South West Lakes Trust Trout Fisheries Report

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South West Lakes Trust Trout Fisheries Report

December 2020

General:

All of South West Lakes’ rainbow trout fisheries will stay open until 24 December. Please see website for details on tickets and prices as well as the latest Covid19 advice and restrictions – www.swlakesfishing.co.uk. Note that tickets may only be purchased online or over the telephone on 01566 771930. Water temperatures have been falling over all of the sites and, with stocking continuing through the month, the fishing has continued to be good with the fish lying in deeper water as the month progressed.

At Kennick the boat anglers enjoyed the best sport. Mr. M.Ure netted 14 fish, while Andy Birkett from Plymouth caught a bag of 13 fish up to 2lb 12oz in one session while drifting off the East Wall, pulling small white fry patterns about six feet down, and 12 fish on another visit. Matt Baines caught the best fish of the month – a rainbow of 3lb 5oz. Kevin Primmer caught rainbows of 3lb 4oz and 3lb in a bag of four fish.

Burrator continued to produce consistent sport using deeper fished gold-head patterns (Blue-flash Damsels and Montanas) and sunk lures, with plenty of fish up to 2lb caught, as well as a good number of blue trout.

The fishing at Stithians showed a marked improvement, with a number of reasonable bags (John Henderson caught nine fish up to 2lbs+ using orange patterns) and plenty of fish around 2lb being caught, the best being 2lb 8oz, mainly on sunk nymphs and lures, although George Eustace did manage to pick up a rainbow on an Olive and Black Hopper.

Season Summary:

In spite of the Covid restrictions, and the ‘stop-start’ availability of fishing, the 2020 season produced some good fishing across the region, especially at Burrator, Kennick and Siblyback, while the fishing improved toward the end of the season at Stithians and Roadford produced some outstanding sport in the last few months.

The season started with the hugely successful Fly Fair at Roadford at the end of February, with many anglers in attendance, exhibits, trade stands and demonstrations. The Peninsula Classic Bank Competition at Kennick in October was won (for the fourth time) by Andy Gooding (from Liverton), catching five rainbows weighing in at 10lb 5oz, using Damsel Nymphs and a Black and Green Lure.

The new fishing club at Siblyback continued to build up numbers and hosted a number of events this season, including competitions, fly tying evenings and other social gatherings and are continuing to welcome new members (contact: derek.aungerbtinternet.com).

Dave Matthews – Siblyback Fly Fishers Association Competition

Fisheries Summary:

Siblyback: Best fish – 8lb 4oz rainbow, caught  by George Hext; the best brown was a 4lb fish caught by Stephen Pearce. Fishery rod average 2.7 fish

Kennick:  Best fish – 5lb 10z rainbow caught by Kevin Primmer. Fishery rod average 2.7 fish

Stithians: Best fish – 4lb 8oz rainbow caught by Roger Marks. Fishery rod average 1.4 fish

Burrator: Best fish – 5lb 8oz rainbow caught by Paul Lee; the best brown was a 4lb fish caught by Kevin Sellar.  Fishery rod average 3.5 fish

Colliford: Best fish – 3lb brown trout caught by Dean Boucher. Fishery rod average 2.6 fish

Fernworthy: Rod average 2.7 fish, up to 2lb 4oz

Roadford: Best fish – 3lb 8oz brown trout caught by Duncan Kier; fishery rod average 4.4 fish

 

The season opening dates and prices for 2020 will be posted (along with other information) on the website and on the ‘Trout Fishing South West Lakes Trust’ Facebook page.

 

SEA ANGLING ROUND UP

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Cold North and East winds combined with high pressure seldom bring good results for sea anglers at this time of year. The wind is forecast to back to the South later in the month when sport should improve.

Bideford Rover results

1st Dick Talbot flounder 1lb 7oz

2nd Dick Talbot flounder 1lb 5oz

Dick caught his brace of flounder from the River Torridge estuary to win first and second in the clubs. monthly rover.

Triple Hook Club Suspend competitions.

Barnstaple’s Triple Hook Club have made the decision to suspend all competitions until 2021 when the COVID situation has eased.

Combe Martin SAC

Combe Martin SAC are holding a monthly competitions for the first half of their club year. At present Rob Sciones is leading the event with a small eyed ray of 9lb 10oz.

Blakewell Christmas Competition 2020

 

Blakewell Fisheries Christmas Competition is always an enjoyable social occasion in North Devon Fly-Fishers Calendar and it was good to be back amongst familiar faces albeit more socially distanced than in normal times.

It was a cold and frosty morning with a vivid blue sky and mist rising from the lake as the warmth of the sun beamed down. Eighteen anglers were taking part in this years scaled down event and after a welcome glass of port we all headed out to the lake. As is normal trout were hooked within the first few seconds of the start as flies were cast onto the calm surface.

I elected to use an olive damsel nymph with a small buzzer on a dropper. Within fifteen minutes I had three rainbow trout in the bag which was my mornings quota. This left me a couple of hours to wonder around the lake capturing images of the lake and the anglers.

 

Gary Matthews with a fine 10lb 5oz rainbow

Dinner was served at 12:30; a hot pasty and a pint. The afternoon session saw me persevere with the same team of flies. As is often the case catching became a little more of a challenge but after a couple of moves I completed my five fish limit.

The lake had fished well with plenty of hard fighting rainbows averaging between 1lb 8oz and 2lb. Amongst these were a few outsize specimen rainbows. The winter sunshine and colours around the lake were stunning and it was great to see a steady stream of families arriving to select their Christmas trees.

