18 Aug 2018

RIVER UPDATE

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

After a prolonged drought; the most significant since 1976 there has been some welcome rain though not enough. Local rivers have only risen slightly with each spell of rain and have dropped back quickly. Reports of any salmon and sea trout are scarce with a couple caught on the Lyn last week. If you have any news of fish from the Taw or Torridge please let me know.

I ventured onto a Middle Torridge beat in the middle of last week and found the river extremely low despite it having risen 18″ two days before my visit.

It was good to be back on the river however and I was initially hopeful that a few fish may have moved up with the rise in water. After a couple of hours without seeing a fish move I began to have concerns that the river was devoid of life. As I stepped into the river at the top of the beat I caught a fleeting glimpse of electric blue as a kingfisher flashed past. Following its flight up river I admired the view as evening sunlight broke through illuminating the trees.

I fished my way downriver searching the lies and noting the contours that were exposed by the low river. I would hopefully retain some of this info later in the season when the river is once again running at more healthy level. A savage pull on the line yielded a pleasing brown trout of close to a pound.

Its not been a good season for the salmon angler with no water equaling no fish. A few signs of autumn brought a slightly melancholic atmosphere to the session as I wondered slowly back to car in the fading light.

14 Aug 2018

Charles Inniss to Give Torridge Talk

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Articles, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Angling Heritage are delighted to announce that Mr Torridge, Charles Inniss, author of the classic book Torridge Reflections is giving a talk about the River Torridge and its history, his life on the river and thoughts on the future at Torrington Museum (in the middle of Torrington) on Thursday 23rd August at 2.30pm. Entry is FREE, refreshments are provided so make sure that don’t miss this opportunity to meet the man and learn about the River Torridge.

Charles Inniss – A one-river man

24 Jul 2018

Torridge Salmon Season -No Extension

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

The Environment Agency have decided not to extend the salmon Fishing season on the River Torridge this year. Over recent seasons anglers have enjoyed an extension to the season from September 30th to October 14th and this has been a welcome addition with good numbers of salmon landed. The decision will come as a bitter blow to fishery owners and local businesses who receive welcome revenue from visiting anglers. It is to be hoped that dwindling stocks of salmon will recover and that this decision will be of benefit to salmon stocks.

This season has been a very poor fishing season as a result of the prolonged drought conditions that have persisted since May. The start of the season was blighted by snow melt and very high water. In the longer term it is to be hoped that weather conditions results in good fishing once again. Such weather conditions have been experienced before with older generations recalling the drought of 1976 when rivers and local reservoirs ran very low.

*A fine salmon caught at Liittle Warham during last years extension.*

4 Jun 2018

River Report

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Both the Taw and Torridge are at summer levels with little chance of fresh run salmon moving into the river. Big tides might see the odd fish trickle into the lower reaches. Low water seldom deters sea trout that are likely to move into river and move stealthily up river with night fishing the only likely approach likely to succeed. I had a couple of hours on the middle Torridge at the weekend and tempted several brown trout on small black and silver flies intended for sea trout. The best trout was a fine wild brown of well over 1lb.

There are plenty of quality wild brown trout throughout our local rivers that can give superb sport using dry fly and nymph tactics. Fishing after dark with surface lures or traditional sea trout flies could bring success with big sea trout. The Welsh rivers are heavily fished after dark and some fine sea trout are caught. I am sure that many more big sea trout would be tempted in North Devon if they were targetted at the right time.

18 May 2018

North Devon River Update

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

The salmon season got off to a slow start on both the Taw and Torridge as a result of low water temperatures and successive spates that kept the rivers brimful. As the waters have dropped and temperatures have climbed sevral anglers have enjoyed success on both rivers with fish from Lower and Middle beats of both rivers.

Sugh Smith banked a 6lb salmon from the Weir Marsh and Brightly beats of the Taw. Barry Sutton caught a fine 10lb 8oz salmon on a silver stoats tail and Michael Martin a 9lb salmon on an orange fly of his own design.There have also been salmon caught from the Barnstaple Club water below Newbridge. Reports from Upper Taw beats are scarce but with the prolonged high water levels salmon and sea trout will undoubtedly be present.

