1 Jan 2026

A Danglers Diary – December 2025

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SHORE FISHING

Its starting to look a lot like Christmas at the local harbour and after a succession of dogfish a moderate Bull huss takes the bait.

TROUT FROM STILLWATERS

The Fluff Chucker’s Stillwater event is held on the calm waters of the Arundell’s lake. After coffee and bacon rolls a friendly competition is held and I am pleased to secure the biggest fish and runner up in the event netting eight trout the biggest brown trout of 43cm. Many thanks must go to Rodney Wevill who does the bulk of the work in organising these get togethers.

 

FLOUNDER FISHING

The Triple Hook Turkey Flounder Open is a popular fixture and its good to visit the estuary to dig a few ragworm before the competition. Angling certainly takes you to some interesting places.

The day of the competition coincides with the Winter Solstice and I savour the sunrise above Barnstaple as the tide ebbs. Skeins of geese fly over and the haunting cry of the curlew drifts through the morning air.

I even manage a brace of flounder the biggest of which secures turkey Christmas Dinner

Beach Fishing

Its Combe Martin SAC’s Festive Fish so I head out to fish a local beach sheltered from the bitter North East Wind I reel in a few dogfish and a small Bull huss. The best doggie is 2lb 7oz the biggest I have caught or a while.

PIKE FISHING

James and I spend a day exploring Tiverton Canal hoping to tempt pike or perch on lures. Its a bitter cold lazy east wind but after enjoying a full English at the appropriate Fishermans Cott we have a good day. A few small jacks follow the lures but we cannot get a hit. The kingfishers entertain and James manages to capture them with his camera.

Winter Mullet

On the last day of 2025 I fish for the elusive grey mullet. I glimpse a few good fish and the rod tip trembles a few times but I fail to connect. Its cold but there is not a breath of wind as the sun slowly sets on the year.

The time must come to all of us, who live long, when memory is more than prospect. An angler who has reached this stage, and reviews the pleasures of life, will be grateful and glad that he has been an angler, for he will look back on days radiant with happiness, peaks and peaks of enjoyment that are not less bright because they are lit in memory by the light of a setting sun.

1 Jan 2026

The Arundell – Winter – The Place that time forgot

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28 Dec 2025

A Contrast in fish and fishers

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I am an avid collector of angling books and was delighted to receive these excellent books at Christmas. Whilst I have not yet read them on glancing through them I noted how diverse angling is and how different species can attract across a wide spectrum of anglers. The Last Cast book by David Nickson is a reflection upon the life of a 95 year old salmon angler. The Anguilla book is the work of the National Anguilla Club whose members fish for eels. Both books have migratory fish as their focus both incredible species that travel vast distances in both fresh and saltwater.

The salmon anglers tend to be very much traditional members of the Upper classes whilst the eel anglers would be very much what would have been classed as working class. The waters fished are also generally contrasting with salmon very much connected to powerful fast flowing rivers. Eels are more likely to be dwelling within dark mysterious stillwaters. Its all angling to me and I relish each species with my favourite very much the species I am fishing for at the time.

 

23 Dec 2025

ANGLING NEWS ACROSS North Devon – Christmas 2025

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Bideford Christmas Flounder

            Close to one hundred anglers lined the banks of the Torridge Estuary to compete in Bideford Angling Clubs Christmas Competition. The winner was Adam Coley with a flounder scaling 1lb 15oz. Runner up was Steve Foland with a flounder of 1lb 13oz and Paul Burslam third with a flounder of 1lb 12oz. Forty seven flounder were brought to the scales and several good sized bass were also tempted. Bideford Angling Club would like to thank their generous sponsors, DS Electrical, Anglers Heaven, Clawford Lakes, Leeda, Devon Baits, Barnstaple Bait and Tackle, James Grigg and Gabby Pillows. The competition raised £650 for the Charity ‘Cardiac Risk in The Young’.

Flukey’s Christmas Flounder Open

            Flukey’s Christmas Flounder Open attracted fifty one anglers. The winner was Mike McManus with a flounder of 1lb 13.5oz. Mario Manley was runner up with a flounder of 1lb 9.75oz and Mathew Mitchel third with a flounder of 1lb 8oz. Layla Mitchel was top junior with a flounder of 1lb 3.5oz and Kayden Hull runner up with a flounder of 1lb 1.25oz

   

        

BIDEFORD COARSE MATCH

Bideford Angling Club Christmas Coarse Match at their home venue Tarka Lakes was won by Nathan Underwood with 47lb 3oz. John Lisle was runner up with 25lb 14oz and Martin Turner third with 18lb 6oz.

