my casting success stayed with me, and the tiny ball of hackles landed softly on
the water just ahead of his last rise. Up he came, good as gold, and as I’d watched him do so many
times before, his dark nose gently sipped something off the surface – my fly. I even managed to
maintain my composure, and waited for him to turn back down, before a gentle strike set the hook.
As wild fish of his size often do, he
instantly took to the air, leaping in
utter surprise at having his relaxing
supper so rudely disturbed. His
fight was noble, darting briefly
downstream of me before I got
him under control, but soon
enough he was safely in the net.
He was not a monster by any
stretch of the imagination, just a
baby really, but he was a pristine
Avon wildie, the likes of which I
would be happy to catch forever
more. As is so often the case, the photo really doesn’t do him justice. I’m starting to realise that,
along with the usual patterns like Grannom, Mayfly, caddis and olives, there is a strong case for
having a special section of my fly box dedicated to ‘micro‐flies’ – I’m convinced I wouldn’t have
caught this fish without one.
Catching that trout feels like a fading memory now and, as I write, the weed is starting to die back,
rolling up out of the riverbed and drifting away downstream ‐ creating work at the hatches and fish
pass structures all the way down the valley to Christchurch. An arctic blast is being threatened on
the long‐range weather forecast, and I’m already dreaming about bronze flanks & vibrant stripes,
rather than red & blue spots, as the autumn turns my thoughts from trout, to barbel and perch.
Let’s hope the winter brings perfect spawning conditions for our beautiful wild brownies, and that
our Longford trout can forge a strong new generation for us to enjoy in the future.
I look forward to seeing you all again, before we know it, at the start of the next trout season…or
sooner maybe?
All the best,
Jim Wreglesworth
Falling in love with Longford
This was my second year at Longford having been introduced to it by Chris Paris (he of the three
double figure barbel – and yes I am jealous!)
I am primarily a game fisherman who enjoys a bit of coarse fishing when the game fishing is over.
My first love is salmon but I joined Longford for the trout and the salmon have been a pleasant
surprise!
My first year was one of exploration and firsts. My first double figure barbel came in early March
when the river was coloured and dropping from a flood – I have found them much harder since in
low clear water. Then came my first trout on upstream dry fly during a fantastic Grannom hatch in
April, my first experience of a full on Mayfly hatch and some excellent catches of trout including
more wildies than I expected. One day when I went exploring I had six wild fish (and no stockies)
most around 8‐10 ozs but one over 2lbs a memorial day. Then to top it off I had my first and second
ever English salmon.
What I really enjoy is how friendly everyone is and my incessant questions are always answered in a
friendly and helpful way. Members have been happy to advise me and point me in the right
direction, I even was given a map with the best salmon lies marked which proved invaluable. I was
so enamoured that, with Brexit forcing the sale of our French house, we replaced it with one in
Downton overlooking the Tannery Cut where I have already had some roach and perch.
This year has been one of more learning and exploration and a realisation that conditions the first
year were very favourable whereas the floods and cold water of early season and heat wave
afterwards made game fishing much harder. The Grannom were a washout, my total for five days
trying to fish Grannom ,was one chub the only fish I saw rising all week! Stocking had to be late and
that and the weather meant I only saw one half decent Mayfly hatch and few other hatches. Most
trout I saw caught seemed to be on large heavy nymphs. Never the less I still enjoyed myself, caught
some trout, and fell in love with the Ebble when the Avon was too high. I only wish I had found it
when I was 50 years younger and could crawl along, clamber up and down banks and walk miles
much better than I can now! The fish may be small but they are beautiful.
