North Devon Match Group April 16th Championship No4 Melbury Reservoir
1st Paul Elworthy 32lb 15oz
2nd John Lisle 11lb
3rd Nathan Underwood 4lb 8oz
4th Martin Turner 3lb 9oz.
Paul fished a small groundbait feeder from a peg on the road side, his excellent catch consisted of skimmers and rudd. John had a similar bag from the next peg, The rest of the field struggled for odd bites in a cold westerly wind.
Ben Smeeth of South West lakes Trust sent me these stunning pictures of carp from Squabmoor Reservoir near Exmouth. Whilst its not North Devon they are stunning images that I couldn’t resist posting.
Terry Reid has been in the action at Squabmoor reservoir near Exmouth, Devon, with this fantastic fully scaled mirror at just under 30lbs. Terry used a Pallatrax crave double pop up fished in 14 feet of water on a size 6 Korda Kurve hook with a stringer over a bed of crushed crave boilies. Top angling Terry! What a fish!
Kind regards
Ben Smeeth
Angling Technical lead for South West Lakes Trust
Countryside and Angling Manager – Cornwall
Squabmoor Reservoir, Budleigh Salterton, Devon EX9 7AS
Squabmoor is one of the leading specimen waters in the South West. It is situated on Woodbury Common which is a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). There are lily pads situated around the lake and the depths vary greatly from one end of the lake to the other. There are 15 immaculate swims, many of which have been created by the bailiffs. The main target are carp to 36lbs which are truly stunning with the average size around the 20lb mark. The mirror carp are the original old style fish with a really dark complexion and large scales. 17 carp to 23lbs were stocked in 2015 from Lana Springs Fish Farm. Whilst carp are the main target there is a real mix of other specimens with Tench to 6lbs, Bream to 10lbs, Roach over 2lbs, eels to 6lbs and Perch to 3lbs.
A cold North East wind made fishing difficult for competitors in South West Lakes Trust’s Pallatrax Carp Open at Upper Tamar Lake where Chris Hudson and Adam Martin secured the top prize of £2000 with five carp for a total weight of 43lb 12oz. Runners up were Alan Jones and Karl Yates who banked five carp for 39lb 15oz to win £1000. Third place and £500 was secured by David Bellew and Steve Lovell with three fish for 31lb 3oz. Fourteen fish were landed from four of the twenty five pegs a clear illustration of that old saying “when the wind is in the East the fish bite the least’. South West Lakes Trust were grateful to their sponsors Pallatrax, Anaconda Unlimited systems and Saengar Top Tackle System.
The latest report from South West Lakes Trust indicates some good catches from reservoirs throughout the South West. At recently downgraded Wimbleball several overwintered rainbows were landed. Wistlandpound Opens on March 15th following a substantial stocking of brown trout that will boost existing stocks of browns from last year and the resident wild population. The abundant rudd that are thriving in the lake could well result in some big brown trout in the years to come.
South West Lakes Trout Fisheries Report (Opening Weekend 2017)
General:
The 2017 season opened earlier this year at South West Lakes Trust’s Rainbow Trout waters (4 March, with a preview day for season ticket holder on 3 March) and got off to a flying start at the lakes, with the opening weekend producing some outstanding sport, both in terms of the quality of the fish and their willingness to take the fly in spite of the cold, wet and windy conditions
Fishing:
Kennick – Rods averaged nearly 4.5 fish per angler over the opening weekend, with a number of fish over 4lb being landed. Very little insect activity is yet evident but fish were keen to take sub-surface nymph and lure patters, fished mainly on intermediate lines. The most successful patterns included Damsel and Montana nymphs, as well as deeper fished Tadpoles and Boobie patterns.
The best fish caught included a 4lb 4oz Rainbow, as part of a full bag, which also included another fish of 4lb, caught by Paul Lee from Ivybridge fishing with a nymph pattern from the bank. Mr Peppit caught a full bag, which included Rainbows of 4lb 4oz, 3lb 10oz and 3lb 2oz, while fishing from the bank.
Siblyback – Anglers averaged 3.7 fish per rod over the opening weekend, with most fish being caught in Two Meadows, The Marshes and the North Shore, with fish following the windblown food source. Floating and slow sink lines proved to be the most successful, with darker nymph patterns, such as Montanas, Dark Damsels, Diawl Bachs and Black Pennells, or pulled lures (Tadpoles, Cats Whiskers, Orange Gold-heads and Baby Dolls) catching fish.
The best fish was a 4lb 6oz Rainbow, caught by Mr R. Cogar from Bodmin.
