16 Jul 2024

Fly Fishing for Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

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Back in March 4 Cadets from Great Torrington Detachment, Devon Army Cadet Force and 1 pupil from Marland Secondary School, Barnstaple took on the challenge to learn Fly Fishing for the Skills section of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Sgt Oscar Beer, L/Cpl George Batten, L/Cpl Koby Sheppard, Cdt Ted Symons and Miles Holland from Marland School.

During the course they learnt all the elements needed to become confident still water anglers such as types of lines, leaders, tippets, flies, role cast, false cast & retrieve.

The course also consisted of a day’s Fly Tying; this enabled the lads to tie a selection of flies for the 2 lake days of the course.

Special thanks to Paul Cozens at Simpson’s Valley Trout and Course fishery for his continued support on our first lake day 22/06/24, although we didn’t catch any trout the lads had a great day, it also proved how difficult trout can be some times (all good practice) but one of the lads did manage to catch and land a 7lb Pike on a small nymph pattern.

Special thanks also to Tom and Nigel at Bulldog Fisheries for their support on our second lake day 13/07/24 and providing a great end to the course.

Unfortunately, 2 of the lads couldn’t make the day due to other commitments but the 3 that attended had another great day and all caught hard fighting fish that were in superb condition, Nigel kindly rounded of the day for us with a detailed tour around the stock ponds giving the lads an insight into how a trout fishery is run.

2 of the lads were so impressed they said they will be returning with their parent for another session.

Special thanks also to Colonel Ashley Fulford for supporting me and providing first aid cover.

Last year I put an ask on Facebook to anyone that had fly tying materials or equipment that was surplus to requirements, the response was incredibly and although I thanked everyone personally at the time I just wanted to say thank you on here for your support, the materials, rods and reels have all been put to good use and helps use teach these  youngsters at no cost.

Thanks to Geoff Mitchell, Claire Gilbert, Molly Vince and another gentleman that lives at Century Corner, sorry couldn’t remember your name, thank you all so much for you support.

All in all, a very successful coarse, thanks to everyone involved.

Tight Lines Lt Trevor Cook

14 Jul 2024

Wistlandpound Fishing Club – Wimbleball –  July 14th 2024

by | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

July and August are generally difficult months for the Stillwater Trout angler so I did not have high expectations when I joined half a dozen members of Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club at Wimbleball Reservoir. It is however always a delight to get out on the water at Wimbleball with its tree shrouded banks, rolling pasture and abundant wildflowers.

The lake was mirror calm when we arrived at the boat pontoon with  light white clouds drifting across the summer sky. My boat partner for the day was Andre Muxworthy a long time member of the club.

We set off from the pontoon at around 9:00am and headed for the deep water off the dam an area that tends to hold fish during the summer doldrums as the fish seek the deep cool water.

I set up a fast sinking Snowbee Spectre Fly Line and fished a yellow damsel on the point with bright blob on the dropper. Andre used similar tactics as we set about exploring the deep water.

After twenty minutes or so Andre was first to connect bringing a nice rainbow of around 4lb to the net. The occasional fish was rising but I felt that most fish were likely to be deep.

I cast out allowing the flies to sink for 30 seconds or so before commencing a pacy retrieve. The hardest part of any days trout fishing is getting that first take. It took another twenty minutes before the line zipped tight as a good sized rainbow smashed into the fly. After a good battle a 5lb rainbow was safely in the net.

This proved to be the smallest of the three rainbows I brought to the boat during the day. The biggest a fine fish of 5lb 15oz with another of 5lb 5oz. All fish fought hard with the best fish taking me well past the backing. I also got broken by one fish that hit the fly hard leaping out of the water several times after breaking free. Other members also lost fish despite using 8lb b.s tippets! Two other fish came off and I glimpsed one absolute beast of  a fish following the fly to the side of the boat.

Andre caught consistently throughout the day boating four trout and losing a couple.

Andre brings another rainbow to the net.

As always the fishing time ended all too soon and we headed back to the boat launching area for the competition weigh in. The full result below.

An excellent days fishing not easy but it seldom is during the months of July and August when fishing early and late is probably the best bet. The quality of the fish is outstanding as my winning weight testified with three fish for 16lb 5oz.