On the Torridge Chris Warcup caught a fine brace of salmon estimated at 12lb and 14lb. David Lincoln landed a 10lb salmon from a mid river beat. As the river levels drop on both rivers salmon sport will ease off though lower beats of both rivers will be worth a try.

The lower river levels and higher temperatures will prove more conducive to sea trout fishing with after dark fishing worthwhile. Several sea trout between 2lb and 4lb have been caught by anglers at Little Warham Fishery on the RIver Torridge where day tickets are available. It is surprising how many sea trout can be present in the rivers and a concerted after dark sortie can often unlock the rivers secrets.

The Upper reaches of North Devon rivers and many miles of smaller rivers throughout the area can offer splendid sport with wild brown trout that rise freely to a well presented dry fly. The East Lyn offers stunning fishing in beautiful surrounding for less than a fiver a day. Many streams offer excellent fishing with nothing more required than a polite inquiry seeking permission to fish.

21 Apr 2018

Two Torridge salmon

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Duncan Betts caught a fine 9lb salmon from a middle Torridge Beat during the past and Peter Stemp landed a 6lb salmon also from a middle river beat.

The river was at a perfect height and colour at the weekend and I enjoyed my second visit to the river so far this year. Despite the perfect conditions I did not have any success with salmon or sea trout. With green foliage starting to appear all around and bird song filling the air it was a pleasure to be stood waist deep in the river casting the fly across the water hoping for that electrifying pull through the line.

One of the fascinating aspects of angling is the creatures observed beside the river. Otters, kingfishers, wagtails and dippers are amongst the more common sightings. But sometimes something more unusual catches the eye like this rather creepy looking leech.

27 Feb 2018

A new Salmon season on the way!

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

A new salmon season gets underway on Thursday March 1st. Hard to believe that winter is on its way out and in just a few weeks the first swallows and martins will be swooping low over the water. Winter is reluctant to release its grip and ice and snow is lining the river bank and it will be the hardiest of anglers who venture out. With the water temperature very low and river levels dropping the best chance of a salmon will be on the lower beats with a fly fished slow and deep.

Those wishing to celebrate the seasons start can call in for a welcome nibble and raise a glass to the new season at the traditional salmon Soiree, beer and nibbles at The Rising Sun; Umberleigh. Snow permitting of course. My guess is that an assemble of anglers will enjoy a warm fireside chat reflecting on past seasons success and renewed hopes for the coming season.

The fisher constantly is as it were in a wild garden, and this very pleasure to be found in the beauty around him he has made a part of his sport itself. It has a spirit: it is not merely the sport of taking fish.

But in England,since the time of Walton, the first thought of your true fisher is of fresh air, the glowing sunsets, the flowers and trees, the birds, and all the river loving things in furs or feathers.

On sunny mornings in some quiet valley he sees the white breasted ‘dipper’ curtsey to him from some stone ere she plunges in again to search for food upon the shallows. or the kingfisher skimming the water with his gleam of blue, or hovering, a flutter of blue and orange, over some luckless minnow. The swallow, sandmartin, water-wagtail, sandpiper are to be seen at every pool, and not seldom a great grey heron slowly and clumsily rise and flaps off at his approach

Taken from that angling Classic from over a hundred years past – LETTERS to A SALMON FISHERS SONS – 1910 – BY A. H. CHAYTOR

The above joys of angling remain unchanged that and the hope of life on the line.

12 Jan 2018

River Fly Monitoring

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Articles, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

I recently attended the Torridge and Taw River fly Celebration event at Newton St Petrock where we met up with members of the River Fly Monitoring Team. This hands on scheme has produced a wealth of valuable data that can give a valuable insight into the ecological state of our rivers. I have tried to collate some highlights from the data provided and will update when I receive news of forthcoming training events. For more information please visit;- The River Fly Partnership website :- www.riverflies.org

Email from Izzy Moser to those who attended the event.

