17 Mar 2022

Torridge Fly Fishing Club – Gammaton Fishing Well

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Torridge Fly Fishing Clubs season at Gammaton Reservoir has got off to an excellent start with several limit bags taken by members and visiting anglers.

Located at Gammaton Reservoirs ( 2 four acre lakes) .Annual membership £180. Members can keep up to 6 fish a week.
Day tickets £20 (3 fish) available from Summerlands Tackle, Westward Ho! & Tarka Country Pursuits , Torrington.
Membership enquiries to Mike Ball 07899 742757 . Email : [email protected]
The latest stocking of trout into Gammaton Reservior

The fishing is controlled by Torridge Fly Fishing Club established in 1959, day tickets can be purchased from Summerlands Tackle permitting visiting anglers to keep three fish at a reasonable cost of £20. The trout are predominantly rainbow’s averaging 2lb to 4lb stocked by Bulldog Trout Fishery.

15 Mar 2022

A New Trout Season underway

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The trout season on North Devon’s Rivers started on Tuesday and opens up many miles of wild brown trout fishing to fly fishing enthusiasts. The Fish pass scheme offers many miles of fishing across the Westcountry with many of the beats lightly fished in delightful countryside. It is well worth checking out their website https://fishpassapp.co.uk

They also sell tickets for several South West Lakes Trust Waters including Wistlandpound Reservoir near Blackmoor Gate that also opened on March 15th with fishing for wild brown trout and rudd.

I have a season ticket for Wistlandpound and took an opening day stroll around the lake having a few casts here and there. It was late afternoon and the sun was starting to sink beneath the horizon as I savoured the pleasing actions of putting out a line on the water. A few fish rose across the lake and a good swirl behind my fly gave hope of action.

The last stop on our walk saw me cast out as a few more fish rose in the lake. I retrieved the small black lure and was delighted when the line zipped tight. A wild brown gave a spirited tussle before being safely netted. I admired its black and crimson spotted golden flanks before watching the fish dart away into the dark waters in the fading light. The first fish of the season is always special!

14 Mar 2022

Bideford and District Angling Club Monthly Coarse Competition results:

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Tarka Swims 23 fished
1st Keith Mountjoy  21lb 4oz
2nd Martin Turner 17lb 10oz
3rd Stephen Craker  15lb 6oz
4rd Colin Gorman  14lb 9oz
5th Les Polden 14lb 1oz
6th Kevin Shears 13lb 7oz
A fantastic turn out , just 3 short of a full house, enjoyed an interesting day on our club lake. The forecast poor weather didn’t materialize and reasonable conditions prevailed.
The deeper pegs have once again dominant the main prize list. Last month’s winner Keith has made few mistakes to put another winning catch together on peg 9 , long pole tactics soft pellet over ground bait.
Martin , 2 pegs away on peg 11 , had a good carp, late, shallow to boost him into 2nd spot. 3rd place Stephen almost took the golden peg prize, fishing a long pole on peg 15. Committee member ,Colin had 3 good carp on peg 10 for 4th.
The next competition on Tarka will be on April 10th booking on will be required.

13 Mar 2022

Wistlandpound Club – Visit Wimbleball

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Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club met at Wimbleball Lake for their first competition of the new season and were faced with challenging conditions during the first part of the day.

A cold South Easterly Wind was blowing down the lake into Bessoms and Ruggs which was the area the majority headed.

My own day got off to a flier when a rainbow seized my cormorant dropper on the first cast. I then waited over three hours before catching the next fish. A small black lure fished on an intermediate line being the successful method that accounted for the final four fish of the day.

Paul Grisley caught a rainbow early in the day and also went several hours before catching three more rainbows in the last half hour of the competition. The best of these was a stunning rainbow of 7lb 12oz that took the fly line out to the backing twice.

 

Early Spring can be challenging and on this day we seemed to have  several seasons in one day. The morning was bitterly cold in the South East wind with heavy showers and short spells of sunshine. Late in the day the wind dropped away and the lake took on a mirror like appearance reflecting the dark sky and colours of the landscape.