I also enjoyed learning more of the salmon. The high water enabled me to take up traditional Avon
spinning with a paternoster and floating Devon, as it dropped I found it more suitable for fly fishing
than I expected – no salmon but a surprising number of trout seemed to like 4” tube flies – even the
wildies! Then after 16 th June back to my first love of freelining shrimp – no float and just one shot to
swing it round above the weed. I found some more salmon lies (again thanks to others and, of
course, Pete who has been really helpful). The one disappointment is that just as I caught two in late
August the season came to a premature end. It is a real shame that the season has been curtailed
just as the main runs arrive I saw more salmon in early September than all season. The two I had in
late August were grilse which had only been in the river a week or so. Hopefully the Avon
regulations will allow us to fish in September as in previous years.
So what of next year? I am really looking forward to it. I would love an Avon salmon on fly or
traditional spinning with a floating Devon. I would love a good Avon roach and am going to spend
time trotting this winter. More than anything I am looking forward to spending more time on the
water now my house is fully up and running with all work finished. I believe there are more salmon
there to be caught if I could only find out where and how. Let’s hope for a better season weatherwise
this year!
By John Wheeldon
Observations from Southern chalk streams
This year has been my third season at Longford and travelling from West Sussex is no easy task along
the A27 & M27. Apart from fishing on the estate I fish on various beats of the Itchen and Meon
including a short stretch of the upper Itchen where I was keeper for a club for about 10 years.
At the beginning of 2018 all southern rivers were short of water and thankfully rains came in the new
year up until end of May giving us about 150% of monthly average rainfall each month. The start of
the season saw good levels and were sustained until the end of July. The Itchen remained crystal clear
right from start of season to the end that I have never seen in 10 years. Fishing there was good with
catches of trout and grayling but for me nothing huge. The Meon was over the banks into June. Fly
life generally was average but I will say I thought less Sedge anywhere. Towards end of season fish
seemed to be taking very small fly’s I could not see.
The Avon at Longford in contrast although a good flow was coloured that Peter put down to an algal
bloom from above Salisbury, no not Norvichok! There have been concerns over water quality backed
up by data collected above Salisbury by the Salmon & Trout Conservation UK. Where this will lead to
I do not know at present and I suspect may be due to all the new housing at Amesbury and on the
Plain by my old firm the MOD. On the Itchen this year S&TCUK managed to stop a watercress
operation allowing washing chemicals flowing into the river.
My few trips to Longford during May and June were not as productive as I hoped and fish were hard
to locate on the days I visited. Driving to Longford was a heat exhausting experience and I decided to
reduce my visits and fish the Itchen and river Meon both nearer home and in excellent condition. I
came back to Longford towards the end of August although still very hot had some fun fly fishing for
carp on the ponds below Standlynch Mill. Throw out dog biscuits and a similar sized fly and up they
come!
Peter does a superb job maintaining the river almost single handed, banks always kept mown. Would
be nice to see some weed cut in the river especially in the carriers but I understand this is not allowed
by Natural England, who know best! On the Test & Itchen weed cutting is essential but organised to
be carried out on set dates each month not only to benefit fishing but prevent flooding. I suspect
many of the members have not been inside the barn next to the roundhouse that has facilities
including a fridge and kettle and the huge table is worth a look as its huge, from an estate tree.
Seeking Trout in August and September proved difficult compared with the last two years with few
rising and on one day saw lots of small grayling at the shallows. A weekend at the start of October
reversed results with lots of fish rising at beat 1 and Peter told me similar seen at The Shallows. So,
my end of season was successful compared with friend on the Itchen that same week who found it
difficult. So far, I have not managed to fish the River Ebble but will have a go at the bigger grayling
before this Christmas. I can recommend The Radnor Arms at Nunton for food and drink if you need a
break.
One of the bonusses of coming down to Longford is seeing the huge amount of wildlife, Cuckoos,
Egret’s, Heron and various raptors. I’ve not seen so many Cormorants this year anywhere and let’s
hope the trend continues. I do see a few deer on the meadows but surprised not more. One mammal
I have yet to see in the flesh anywhere in my travels is an Otter, apart from spraints, next season
maybe! Swans can be a nuisance at times especially when a gang of them crash down in front of you!