Dear all,

Thank you for attending the Riverfly Celebration Event on Wednesday evening this week. It was really excellent to finally put some faces to names and there were a huge number of helpful discussions during the meeting, so thank you for this.

I have tried to list some of the main discussions in the notes below, but if I have missed anything, please do let me know and I will add it to the notes before circulating to the wider network.

Notes from Riverfly Taw/Torridge Event 10/01/2018:

1. There were discussions on incident reporting and what types of incidents should be reported to the Environment Agency Hotline. Volunteers were asked to report incidents with photo’s if they weren’t sure to their local Wildlife Trust or Rivers Trust. The Environment Agency Hotline Number is for incident reporting: 0800 80 70 60.
2. Volunteers requested a list of sites that would be high priority for monitoring so that new volunteers can look to take on these sites.
3. Some volunteers expressed interest in occasionally surveying an additional high priority site instead of their usual site if their usual site is consistently achieving good invertebrate numbers. Thank you for this suggestion Geoff.
4. Discussions were had on the spread of sites and whether some volunteers may want to move their site to avoid being too close to an existing site. Volunteers should discuss any concerns with their Riverfly Co-ordinator.
5. Lots of discussions were had on how to get more volunteers involved in the Riverfly programme and how training only once a year is a limiting factor of the project. Discussions were had on whether more people could get trained to run the Riverfly Training Day. Ben Fitch offered to potentially help with training small groups (5-6 volunteers) if the Teign Training Event becomes fully booked.
Actions:
1. Please could everyone send any contact details of volunteers who may be interested in getting trained as a Riverfly Volunteer to Olivia for the River Taw [email protected] or to me for the River Torridge [email protected]. At the moment we are only aware of a small number of people interested in the training events, so for considering the running of future events, we need to know how many people are interested.

2. If you know someone who is interested in being trained as Riverfly trainer please do let me know and perhaps we might be able to look into getting more people trained, although we can’t guarantee anything.

3. If you have any concerns about your site, or would like to register a new site, please contact your Co-ordinator I.e. Olivia for the Taw [email protected] and me for the Torridge.

I have attached the details of the Water Framework Directive status for the River Taw and Torridge classifications. Under the column for ‘status’ it lists whether the catchment is in ‘poor’ or ‘moderate’ status. You can use the filter to also show catchments that are in ‘good’ or ‘high’ status. I have also filtered it so that it shows data from 2013-2016 in the ‘year’ column although you can look at data earlier than this if you want to by changing the filter. This should help you to pinpoint catchments that are higher risk for pollution in the ‘poor’ and ‘moderate’ category. From my knowledge of the River Torridge catchment, I am aware that the following tributaries have water quality issues: Dolton Streams, Iddesleigh Streams, River Mere upper catchment, River Mere lower catchment (already monitored), Whiteleigh Water (already monitored), Pulworthy Brook (already monitored), Dipple Water (already monitored), Bideford Yeo (already monitored) and Waldon (already monitored). Unfortunately I cannot give the same information for the Taw catchment, but hopefully the attached spreadsheet should help pinpoint some of the catchments with issues.

I am away next week so will not respond to any emails, but should be back on the 22nd and can answer any queries then.

Thanks once again for your support. It’s a real privilege to work with people who are passionate about their local rivers.

Best wishes

Izzy

Izzy Moser
Freshwater Pearl Mussel Officer
Northern Devon NIA
Devon Wildlife Trust

There is a need for more volunteers on the Taw system.

Torridge and Taw Riverfly Celebration Event

January 10th 2017 at Owl Barn Studio, Little West Hole, Newton St Petrock, Holsworthy EX22 7LW, from 6:30pm

Riverfly in Devon – Set up of the Torridge and Taw, and the national picture.