1st     Wayne Thomas   3 fish 16lb 5oz.   Best 5lb 15oz

2nd – Colin Combe   3 Fish 14lb 2oz

3rd – Andre Muxworthy 4 four fish 11lb

4th     David Eldred  2 fish  6lb 4oz

5th Nigel Bird   1 fish 3lb 8oz

 

11 Jul 2024

Barnstaple Bait and Tackle Opening Saturday July 13th

by | posted in: Articles, Carp Fishing, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Lure Fishing, Match Fishing, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Barnstaple Bait and Tackle Opens on Saturday July 13th ensuring that Barnstaple anglers continue to have a well stocked tackle shop to visit for all their needs. I called in to the shop prior to its opening and chatted with Chris who is full of enthusiasm for the new venture. The shop carries on the legacy of Quay Sports where Chris was the manager. A wide range of bait and tackle from well-known brands is stocked. The shop caters for Coarse, Carp, Sea and Fly Fishers. It is essential that anglers use all of our excellent local tackle shops that provide far more than just bait and tackle. Friendly advice, a social meeting hub and convenience add value not found on line.

Chris Connaughton
💥 READY FOR YOU!! 💥
So, after a lot of hard graft from friends and family, we are 99% kitted out, stocked up and ready for your presence at our grand opening on Saturday (13th)!!
You will find us at 6 Queen Street, EX32 8HJ. Currently, the large carpark nearby is closed but you will find a smaller one to the rear of the shop and another, Belle Meadow, just the other side of the bus station.
🪱🦀🪰
We should have a full compliment of baits for sea and freshwater, both frozen and live.
Can’t wait to see you all!!
BBT
Opening Hours – Monday       9:00- 18.00
                            Tuesday.      9:00- 18.00
                            Wednesday  9:00- 18.00
                             Thursday     9:00- 19.00
                             Friday.         9:00- 18.00
                             Saturday      9:00- 17.00
                             Sunday.      10.00 – 14.00
11 Jul 2024

View From the River Bank

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The regions rivers are still fairly low despite recent rain with small rises. Each rise brings the hope that a few salmon and sea trout will show but results are disappointing. To some extent of course catches are partially a result of reduced fishing effort and if anglers become disillusioned by a lack of fish and stop fishing then reports of fish dry up compounding the bleak picture.

Paul Carter tempted this superb looking wild brown trout from the River Taw. Paul was hoping for salmon following a small rise in the river following localised heavy rain. The numbers and size of brown trout in our rivers is a beacon of hope for the future showing that many of the problems regarding migratory species is related to survival at sea.

 

See below report from Don Hearn`

                 

BARNSTAPLE AND DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION

                              NEWBRIDGE  MID SEASON REPORT   5th July 2024

A difficult start again  ,Too much water and now too little has resulted in just a few Salmon caught but more worrying ,hardly any sea trout. A few were caught on lures in March as expected , The Taw always seem to have a good early run of larger fish but It has been very quiet since..The Brown trout fishing is however thriving in lower waters and good fish up to and even over over 2lb have been reported .It seems more anglers are targeting the trout these days as the Salmon fishing becomes harder. It’s never easy anyway but the more you are there the luckier you get! At present the rain and tides have given the river a lift and it seem anything could happen on any visit. A  32” est. 13lb fish was taken by our Bailiff David Winter last week ,2 other smaller fish were caught  earlier .and More are showing this week. A few sea trout have been caught and it is picking up but you have to lose your beauty sleep to find them. Interestingly, a few good size roach have been caught on a fly lately and it’s a reminder of the great roach fishing that used to exist on the Taw. The club has engaged again this year with the South West Rivers Trust regarding a Shad survey. This protected species has returned to the Taw after many years absence and has become an item of great interest. Any report of Shad either spawning, caught or found dead would be appreciated. Dead fish found should be retained if possible for collection (freezer) as the trust need evidence of spawning fish. This can add to the rivers status and it all helps in protecting our waterways, which do of course need all the help they can get these days.

Collection of Shad samples can be arrange by calling 

Don Hearn on 07779619042

We were expecting support work , rock sacks etc, to be done to the banks alongside the railway swirlpool . This was supposed to start 16th June but apart from a few marking post nothing has happened. I will try and get some dates from the contractors and keep everyone posted as it may be a bit disruptive in that area for 2 weeks while the work progresses.

 The club would like to thank you all for the continued support and hope a fish of a lifetime is waiting for you at Newbridge. 

Don Hearn 

Riverkeeper

Newbridge

I have made very few visits to the river so far this season and when I have visited I have been concerned at the lack of fish showing. The rocks within the river are very slippery and there is  considerable sediment present which should clear to some extent when we get a big spate. The river is as always a pleasure to visit and you never know what success a visit will bring.