The Itchen now has Signal Crayfish that sadly will finish off the small populations of Native Crayfish as
they carry Crayfish plague.
Overall 2018 was not the best season for me and I fear if we get more hot summers it will get no easier
for any of us. Now it will be just grayling fishing for me through the winter and maybe trying for pike.
There is always hope for next season and more river to explore.
By Philip Ellis
Season 2017/2018 - Coarse
The arrival of the beast from the east in March certainly effected the back end of the coarse season
with the very low water temperatures making for difficult fishing.
The Barbel have become a popular species over the years and the area below Standlynch holds a
good population. But with this, it sees more attention than other areas of the fishery, which in turn
is making them much trickier to catch, especially if the river conditions aren’t right.
Modern baits are scientifically designed to provide the fish with an almost perfect, albeit an
artificially nutritional diet. This with the abundance of natural food in the river, probably finds them
feeling quite sustained a lot of the time. Whilst these modern baits are convenient and extremely
effective the rise in the increased use of extruded pellets as bait and loose feed can lead to a very
stereotypical approach where sometimes a more natural approach would be more affective, i.e.
hemp casters or corn maggots etc. Food for thought, pardon the pun! The way anglers apply bait is
another factor to consider. And when to apply more of less is worth a mention. I am never shocked
at the quantity of loose feed in particular, Barbel and Chub can consume if conditions dictate.
As already touched on, this year will be remembered for the incredibly hot summer. I know the
fishing was tough, but the high water temperature has seen a bumper spawning year for all the
coarse fish species. The large amount of habitat work undertaken on the estate, with the opening of
over grown ditches that linked to the main river like veins, is really bearing fruit. This habitat has
created the perfect environment and has enabled the increased survival of the fry from these
successful spawning years.
February 2018 saw the introduction of juvenile Barbel
into the Barford carrier. This is part of a five year
stocking plan, which sees some further Barbel
introduced into the carrier at Barford in February
2019. In subsequent years carriers such as the
Cowbridge will see introductions, I hope this will
increase the populations around the fishery. These
fish have been supplied by the team at Hampshire
Carp Hatcheries.
Some of the time, there seems to be an air of
doom and gloom regarding rivers; what with
predation issues, abstraction, etc. But up and
down the Avon valley, talking to other River
Keepers and anglers, there does seem to be a
change of fortune on the horizon, with talk of
increasing Roach populations and in particular,
large shoals of Dace. Certainly this year, I have
seen more Dace than I have done in previous
years on the fishery. This is really encouraging
and without a doubt, there is a lot more Roach
present than 5 or 6 years ago. With some 2lb
specimens reported to me so far this season from our anglers, this with good numbers of fish up to a
pound from various stretches of the fishery. The increase in Roach in particular is part of the long
term project on the Longford waters.
What can we say about the Chub?! They are prolific on the Longford fishery, and seem to be doing
well all over the Avon valley, with strong year classes coming through. Probably this year, there is a
good chance of our fishery producing another 7lb plus specimen. Interestingly, over the Summer
months, during grass cutting activities, I was keeping a bucket of Trout pellets on the mower and in
certain spots on the upper fishery, I would feed some pellet just to see what turned up. One day on
a certain carrier, two hours after feeding the pellets, I crept back down the bank to see what had
materialised, to be greeted by the sight of around 20 Chub tearing the bottom up to get at the
pellets. This is from somewhere that hardly sees any coarse fishing activity. This observation is
interesting in itself and probably gores to show the success of pellets as a bait in warm water, as this
particular shoal of Chub would have certainly not come across this food before in this area. But it
didn’t take them long to work out what great fayre this was!
