In addition, there are around 30 of the fish stocked by Thames Water Authority Carp, of which 2 are around the 40lb mark with others up to 35lb. In addition, there are around 30 Burton Bradstock fish, that are around the 25 – 30lb + mark, these fish are mainly linears and fully scaled fish. In addition to the Carp, there are Rudd to over 3lb 8oz that have been caught and Tench to 7lb + as well as some great Perch to over 3lb, plus some large Roach of 2lb + as well.

In the last 4 years, a number of smaller Carp have also been being caught by pleasure anglers, these are believed to have arisen from a successful spawning of the Burton Bradstock fish, as they are linears and fully scaled mirror carp.

The Executive Committee would be grateful for all photos of fish caught from the lake to be submitted on-line, especially the Carp, but also all other species, as we have very little at present on the gallery to show the quality fish that exist in this stunning fishery.

The Executive Committee

Just click on the link to watch the video....

Follow the link to see the video....

The future management of the water will be considered during this time.

River Valley will not be listed in the FAS 2013/14 permit.

The River Blackwater remains open until 14th March 2013.

We netted and electro-fished the last section and moved 5 Common Carp in double figures, 35 Tench with an average weight of 4 lbs, 1 specimen Eel of 6 lbs, 10 Pike and hundreds of small Perch into the finished and flooded sections.

No large Carp or Tench were found and as far as I know the only fish remaining on the entire River Valley site are those shown above.

As we found only the small Carp and none of the big fish know to be in there, I believe they have been fished out and moved. Those big Carp may have been moved across the dividing bund into the finished and flooded half by anglers afraid they may perish if left in the section being drained. Only time will tell.

The lorries have now stopped tipping, leaving several pieces of large plant o site that continue to work the site by moving earth around and shaping the banks. The site is best avoided until the work is completed towards the end of the year.

We remain in the hands of the devloper at this site for the forseeable future and will provide another update before Christmas, but under the planning permission, the developers have until April 2013 to construct the swims and paths, with provision for parking still to be sumitted for consideration by the planning authority.

The Executive Committee

This year we used a keep net to be able to show the cubs how many fish they could catch with their efforts combined. We were kept cool by the many showers the day threw at us, but this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the cubs in the slightest. Setting up the whips to fish just on the bottom was soon completed with the help of the leaders. And floats were very soon in the water.

It wasn’t long before the first shouts of excitement came as the fish of this great little pond obliged. Many of those taking part had not fished before, but I’m sure they are now hooked for life! Roach with the odd Perch were the first species to come to the nets, follow by great joy and the odd Crucian Carp started to show.....

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The importation and tipping should cease by mid September 2012 at the latest and the site should be restored by mid March 2013 in accordance with the original restoration plan, which includes path and swim construction.

ORIGINAL NEWS ITEM 2011

Following the granting of planning permission by Hampshire County Council to the landowners, development has commenced to split the lake into two, creating two lakes by building a causeway across the southern half of the lake.

One lake (the larger northern lake), will be dedicated to fishing and FAS fully expect to continue to provide fishing on this water to it's members.The smaller southern lake will cater for canoeing.

Following the splitting of the lake, each section of the lake will be drained separately and reduced in depth before being refilled to create two, shallower lakes with a maximum depth of 5m and will hopefully be more suitable venues for fishing and canoeing.

The main part of the drainage and infilling of sections of the fishing lake is believed to be scheduled for June to September 2011, depending on the commencement date of the works and availability of infill.

FAS Chairman, Richard Cane commented "Farnham Angling Society's fishery management team have been working with the landowner and contractor on their plans and hope to continue to help provide advice and practical help to protect the fish and to ensure that our members can continue to fish as the work progresses with minimal disruption and disturbance".

The development also includes the creation of extensive reed beds in the north-eastern corner of the lake, which will have a boardwalk that cuts through them as part of a new riverside walk to the south of the River Blackwater. A new path will surround the two lakes and lead across the causeway to provide improved access.

As part of the development plan, access to the fishery will change due to the works traffic, so members are reminded to please take note and take care when entering and leaving the fishery and use the marked car park which will be relocated from it's current position.

The development will take place between the following times: Between 7.30am - 6.00pm Monday to Friday and from 7.30am to 2.00pm on Saturdays. There will be no working on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

The development  will involve the importation of approximately 100,000m3 of inert waste soils and approximately 10,000 to 15,000 HGV deliveries of inert waste during this period: this will amount to some 40-60 HGV loads a day.

The planning permission is publicly available online at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/environment or you can contact the Chairman, Richard Cane on 01252 - 721105 to check on any impact on fishing and the progress of the works.

Members may book up to three consecutive nights.

If a member books 1 or 2 nights and wishes to fish 3 nights they will have to contact the system operator, both to check there if there are places available and to obtain a new code.

Any member that has booked a night/s, who then decides not to fish, must also inform the operator and cancel. Members not doing so may face disciplinary action, which could result in them being banned from booking nights or even loosing their membership. After three nights, members must have a three night gap before night fishing Mill Lane again.

Members who book in advance must use the dates already booked before booking another session, i.e. you may only have three night booked at any one time.

A similar sized Mirror Carp is known to swim with them. No body has been found, but not far away, a 'dead line' has since been found with a jelly lure attached.

Mike Slater, the Head Bailiff on Frensham Great Pond has instructed his bailiff team to increase the number of bailiffing rounds that are undertaken, checking for fixed lines through the use of a drag stick along the margins or casting parallel to the bank when anglers are not fishing to remove any fixed lines that are found and mentioning the problem to all FAS Members that are bailiffed so they can keep their eyes open, be vigilant and report any issues ASAP to Mike Slater in the first instance on 07967 - 736815.