Riverfly Environment Agency Update

Torridge and Taw Riverfly Results from 2014 to 2017

North Devon Projects Update including Freshwater Pearl Mussel Project

Izzy Moser,
Devon Wildlife Trust Freshwater Pearl Mussel Project

Ben Fitch,
National Riverfly Co-ordinator

Michael Thomas, Environment Agency

Matt Edworthy, Ex. North Devon Biosphere &

Olivia Cresswell, Westcountry River Trust

Izzy Moser,
Devon Wildlife Trust

River Torridge and Taw

Izzy Moser and Matt Edworthy, December 2017

Riverfly Report

Acknowledgements

Volunteers The huge number of volunteers who put their time towards monitoring river health every year

Thanks to all past, current and in advance,

future volunteers. We can do nothing without you.

A huge thank you to Matt Edworthy who completed his role as the Taw and Torridge Riverfly Co-ordinator in August. Matt has worked since 2014 to set up Riverfly on the Torridge and unfortunately had to pass it on in 2017. In the four years since it started the project has come on leaps and bounds and there are now also active sites on the River Taw.

Riverfly Report 2017

Background

Riverfly in the Torridge catchment was established in 2014, through a partnership with the North Devon Biosphere and Devon Wildlife Trust. It has been running now for 4 years and is one of the larger Riverfly projects in the UK, with 25 active sites in 2017 and over 40 registered sites. Since 2016, Riverfly volunteers have also been trained to monitor parts of the Taw catchment with 11 volunteers trained and 6 active sites.

The programme is almost entirely volunteer led and consists of a combination of anglers, conservationists and local river enthusiasts. It is designed to help detect pollution incidents through the identification of river invertebrates and the abundance of each group. This gives a score for each site which, if falls below the trigger level set for the site by the Environment Agency, proceeds with further action in the form of a second survey by the Catchment Coordinator or involvement of statutory bodies such as the Environment Agency. As well as detecting pollution events, the surveys can also monitor long-term changes in overall river health and act as a deterrent to polluters.

Riverfly National Review – From the Anglers’ Riverfly Monitoring

Initiative (ARMI) Project Manager

Whilst 2017 has been exceptionally busy for the Riverfly Partnership (RP), with a change of host in April and a strategic refocus of Anglers Riverfly Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) deliverables for this year, the ARMI network also has been in full flow. During the year to date, 54 ARMI training workshops have been delivered to 597 ARMI volunteers and £308,250 of in-kind ARMI coordinator and volunteer time has been committed alongside the rod licence funding which RP receives from the Environment Agency.

ARMI volunteers regularly monitor 1955 sites UK wide and continue to detect pollution incidents, reporting vital information to local statutory body contacts. Across the UK, strongly established ARMI hubs and groups are providing the spine to support Riverfly Plus, and other citizen science, initiatives, such as Extended Riverfly (siltation & low flows) and Outfall Safari (developed and first run by the Citizen Crane project in the Crane Valley catchment).

As always, my continued and sincere thanks to every single ARMI volunteer, coordinator, tutor and partner for your ongoing commitment to protecting and conserving our rivers across the United Kingdom. Special thanks to all rod licence paying anglers and the Environment Agency for providing funding support to ARMI in England, to SEPA for providing strategic support to ARMI in Scotland, to RP host the Freshwater Biological Association and to RP Chair, Steve Brooks.

Riverfly Report 2017

New Volunteers trained in 2016 and 2017 (Taw and Torridge)

In May 2016, nine new volunteers were trained at Hatherleigh Community Centre. For the first time, two volunteers who took part were the beginning of Riverfly in the Taw catchment. They purchased their own equipment and at the end of the season, one site was active (Nymet Rowland) and 3 samples were taken. During 2017, a second training event was held at the Fox and Hounds (Eggesford), with 11 volunteers trained including 9 new Taw volunteers as well as 3 new Torridge volunteers. There are now 6 active sites in the Taw catchment.