 

            Bulldog Fisheries Christmas Competition was won by Roy Pink with five trout for 16lb 13oz. Runner up was Colin Combe with three fish for 16lb 2oz and Dave & Freddy Chapman third with 13lb 1oz. The biggest fish of the day was a fine tiger trout of 8lb 9oz to the rod of Colin Combe.

Fluff Chuckers STILLWATER EVENT 

            The Fluff Chucker’s held a Stillwater competition hosted by the Arundell at Lifton. Fishing the hotels Lake members caught over twenty trout with Roger Truscott winning with an impressive eleven trout. Runner up was Andrew Watson with three trout and winner of the biggest fish myself with a brown trout of 43cm. The event was sponsored by Yeti Europe, Lakedown Brewing and Tap Room.

            Sam Graham fished Hacche Moor Fishery to bank a fine common carp of 44lb 14oz.

            South West Lakes Trust have closed all swims on the West bank at Lower Slade Reservoir following a tree survey that revealed a large number of ash trees that are in danger of falling. Ash die back is having an impact on many fisheries across Devon and anglers should be aware of the ongoing dangers as the trees are particularly prone to falling or losing limbs. Lower Slade is one of North Devon’s few pike waters with fish present to over twenty pounds. Those targeting the species should ensure they have all the correct unhooking equipment and should familiarise themselves with South West Lakes relevant rules.

            Sea anglers fishing the Open coast will be targeting spurdog, bull huss, conger and tope. The winter months offer the chance to target a wide range of species from the open coast. Those venturing out should always consider their safety taking relevant precautions. Always be aware of weather conditions and tides. Tell someone where you intend to fish and expected time of return. Use what three words to indicate location and ensure you carry a mobile phone and wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Combe Martin SAC Member Shane Hookway caught  a specimen 10lb 11oz bull huss.

          

CHRISTMAS TURKEY’s for Triple Hook Club Winners

            Triple Hook Clubs Christmas Turkey Flounder Open is always a popular fixture for the North Devon angling community and this year was no exception with over forty anglers taking part. The flounder proved hard to find with plenty of freshwater rushing out with the ebbing tide. Despite this some quality fish were brought to the scales and it was good to join in and catch up with familiar faces from the angling community.

            The top ten anglers all received a turkey dinner. The winner was Tony Gooch with a fine flounder of 1lb 10.5oz. Paul Ackland was runner up with a flounder of 1lb 93/8oz and Rob Hancock third with a flounder of 1lb 75/8oz. Forth was Mark Beer with a flounder of 1lb 71/2oz and fifth myself with a flounder of 1lb 63/8oz. The clubs ladies flounder competition was won by Sam Ackland with a flounder of 1lb 57/8oz  with Amber Chapple runner up with a flounder of 13.5oz.

Appledore Shipbuilders Results

22 members fished Appledore Shipbuilders Christmas competition on Sunday 21st December.

Martin Davis took top spot with a lovely Flounder of 1lb 13ozs. David Atkinson was 2nd and 3rd with Flounders of 1lb 9 and 1lb 8 3/4.

20 Flounders were weighed in with the majority safely released to be caught again.

Well done everyone who fished.

Also this weekend was the December heat of the winter League. Andrew Atkinson was 1stcwith a Huss of 9lb 8ozs. Josh Atkinson was 2nd with another Huss of 8lb 5ozs with Andrew 3rd with a Huss of 8lb 4oz.

Bideford Angling Club Result

            Stephen Found won Bideford Angling Clubs forty eight hour rover with a specimen pouting of 2lb 1oz. Jon Stevens was runner up with a small eyed ray of 7lb 51/2oz and Paul Ackland third with a flounder of 1lb 9.5oz. Richard Jefferies set a new Bideford Angling Club record with a skate scaling 13lb 4oz.

           Combe Martin SAC  

Combe Martin SAC Member Shane Hookway caught a fine bull huss of 10lb 11oz on a recent session along the North Devon coast. Bull huss, ray and spurdog have featured in catch’s recently along with whiting and dogfish.

            Barnstaple Bait and Tackle Match Group held their annual Christmas Competition at Morchard Road Lake View. Steve Hayman was the winner with 77lb 6o z. Runner up was Gary Sullivan with 53lb 8oz and Kevin Wilton third with 52lb 13oz.

