Some dates for your 2018 diary.
The Manor Fisheries 2018 Season is:
· Open from Saturday 24th March 2018
· Closed from Monday 1st October 2018
We are now accepting 2018 booking requests from visitors with differing requirements including:
· “Accommodation and discounted fishing” for 3, 4 or 7 days or longer. Apartment Availability can be seen at https://www.manor-fisheries.co.uk/availability/ .
· 2018 Night Members can now book fishing up to the sixth month ahead. The 2018 Night Membership application is available via www.manor-fisheries.co.uk .
· From 15th February 2018 we will accept bookings for fishing from the general Public requiring only Day Fishing (7.00 am to 7.00 pm) who can book ahead up to month three. To book Lake 2 (Carp/Catfish) anglers must indicate when they have fished here previously.
News Report – 1st January 2018 to 31st January 2018
Summary – the next 7-weeks
Not long now before we open again on the 24th March. During the next few weeks we will continue with:
· Netting and electro stunning of Lake 3 (Mixed).
· Daily fish feeding
· General grounds, swims and islands maintenance
· Apartments, cabin and security maintenance
We will keep you informed of progress while we look forward to receiving your comments, ideas and photos.
Repair and improvement of swims
We can report that three of the Lake 2 (Carp/Catfish) swims have been upgraded.
Fishing visit to New Zealand
Although the journey was an arduous 36+ hours, we were fortunate to return to New Zealand over the Christmas and New Year period to enjoy almost constant holiday sunshine in the low 80’s. Of course the opportunity to enjoy local wines could not be missed whilst also slipping in a few days fishing.
South Island – Our first location was south-west of Christchurch at Fairlie which is a quintessential rural New Zealand farming town and the eastern gateway to the Mackenzie region. Spread across this region are many rivers holding large wild Brown and Rainbow Trout; with Lake Tekapo only 1½ hours away by car.
Overlooking Fairlie
Lake Tekapo
Godley River
It was throughout this area that Kevin Payne, an extremely gifted fly-fishing guide, shared his local knowledge with me and provided an immense amount of patient instruction that eventually produced results that I originally did not seem possible.
Brown Trout 6 lbs
Rainbow Trout 4 lbs 8 ozs
Brown Trout 6 lbs
North Island – Returning to Russell we stayed in a “Bach” on the waterfront some 4 miles to the west. As well as spending time sight-seeing and relaxing we enjoyed catching our supper consisting of Snapper and John Dory. Under the guidance of Geoff Stone aboard Major Tom II, our arms were soon aching – especially when Kingfish took our sardine baits.
Russell waterfront
View from "Home"
Major Tom II
Rhonda's biggest ever
John Dory and Kingfish
Kingfish 26 lbs
Manor Fisheries Specimens
Each year we award every angler with a PIN to commemorate catching their first Manor Fisheries specimen fish for each species shown below. The 2018 PIN qualifying weights are:
2018 Leader Board
The Leader Board competition will again run throughout our 2018 Season and commence on Saturday 24th March 2018. Prizes will be awarded for the following specimens caught by or on Sunday 30th September 2018:
· £50.00 for the first verified 50lbs+ Catfish
· £50.00 for the first verified 30lbs+ Carp
· £50.00 for the first verified 8lbs+ Tench
In the event these “Target weights” are not met, the above prizes will be awarded for the heaviest verified Carp, Catfish and Tench specimens recorded in the Cabin Log Book by or on Sunday 30th September 2018.
Thank you to all those anglers who have spent a few moments in the past to summarise their catch in the Cabin Log Book.
In addition to recording Cats weighing over 30lbs, and please don’t be shy ……. we request anglers also record Carp over 20lbs as this forms the basis of our Monthly News Report and provides valuable input to our lake management plans.