River Torridge

2017 update

The last Riverfly sampling for 2017 was done by the Torridge volunteers in October. Despite the difficulties accessing some stretches due to poor weather towards the end of the season, during the year, 103 samples were collected from 25 active sites. 3 new volunteers were trained up at the start of the season and 4 already registered sites were taken on by new volunteers, including Dymsdale Wood Bridge, Sutcombe Mill and Hatherleigh CC. Since Matt’s departure from the North Devon Biosphere in August, the Torridge Riverfly project has been taken on by Izzy Moser at Devon Wildlife Trust. Izzy can be contacted via email at [email protected].

Results

The data, which in some catchments has been collected for 4 years now, really shows either declining or improving river water quality across the Torridge catchment. Overall, the results show that 7 rivers have strongly improved since the start of Riverfly and 3 rivers have clearly declining water quality. Some patterns from tributaries are less clear with variable water quality throughout the survey period.

3 samples on two different tributaries; the Dipple Water and the Pulworthy Brook, failed their trigger level. The trigger level breach on the Pulworthy Brook which was reported in August was given an Environment Agency reference number. The stream has been assessed in previous years and is known to suffer from chronic low flow stress. The river was otherwise reported as healthy by the volunteer and additional surveys were not required.

The trigger level breach which occurred in the Dipple Water has also been investigated by Michael Thomas following previous trigger level breaches and is under investigation from known upstream impacts by Andrew Fuller, the local Environment Officer. Andrew carried out a site check shortly after the trigger level breach and investigations upstream are being carried out. The stream also suffers from low flow stress. For the full data, please see the separate PDF included with this document.

Riverfly Report 2017

River Torridge Results since 2014

Looking at the Riverfly programme as a whole since it began on the Torridge in 2014,

 547 samples have been taken
 50 sites have been sampled
 17 samples have fallen below trigger levels
 24 sites are inactive at the end of 2017. A few of these sites have been taken up by newvolunteers, but if anyone wishes to get involved in Riverfly and possibly take up one of these
sites, please contact Izzy Moser at Devon Wildlife Trust via [email protected].
 4923 volunteer hours assuming each sample requires 3 hours of time to take and enter intothe database
 £98,500 is the calculated financial value of the Riverfly volunteer time (using the HLF “Skilled

River Taw

2017 update

After the Riverfly training event on the 1st April, it was a little slow getting some sites registered and data collected, but by the end of the season, a total of 5 new sites were registered and 17 samples were collected. 5 sites are registered but currently inactive (table 4). Again, with the poor weather towards the end of the season, opportunities for collecting samples were limited. Since Matt’s departure from the North Devon Biosphere in August, the Taw Riverfly project has been taken on by Olivia Cresswell at Westcountry Rivers Trust. Olivia can be contacted via email at [email protected].

Results

There are now a total of 6 sites registered in the Taw catchment. Thankfully, none of the surveys delivered in 2017 breached the trigger level set by the Environment Agency, although 4 samples were near the trigger level. Data trends for catchments with more samples collected are starting to show, although additional data is required to show any long term changes in improving or declining water quality. For the full data, please see the separate PDF included with this document.

River Taw Results since 2016

Looking at the Riverfly programme as a whole since it began on the Taw in 2016,

20 samples have been taken
6 sites have been sampled
0 samples have fallen below trigger levels
4 sites are registered but currently inactive at the end of 2017.

Riverfly Schools Update

Riverfly schools ran again in 2017, delivered by Izzy Moser at Devon Wildlife Trust. The event involved 31 children from Bradworthy Class 6 surveying to identify Riverfly invertebrates as a method of detecting river health. A thank you to Bob Shepard who volunteered to help during the day.

Since Riverfly schools started in 2015, a total of 83 children have engaged with the event which is held at Julian’s Farm near Bradworthy. Unfortunately several events had to be postponed due to poor weather conditions.

Riverfly Report 2017

Riverfly Events have also been held at Hatherleigh Primary School and at the annual Hatherleigh Fair, delivered by Elizabeth Durrant (River Lew Riverfly Volunteer).

