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Three Spingfed and stream fed purpose dug lakes 4 acres in total, in a rural area surrounded by trees. Clear shallow water. Depths under 10ft. Stocked daily with Rainbows and triploids. Lodge.

Season: Open all Year

Fishery Records: 24lb 10oz Rainbow

For current Prices see Avington’s website

Opening Times Open all year. Fishing starts at 9 am and advance booking is essential. Maximum fly 1 inch overall

Facilities Hot drinks Gutting and Weighing Facilities Toilets Flies for Sale Tuition Available

Avington Trout Fishery Avington, Nr Winchester, Hampshire Telephone 01962 779312
Sam Seall ,
AVINGTON TROUT FISHERY
Avington, Winchester, Hampshire.
SO21 1BZ

e-mail avingtontroutfishery@tiscali.co.uk
Tel: 01962 779312
Fax: 01962 779767

I first visited Avington in 1982 with a school part from Porth County Comprehensive School. In all 30 pupils travelled the what seemed like an eternity to travel all the way down to near Southampton passing Greenham Common on the way. (and before you ask there were no women chained to the fences!)

It was to be a camping expedition with a bit of fishing thrown in for good luck.

On arrival we pitched our tents and after a hearty supper proceeded to visit the three lakes. It was quite dark by this time and quite a few splashes could be heard through the darkness and to say we didn’t sleep a wink that night with anticipation was no exaggeration! Catching your first trout of the day is like hitting the jackpot at the casino and definitely something to dream about, if you can sleep! In the morning after being awoken by the peacocks in a nearby field we enjoyed a smashing cooked breakfast and after gobbling that down we ran down to cast our lines. Almost immediately I can remember having my first bite, and what a bite it was. The trout took off like a steam engine down the lake. I think it disturbed the other trout so much that there was deadly quiet for at least half an hour before fish started being taken!.

A lot of weed had surfaced since dawn and so getting through it was a nightmare but all in all Avington proved to be a great challenge and well worth a visit if you are in that area. Costs have increased greatly since out trip there but for a one off I cannot recommend it enough.

It was at this lake that I met Tony Pawson and how my favourite fly came about. Please got to the Wiggle Nymph page to read all about this amazing fly. There wasn’t so much casting involved with fishing this fly at Avington but near enough just plopping it in by the bank and letting the fish come to it. A slight “jigging” action was all that was needed on some of the deeper pools and if you were lucky enough you could hook some real beauties that looked almost like minature submarines.

There is quite a nice stream that runs and winds past the lakes and there is quite a good spot to experiment casting a dry fly up stream to tempt the small brownies that live there.

One such trout, my first on a dry fly took off so fast down stream that I was hard pressed to keep up with it, but after a long and very commendable fight for such a small fish I returned it to be caught another day. Perhaps when he was a bit larger and had even more fight.

After a hard days fishing all in all we had very respectable limits with quite a few monsters weighing up to 11lbs in weight. All the fish were kindly put in the freezers in the lodge for our collection the next day and that night we slept like logs tucked up head to toe in the tents!.

Avington is famous for its clear-water stalking and big fish. Well wooded banks in places. Prolific summer weed growth and lots of insects. All lakes were dredged out in 1998. An extremely scenic location set in the heart of Hampshire. There are three lakes of 2, 4 and 2 acres with half a mile of Itchen carrier. The lakes are stocked with rainbow trout. Avington was the holder of the British record for many years of 24lb 10oz. The average stock size is 4 lbs with plenty of stock size in double figures.

The Itchen carrier is fished, catch and release, in conjunction with the day ticket. It holds wild brown trout. The new manager, Mick, is making great improvements to the fishery this year including: New bridges over the river making access to other parts of the lakes easier. Overgrown vegetation is being cut back. Improvements to the lodge including new weatherboarding and outside windows. Improvements will continue throughout the year. (Including facilities for the handicapped.)