Burrator – With the reservoir full and boats not yet available at Burraor, fishing from the bank at Longstone has been the most productive, using mainly intermediate lines. Rods averaged just over 2 fish per angler, with Montanas and Gold-head green Damsel nymphs catching well, as did dark lure patterns such as Tadpoles and Black Boobies.
The best fish caught was a 3lb 10oz Rainbow, caugh by Pat Power, fishing at Longstone, using a White Strike.
Stithians – The harsh conditions meant that the fishing at this exposed site proved to be challenging, with Pub Bay and North Bank proving to be the most productive locations. Sub-surface nymphs and lure patterns fished on sunk lines proved to be the only method, with Gold-head Tadpoles and weighted Orange and Yellow lures the successful patterns.
The best fish caught was a 3lb 8oz Rainbow, caught by Mr. Docking from St Agnes, using a Gold-head Tadpole.
Drift – Rods averaged 3 fish per angler, which included a number of Blue Trout which seemed to favour small lures and Damsel patterns. The Badger Sett bank proved to be the most productive area, with teams of nymphs (Damsels in particular) catching well, as well as deeper fished Black Woolly Buggers and Pink/Orange fritz mini lures.
The South West Fly Fair was held at Roadford on 25 February, for the fifth consecutive year, and proved to be even bigger and better. In spite of poor weather forecasts, the rain held off to allow for outdoor casting demonstrations and clinics, while indoors there were fly tying demonstrations, along with numerous stands offering tackle, advice and information, as well as a masterclass Trout cookery demonstration from a local top-class chef. Show patron Charles Jardine was on hand all day and, when not giving demonstrations, was available for advice or just a chat.
The Trust’s Brown Trout fisheries open on 15 March. For detailed fishery information and prices for the 2017 season visit www.swlakesfishing.co.uk or visit one of the fishery-based self-service kiosks.
Rising water temperatures should see an increase in surface activity, with floating lines starting to come to the fore in the next month.
Chris Hall (March 2017)
South West Lakes Trust are hosting two major competitions at Upper Tamar Lake see details below.
The South West Fly Fair got the Trout fishing season off with a bang on Saturday (25 February) as fly fishermen flocked from all over the region to attend the annual show, held at Roadford Lake and hosted by South West Lakes Trust.
This was the fifth year for the show and it keeps going from strength to strength. It’s the perfect opportunity to grab a bargain from the leading suppliers in the South West, talk to the organisations involved in running the fishing the Westcountry has to offer or get in some casting or fly tying practice before the season kicks off.
The show was opened at 10.30am by one of the country’s most respected fly-fishing gurus, and patron of the show, Charles Jardine and featured fly-tying demonstrations from both local and nationally renowned experts, with a chance to ‘have a go’ as well as the opportunity to pick up useful tips and valuable advice.
Activities throughout the day included casting demonstrations with Charles, who gave an entertaining and impressive display with the Trout rod, and Gary Champion, a local expert who travels worldwide teaching people to fish and give demonstrations.
Over 40 people took advantage of the free fly casting lessons and clinics for both newcomers to the sport and experienced anglers feeling a little rusty after the closed season. There was also the opportunity to try float-tubing with the British Float Tube Association. The chef from the local angling hotel, the Arundell Arms, gave a fantastic demonstration on ways to prepare and cook your Trout once you have caught it with samples to taste.
There were a variety of angling conservation organisations including The Westcountry Rivers Trust, The Salmon and Trout Conservation Trust UK and two local custom rod makers, Alan Riddell and Luke Bannister, who has built up an international following for his beautiful hand-crafted split cane rods.
South West Lakes Trust’s Trout suppliers, Milemead Fisheries and Torre Trout Farms Ltd, were on hand to talk to anglers and show a sample of the fish they could expect to catch in
There was also a large selection of angling trade stands including impressive displays from the shows sponsor Turrall, with the opportunity to handle, try and buy this year’s latest equipment as well as an astounding selection of fur, feathers and specialist fly-tying equipment from suppliers based all over the country.
With 250 visitors to the event, it proved to be as popular as ever and South West Lakes Trust are already looking at a bigger and better show in 2018.
The 2017 Trout fishing season on the South West Lakes Trust Rainbow Trout reservoirs starts on 4 March and Brown Trout on 15 March. Full details and this year’s prices are on the Trust’s website – www.swlakesfishing.co.uk.
Chris Lambert and Adam Moxey have had another great Perching session from the boat at Upper Tamar Lake. Chris had this to say about their day: The previous couple of visits have been really tough but we are yet to blank….famous last words! When we arrived it was a bit on the windy side. I wasn’t exactly beaming with confidence but the first drift produced a 3.08 perch to my rod on a 3inch black shad fished on a 7.5g jig head, the wind dropped off nicely allowing us to fish a lot more effectively. We went on to take a dozen good sized perch mainly fish in the low 2lb range topped by a brace of 3’s at 3.05 and 3.03 both caught by Adam on the 2inch spikey shad.
