January 2013 Newletter
Posted on January 15th, 2013
Every month we will be putting a Monthly Newsletter onto our website to update ‘all’ our friends and guests around the globe. Due to the changes I am making to the fishery in March, I will not be writing a February Newsletter but an early March Newsletter that will be posted on my website by 23rd February.
Sorry for the delay in posting this Newsletter on to my website but my two older children (Jack and Charlotte) only went back to school on the 8th Jan and it has been a very busy time with the constant ‘make a mess and tidy up’ routine!
Firstly I would like to say a big Happy New Year to all of you! May it be a bright year full of fun, good news and lottery winnings!
I am hoping that this year will be a much dryer one than that of 2012 and that we will actually have a summer! The River Tavy has kindly protected my fishery from the floods that hit the south west prior to Christmas because it is the second fastest flowing river in Britain! The ground at the fishery is wet and in places very muddy but anglers are still keen to come as soon as the rain stops.
I was truly delighted to receive so many nice emails from guests, anglers and friends from around the globe writing nice comments about my December Newsletter! Thanks so much for all the lovely words and also for all the Christmas cards that I received last month! It is always a great pleasure to see a regular angler of mine Jon Hughes from Wales, but to receive his texts of support throughout the year is just so nice! Thanks Jon! x
Fortunately I received some excellent news from Derriford Hospital on the 10th December, and that put an end to all those horrible worries for me! The staff were great and the service was excellent!
After Jack and Charlotte finished school on the 13th December our trip to Lapland was on the cards, starting at 10pm with a Taxi to Gatwick! We were all so excited and I would go back again tomorrow if I had half the chance! The snow was stunning and Mark and I loved it as much as our children! I wouldn’t recommend going for three nights as we did because it simply wasn’t long enough for us to fit everything in! We had two husky rides (Mark drove his sledge with Charlotte and Jack in it), Reindeer sleigh ride, snowmobile ride and of course our activity day with a private meeting with Santa! Mark and I came back more tired than we went and we both said that just as we were starting to settle down and chill, it was time to come home! I am sure we will go again, especially me….I loved the Champagne in the evenings! A few of our photos are below for you to see!
Our Christmas Competition was great fun as always with Will providing the bacon butties on arrival and Roast Turkey lunch. Thanks Will! 3rd Place went to Reece from Tavistock, 2nd Place went to Fig from Buckfastleigh and 1st place went to Pete Davey from Lifton with 5 fish that totalled 14lbs-10oz. All winners received an engraved glass tankard! Heaviest fish went to Jed with an 8lb trout and he won a Snowbee Tackle bag! Well done to all anglers! There are two days a year that I drink alcohol in the day, the first is Christmas day and the second is my Christmas Competition and so I enjoyed the afternoon with a few glasses of bubbly, yummy!
Christmas would not be Christmas for us if we didn’t take a trip to The Theatre Royal in Plymouth for a Pantomime and this year it was ‘Dick Whittington’ with Christopher Biggins. We had a lovely time as always and I look forward to the next one; which I believe is Robin Hood!
Mark and I had a lovely New Years Eve with Maria and Andrew Seabright from Poole. We all celebrated the evening with a Chinese takeaway from Tavistock and a bottle of bubbly! A truly lovely evening was had by all!
Since Christmas the fishery has actually seen some dry days and a sudden influx of desperate keen fly fishermen who all want to either escape from the turkey sandwiches or visit a well run beautiful fishery and try to catch a large Rainbow or Brown trout! Friday the 4th January was especially busy with anglers all keen to cast a fly and enjoy a complimentary cup o f tea with a custard cream in the lodge. Anglers are always welcome to help themselves to our free tea and coffee making facilities in the lodge next to the lakes and most of the time free biscuits will be there too!
March 1st 2013 – will see the two Osprey Lakes close in preparation for the larger fish being stocked and these lakes will remain closed until the 23rd March at first light! Our very large Specimen fish will be introduced to the lakes while these pegs are closed and allowed to rest and settle down to what natural food they can find before the 23rd March. Our once holder of the British Record Trout ‘Bertha’ was actually in Big Osprey Lake for 3 months prior to being caught so be patient! Our Osprey Lakes have depths of water up to 18 feet and they are ideal lakes for the very large fish to hold up and make a new home. So start tying those special fly patterns and try your luck on or after the 23rd March!