Last season saw some of our new rods, who haven’t any experience of the fishery being really
successful. I think this comes from not having preconceived ideas about where they want to fish and
being more prepared to go on instinct. One example would be Matt Tarn who only joined the
syndicate this year, and in four trips, has caught Barbel on each one in tricky conditions. One day
catching four in an hour and catching a Barbel where I hardly ever see anyone fishing. What I have
witnessed personally, is how in some insignificant looking back waters you can find incredible
populations of fish. The area at the bottom of the Newcourt carrier is one such place, as the main
river rises during the Autumn and Winter sees large migrations of fish into this area. So sometimes,
when the main river seems devoid, don’t neglect those backwaters.
James Champkin – “Youngest Longford Rod” with a 14lb 8oz Barbel
As most of you know, I grew up fly‐fishing on the chalk
streams and trout reservoirs but the Carp bug bit
deeply 30 years ago. And generally, I spend my spare
time away from the fishery pursuing these fish.
Longford fishery has provided me with some amazing
Carp from the river over the years. This season I saw
one or two fish that made me think about pursuing
them on the river again, in particular in the area of
Buckleys Hole, where I spotted a large Mirror Carp, I
would estimate to have been 20lb plus and that
certainly got me thinking.
One of the rods, Craig Smithson,
enjoyed a successful start to his
coarse season Carp fishing on the
river with some great results. For
next year’s newsletter, I will ask him
to write about his experiences.
Craig is among the growing number
of younger rods in our coarse
membership with ages ranging from
late twenties to mid‐thirties. A lot
of these lads have come primarily
from a Carp fishing background, and
have made the transition to the
rivers easily and are successful
anglers. It is nice to see fresh blood
coming through. This certainly
seems to be the case with the coarse fishing but I can see in the future, fly fishing, struggling with
recruitment of new anglers. Comparing coarse to game membership generally speaking the age of
the game membership is on balance much higher, with very few younger trout anglers coming
through the ranks this is seen across all disciplines of fly fishing from rivers to the still waters .
We have an extensive river fishery at Longford that I
have manged now for 14 years but times are changing
and anybody involved in angling can’t fail to recognise
this. As I touched on before, with regards to my own
Carp fishing, when I started 30 years ago, it was still
seen as a strange secretive pursuit. Neither I nor many
of my angling friends would have believed it could
grow into the multi million pound single species
industry it has become. Looking to the future, all the
indications are it will continue to expand. The angling
trade association reported in 2016 carp tackle sales
alone were £222.7 million! This was the first time it
had overtaken general coarse tackle sales of £198.1 million pounds, with game fishing coming in
third with £80 million spent. This figure would’ve certainly increased by 2018. I have always known
the fishery needed more diversity to keep up with changes and while the river remains the core of
the fishery, I have been developing various ponds around the fishery. All these areas of the estate
had previously been used for coarse fish
rearing at some point, so all had held Carp
and various other coarse species, it was a
case of manipulating what I already had and
it is starting to come to fruition. This
provides coarse membership with year
round fishing and angling when the river is
out of sorts due to high winter flows etc.
This I hope, will continue to be an area I can
keep pushing forward and in particular I
would love to create a purely Tench and
Crucian Carp fishery, which I know would be
popular.
Predator fishing on the estate is
something I manage quite closely and
strive to have a limited part of the
membership that enjoy this side of the
sport. This is in part due to Pike being
very sensitive to how they are treated
when caught and the importance of
those who fish them are totally
confident in how they are handled. Over
the last few seasons, the fishery has
produced some very large Pike. These
are a massive asset to the diversity of
the fishery and should therefore be
treated with respect. I feel it is time to
review the rules of the fishery and there
will be separate guidelines for Pike fishing practices sent out with the new membership cards.
Please adhere to the rules at all times.
We hosted the castle match again at the end of the season in March which proved to be a success.
Even though the guys and girls were faced with difficult conditions, good numbers of fish were
caught, albeit slightly down on the previous matches which would be expected. Ricky McMaster
triumphed this year with a good catch of fish from the castle stretch. Interestingly, Pete James, who
came second, also from the castle stretch, had two Barbel in his catch, a first for the match. The
date for the 2019 match has not yet been finalised but you will be contacted in regard to this.