Unfortunately, notices prohibiting poaching have been ripped down at the fishery many times and groups of non-FAS members have been found fishing illegally over the summer and were asked to leave, having been fishing with no permits, cheap rods and BBQ's at the ready in swims on the bank opposite the hotel.

Please ensure we do all we can to avoid any losses in the future - The Executive Committee (17th January 2012)

The temporary causeway dividing the fishing side in two will be removed when re-profiling works within the drained section have been completed and the island will remain intact within the fishing lake.

No fish have been removed from the site and all of the venues stock are currently in the section closest to the car park and should be catchable, in fact several have been caught from the two remaining undisturbed banks.

When the top half of the fishing lake has been profiled the water in the lower half will be pumped back over the temporary bund and then all the fish transferred to the fishing side top half.

With the temporary fishing lake dividing bund just high enough to retain the water, they will then part fill with soils and re-profile the last section (car park corner), removing the temporary bund on the way out.

The work appears to be on schedule with a predicted end date around March 2012 although they can easily apply for an extension of time if the project is lagging behind.

The main water supply to the venue was diverted to allow the work to take place and will be re-instated towards the end of the project. In the future, River Valley will be much changed, but in time as productive as before and hopefully enhanced. The Executive Committee

The juvenile fish which consisted of 250 barbel, 250 chub and 250 dace were introduced to the river in an area chosen away from the main flow with lots of marginal cover.

The fish which were transported from the Environment Agency's Calverton Fish Farm in Nottingham swam away strongly and are expected to grow quickly in the rich environment.

The fish introduction was overseen by FAS Chairman Richard Cane, pictured.

Jimi showed that his specimen hunting, for which he is fast making a name for himself, is not just confined to Barbel such as this 16lb 4oz specimen that he took from Carters Hill in July this year which was just 8oz off the existing FAS record.

There is no need to book. Anyone wishing to fish for Pike on FAS waters must attend a Pike teach-in. This includes all guests and exchanged members.Anyone who is not a member may also attend a teach-in, all are welcome.

Please remember that to qualify for a 'Pike Fishing permit stamp' in the Handbook, attendants must arrive before the stated time of each teach-in session (times indicated below) and bring the required equipment as per bye-law 4.s.ii a-g (see pages 10-11 to allow for a tackle check by FAS officials, otherwise you will not be able to complete the teach-in).

All required tackle will be available to purchase and sold at 10% discount (cash transactions only).

You must be prepared to handle Pike during the teach-in session. All Pike Teach-Ins completed for 2011/12 Season and the next Teach-Ins will start in September 2012. For further information contact, Mike Slater 07967 736 815.

Every Barbel in the river would have been feeding heavily during this period and with the river now fined right down to its normal level and a day of high pressure bringing bright blue skies; along with nine anglers on its bank it was never going to be easy.

After eventually getting to the river we all sat down in the field where l demonstrated the technique that l had perfected over many years of fishing this small intimate river. This was followed by plenty of questions from the anglers before they all settled into swims.

This stretch of river has a limited number of swims, and some found it difficult, however one small Barbel was caught very early on along with a few Chub. Unfortunately, my methods involve being mobile, being on the river at times when no one else is, then rotating the better swims which wasn’t possible for these guys on the day, however I’m sure that most will have understood this and will be back soon and then they will start to see just how effective and immediate the approach is.

All the anglers seemed to have enjoyed the day, learnt a lot, as well as being blessed with a fantastic view of watching a barn owl hunt the fields at dusk.

Tight Lines and please keep us informed on your Barbel catches by submitting them for display on the web site - Duncan Charman

As you can see the hole was very deep and the banks unstable having collapsed during de-watering.

Working conditions are never ideal when the water is removed but the fish have to be extracted.

Approximately 5000 fish were safely re-located into the other half, mainly small perch and a few pike. No carp had been seen in this first section and none were found. We had expected to see a few large eels but even after extensive electro fishing , there were none.

One lake (the larger northern lake), will be dedicated to fishing and FAS fully expect to continue to provide fishing on this water to it's members.The smaller southern lake will cater for canoeing.

Following the splitting of the lake, each section of the lake will be drained separately and reduced in depth before being refilled to create two, shallower lakes with a maximum depth of 5m and will hopefully be more suitable venues for fishing and canoeing.

The main part of the drainage and infilling of sections of the fishing lake is believed to be scheduled for June to September 2011, depending on the commencement date of the works and availability of infill.

FAS Chairman, Richard Cane commented "Farnham Angling Society's fishery management team have been working with the landowner and contractor on their plans and hope to continue to help provide advice and practical help to protect the fish and to ensure that our members can continue to fish as the work progresses with minimal disruption and disturbance".

The development also includes the creation of extensive reed beds in the north-eastern corner of the lake, which will have a boardwalk that cuts through them as part of a new riverside walk to the south of the River Blackwater. A new path will surround the two lakes and lead across the causeway to provide improved access.

As part of the development plan, access to the fishery will change due to the works traffic, so members are reminded to please take note and take care when entering and leaving the fishery and use the marked car park which will be relocated from it's current position.

The development will take place between the following times: Between 7.30am - 6.00pm Monday to Friday and from 7.30am to 2.00pm on Saturdays. There will be no working on Sundays or Bank Holidays.

The development is due to be completed and restored within 18-months of commencement and will involve the importation of approximately 100,000m3 of inert waste soils and approximately 10,000 to 15,000 HGV deliveries of inert waste during this period: this will amount to some 40-60 HGV loads a day.

The planning permission is publicly available online at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/environment or you can contact the Chairman, Richard Cane on 01252 - 721105 to check on any impact on fishing and the progress of the works.