 

 

7 Jul 2024

Norway: Wild salmon numbers crash

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Many thanks to Richard Wilson for another thought provoking  article. Click on link to read more of Richards articles.

Norway: Wild salmon numbers crash

The politics of profit before conservation.

 

The facts are indisputable. Norwegian salmon runs are shrinking dramatically. The Norwegian Environment Agency says this year’s run is a lot less than half of what it should be – and that 2023 was 30% down on 2022. This is a long-term trend going back years.

The Oslo government’s response is to ban rod fishing on 33 rivers. And it seems likely this ban will spread, although the phrase fiddling while Rome burns springs to mind.

The root problem is that for decades wild salmon stocks have been negligently mismanaged by the Norwegian Government – a confession that’s missing from the finger-pointing list of guilty parties it blames for the collapse. Ellen Hambr, the Environment Agency’s director, says the big threat is climate change and then a range of human activities that include hydro and other river barriers, disease, commercial exploitation and last a bracketed after-thought; (fish farming) – the gorilla on the table.

Some Norwegians underscore this position (it’s the climate, stupid) by pointing to Sweden where there is very little salmon farming and a similar decline in the salmon run. They don’t mention that the almost land-locked Baltic Sea, home to Sweden’s salmon, is becoming a cesspit with a huge and growing dead zone caused by pollution. The Baltic is not a good place to be a salmon.

Climate change, to state the obvious, is universal. Warmer river temperatures reduce smolt size which in turn increases mortality and reduces the numbers returning successfully to sea. Once back in the ocean, the record-high temperatures in the North Atlantic suppress food chains and further impact salmon growth and health. Salmon are an indicator species for climate impacts and, for this reason, their future looks grim.

So we need to act on climate, but that’s not something Norway can do on its own. Cue hand-wringing and empathetic green tears. The poor salmon are victims of a global crisis, what’s a small country meant to do? Shrug,Sigh. More hand-wringing.

So what is the Norwegian Government up to? Why flag climate change, on which Norway has a decent track record but little influence, and treat fish farming as a bracketed afterthought?

As ever, the answer is money. Fish farming is a mainstay of the Norwegian economy. The Government licences an industry that produces half of all the world’s farmed salmon, worth $8b a year (2nd only to its oil and gas earnings). That’s before factoring in the benefits to the domestic economy. It’s not a business with a good track record in anything except generating profits. Last year the fish-farm mortality rate was nearly 63m fish (17% of the total stock). Would you trust these cowboys with your river? How about a chicken farm?

Sea lice, the major by-product of salmon farming, don’t restrict themselves to killing millions of farmed salmon. Many of the fish pens are in Fjords that connect ocean-run Atlantic Salmon with their home rivers, bringing wild fish into contact with farmed lice. According to the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, fish-farm lice killed an estimated 50,000 wild salmon in 2019 – as many as 30% of the run in some rivers. Since then, fish farming has grown.

Aquaculture has devasting impacts on wild salmon populations and it’s the gorilla on the table the government can’t or won’t see.

Closing rivers can help, and it delivers a financial body blow for fisheries, hotels, guides and all the small businesses that depend on their summer trade from anglers. However, their collective contribution to Norway’s economy is about US$1.25b. A drop in the Atlantic when compared with the wealth-generating fish farms. So no prizes for guessing why wild salmon are sacrificed to keep their farmed cousins in business.

The ban on the 33 rivers is open-ended, and it is assumed it will remain in place until the stocks show sufficient recovery. This could be never, because if Hambr is right and it’s down mostly to climate change, then closing a handful of rivers won’t improve anything much. If, instead, the government curbs the shit-show fish farms then there can be a significant revival, albeit within the context of slower long-term climate decline.

The choice facing the Norwegian government is simple. It can carry on with business as usual and hurry the wild salmon into marginal irrelevance, or it can improve it’s own act. And it’s not just the fish farms that fall within their purview. Take Catch and Release: In 2023, 51,000 out of the 70,000 rod-caught Atlantic Salmon in Norway were killed. What’s that about?

So the bottom line for saving the Atlantic Salmon is money, and the Norwegian government won’t achieve anything much until it reigns in its multi-billion $ fish-farming money monster. Meanwhile, I’m hoping the gorilla on the table will finally throw a temper tantrum and bloody some noses. We can but hope.