            The Christmas Special of the popular Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing programme is on screened on Christmas Eve and is filmed in Devon and Cornwall with the Arundell Arms at Lifton playing a starring roll.

16 Dec 2025

FLUFF CHUCKERS STILLWATER EVENT – ARUNDELL 2025

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Rodney Wevill – Report

That’s a wrap for Fluff Chuckers Events 2025…

On Saturday, December 13th we held the Arundell / Fluff Chuckers Still water event at Lifton on the Arundells lake.

We met at the Arundell Hotel to sign on and Tea/ coffee and Bacon Rolls in the old cock pit.

All well fed and watered we were off to the lake for a 10am start, fishing peg numbers for 30mins and moving on to the next .

Fishing a 2 hour session in the morning, 45 minutes for a on the bank lunch and then a further 2 hr session in the afternoon.

The lower pegs fished extremely well for the morning with more than 20 fish , Browns and a few Rainbows to the net.

The afternoon session was a lot harder with only a handful of fish being caught

Tactics ranged from sink 6 to floating lines, nymphs, lures, and all in between.

Roger Truscott was on fire for the first 45mins landing lots of fish with Wayne Thomas close behind.

At 3pm it was back to the Arundell to tally up the scores, some more Tea/ Coffee in front of the wood burner.

The winners ended up being in first place with 11 fish Roger Truscott

With Andrew Watson being the runner up

The winner of the biggest fish of the day a very nice Brown trout 43cm going to Wayne Thomas

A great way to end the year and a big thank you to YETI Europe , Lakedown Brewing Co. & Tap Room, The Arundell for your continued support with the prizes.

A special thank you to James Christoforou from the Arundell for his time and wonderful hospitality not only today but also the previous 2 events held at the hotel , anyone looking for a fishing break in the South West no need to look further, some great fishing all year round with Grayling, Trout and sea trout in their seasons.

Great guides and fly fishing casting instructors if required.

The Arundell fishing shop with everything you will ever need plus wonderful accommodation and food.

And it’s situated in some of the most stunning parts of this fair Island and where I call home so I am a little biased.

Thank you to all that have supported the events throughout the year and we hope to see you all in 2026 starting with the Fluff Chuckers / SWLT Brown Trout Masters round 1 at the end of March.

A personal account of the day

The winding Devon roads took me over hills and through misty valleys as the sun slowly broke through illuminating the frosty landscape. It was a classic winter morning, sounds of the sixties on the radio and a day’s fishing to look forward to.

I arrived at my destination the Arundell shortly after 8:00am and joined Rodney Wevill and other Fluff Chucker’s in the car park as the days shooting party scurried around in readiness for their day ahead.

After a brief catch up we headed into the historic Cockpit building for bacon baps and freshly brewed coffee. Anticipation for the day ahead was high and fuelled by tales of previous trips and adventures.

In addition to several miles of river fishing for salmon, sea trout, brown trout and grayling the Arundell has its own lake. The lake is an old flooded quarry with crystal clear water that is regularly stocked with brown and rainbow trout. Despite the average stock size being between 1lb 8oz and 2lb far larger trout are known to lurk within the deep dark waters.

James Christoforou is head of fishing at the Arundell so before heading to the lake to compete with fellow Fluff Chucker’s I sought James advice as to tactics and flies. Following his advice I set up two rods one with a duo set up as James thought it likely that the fish would be near to the surface. The other rod was set up with a rather drab gold-head lure on the point with a flexible tail dressing that would flutter attractively in the water.

The competition started at 10:00am with each angler on their drawn peg. Every half an hour each angler would move two pegs ensuring that by the end of the day each peg had been fished.

I had drawn peg one with Roger Truscott to my right on peg two. Shortly after cast off I glanced over to see Rogers rod bent as a trout splashed about on a tight line. Within a few moments of releasing this trout Roger was in again and I wondered just how he has such a knack of connecting with the trout!

I cast my line and watched the leader intently lifting the rod briskly when it twitched slightly as the lure sank in the clear water. It was good to connect and get a fish under my belt. As we moved pegs I asked Roger how many he had caught and he replied “eight or nine I think”. By this time I had managed a brace of rainbows and browns.

As expected the catch rate started to drop for all and by the end of the morning I think Roger was on nine whilst I was on seven.

