Duncton Mill – a preliminary visit.

Location: From West London take the A3 going past Guildford. Turn left for Milford and take the A283 to Petworth. From South London approach via A24 or M23, Crowley (by pass), Horsham (by pass), Billingshurst (by pass) to Petworth. At Petworth take A285 Chichester road. Continue on this road through Duncton passing the Seaford College on your right. There are brown and white tourist signs to Duncton Mill which is on your left.Address: Duncton Mill Dye House Lane Duncton Petworth Sussex GU28 OLF Contact: Tom or Sheila BishopPhone number: 01798 342048 (fishing); 342294(for accommodation) Fax: 01798 344122 Web site: www.dunctonmill.com E-mail for fishing: tom@dunctonmill.com E-mail for accommodation: sheila@dunctonmill.comThe lakes are stocked with rainbows, blues, brownies, brooks, triploids and tigers according to the season. The average stocking weight is 2.5lb with a good sprinkling of much heavier fish. These are regularly stocked from the fishery’s own fish farm. The emphasis is therefore on quality.Tickets: During Summer months fishing is mainly reserved for season ticket members and their guests. Prices on application – A few vacancies remain.Rates: After 27/10/2000 Winter prices apply until the 18/3/2001. A five fish limit day ticket is available at £30 with the more traditional four fish limit costing £26. Four hour tickets with three or two fish limits are also available at £20 and £16 respectively.On specified days between December and February, sporting tickets (catch and release) are available at £18 for a full day or £12 for four hours. During this period it is also possible to purchase a combined traditional day ticket with a specified number of fish kept, then to continue with a sporting ticket. The cost of these varies according to length of time fishing and number of fish kept. These tickets have great flexibility and can be to some extent tailored to individual needs.Tuition can be arranged but should be booked in advance.Corporate days can be arranged; the facilities are outstanding. Prices and further details can be obtained from Tom.This is a fishery that has accommodation that is of the highest quality. The three cottages or houses are fully detached and fitted out to the highest standard, complete with a heated outdoor swimming pool. Prices change with the size of the accommodation and the season but are exceptionally competitive for this standard of luxury.These cottages or houses would make an ideal base for either a trout fishing holiday on site or a coarse fishing holiday, fishing various nearby venues. Many of the holiday makers are not anglers and come for the surroundings and many local attractions.Luxury bed and breakfast is also available in the main house. The dining room is outstanding and is available at very competitive rates for such a high standard of accommodation.The physically disadvantaged can take their cars to the water’s edge. There is a system of firm paths giving access to nearly half the fishing stations and easy access to the remaining swims in dry weather.Other facilities: Stone and brick lodge with W.C. and weighing room with a main lounge with tea and coffee making facilities. Small tackle shop. Licences are also on sale.

Duncton Mill – a preliminary visit.

When I spoke to Tom Bishop, I was just going off to visit my Aunt who lives near Arundel. Tom kindly invited me to drop in, look around and fish for the evening, as the fishery was fairly close to my aunt. Naturally I did not have to be asked twice and quickly placed my trout gear in the car and phoned my aunt to let her know that Virginia and I would be late.It was an easy trip down and the venue was clearly sign posted. However none of the literature could have prepared us for what we found. To say that it is in an “area of outstanding natural beauty” is an understatement. “Spectacular” is the word that I would have used.We parked and I walked up to the house that sits beside the mill pool with its gin clear water. Tom then turned up and we looked into the pool. There were monstrous trout of all descriptions, rainbows that could have been thirty pounds, browns that looked to be well over twenty pounds and tiger trout that I estimate were approaching mid doubles. This is over the record for tiger trout. Tom explained that most of these fish had been in there for years and well looked after being fed twice a day. They normally live their natural life out in the mill pond.I was shown the accommodation I described earlier and thought that it was outstanding. The whole estate is breathtaking in its beauty. I collected my gear and walked down the hill to the trout lakes with their outstanding views of the surrounding countryside. I walked down to the bottom lake, this is more like a longish stretch of river with one bank wooded. Standing high up, I could see trout moving in the clear water. I set up with an 8.5ft A.F.T.M. number 5 rod with a WF5F line. This was coupled to a longish leader with a small damsel type nymph tied on a size 14 hook. I covered several trout before catching my first rainbow which fought very well in the gin clear water. It was a fin perfect fish of just over 2.75lb. I fished on for an hour and had no more takes.I then moved to the larger middle lake using the same tactics and missed a take. At this stage, I decided to change to a sinking line of the same rating. I let it sink for various periods until I found the bottom. Then I fished near the bottom, slowly retrieving the small damsel fly. I felt a powerful pull and struck into a fish that hugged the bottom. At first I thought it was a brown trout but then I saw it. It was dark with white leading edges to its fins. It was fighting deep down so that I could not clearly see it. Virginia came up to net the fish. When she saw it deep down she said “You’ve got a tiger trout”. I was most surprised as the only one that she had seen was a few hours earlier in the Mill Pool, but she was right! I had caught my first tiger trout at 2lb 9oz. It made a very pleasant ending to a terrific evening.Note: A tiger trout is a hybrid between a brown trout and a brook trout. A brook trout according to my literature is a char. The white fin edging is a characteristic of the char family.The fishery has its own fish farm and hatchery. It produces all its own fish including tiger trout and also provides the stocks for several other well known waters.

To summarise: A spectacular and peaceful setting, gin clear water and hard fighting, fin-perfect fish.