North Devon Match Group Championship No. 2 Jennetts Reservoir
(Above) Winner Martin Turner
Some stunning nets of silver fish from Jennetts Reservoir in North Devon Match Groups latest competition. A great test of the all round match anglers skill set.
1st Martin Turner 23lb 10oz
2nd Nielsen Jeffery 16lb 13oz
3rd Kevin Shears 14lb 10oz ,
Section Winners
Wayne Mitchell 13lb
kier Durrant 10lb 14oz
(Above) Nielsen Jeffery
(Above)Kevin Shears
I have just received this exciting press release from South West Lakes Trust. Upper Tamar is set to receive an impressive stocking of big carp that will make it one of the West Country’s most exciting waters.
South West Lakes Trust would like to announce some exciting news for Upper Tamar fishery in 2017 with the stocking of some fantastic large fish for the first time. In September, 30 carp weighing between 20-32lbs will be stocked. This is the start of a longer term stocking plan that includes a further 25 carp in the same weight range in 2018 and 40 more weighing over 20lbs in 2019. This follows on from the stocking of around 250 smaller carp, transferred from some of other waters, weighing up to 20lbs over the last three years to add to the already good stock of fish that reside in the 81 acre venue.
In recent years catching a fish over 20lbs or 30lbs from the venue has been a challenge but that is set to change!
Upper Tamar forms part of the Tamar Lakes complex of fisheries with Lower Tamar only half a mile down the road. At 35 acres, Lower Tamar is home to a large head of 20lb+ fish with several fish over the 30lb mark and growing very quickly.
The new fish are being sourced from our local supplier Lana Springs Fish Farm in Devon. Owner Chris Mannifold has a great reputation for supplying premium carp.
Ben Smeeth, the Trust’s Angling Technical Lead said “I am delighted to be working with Chris on this exciting project. The majority of fish will be Mirrors to complement the large population of Commons already in the lake. With a really good weed growth providing a rich source of food these fish will continue to grow with the aim of producing a large head of 30lb and 40lb fish within the next 5-7 years.”
Upper Tamar has produced a lot of runs for anglers in the last few years with some anglers catching as many as 25 carp in a single 24 hour session. There are so many swims to choose from each giving a different perspective of the beautiful lake and each presenting different challenges and features.
Upper Tamar is a spectacular venue, set in peaceful rural countryside, spanning two counties with the Devon and Cornwall border running down the middle of the lake.
The fishery benefits from outstanding facilities with a café open from March to November, showers, toilets and a camping field – perfect if the family also want to come along! There is a supply of bait and tackle available from the café and an onsite self-service permit room so you can arrive at your leisure and start fishing! The venue also benefits from a level stoned path all the way around which makes access to swims for everyone really easy. We do also provide a taxi service to any swim if you give us plenty of notice!
There are also two angling lodges which sleep two people and are bookable through our central office on 01566 771930.
Updates to our new fishing website www.swlakesfishing.co.uk will mean you can view a map of Upper Tamar fishery including swim names before even visiting. We also have a very active Facebook page called ‘Coarse Fishing South West Lakes Trust’ so please LIKE our page for regular catch reports, pictures and information about all of our coarse fisheries in the South West.
The stocking in September will be just in time for the Pallatrax Carp Open Pairs competition at the end of the month and it will be interesting to see if any of the competitors can bank some of our new residents and scoop a share of the £3,500 prize money. Anyone who wants to book onto one of our three pairs carp competitions in 2017 needs to call our office on the above number.
Anyone who would like to come along and see the fish stocked are very welcome – we would love to see you at Upper Tamar to share this great occasion with us and witness the start of an amazing future for this special fishery.
Ben Smeeth
Fishery Manager 01288 321262 [email protected]
Chay Boggis took a rest from sea angling and visited a local still-water where he landed a double figure pike scaling 11lb 8oz. The fish was tempted using half a mackerel bait and was the only run during the eight hour session. The venue produced a twenty pound plus specimen a few weeks ago. Pike waters are few and far between in North Devon and anglers are reminded to take great care of the fish that are surprisingly delicate creatures that do not tolerate poor handling. It is essential to carry a large landing net, unhooking mat, carry long nosed forceps and always use a wire trace and suitably strong tackle to ensure the fish do not break free to trail lost trace and line. There is nothing sporting in fishing light!