We stopped for lunch at midday and James delivered hot pasties and coffee to those who requested it. For half an hour we all chatted and analysed the mornings fishing. It was obvious that Roger and I had received a big slice of good fortune as pegs one to four were undoubtedly well populated with recently stocked fish. The two end pegs at the lakes far end producing no trout.

The afternoon was surprisingly slow and I only added one fish a 43cm brown trout that was the biggest of the day. Roger once again proved his dominance of Fluff Chucker events ending the day with eleven trout.

We retired once again to the warmth of the Cockpit for the prize giving and a hot coffee. Rodney Wevill does an exceptional job at organising these friendly events and securing sponsorship from Yeti, Lakedown Brewing co & Tap Room. And of course the Arundell whose waters are always a joy to fish.

14 Dec 2025

Bulldog Fisheries Christmas Fly Fishing Competition – Match Review

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TOM EARLY’S Match Review

Our annual Christmas fly fishing competition at Bulldog Fisheries proved to be another memorable day, even if the fish didn’t quite follow the usual Bulldog script.
The morning session started slower than expected, but it didn’t take long for the excitement to kick in. Colin Combe was well and truly put through his paces when an impressive 8.09lb tiger trout took him on a wild ride—charging into the neighbouring swim, burying itself deep in the weed, before finally surrendering to the net. Colin quickly followed this with another quality brown trout, and at that stage his day was shaping up very nicely.
As the morning progressed, bites came steadily if not spectacularly. Pegs 2 and 3, positioned near the main water inlet, proved to be the most productive areas, with fish coming to the net at a consistent rate.
By lunchtime, rods were down and spirits were high. Nigel did a fantastic job in the kitchen, serving up a full turkey roast dinner, complete with Christmas pudding for dessert. A festive nip (or two) of whisky followed—carefully monitored in the hope that nobody took an unexpected swim!
After a hearty feed, the peg redraw saw anglers return to the water for the afternoon session. This proved to be a testing few hours. Persistence paid off for some though, with several cracking spartics landed. The standout of the afternoon was a 5.15lb spartic landed by father & son team Dave and Freddy Chapman!
Results

1st – Roy Pink: 5 fish – 16.13lb

 2nd – Colin Combe: 3 fish – 16.02lb

 3rd – Dave & Freddy Chapman: 13.01lb

 Biggest Fish of the Day – Colin Combe: 8.09lb Tiger Trout

While the fish weren’t quite on form by usual Bulldog competition standards, plenty of fin-perfect trout were landed throughout the day, even the smaller rainbows gave a good account for themselves! This combined with excellent food, festive cheer, and great company, all added up to a thoroughly enjoyable Christmas competition.
A huge thank you to everyone involved, and we wish you all a very Merry Christmas! 🎄🎣
12 Dec 2025

Weekly ANGLING REPORT – December 11th 2025

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ANGLING REPORT

Sixty Pound Carp from Paradise

Jay Harper has banked what is believed to be the first carp over 60lb to be caught from Devon or Cornwall. The huge carp was tempted from Anglers Paradise’s Nirvana Syndicate Lake and tipped the scales at a fraction over 60lb. The fish was weighed and verified by fishery manager Joe Drury and sets the bar for anglers fishing the venue over the coming months. The carp was caught less than a month ago at a weight of 59lb 2oz and was believed to be Devon’s largest carp. Carp are very often at their top weights throughout the winter months and with  a seemingly milder climate expectations are that potential weights for carp and other fish will climb over the coming years.

Anglers Paradisehttp://www.anglers-paradise.co.uk

When I started fishing for carp back in the early 1980’s Winter fishing for the species was still looked upon as pioneering with the fish still regarded as a fish of the summer months. A combination of climate change and significant improvements in weather resistant bivvy’s and warm and waterproof clothing has revolutionised the sport. Anglers can now camp out in the wildest of weather with little discomfort. Modern effective self-hooking rigs mean that anglers can wait in comfort only dashing out when the bite alarm signals.

A group of eight anglers from Plymouth enjoyed their Christmas Social event at Bulldog Fishery banking two carp over thirty pounds and ten over twenty pounds. Such a catch from this sometimes tricky venue during early December highlights just how productive winter carp fishing can be.

Combe Martin SAC’s Christmas Rover was won by David Brooke with a bass of 5lb 13oz. Kevin Legge was runner up with a smoothound of 6lb 15oz and myself third with a bull huss of 6lb 3oz. Members caught dogfish, spurdog and conger.