Professor Sir John Lawton Visit

In 2016 Professor Sir John Lawton, former head of the Natural Environment Research Council and President of the Institution of Environmental Sciences, visited the River Torridge Nature Improvement Area. As part of that he travelled to a Riverfly site, closely monitored by Gordon Murray during an invertebrate survey, to discuss the importance of Riverfly monitoring in the Torridge catchment. It was Sir Lawton’s Report entitled ‘Making Space for Nature’ which led to the development of Nature Improvement Areas, of which the Torridge catchment was one of 12 in England.

Riverfly Report 2017

Freshwater Pearl Mussel Project Update 2017

This summer, the project achieved an exciting milestone. Thanks to our expert advisors from Ireland, we were able to confirm live juveniles mussels for the first time in over 50 years. The juvenile mussels which had previously encysted on brown trout dropped off at our captive rearing facility in North Devon. This enabled us to collect and return them to the River Torridge in specially selected locations. The captive breeding programme is currently in its second year, and during October 2017, the project was able to confirm a second year of successful glochidia (larvae) attachment on host fish.

This programme of work is part of the national ‘Restoring Freshwater Mussel Rivers in England’ funded by Biffa Award and co-ordinated by the Freshwater Biological Association. It is the first to trial this short- term breeding method in England.

Along with the captive breeding programme, the project delivers an array of measures to improve local water quality including tree planting, riverbank erosion management, tree coppicing, watercourse fencing, forestry track improvements, farm yard improvements, farm advice and workshops.

26 Nov 2017

Autumn Salmon news from the Torridge

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

NEWSREEL: AUTUMN 2017.

The Fishing Season:

It has been a most encouraging year for salmon, with the middle river beats doing particularly well. Despite the fact that in the spring and early summer the river was quite low salmon seemed eager to move upstream and by mid-May salmon were being caught as far upstream as Okement Foot. From July onwards the weather was much more unsettled and on occasions the river was out of order for several days. The lack of grilse in the last two months of the season was disappointing. Several fish approaching 20lb have been caught and the final salmon rod catch will probably be 90/100: the best since 2012.

The large sea trout were certainly in short supply, but a double figure fish was caught at Beam towards the end of June. However an encouraging aspect was that many of the school peal were in the 1.5/2lb range. Sea trout catches were similar to recent years. The few anglers who did venture out after dark often enjoyed some exciting sport.

The brown trout fishing seems to have been patchy but as in recent years there have been numerous reports of fish in excess of 2lb being caught. The perennial complaint is the lack of fly life which results in disappointing surface activity.

The EA Consultation on measures to reduce exploitation by both rods and nets.

The committee would like to thank all the members who went to the trouble of completing the consultation questionnaire. It was certainly far too long-winded. Let’s hope the EA sees sense and any proposed measures to reduce rod exploitation are purely voluntary. I will keep you all informed of developments. Obviously the EA will contact those of you who completed the questionnaire.

The Devon and Severn IFCA (Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority) Byelaw Review:

With the government lurching from one crisis to another a decision regarding banning drift netting for bass and mullet in our estuary seems to have been placed on the back burner. Apparently it has reached the last stage: all that is needed is for the Minister to rubber stamp.

The salmon hatchery:

Photo Left to Right: Members of the Torridge Fishery Association.
John Graham, Paul Ashworth, David Williams, Paul Carter, Ken Dunn and Paul Coles. Front Row Charles Inniss

Over the weekend 11/13^th November the Okement came into spate after prolonged heavy rain, so we decided to try and catch up some broodstock. There were plenty of fish showing at the base of the weir at Monkokehampton and unbelievably at the first attempt we caught up the 5 hens and 5 cocks we needed. All were in excellent condition and hopefully some if not all of the hens will be ready for stripping in the very near future. There is a long way to go but so far so good.