There is one small consolation: For the fish that successfully make the run up-river this year the prospects are good. River flows are healthy and, so far, water temperatures are lower than in recent years. The conditions are favourable for those fish that make it to the redds. And in 33 rivers there will also be, because of the bans, more returning smolts for the sea lice to latch onto. We can thank the Norwegian Government for that.

3 Jul 2024

TREVOR TELLING MEMORIAL COMPETITION – POSTPONED

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*REMINDER… We are really disappointed to have to do this, but unfortunately circumstances beyond our control mean we will have to re-arrange the memorial for another date, possibly in October.
Jeff will be in touch with all of you that have booked boats or bank fishing on the 7th July to see what you want to do with your tickets, the lake will be open as usual for those of you wishing to fish the day as normal…
28 Jun 2024

Old Goat Gropes the Internet – Etiquette, Irony Trolls & Bottom Feeders

by | posted in: Articles, At the Waters Edge, Coarse Fishing, Game Fishing, Lure Fishing, Match Fishing, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Many thanks to Richard Wilson for his wonderful articles filled with humour and comment to make you laugh and cry. Excellent observation of the human condition on this occasion.

Do you know any old goats?

See link below to Richards Fishrise page.

https://fishrise.substack.com/p/old-goat?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1289122&post_id=141228004&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=25vh8v&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Even if you’ve never met Old Bodger in the flesh, you’ll know his ilk. In person, he’s socially awkward and his opinions are closely guarded. He’s also no spring chicken. The mullet went south years ago and the replacement comb-over is struggling.

But don’t be fooled: Old Bodger has secret superpowers.

At home, alone with his computer, he morphs into an Internet Warrior and owner of a snarling V8 hotrod (a relic, like Bodger, with far-distant echoes of the Beach Boys). Bathed in the blue light of his screen, he becomes a loud and proud throwback to a time when the world was a better place.

In his shaving mirror, Bodger sees a master of withering irony. A silken-tongued enforcer of online righteousness. This is odd because if there’s one thing Bodger can’t do, it’s the deft and gentle humour of irony. Subtlety is not his friend.

Instead, Bodger has two thrusting attributes: His rage against the modern world and his pride in his car, which is accumulating value at an astonishingly boastful rate. It’s a late ‘50s Barris-built Kandy-Kolored Streamline hotrod.

Of course it’s not all open road and wind in his hair. As we shall see, Bodger’s life is riddled with provocations, and the price of fuel is just first among many. And oh how Bodger rails against the cost of gas. It’s not fair, is it? If there’s one thing that really sets Bodger apart from most of us, it’s that he does outraged grievance with heavy-breathing ecstasy. His neighbours hear him pounding his keyboard late into the night.

There is, of course, a paradox in this. Despite the low-fi worldview, he’s spending a lot of time on the internet. Mostly on the arcane and genteel Vintage Split Cane Fly Rod Forum, where he stamps on heresy.

It is in his warrior DNA to wield his sword of truth and mightily slay imposters lurking on the VSCF-RF. You’d be shocked by what he finds there. Bodger stands proud against hordes of woke wussie, coal-hating, EV-owning, global warming, diet-Coke drinking, vaxing, barbless morons. It’s enough to make a warrior spill his coffee in foot-stamping rage (even his trouser stains are someone else’s fault).

What’s odd about this is that fishing etiquette matters a lot back in the real world. We all care about how we, and others, behave in person. Most of us can manage to listen politely to people we meet along the way while avoiding shit-talking with, or worse, at strangers. We try to be nice to each other, and mostly it works.

Somehow this all goes wrong online. Or, rather, it all goes wrong for Old Bodger and his scathing own-brand irony. Because when he calls someone a fracking nut-job, that’s ironic. Bodger also posts his irony in torrents. Which is OK because it’s all done for laughs: It’s full-frontal irony (I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to deal with that image).

So if we po-faced dullards worry he’s mired in twaddle, he tells us we’re numb-knucks who wouldn’t know irony if it hit us in the po-face with a broken bottle: Lighten up! FFS. This is usually flagged by multiple rictus grin emojis 🤣🤣🤣. So, obvs, it’s all hilariously funny. Geddit 🤣 idiot?

Bodger has a small posse of camp followers, all lost in the same drear-life crisis.

Collectively they muster the charm of 13-year-old schoolboys, clumping on the back seat of a bus and lost in the hilarity of farting noises made with clammy hands wedged in each others’ armpits. Tee-hee. Somehow this humour always fails to impress the other passengers. Which, if you’re 13, is why you do it.