 

 

Result – 1st Paul Grisley – Four Rainbow  –  Trout 15lb 4oz – Best 7lb 12oz

                2nd Wayne Thomas – Five Rainbow – 10lb 11oz

                 3rd – David Eldred – One Rainbow – 2lb 8oz

12 Mar 2022

SPRING TIME BY THE RIVER

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Heavy rain has brought the river up a bit and brought some turbidity, if it was late Spring I would welcome this but somehow in early Spring the murky water does not inspire. I drift a big brass tube across the favoured spots. Its good to be back despite the cold wind and less than perfect river.

Salmon have been sighted leaping further downriver so its only a matter of time before someone strikes silver!

As I arrive a large bushy tailed fox scrambles into the hedgerow. I note the Spring flowers, daffodils, Primroses and celandines in what I often think of as Springs yellow phase.

I catch a movement in the corner of my eye ! A branch drifting downriver, but its strangely moving across the river? It somersaults in the river a tail slapping the water as it dives. My first glimpse of an otter this year. Whilst otters generate a lot of anger and debate amongst anglers I always thrill at the sight on this River made famous through the writings of Henry Williamson and Tarka the Otter. Otters belong here on this river; it is mankind that has upset the balance decimating the stocks of fish upon which the otters feed. Nature has a fine and complex balance that we so often upset.

http://www.littlewarhamfishery.co.uk

10 Mar 2022

In search of Spring silver

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The March River

It was great to be back once again swinging a fly across familiar salmon lies on the River Torridge. The river level was just about perfect with the first week of the season hampered by high flows and turbid waters. Spring salmon are a great prize that have become increasingly hard to win in recent seasons. Ten years ago today I was lucky to hook and net a beautiful fresh run fish from the Middle Torridge. I have fished every March since without repeating this. I will keep trying savouring the spring flowers and the hopes of a new season.

It is sad to see the empty shell of a freshwater pearl mussel. These mollusc can live for over 100 years are not thought to have bred successfully since the 1960’s.

SAVING FRESHWATER MUSSELS ON THE TORRIDGE

An out of season brown trout brought a welcome pull on the line. I hope to target these wild browns later in the Spring when they will hopefully take well presented dry flies or nymph.

9 Mar 2022

CANARY ISLAND ADVENTURE FOR NORTH DEVON ANGLERS

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North Devon based Dan Spearman and Mark Jones travelled to the Canary Islands to target the specimen fish that hunt the shoreline. Fishing from beach and rock marks they fished hard making the most of their time and existing on only a few hours sleep each day. The biggest fish caught was sting ray caught by Dan  estimated at 250lb. They also landed butterfly ray to 88lb, smoothound to 25lb and several white skate to 40lb.

9 Mar 2022

Chasing Wild Cornish Browns with the Fluff Chuckers

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Fluff Chuckers trout bank day at colliford lake, Cornwall.

We will be meeting in the main car park at 8am for a 9am to 5pm event.
There will be a prizes for the most trout landed and for the longest trout landed
Measurement from the nose to the fork of the tail.
This will be C&R event and barbless hooks only and all other swlt rules apply.
The idea of the event is to be a ideal chance for anglers old and new to sample the brown trout fishing to meet up and have some laughs and get on the water and have a great days fishing.
Colliford lake is a vast area to cover and you can fish where you fancy and we meet up at 5 pm to award the prizes at the main car park.
This event is not designed to be a ultra competitive competition more of a great fun day with a few prizes.
For the largest fish please provide your own measure tape and take a photo of the fish with the tape shown on the fish from the tip of the nose to the inside of the fork of its tail.
For the total amount of fish landed please account for them as you would for a normal catch return.
There is no big buck prize to give in false amounts of fish landed, and at the end of the day you are only cheating yourself by giving a false declaration.
But photo evidence will be required for the largest  fish landed.
There is no entry fee to compete just let us know that you will be coming and please pay your day ticket in advance to swlt in the normal way.
Look forward to seeing you there.