Articles

            The Fly Fishing community gathered at the Arundell for the first day of the West Country Trout Festival on March 14th the eve of a new River Fishing season. It proved to be a highly enjoyable day of learning, socialising and tackle browsing.  My mind is overwhelmed with images, thoughts and plans for a new season  so rather than try and report on the day with long winded narrative I will simply post images and  relevant captions with links to relevant websites. DAVID PILKINGTON David Pilkington got the talks underway enthralling the audience by reading an extract from his ...

Over the years I have often spoken with Lewis Hendrie at various fishing shows and events across the West Country and it is always apparent that we share a deep passion for angling. So when Lewis suggested a fishing trip on a lake or river it was too good an opportunity to miss and a date was set. As is often the case natures script doesn’t always cater to our own desired narrative and our plans for the day would have to fit the weather to some extent. The plan was to potentially split the day into two sessions seeking ...

The Arundell Arms is a 300 year old Coaching Inn set in West Devon that is at the heart of the West Country Fly Fishing Scene. The Arundell has a rich fishing history and has hosted many influential anglers and gifted literary scholars during its history as one of England’s precious country hotels. On the evening of February 28th Pauline and I joined with friends to listen to a talk by the well known angling author John Bailey who is also the lead angling consultant in the popular BBC Two series, Mortimer & Whitehouse : Gone Fishing. I have many ...

  Combe Martin SAC member Kevin Legge has smashed the clubs conger record with a fine conger scaling 37lb 14oz. The big shore caught eel is a new personal best for Kevin who has landed several eels over thirty pounds fishing North Devon's remote and craggy shoreline over a fishing journey that has already stretched over four decades. Kevin's enthusiasm and dedication is recognised by fellow club members.        The fish was tempted using Channel Squid and landing the eel was very much a team effort with his good friend Damien Close of Weston Outcasts assisting in landing ...

Bulldog Fisheries Fly Fishing Competition – 1st February 2026 Many thanks to Tom Early for his report on the competition below ;- My own account follows Our latest fly fishing competition at Bulldog Fisheries took place on the 1st of February 2026, and on arrival the conditions looked absolutely perfect. Overcast skies paired with still air set the scene nicely. Over a cup of tea and a bacon roll, plenty of fish were already showing, rising steadily along the far bank. Much of the early conversation centred around the recent stocking, with Nigel and Tom boasting of monster browns that ...