Salmon fishing in England
Previous seasons reports etc. in the ARCHIVE
21/02/11 This picture has been sent to me by Ron Fullelove who came from Notts with his two mates, Gary Cregg and Mark Perry from Leics last Saturday. Altogether, six anglers caught 13 salmon on that day. (See also newsletter page).
14/02/12 It's good to be back on this page after the cold spell which registered -17C on 2 of the 3 outside thermometers we have here. The lake is ice free and the forecast is excellent going forward. Alistair Macnaughton, from Hampshire,was the first to cast his line and I was pleased to see that the salmon have survived ok as it wasn't long before he landed this salmon, the first of an 8 bag limit.
22/01/12 Anglers often ask me when is the best time to come fishing here and it's a difficult question to answer with certainty but I can see that it's going to be excellent for the next few weeks. There are fewer anglers but also the catches are very good. Jeremy Martell and John Lewis both had 7 each today. Sometimes you can look at a fish and see that it looks very fine, that being the case with one of John's salmon pictured here.
20/01/12 Here is Mike Robinson from Falmouth in Devon who combined a visit to his daughters with a visit here and landed a 5 fish haul. He had caught no salmon for 2 years on the rivers in the southwest, so to get a bend in the rod is no bad thing. He poses with 3 salmon as I'm allowing anglers to keep that number as the bookings are light and I wish to keep the stock in the lake fresh. The same day Mike Smith had his three, but his friend Ken Mason had none so I invited him back on a 'pay if catch' basis. I have operated this for some anglers who have blanked and it seems to work very well and I suggest any anybody else who think they might qualify to get in touch. Micheal Jacks from Matlock spooned his 3 the day before. One was empty but the other 2 had snails and larvae present in their stomachs. Here is Mike with his salmon.
14/01/12 As the angling pressure decreases so the catches go up, all else being equal and it has proved the case this cold January week. Arthur Sykes and John Eaton had 7 each on Tuesday while yesterday Mark Stroud from Peterborough and his mate Ken Smith from Ireland landed 3 apiece (although Mark had a poor day for him!) Pictured Mark with Ken holding his first of the day.
Then today Brian Bollen made up for being stuck on the A14 for 2 hours by netting 5 including this 12 pounder, his best from the fishery so far.
01/01/12 I've been waiting for a big salmon to be caught for a while but yesterday Nick Elliot (who had a 28 pounder in the snow last winter) landed the second largest salmon ever at 34lb 8oz on the last day of the year. It took a minke booby and was a very fine fish indeed. He did land one other, over 30lb smaller!
21/12/11 The shortest day of the year was unseasonably mild but no way am I complaining. Three salmon were on the bank in the first hour then only three for the rest of the day. Going on with the 3 theme, here are 3 photos. First, Mike Smith from Calverton. He'd been meaning to come for 2 years and landed this salmon with almost his first cast. No wonder it takes so long to build a fishery.....
Then I took this nice photo of the only fish caught by Chris Ryan from South Shields. He had 7 on his previous visit so his average took a bit of a dive but not blanking is the main thing.
And finally 12 year old Paulo Mastroeni from Cambridge landed his first salmon today and very pleased he was too.
12/12/11 Sometimes you have to smile as a fishery owner. On Saturday I arrived to see Chris Rodgers playing a fish, having started before 9am without signing in so he was in trouble to start with. After rounding everyone else up to do things right, Chris was nowhere to be seen and I could see his salmon flapping down the bank into the water. It's kill the first fish so Chris had some more of my disapproval as he returned from his car. Next thing I know he is instantly playing another fish which he kills. It turns out it's the same one all along, still on the hook and had not dragged his rod in! Here it is, all's well that ends well I say.
07/12/11 The run of large catches is continuing and probably will do while we continue to have these strong westerlies bringing fresh breezy weather. In fact 5 anglers landed 25 salmon, so you have been advised! Here is Vince Aronica (22lb) and Dave Richens (20lb) from Leics in the fading light at the end of the day. I hate these dark cold days; it was a good job Vince had a flash on his phone camera to record the result of a good days fishing.
25/11/11 Two updates here today. I got this nice picture of three anglers from South Shields before the light faded with the salmon they took home, all silver sided. From the right Dean Palmer, landed 5; his dad, Blythe, 3 including his new PB of 15lb; and Chris Ryan who landed 7 on his first visit, I don't think he needs any more advice! The fishery has been heavily fished by 12 anglers over the past days but has responded well with no less than 42 salmon netted. The weather was nearly perfect mind but it does show that the new stocking policy is bearing fruit. 
Leon Marklew from Milton Keynes could be described as one of our regulars now. He has been numerous times this year, landing 6 yesterday and an 8 limit today, on a two day trip including this salmon which weighed 23lb gutted. It should be noted that Leon blanked on his first visit and had only one second visit before getting the hang of catching salmon here, so do not be dispirited or daunted if you don't get it right first time.