The Annual Dinner and Raffle: Another superb evening at The Half Moon. Over 50 of us enjoyed an excellent meal followed by the raffle and auction. Once again member support for the annual raffle was tremendous and over £1,500 was raised which will go towards continuing our efforts to improve the fishing on this beautiful river. Particular thanks to Paul Ashworth, our Chairman, and his wife Geraldine who organised the raffle and the auction. There was the usual huge array of prizes.

Winter well: only three months to go until the start of another season. Have a great Xmas and above all a healthy New Year.

The River Torridge Fishery Association

President: Lord Clinton

Chairman: Paul Ashworth Secretary: Charles Inniss e-mail: [email protected]

The following article was written by Charles Inniss for the Sheepwash Chronicle. Many thanks to Charles for giving permission to replicate it here on the pages of North Devon Angling News.

Helping the Torridge Salmon

One hundred years ago there were over 70 weirs on the Torridge: all of these were an obstacle to salmon migrating upstream to their spawning grounds. These weirs were built to divert water into the leats to work the water mills. A good example of this is the leat above Sheepwash Bridge which provided water for Herrick’s Mill that sadly has now fallen into ruin. This leat rejoins the main river on the bend upstream of the bridge. Most of these weirs were just made of brushwood and were known locally as “browse” weirs. However on the River Okement, the major tributary of the Torridge, a huge weir was constructed at Monkokehampton to divert water to work the mill at Mill Farm. Today the mill is still in working order and is used regularly by the Murrin family. This weir was so high it was a complete stopper for salmon, preventing them reaching valuable spawning grounds upstream of Okehampton on the slopes of Dartmoor.

In the 1970’s the salmon stock collapsed. There were many reasons the main one being an outbreak of a fungal disease that affected all the rivers in the British Isles but the Torridge suffered more than most. Each year fewer and fewer salmon were surviving to spawn. After much pressure and in the hope it would help stocks recover, SWW, who at that time managed the fishery, agreed to install a Denil fish pass at the side of the weir. At the time this was a revolutionary type of fish pass but it has been incredibly successful. An extra fifteen mile of river became available for salmon to spawn. For the first time salmon were seen on tiny streams on Dartmoor. In recent years there have been signs that salmon numbers are increasing and this is largely due to the increased spawning capacity of the upper reaches of the River Okement.

Fifteen years ago our fishery officer, Paul Carter, suggested that The Torridge Fishery Association should set up its own small salmon hatchery. Early efforts met with little success but when the Environment Agency decided to close down its own hatchery at Endsleigh on the River Tamar, we were able to obtain much of their redundant equipment. For the last twelve years we have every winter successfully reared upto 30,000 salmon fry.

The first task every autumn is to obtain the broodstock. Each hen will usually have between 6,000 and 8,000 eggs so the aim is to catch 5 hens and 5 cocks. This is achieved by netting them as they ascend the fish pass: an operation strictly controlled by the EA fishery staff.

On Monday 13^th November after a weekend of heavy rain and with the Okement running high we decided to have a go at catching up the broodstock. Wayne Thomas, the angling correspondent for The North Devon Journal Herald, joined us. Salmon and Sea trout were regularly showing below the weir and obviously there was a large number of fish eager to go up the fish pass and continue their journey upstream. Wayne took some amazing photos of fish leaping at the foot of the weir. If you want to see more of these images go to Wayne’s website www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk. Without too much difficulty we managed to catch up all the broodstock. These were put in an oxygenated tank, loaned to us by the EA, and transported back to the hatchery. There, they were measured, weighed and checked over to ensure they were all in good condition with no sign of disease or injury from seals, otters or herons. Once completed they were carefully placed in the holding tank.

By the time you read this, some if not all of the hens will have been stripped: the eggs, having been fertilised by the cock fish, will be laid out in trays of flowing water. If all goes well by early April about 30,000 small salmon fry will be ready to be stocked out in the headwaters.

Why do we go to all this trouble? There are many small tributaries of the main river that currently are not used by salmon. It is the aim of the hatchery project to introduce salmon fry to some of these areas in the hope that in four or five year’s time they will return from the high seas and spawn where they spent the first two years of their lives. Mussel Brook, the stream that enters the main river between Sheepwash and Black Torrington, is a very good example. By artificially restocking this stream we hope to extend the rearing areas not at present used by the salmon population.

