• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

somerley estate

Chris Thomson

Senior Member
Ive just read that christchurch angling clug have been given a years notice to quit the somerley stretch, is this old news ive missed?
 
Sad but true, the reasons are clearly explained, so not that surprising, a club on the the very slippery slope to near oblivion, but still another year !
peter
 
IMO it's simply a result of anglers "voting with their feet". On Somerley this season I never saw another soul away from the swims around the car parks at Lifelands, Ellingham, and Ibsley. The Hampshire Avon is now so hard for barbel that only a few locals and die hards are interested.

When I first joined Christchurch Angling Club there was a lengthy waiting list! It's been a long time since that was the case. Not so long ago I didn't bother travelling for barbel fishing. With the Avon and Stour on my doorstep there was no need. How many locals are there that don't fish other rivers now?

Other Avon fisheries are also suffering from lack of support, such as Hale Park. I also heard that Bisterne might be shutting their doors...
 
I reckon they'll struggle to fill the syndicates, they'll want silly money to fish a stretch that is rapidly dying on its feet due to otter predation etc,
 
popular set of lakes, and a gorgeous stretch of river. another venue banished to syndication and profiteering .

Do you know what you are talking about?
 
popular set of lakes, and a gorgeous stretch of river. another venue banished to syndication and profiteering .



I don't know these waters and have never been a member of the club, it would seem from reading the link above that the fault lies with the club not the estate, how many club stretches have been lost through the club not adhering to their side of a contract?
 
I walked the whole stretch and didnt even see a Barbel ..so hard to fish i gave up and went on to the Stour instead, beautiful stretch of river through.

I would probably go there for the surroundings more than the fishing!
 
This has been on the cards for a long time now. The negotiations for a new lease had taken 3 years and the crucial point was reached in mid 2013 when the Club backed away from an agreement that had been on the verge of completion. It was all downhill from there with the Estate, understandably, sticking to the terms previously agreed, but the Club wanting to renegotiate these.

Combined with the maintenance issues highlighted by John Levell in his Avon Diary post, the Estate had reached the end of their tether and it is no surprise that they issued a notice to quit.

One potentially interesting aspect of John's comments is as regards the rights held by the Club under a long term lease of the Ibsley complex granted in the late 1970s. John states that this only covers the three lakes and the west bank of the trout stream and does not include any rights on the main river. That was certainly not the Club's understanding of the position.

The Club does still have the fishing for the remainder of this year but the loss of this prime middle Avon fishery along with the lakes (Somerley, Mockbeggar & Hamer) will be a body blow and the question is, how many will renew their memberships come 2015. The Club's finances are not in the best of health and a substantial fall in the membership, even with the money saved on the Somerley lease, could put further pressure on the already stretched financial situation, resulkting in further waters being given up/sold.


Dave
 
The Estate.
 
It will be interesting to see how the syndication pans out, I noted Johns thoughts on the Salmon side, saying that they would start after the coarse season, problem with that is that the season starts 1st February, so expecting, no doubt premium pricing, loosing 6weeks at the start, then the inevitable 19c temperature shut down from late june, makes it a short season.
peter
 
According to Avon Diaries 2014:-

"In recent years barbel over sixteen pounds, chub eight plus, perch to nearly four pounds, double figure bream, twenty plus carp, huge bags of dace and legendary roach. The roach are struggling at the moment for reasons we do not understand, the catches of two pound and even three pound fish are not seen today. This year has seen an encouraging upsurge in the number of small roach caught and we hope to increase the population by stocking with fish from Avon stock that now abound in our stillwaters. As for the other species, I have fished the Avon since 1963 and I can honestly say that the opportunity for a huge specimen has never been so good. If I had said I was going to fish for fifteen pound barbel or seven pound chub when I first fished the Avon in 1963 people would have said I'd gone mad. That option is a reality today to the extent that many take it for granted."

According to this forum the place is very scenic but not worth fishing.

I've never seen or fished the place, but someone is telling porkies
 
According to Avon Diaries 2014:-

"In recent years barbel over sixteen pounds, chub eight plus, perch to nearly four pounds, double figure bream, twenty plus carp, huge bags of dace and legendary roach. The roach are struggling at the moment for reasons we do not understand, the catches of two pound and even three pound fish are not seen today. This year has seen an encouraging upsurge in the number of small roach caught and we hope to increase the population by stocking with fish from Avon stock that now abound in our stillwaters. As for the other species, I have fished the Avon since 1963 and I can honestly say that the opportunity for a huge specimen has never been so good. If I had said I was going to fish for fifteen pound barbel or seven pound chub when I first fished the Avon in 1963 people would have said I'd gone mad. That option is a reality today to the extent that many take it for granted."

According to this forum the place is very scenic but not worth fishing.

I've never seen or fished the place, but someone is telling porkies




I suppose it depends on what is meant by "recent years"
 
According to this forum the place is very scenic but not worth fishing. I've never seen or fished the place, but someone is telling porkies

Hi Steve, who has said that Somerley is "not worth fishing"??
I said that the BARBEL fishing is hard, but the mere fact that I'm still fishing it for barbel must tell you something!

Another poster said that he walked the entire stretch and never saw a barbel. Bearing in mind that the barbel spend the majority of the daylight hiding under cover (of which there is plenty), is that any real surprise?

Having said all that, the barbel population is now so low that without previous knowlege of the fishes favoured haunts it would be demoralisingly difficult.

To give an example, two seasons ago I came across a barbel angler leaning over a bridge close to tears (and I'm not exaggerating). He'd been fishing the river for several months and was yet to have a bite from a barbel. He was convinced that he must be doing something wrong, but all he'd failed to do was locate the two groups of barbel that were within walking distance of where he was stood. Somewhat selfishly I wasn't prepared to divulge that information at the time, because the two groups of fish contained some large specimens that I hadn't as yet caught.

Tim
 
Back
Top