Before I wind up this review, I would like to thank Reg and Mary and the Standlynch Sunday mill
crowd for the work parties they do over the closed season for the coarse fishery. This helps me
immensely and is much appreciated. I would also like to thank all the rods who gave me words of
wisdom and encouragement that helped to take me through, what was essentially, a tough season.
You know who you are!
Let’s hope that the next season brings better weather, for better fishing conditions and good
catches. Tight lines!
Pete
London buses and barbel
I don’t seek publicity, but Peter Orchard was keen that I should write a short note about the most
spectacular barbel fishing session that I’ve ever had. This came about during my annual autumn
coarse fishing trip to Longford. I mainly seek barbel but come equipped for a range of other species,
especially chub, roach and pike, in case conditions suggest that they may be better options.
Well, after having had five days barbel fishing without a bite, I was beginning to think that roach and
pike could be better options. I had caught a few nice chub and seen a couple of small barbel, but
was staring to think that this would be my first barbel‐free year at Longford. I saw a seriously big
barbel above the trout farm bridge on my sixth day and spent the whole day fishing there without a
flicker on the rod tip. Another angler did catch barbel that day, so they obviously could be caught,
though not by me it seemed.
Then on the seventh day my luck changed with a vengeance. I was fishing one of the popular swims
below Standlynch and doing pretty much what I’d been doing without success during the previous
six days, but on 27 th September at about 10 am I had a nice pull on my second cast and found myself
into a nice low double. I was delighted to save my week’s barbel blank but didn’t bother with
pictures as I like to return fish as quickly as possible and it’s a very steep bank in that spot. I had to
take pictures a little while later, however, as I somehow managed to land the fattest barbel that I’ve
ever seen on my very next cast. I thought it was 12‐13 pounds when I first saw it, but then I realised
that it might be a lot bigger due to its girth. It was the Mike Gatting of barbel – the portly English
cricketer who the Aussies claimed had eaten all the pies. I was shaking so much after I’d netted it
that I had trouble getting the fish into
the sling to weigh. It went 15 pounds
4 ounces, beating my previous best by
three quarters of a pound. I called
Peter on his mobile and at home but
was unable to get him to come and
witness the fish. But I was able to get
my fishing mate, David McCulloch, to
drop everything and come over to do
the honours. I kept the fish in my
landing net while David was driving
over and the fish was well recovered
by the time that he arrived.
He fired off lots of photos using my phone before I carefully released the fish, which swam away
nicely but slowly enough to give me a chance to take a few more snaps of her (him?) in the water. I
would have been happy to stop there and offered David the swim, but he declined and told me catch
more.
‘Some chance,’ I thought, but had another
cast anyway and was immediately into
another lovely fish. It looked small
compared to the big one but took the
scales to 11 pounds 10 ounces so would
usually have been enough to make my day!
So double figure barbel really can be like
London buses: you wait six days for one
and then three turn up all at once! I don’t
expect that I’ll ever have another session
like that, and I didn’t catch any more
barbel during the remaining four days of
my trip. Those two golden two hours, on a
bright sunny Longford morning will live
forever in my memory, but why then?
Why did they suddenly go on the feed for a
mad two‐hour spell when the rest of my
eleven days’ fishing was entirely barbel‐free? It may be that the more you fish, the more chances
you get, or maybe it was just my lucky day.
By Chris Paris (The Prof)
Leslie Raymond Bomford (1895-1981)
Memories of fishing on Longford Estate (1940-1975)
I can’t remember when I first fished the Hampshire Avon at Longford Castle. I may have fished
during the 1939‐45 war, but after the war, my brother Hercs and I fished there, staying in a guest
house in Fordingbridge to save petrol. We spun for Pike and removed large quantities up to 18lb. I
can’t remember a 20 pounder. We used to take a sack and fill it up. Lord Radnor wanted them out
of the water, above and below Charlton Bridge used to be very good. We had one or two kelts
there, but there weren’t many then. The water below the castle was good, and still is. There are
one or two carriers which were productive.