They’re a heavily ironic crowd, with names like Curmudgeon, Farter, Whittler and, inexplicably, Blue VerruKa. You don’t know it, but they own you and you’re dancing to their tune. And just in case you’re wondering, ‘Owning’ people means: ‘I dunno what you’re talking about, but I bet I can really annoy you if I vomit on your carpet’. Ah, the delicious irony of it all.

The posse is so lost in their jokes-on-you irony that we must assume that Bodger has never read The First Rule of Goats. He should. It is succinct, if a little crude.

For readers unfamiliar with the Rule and who don’t like to see the word ‘fuck’ in print, I have substituted ‘grope’.

So, the (sanitised) First Rule of Goats says: “If you grope a goat, even if you say you’re doing it ironically, you’re still a goat-groper. You don’t get off scot-free just because you say ‘I was only being ironic’.”

The corollary Rule to this is:

“If your rhetoric is all about goat-groping, even if you’re doing it ironically, you’re liable to attract a following of goat-gropers”

And finally: A mint Kandy-Kolored Streamline built by the legendary George Barris is a special beast. An original would, you’d think, make Bodger’s home a magnet for well-heeled ‘50s car collectors. After all, the Barris Batmobile last sold for $4.2m.

Weirdly, nobody calls.

And that is ironic*.

*Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended.

—- —- —- —-

Post Script: For more on the very real George Barris and the equally real Kandy-Kolored Streamline hot-rods, Tom Wolfe’s essay of almost the same name is a great read. Thanks also to Ken White for the First Rule of Goats.

Old Bodger, Curmudgeon, Farter, Whittler and Blue VerruKa are, of course, fictional characters.

25 Jun 2024

South West Lakes Trust Trout Fisheries Report

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June 2024

The weather continues to warm up, as have the water temperatures (in spite of unseasonably cold nights and some cooler breezes), with steady insect activity, and fish feeding well either on or just below the surface; some wet days and heavy downpours of rain have meant that most of the reservoirs are still all at top level.

Fishing:

Kennick – Anglers averaged 2.6 fish per rod over the month, with fish continuing to be well spread out around the lake. Bank anglers enjoyed slightly more success than the boats, with The Narrows, The Lawns, Boat Bank, Laployd, Smithacott and Poplar Bay banks fishing particularly well, and boats catching well in the deeper central water. Natural airborne beetles, caddis, crane-flies and hatching Damsels have meant that many fish have been feeding on or near the surface, with anglers catching well using Foam Beetles, Black Hoppers, Daddies, Sedges, Hawthorns, Claret Snafflers and Emergers on the surface, using floating lines with long leaders and a slow retrieve. Subsurface feeders have been caught on Damsel Nymphs, Buzzers, Montanas, Bloodworms and Diawl Bachs, while lure anglers caught using Cats Whiskers and Boobies. Peter Gilpin (from Newton Abbot) caught ten rainbows to 3lb 9oz in one session, mainly on Black and Green Boobies; Ben Garnett (from Kenn) caught a 2lb 9oz rainbow while fishing in the early evening, casting to a feeding fish in Boat Bay, using a Diawl Bach; Alex Jackson caught a bag of four fish to 2lb 8oz, casting to topping fish along the West Bank. The annual Peninsula Classic bank competition, sponsored this year by Turralls, was won by Alex Venn, catching a bag of seven fish, weighing in at 13lb 12oz; Alex Jackson (from Australia) took second place with five fish, weighing 9lb 12oz; John Hern (from Exeter) caught the biggest fish of the day – a rainbow of 2lb 8oz.

Siblyback – This fishery continued to provide some excellent fishing, with anglers averaging 4.7 fish per rod, with the North Bank, Two Meadows, Stocky Bay and Crylla Bay producing the most consistent sport (although fish have been caught all over the lake, and seem to be well spread out). Plenty of air-born beetles and hatching buzzers meant that the fish were eager to look up to the surface to feed, with Beetles, Hawthorns, Sedges, Coch-y-bondhus and Hoppers all catching well. Deeper feeding fish were caught on a selection of nymph patterns (Damsel Nymphs, Gold Head Hares Ears, Montanas and Diawl Bachs) and lures (Boobies, Tadpoles, Orange Blobs, Orange Baby Dolls and Vivas). Ron Wilday (from Liskeard) had some excellent sessions, the best producing a bag of twelve rainbows (to 2lb) and one brown while fishing one morning in Stocky Bay, with fish feeding close to the surface.