March 23rd 2013 – Our two Big Fish Lakes open and so we will be celebrating with Champagne and beer! Join us for a days fishing and a free refreshments at lunchtime! It is advisable to book to secure your place on all our lakes opening weekend, as there are £240 worth of engraved cut glass tankards up for grabs! Deposits required to book a place are £30. Please ring or email to book your place. Anglers that want to turn up on the weekend to fish are most welcome but it will be a first come first served basis.
The following 6 engraved cut glass tankards will be awarded as follows to the heaviest bags over the 23rd and the 24th March!
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd ‘4 fish’ heaviest bags on the Osprey lakes will each receive an engraved cut glass Tankard!
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd ‘6 fish’ heaviest bags on the Kingfisher and Heron Lakes will each receive an engraved cut glass Tankard!
Russell Hill from Snowbee tackle company will be donating great prizes on the Osprey Lakes on opening weekend. 2 XS Floating Fly Lines, one for each of the 1st and 2nd place.
March 23rd 2013 – Our new leaflet will be handed out to all anglers and visitors. This leaflet will have full details of our new pricing structure, new map of the fishery and details of our new Children’s and Adults float fishing visits. Our new accommodation leaflet will also be available on this day.
March 23rd 2013 – New donkey and rare breed chicken paddock! The rain has put a delay on my new fencing being erected around my new paddock but I am optimistic that the ground will start to dry up soon and work will then move ahead at speed! I was hoping to complete this project by 23rd March but the weather will dictate this date to me. I will keep you updated on this in my next Newsletter
March 26th 2013 – Bernie Pennington rejoins my small number of staff to work on the fishery on a part time basis after being away for about 3 years. I hope that those of you who remember Bernie from a few years ago will join me in giving him a warm welcome!
Accommodation – Clearbrook Barn, The Old Stable and Jack’s Den are all still available for winter bookings at this stage. Please ring to book your 3 night break, prices start from £269 per cottage. A new router has just been installed in Jack’s Den and so all our cottages and apartments now have ‘free’ Wifi! Holiday bookings are now being taken for this year and all weekly bookings include towels, bathrobes and a bottle of ‘ lovely’ Red, Rose or White wine on arrival!
March 2013 Newsletter
Our March Newsletter will be posted onto our website by the 23rd February. This will contain our new prices for our Big fish lakes (Osprey Lakes) where all the fish will be above 3lbs and also the prices for our Normal lakes (Kingfisher and Heron Lakes) where all the fish will be above 2lbs.
Our Adult and Children’s float fishing lake prices will also change this day with a new policy of allowing children and adults that float fish to catch and release if they want to. These tickets will also allow the parents and children ‘free’ use of our Gazebo, children’s play area, trampoline, play barn with Xbox and Wii and also free entrance to our fenced paddock to feed our trout when it is complete. All guests that purchase a ticket for our float fishing day will also have free access to our tea and coffee making facilities and our new Children’s Art Room at the lodge!.
Finishing Touches
As the fishery approaches the end of its improvements you will start to notice several ‘finishing touches’ that include tarmac in our car park, new disabled car park, new rubbish bins, new health and safety signs, extra life buoys, tree cutting around the lakes, new name signs on all our cottages and apartments, new promotional products and increased amount of fly fishing tackle in our shop, choice of free biscuits in the lodge for anglers and for the hungry angler, an ordering service on Saturdays and Sundays from the Pasty House in Tavistock.
These final finishing touches show that this fishery is not just an ordinary trout fishery but one that continues to invest in the ‘happiness’ of its anglers and guests! Visitors come here to relax and enjoy their day or week off from work and my job is to make sure that they do just that! Please email me any suggestions that you feel might improve my estate even further.
This months ‘French Bean Fillets’ (650 Watt microwave oven)
Finely chop 4 rashers of lean smoked bacon and mix 4oz/120g chopped French beans. Cover and cook on full power2 mins. Season and spread on skinned trout fillets. Roll up and squeeze over juice of ½ lemon. Cover and cook on full power 4 mins and let stand for 2 mins before adding 4oz/135g Greek yoghurt and 1 tbsp chopped chives.
To all my fly anglers across the globe I would like to wish tight lines and wet landing nets for the 2013 season! To all my guests that come and stay here, I would like to wish you to a fruitful 2013 and may it bring you everything that you wish for including some warm sun!
I look forward to seeing many of you during 2013 and I really do hope that lots of you will make the journey to my delightful fishery on our special weekend in March! Those of you who would like to fish are advised to book and those of you who would like to call in and visit with your partners and family this weekend are more than welcome!
Abigail Underhill
Trout Fishery and Holiday Cottage Owner