The keeper was Victor Hawton. Curiously, his brother was huntsman to the Croome Hounds in
Warwickshire where I hunted a bit after the First World War before the depression. Many keepers
are fine men but Victor was outstanding, one of the nicest men I have known. He reached retiring
age about when the estate took over Trafalgar. We used to go up and have a cup of tea with him
and Mrs Hawton in their cottage by the Mill on the Ebble. He was succeeded for two years by a
useless nonentity. Then Tom Williams arrived. A very pleasant man, but much more assertive. His
coming coincided with fish passes and the Upper Avon becoming a Salmon Fishery. One way and
another, Tom had a good many salmon besides those caught for the castle from the bridge there.
A few years after the war, Longford Estate let four beats:
From the castle bridge for nearly a mile upstream. There were some nice shallows but it
wasn’t a productive beat.
From where the Ebble came in down to Matrimoney Farm.
From the farm to below the shallows at Charlton Bridge. These two beats were by far the
best for fishing.
The Ebble, which was rather overgrown, but contained small brilliantly coloured trout.
The rods were Alec Gale, Wilfred Cave and myself, and the estate kept a rod. We were allowed to
take some visitors and fished each other’s beats.
The hatch of Grannom was uncertain, but the Mayfly for ten days was marvellous, and was followed
by Blue Winged Olives in the evenings. Dancing Mayfly were a regular sight and a 2lb+ Trout were
frequent. Nearly all the good Trout were within 2ft of the bank. Also 2‐3lb Chub were common and
Dace to ½lb. Robert my son was at school in Blandford and I used to fetch him down to Longford.
He has a 5lb+ Trout above Charlton Bridge and had to follow it under the bridge. (Robert note: Tom
Williams turned up just after I triumphantly landed this Trout and I showed it with great pride. He
cheerfully said “That one would have died tomorrow if you hadn’t caught it today”. It was a rather
ragged looking specimen). He also got a 4lb+ Trout from the carrier 200 yards. That 10 days of
Mayfly was the best fishing I have had.
Some years were quite good for Grayling, and we had a few Salmon, nearly all from Charlton Bridge.
(Robert note: I remember one of these Salmon well. It was a big fish and my father was worried it
would bolt under the bridge. I was delegated to collect some bricks from the rubble of a demolished
barn not far away, and every time the Salmon approached the bridge, I dropped one or two into the
river. It worked. The Salmon was successfully gaffed (this was the 1950’s), and taken back to the
White Hart Hotel in Salisbury, where the manager offered my father £20 for it. He declined, I was
very proud of him).
We had this fishing for about 5 years (1954‐1959), and then the estate bought Trafalgar with the
fishing. Fish passes were put in the weirs and the fishing was let for Salmon. Incidentally, through
pollution and weed cutting the Mayfly nearly ceased.
The top three beats remained the same. The new beat 4 was from Charlton down to Trafalgar Mill.
There were four or five good catches on this beat, which was much the best. Beat 5 was from the
mill to Barford. Above the hatches at Trafalgar and the bottom of the water opposite Newcourt
Farm were free for all, and you needed to be very early in the morning to fish them. In a wet year
when the river was high, quite a lot of Salmon were caught. In drought years there were very few.
Nearly half of the Salmon were taken above the sluice gates at Trafalgar. About one in two of the
hooked fish went down the sluices and broke the tackle. I didn’t like this. I think one year I got into
double figures but years only one or two. Three of the beats weren’t worth 50 miles by car, so about
1970, I gave it up. There were Trout to be caught but fly was scarce and coarse fishing was allowed
in the winter. I did get a 30lb Salmon spinning near Barford Farm.