If anybody would like to visit the hatchery contact me on 01409231237 and I would be delighted to show you the set-up.

Charles Inniss. November 2017.

AUTUMN GLORY

I was privileged to join members of the River Torridge Fishery Association on a cold day in mid November as the Okement was running high following heavy rain. I was on hand to take a few photos and report on the above project as expertly described by Charles Inniss in the above article. I have been fishing the Torridge on a regular basis for over ten years and enjoy being a member of the River Torridge Fishery Association who work so hard to ensure the future of the salmon that continue to migrate each season. The Torridge appears to be holding up well in comparison with many of the UK’s salmon rivers though this is a fragile Eco-system that is often challenged by human kinds disregard for nature.

I arrived at the weir well before the other members and spent an hour watching in awe as the salmon attempted to ascend the concrete barrier that for many years prevented the fish from reaching valuable spawning grounds high on Dartmoor. The instinct that drives these incredible fish to forge up river is surely one of natures many wonders and I was thrilled to capture a few images of these majestic fish.

As an angler I care deeply for the survival of these fish and this goes far deeper than the desire to catch them during the fishing season. That connection with a fish through rod and line gives a physical connection with the fish and nature that I cannot adequately convey in words.

Standing beside the river as the leaves fall and the river roars I give thanks to angling for bringing me so close to nature and my fellow anglers,

The salmon close up are handsome fish their colours perfectly reflecting the rich colours of the autumn season.

Hopefully the hatchery will once again produce fry to stock into the Torridge tributary’s as spring unfolds and wild daffodils once again bloom along the banks and those first swallows gyrate in the air as sunshine warms the land.

18 Oct 2017

Changing Seasons -Autumn thoughts

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Article, Articles, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Another salmon season has drawn to an end as I walked out to fish on the Middle Torridge. On arrival I realize I had arrived too late as the river was up and coloured with flotillas of leaves floating down stream.

As I am there I decide to fish anyway but have little confidence as I work my way down casting across favorite lies with little hope of a salmon locating the fly. Time has run out on this season all too quickly. Leaves collected in riverside eddies a rich variation of browns, gold’s and yellows those green shoots of spring have long gone. Summers gone yet I wish it could linger longer for I had so much more to do.

As I walked back to the car I listened to mournful mewing of young buzzards high above. I had one more trip to the river. and it proved to be my second season without a salmon. I look for no excuses as plenty have been caught just not on my watch.

We had just returned from a week in Scotland. Not a fishing holiday though a rod did get taken along. One afternoon Pauline and I walked up to a small dam within the glen. The mountains towered high above and stags bellowed their war cry across the brown livery of the glen. I cast across the dark water and was thrilled at the tug from a small trout. I caught four perfect wild browns of just a few inches more than enough reward for a miles walk in such splendid surroundings.

This was the only fishing I did yet fishing was never too far from my thoughts. I spoke with a local angler who painted a grim portrayal of salmon and sea trout fishing in the local rivers. He doubted if the species would exist in these local rivers in ten years time.

Whilst I knew that the sea lochs had great potential I did not see anyone fishing throughout our weeks stay. It seemed strange to have harbors that had no mullet. I was told of Pollock and coalfish from the rocky shoreline and wished I had light spinning rod or LRF set up to find out what was there. In the sound of Mull I peered into the deep and clear waters. At Tobermory I talked of common skate within deep waters off shore. Perhaps I need to return one day to answer some of my questions.

Back in North Devon my thoughts turn to autumn sea angling. Grey mullet, bass, conger and tope. As the nights draw in I know where I will be heading and look forward to the excitement of dark mysterious waters.

This angling game brings its frustrations and an awareness of the passing seasons; a brief spell of melancholy is soon replaced by optimism as the next chapter unfolds.

river Torridge

Helping the Torridge Salmon