20/11/11 I think this is the first time one angler has two pictures on the website in one day. I took this picture of Lee Gapper from Peterborough holding his first ever salmon of 14.5lbs first thing today on a cold foggy morning.
Then when we were packing up I got this photo of Lee next to the largest salmon caught so far this season a freshly stocked cock fish of 26lb. Lee caught 6 in total and his mate Mark Stroud landed 4, so the day was certainly worth two photos on that basis.
17/11/11 Not all of of the larger salmon are coloured though. John Eaton from Horncastle landed this long lean 17 pounder yesterday.
14/11/11 It seems to be the week of coloured cock fish. Like them or not they are pretty impressive, note the spots on the tails which they don't have normally. First is Robert Edmunds with a 22.5 pounder on the 5th
and second is Steven Drage , his weighed 18.5lb captured last Friday
I see a brownie this size was caught from Chew Valley Lake recently but it was silver and not spawning like these, maybe it was a triploid or something.
10/11/11 Here is a picture of Andrew Read (left) and Bill Elderkin with the sun setting behind them. Unusually, they are holding each others salmon.
06/11/11 One would have thought that after a couple of days heavy fishing the salmon would be harder to catch but it was the opposite today. The conditions were ideal mind, being a bright day with a fresh cool breeze, and 8 salmon in the bag was the reward for John Lewis from Sutton Coldfield, who had one first thing and then the rest during a hectic afternoon. Here they are, all silver bar one cock; can you spot him?
05/11/11
Roger Powell above hosted his corporate event here yesterday and I took these pictures to show two very pleased anglers (once the rain had stopped!) Roger caught his early on, but Steve Murphy landed his first ever salmon just as the wives returned from their outing. Good timing. 
31/10/11 I can never stress the importance of thinking laterally enough when fishing for the salmon here. Yesterday,
Karl Martin from Maidstone had nothing all morning on the trout lures but switched to a gold headed daddylong legs and began to get lots of bites but none hooked. A further adjustment to the same but more compact fly resulted in 4 salmon in the net topped by this 14 pounder.
28/10/11Three anglers enjoyed glorious sunshine all day today, Lawson Bedford from Rotherham and David Williams from Sheffield are pictured here with their brace of 19 pounders. Their friend Eric Barlow from Manchester landed 5 'stockies' in the 6-8lb range.
26/10/11 Of course a fish doesn't have to be large to be memorable and we probably dwell too much on size on this page so here are two anglers with their first salmon. Pictured first is Alan Scammell from Wraysbury on only his second fly fishing outing with his trademark thumbs up sign. 
Secondly Martin Brown with his first fish ever, quite something when it is a salmon. No one should ever be put off thinking they should be an expert to catch a salmon here. The recently stocked fish are beginning to show strongly. Alan landed 1, Martin 2, collegues Leon Marklew 8 (first to catch to the new limit) and Natasha Moore 4, giving a total of 15 salmon for the day. 
7/10/11 I know the ticket price is high compared to most trout waters (mainly because growing the salmon is very expensive) but I know many of our visitors experience a day which they will remember for the rest of thieir lives. In the case of Warren Langridge that will be a very long time as he still (just) a teenager. Warren caught 5 yesterday, two over 20lb and told me it was his best days fishing ever, I suppose it would be mine too, come to think about it. He tempted them with a fast fished lure on an intermediate line, the opposite technique to that used below 3 days earlier. Two other anglers blanked, and one caught 2, so I can't guarrantee an amazing day for everyone but a visit to our lake gives one the best possible chance. Here is Warren with the hen fish he took home.
14/10/11 The days have been of two halves this season. A week ago mornings were quiet and the afternoons good but today fish were landed in the morning (5 between 3 anglers) and absolutely nothing would get a salmon to take after lunch. Here is Andrew Gohl from Amersham with his 2 salmon, 6 and 15lb, recently stocked, which now seem to be coming on the take. Note the blue sky, I don't suppose we'll get many more warm days like this before winter. 
Yesterday 6 anglers caught 14 salmon but they weren't evenly distributed. Stevie Lind from South Ayrshire landed 7 including the seasons first 20+ pounder. He nearly reached the maximum 8 allowed to be netted this season.
10/10/11 Catches have been slow to steady for the first days of the season, probably because the weather has been so mild. Yesterday was typical, Adam Collinson on the left had 3, Matthew Birnie,1 and Karl Emerson (right)1,and behind the camera, James Wearmouth who had no luck. (Look at the perspective on this photo it's shorter on the left and taller on the right!)
07/10/11 Well here is the first report for the 2011/2012 season, I wonder what it will bring...... It has started well, Robert Sherriff had long booked the fishery for the opening day and his party landed 12 salmon including a couple at 18lb and one weighing 14lb. Our fears that the recent record hot weather would put the fish down were unfounded. Here is Phil Barker bringing in the first salmon of the season at 9.38am precisely.
27/09/11 Last seasons reports have been moved to the archive.