About the period, Lord Radnor bought the Bickford fishing from his boundary up to Salisbury. This
had been a well‐known trout fishery in the past. It was nice water. I fished it several times with little
success, probably because it was not the Mayfly season. The Avon can be dour.
Lord Radnor sold it to a London Angling club, who for a start caught masses of coarse fish. I’m told
it’s nothing like as good now. Where coarse fishing is allowed, trout fishing is indifferent. Too many
maggots.
Since then Robert and I have had one or two days each Christmas on the castle water for Pike. We
expect six or more decent fish on spinner or sprat. In 1975 Robert had a 23lb fish. (Robert note: In
43 years of Pike fishing since then I have never had a better one).
Longford Estate Fishery Rules – 2019
1. The fishing seasons are as follows:
‐ coarse River 16 th June to 14 th March
‐ coarse still waters 12 months
‐ Trout fishing 1 st April to 14 th October
‐ Salmon fishing 1 st February to 31 st August as per regional bylaws
2. The extent of the fishery and boundaries are identified on the accompanying map. Access
routes to the water are coloured red. There is no right of way through Longford Park. There
is no access via Barford fish farms. When the fields at beat 1 are flooded, rods must park
their cars where signposted i.e.: before you enter the field. If you choose to take your
vehicle further into the field when it is wet, it is at your own risk. However, if the fields are
dry, feel free to park by the wooden gate adjoining the river bank. Do not take your vehicles
through the wooden gate onto the river bank.
3. All rods must be in possession of a valid EA licence.
4. Fishing guests are allowed by prior permission of the River Keeper. Day guest rod fees as
follows:
‐ game £50.00
‐ coarse £25.00
5. Under no circumstances are fishing guests permitted on the fishery unless accompanied by
the rod and the applicable fee paid. Syndicate rods are not permitted to rod share or
transfer their rights to others. Anglers can be accompanied by 1 non‐fishing guest.
6. Catch limits:
‐ Trout – 1 brace per day can be kept after which catch and release is permitted
‐ Grayling – all to be returned to the river
‐ Salmon – strictly catch and release only
7. Permitted methods:
‐ Trout and Grayling – dry fly and up‐stream Nymph only
‐ Salmon – as per Wessex rivers by‐laws
8. All Rainbow Trout caught whilst either game or coarse fishing to be killed and removed from
the river.
9. Keep nets used for coarse fishing must be used sparingly and not to retain fish for long
periods. Under no circumstances are Barbel, Carp or Pike to be retained in keep nets.
10. When targeting specimen coarse fish species i.e.: Carp, Barbel, Pike. All rods MUST be in
possession of an unhooking mat and suitable size landing net.
Rods not adhering to this rule will be asked to leave the fishery.
11. Additional rules apply for anglers fishing for Pike as follows:
‐ you must be in possession of an unhooking mat and a suitably sized landing net
‐ you must have suitable unhooking equipment i.e.: large forceps, strong wire cutters
‐ strictly no Pike gags to be used at any time
‐ main line must be a minimum of 20lb breaking strain, braided main line is allowed with a
minimum breaking strain of 30lb
‐ wire traces must be used at all times
‐ hooks must be barbless or semi‐barbless
‐ no live baiting or coarse fish dead baits, sea dead baits only
12. Under no circumstances are syndicate rods to move fish between different locations on the
fishery i.e. carriers to main river or vice versa.
13. Angling is allowed from one hour before sunrise to two hours after sunset.
14. Dogs are permitted if accompanying rods but must be kept under control at all times. If your
dog fouls the river bank, please clear it up.
15. No litter to be left on the banks and no fires to be lit.
16. Rods enter onto the estate fishery entirely at their own risk. The estate accepts no
responsibility for injury, damage or loss caused by any circumstances or obstacle. Rods
should hold sufficient personal liability cover to any eventuality.
17. The estate reserves the right to stop all fishing without refund in the event of any national
restriction imposed by government.
18. The estate reserves the right to alter the rules of the fishery at any time.
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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