Michael Hammett secured top spot in Appledore Shipbuilders monthly Rover with a bull huss of 9lb 9.5oz. Josh Atkinson was second with a huss of 8lb 3oz and Chris Slade third with a huss of 8lb 2oz.

North Devon Match Group fished their latest Match at Stafford Moor where members combatted challenging conditions with strong winds and heavy rain. Paul Morris won the Willow Lake section with 89lb 7oz with Warren Thornton runner up with 69lb 7oz. Tom Downing won the Oak lake section with 62lb 10oz with Dave Wood taking runner up spot with 55lb 2oz.

 

South Molton Angling Club fished their latest Mac Trophy Competition at Bulldog Fishery where Edward Rands was first to bag up with six fish by 9:30am including the biggest fish for the day a fine brown trout of 4lb 8oz. Breakfast was served up at 10:00am by which time some members had already enjoyed excellent sport.

 

 

8 Dec 2025

 The Torridge Rivers Association – Newsreel – Charles Inniss

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 The Torridge Rivers Association

Chairman: Paul Ashworth.                                                  Secretary: Charles Inniss.

                                                                Beeches Sheepwash Beaworthy Devon EX 21 5NW

                                                                        e-mail: [email protected]

                                                                        tel: 01409231237   (m)07464190944

The Salmon Hatchery: I am pleased to be able to report that the hatchery team have been able to trap the broodstock from the fish pass at Monkokehampton Weir. We have five hens (largest 11lb) and four cock fish. The first hen we trapped three weeks ago (a superb fish of 13lb) had to be returned: she was ripe and ready to be stripped of her eggs but at that time we only had two cocks and the EA are insistent that the eggs must be fertilised by three cocks for factorial mating. Hopefully within the next fortnight all the hens will be ready for stripping and we will have over 25,000 eggs laid out in the shallow egg-holding trays.

            One of our members recently gave me a copy of an article in the Daily Telegraph magazine which outlines the amazing work of Bob Kindness on the River Carron in Inverness Scotland. For thirty years he has run a hatchery very similar to ours and each spring releases the young salmon at the swim-up fry stage. He has a cylindrical trap set on a pontoon which each year catches the smolts migrating downstream. I quote: “when I look at a smolt caught in the trap, I can determine whether it is a wild fish or a hatchery fish and from which hatchery batch it came from”. Over the last twenty five years salmon stocks on the River Carron have increased dramatically. The amazing work of Bob Kindness has not only increased the numbers of adult salmon returning to spawn but has shown that artificial rearing and stocking retains the genetic quality of the Carron salmon. The editor of the Trout and Salmon magazine wrote: “the debate over the stocking of salmon rivers is hotly contested but the work of Bob Kindness proves that when done correctly artificial stocking can lead to successful and sustainable outcomes and could form a blueprint for artificial stocking as a viable tool for helping other rivers were salmon stocks are in decline”.

            Graham Dunn, one of the hatchery team, has completed some essential health and safety improvements. The bridge over the mill leat at the entrance has been strengthened with new handrails and a safety rail has been erected by the leat next to the egg trays. 

The Fishing Season: yet another season dominated by hot dry weather and low river levels. The salmon season got off to a wonderful start with a 13lb fish caught at Madeira in the first week of the season: but sadly only a handful of springers were caught in March and April and the salmon anglers had to wait until the last fortnight of the season when after a welcome rise in river levels several salmon were caught mostly from the middle river beats. Rod catches for the season totalled somewhere between 15 and 20: very similar to recent years. The sea trout run was again disappointing, but a spate in June encouraged a run of fish and several were caught again mostly from the middle river beats. As in recent years the saving grace has been the excellent brown trout fishing with several fish over 2lb being caught.

The Annual Egg Box Dinner and Raffle: over 40 members and their guests enjoyed another wonderful evening at The Half Moon with good company and an excellent meal. Sam Fenner, our fishery protection officer, joined us for the evening. The raffle was done online this year to save the cost of printing tickets and postage. It worked very well and raised over £900 to help with the costs of running the hatchery. Thank you for your support. Prize winners: 1st: Chris Payne: £100 Sportfish voucher. 2nd Graham Henderson: case of wine voucher. 3rd Ron Burton: £50 Half Moon voucher 4th Adam Barron: a days fishing at Brightlea. 5th Andy Wadham: teacloth painting of Mill Leat.

The 2026 AGM: will be held at The Half Moon on Friday 27th March. Please make a note in your diary and make every effort to attend.

My best Xmas wishes to you all. Winter well. Charles.