The winning angler was Trevor Whyborn with his five fish bag of 18lb 6oz that included the biggest rainbow of the day at 11lb 11oz. In runner up spot was John Buxton with five for 17lb 4oz and third Gary Matthews with two trout for 12lb 3oz.

Once again many thanks to John and Richard Nickell for hosting this annual event after what has been a challenging year in many ways. The COVID outbreak inevitably had its impact but not so much perhaps as the ongoing warm summers that cause difficulties for trout fisheries the length and breadth of the country. It is noticeable that smaller Stillwater trout fisheries like Blakewell are at their best during the cooler winter months.

Trevor Whyborn with an 11lb 11oz rainbow

John Buxton with his 9lb 5oz rainbow

A Humorous Tale – Bass and smelly huts

Paul Lorrimore has kindly allowed me to reproduce this rather humorous tale of big bass smelly fishing huts and Ilfracombe Pier.
Had my first bass just under that hut close in.

Myself and

Simon Higgins

were on day 2 fishing with no sleep in early September – maybe 1998 from memory.

We had been a few other places and got a good soaking from the swell, so decided to get somewhere dry for the night.
Just as we both finally succumbed to a well needed 40 winks amongst the warm and fuzzy aroma of years of rotten bait and piss in the
“love shack”, I was woken to the sound of my rod butt being unceremoniously slammed against the corner light with my rod rest in tow 👀
Not for one second did I consider setting drag back then, or even checking to see if my line had gone under the rod rest in front of the first ring….
After a good hard strike however, my heavy guage old trusty tripod reminded me of my school boy error by near enough breaking my nose and splitting my eye brow open 😂
By this time Simon had made it out the hut just in time to see me getting beaten to death by my own tackle… And found it hilariously funny..
He did manage to regain composure just in time to get a drop net down and land my first ever Silver Lump of 9lb though, so i forgave him a mere decade or so later.
I took my prize bass home, full of excitement as a young chef, furiously CeeFaxing fish recipes, ready for the culinary masterpieces I would create the very next morning.
I awoke to find my Dog had managed to pull the Bass, tail first from the sink of iced water in the middle of the night and endeavour to chew nearly all of it into pulp apart from the head, which he took to my bed with him so I could admire it when i first opened my sleepy eyes… 😳
In retrospect, the dog came off a heavy second in the crime – as it upset his stomach something awful.
I chuckled slightly for the next 3 days as he moped around the house wretching and farting fish scales like a confetti cannon 🐠

“Don’t it always seem to go That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”

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“Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”

So goes that song by Joni Mitchell

Long time North Devon anglers will remember the old Ilfracombe Pier and many have fond memories of fishing from the old Victorian structure that was built in1873 at a cost of £10,000. The pier was the base for Ilfracombe & District Angling Club for many years its members holding regular competitions from a venue that was safe and easy to fish from. I remember many wild winter nights fishing from the North End waiting for the rod tip to lunge forward as a cod seized the bait. One of the joys of the old pier was that you could go there at any-time and meet up with other anglers catching up with the latest angling news. It was also an ideal venue for Junior anglers and I am sure many caught their first sea fish from the safety of the pier.

I was chatting with Keith Reed fish recorder for the Bristol Channel Federation of Sea Anglers. Keith was reminiscing about his fifty years as fish recorder with the federation. Back in 1941 young Keith aged 9 or 10 caught his first fish; a pouting from Ilfracombe Pier. The fish was taken back to be eaten at a time when catch and release fishing would have been unheard of. Evacuated from Bristol after their house was bombed young Keith started an angling journey that has lasted to this day with Keith in his mid 90’s. I wonder how many other anglers began their fishing lives at the venue.

Looking back the old pier was a valuable asset to the anglers of North Devon. But did we really appreciate it at the time? As a member of the Combe Martin SAC I only tended to fish the pier when it was too rough to fish from the rocks in safety. Many of my keen young friends would deride the pier saying it was a Noddy’s venue. It was true that a range of anglers fished the venue and a stray cast would often entangle more other angler’s lines than fish. This was however one of its greatest values, for it was a safe place for those anglers starting off and very often after a few tangles they would get good advice and learn quickly as a result.

The Pier always seemed to have big fish stories and the stories of huge conger dwelling in the caverns beneath are legendary. Even now the occasional conger is tempted from the base of what remains and in 2014 Mark Frith landed a conger of 43lb.

The landings that remain still provide a useful fishing platform but only over low water. Each winter it still brings rewards for those who fish it and it still has that community feel about it. But it will never be the same as the Old Pier where you could take a walk at any-time to chat fishing. In summer visitors would of course stroll along the pier watching the anglers gazing upon brightly coloured floats bobbing in the sea. It was a place of life the heart of  a seaside angling community… “Don’t It always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”.

Wayne “

 

 Tony Irwin wrote on a recent Facebook post :  “I fished with my brother in law in a storm there once during the night we fished into the channel inside from the parapet wall the tide was and one cast (and we were using 8oz leads to combat the wind and tide) was blown up onto the pier as it was pitch black we had no idea until I tried to reel in at first We thought I had a massive fish on!  I then realised the line was tight going right . My brother in law climbed up on the pier and my lead and rig was jammed right on the top that’s how strong the winds were but we did finish up with at least two or three doubles if I remember rightly. It was a wonderful winter fishing venue and anglers were always welcome in the hut to have a hot soup. They loved anglers back in those days not like owners of piers these days.”