Burrator – Anglers averaged 2.34 fish per rod over the month, with Longstone, Bennetts, Sheepstor and Pig Trough producing the best sport. Sedge hatches produced the best surface feeding activity, when fish were caught using Black Gnats, Daddy Longlegs, Hoppers (black and red) and Beetle imitations. Fish could, however, be caught at all depths, when Montanas, Crunchers, Damsel Nymphs, Orange Blobs and Tadpoles all succeeded in catching fish. Roger Prout (from Pensilva) caught a bag of ten rainbows in a session of very mixed weather conditions, using a floating line with a midge-tip, either with fast strips using a Cormorant, or a static line with Buzzers and Beetles. Allan Lawson (from Plymouth) caught a bag of five rainbows to 1lb 12oz and a brown using both a floater and slow-sink line; Andy Lawson (from Plymouth) caught a bag of six rainbow to 1lb 8oz, either stripping white lures on an intermediate line, or using dry Black Caddis and Beetle patterns fished very slowly.

Stithians – The lake continued to produce some excellent sport, with anglers averaging 3.6 fish per rod, and fish still well spread out around the lake (Pipe Bay, Yellowort, Goonlaze, Pipe Bay and Sailing Club Bank all received regular mentions on catch returns). Buzzer hatches and air-born beetles meant that there was plenty of surface action, with dry Daddies, Hawthorns, Hoppers, Black Gnats, Beetle patterns and buzzer emergers all catching well. Damsel Nymphs, Hares Ears, Diawl Bachs and Black and Peacock spiders all caught deeper feeders, mainly fished on a floating line.

Fernworthy – Most of the fish caught this month have been on or near the surface, either on dry patterns (Beetles, Hoppers, Bobs Bits, Sedgehogs and Black Gnats), or nymphs (Diawl Bach, Pheasant Tail and Spiders) and larger patterns (Soldier Palmer, Invicta and Bibio) fished just under the surface and cast to feeding fish. The most productive areas included Brownhills, Thornworthy, Permit Hut bank and near the dam.

Colliford – The fishing continued to improve this month, with rods averaging five fish per angler, with the preferred locations including Fishery Hut bank, Lords Waste and the banks by the dam. The browns were looking to the surface to feed on beetles blown onto the water, and floating lines with long leaders produced the best results. Coch-y-bondus and foam beetle patterns, along with Sedges and Hoppers, caught well on the surface, otherwise pulled lure patterns (Soldier Palmer, Zonker, Black Mini muddler, Bloodworm and Bushy Blob) fished just under the surface attracted fish. Included in the nice bags caught in the month were Chris Tillyard (from Fraddon), catching eleven browns to 1lb 8oz in an evening session, using Black and Peacock spiders and Hoppers; Dean Boucher (from Gunnislake) caught eleven browns, all on pulled wets in one session, and twelve fish to 15” on Beetles, Hoppers and slow-retrieve team of nymphs in another; Paul Mockford (from St Wenn) caught eight browns to 1lb 8oz on beetle patterns.

Roadford – Floating lines with long leaders proved to be the best combination, with fish taking a variety of patterns, including Humungous, Sedgehog, Buzzers, Damsel nymphs, as well as the more traditional Coachman and Whickhams Fancy. Fish were well spread out, with Wortha, Shop Inlet and Grinnacombe all proving popular. Rodeny Wevill (from Lifton) caught four browns to 2lb, using a floating line with a long leader and fishing slow and deep, with the best sport in the last hour before sunset.

Please see the Trust’s website (www.swlakestrust.org.uk/trout-fishing) for more information on buying tickets, boat availability and booking, and forthcoming events. The Trust, in conjunction with Fluff Chuckers, will be running a Brown Trout Masters competition this season, to be held over three dates at Colliford, Fernworthy and Roadford – please see the website for more information.

 

Chris Hall (June 2024)

 

ENDS

21 Jun 2024

LATEST REPORT FROM BULLDOG TROUT LAKE

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LATEST REPORT FROM BULLDOG TROUT LAKE
Peter was one of a few anglers on the fly lake today, on arrival he mentioned his target fish was going to be a Tiger trout as he’d never seen one to the net before.
As luck would have it he landed not one but two Tigers on his 6 fish ticket!
Certainly what I’d call a good morning fishing! 🎣
Well done mate! Great bit of angling.