The recent dry, bright sunny weather has brought fishing on the rivers to a virtual standstill with water now crystal clear. The only realistic chance of catching salmon or sea trout is early and late in the day when the sun is off the water. Before the rivers dropped several grilse and sea trout were landed from both the Mole and Bray.
A few fish are trickling in however and a couple of salmon have been tempted from the Torridge. I fished the Weir Marsh and Brightly beats of the Taw last week and saw several salmon show as I fished down through this splendid stretch of prime day ticket water. Two fish were caught from these beats including a 6lb salmon to the rod of David Rice and a 4lb grilse for David Carhart.
Weir Marsh & Brightly Beats of the Taw
Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Clubs Rogers and Guard Shield was contested by six keen club members on a bright sunny day not conducive to trout fishing. Winner of the event was Colin Combe with tow browns totalling 27inches. Runner up was Steve Edmunds with one quality brown trout of 15”.
Wimbleball catch reports show 1.6 fish per rod day.
The latest report from South West Lakes Trust shows that some fine sport has been enjoyed with the regions two brown trout fisheries offering great loch style sport. At Wimbleball catches have been impressive as Danny Fords latest report indicates :-
Wimbleball The fishing still continues to produce top sport where bank anglers can enjoy a return of 5.2 and boats achieving 4.5 per angler.
Mr Vinall caught the fish of the week with a stunning 6lb 15oz Rainbow from the Dam end (pic attaced). Mr Vinall was using a Black Magic Nymph when the large fish took his fly. He also went on to return a further 4 rainbows and 2 browns. Well done! This fish is a strong contender for fish of the season, and I’m sure the largest in a few years. Ill check and get back to you. Terry Bridgman was also amongst the fish last week, catching and releasing 22 over 2 days.
Wistlandpound – The Beach, Hide Bay, Gordon’s Bay and the deeper water near the dam proved to be the best locations; Brownie Point is now accessible (levels are down by about 12’) to bank anglers, with boat anglers catching well at this location, especially drifting with a team of Nymphs. Dry patterns, especially Hawthorns, Sedges and Black Gnats, have caught well, particularly in the mornings and evenings, as have sub-surface patterns (Pheasant Tail Nymphs, small montanas and spider patterns) fished on a floating line throughout the day. Jon Ogborne and Peter Coleman-Smith had a very successful day on the boat fished loch- style, netting 29 Brown Trout between them.
Roadford – Wortha Bay is now open to anglers and starting to produce results, especially for boat anglers on short drifts. Although there is plenty of fly life about, most of the fish are being taken on sub-surface patterns (mainly dark, such as Small Black tadpoles, Black Pennells and Bibios) fished on a floating line. Stephen Jones caught the best fish of the month – a beautiful grown-on Brown of 4lb 14oz.
With water temperatures rising, boat anglers can expect some exciting sport, fishing over the boils, where some huge fish have been caught in recent years.
It’s hard to believe that the longest day has passed us by already and the days are starting to recede in that ever revolving circle of time. I met South West Lakes Trust Ranger Danny Ford on June 20th at Wistlandpound just before 6.00pm with fours hours of fishing ahead of us, if only these summer days would last. I had fished earlier in the year when Wistlandpound had opened as brown trout fishery a new era in its development as North Devon’s largest trout water. Since those early season days a further stocking of brown trout have been introduced ensuring a healthy population of both stock fish and existing wild fish.
The evening was overcast with occasional glimpses of the sun and a light breeze. Ideal conditions I thought. We were using Wistlandpound Fly-fishing Clubs boat paired up with an electric outboard that gave us ease of maneuverability and was certainly easier than rowing. Danny suggested we try the deep water at the dam end of the lake as he had landed several trout from this location on his last visit a week before. A fast sink line, a black tadpole on the point of the leader and brightly coloured blob on the dropper was Dan’s suggestion. An erratic retrieve and the occasional pause allowing the fly to hang motionless in the water was the tactic to employ. Success came first to Danny, a handsomely marked brown of around 12oz. A few follows but no more hook ups called for a move and a change of tactics.
Danny Ford – brown trout
Putting the boat within casting range of the West bank we began a drift. With the occasional fish rising we both set up with floating lines. Danny using a dry fly whilst I opted for a bead headed pheasant tail on the point with a cormorant on the dropper. After a couple of drifts honors were even with trout falling to both dry fly and nymph.
I had heard that there were a few quality rudd being caught so I persuaded Danny to put us on a few rudd. Drifting close into the weedy margins soon brought success with these pretty golden flanked red finned coarse fish. The rudd proved a pleasing distraction for a short period with a double shot bringing a pleasing opportunity to capture the variance in the hues of these fish. There are those who curse the rudd that do not give a good account of themselves. But as they tend to congregate in certain areas it’s not too big an issue; though it is undoubtedly more difficult for the bank angler to avoid them.
RuddA double shot of rudd
After the rudd interlude we headed back out into deeper water and targeted the trout that were rising frequently. Danny and I both enjoyed success before the rise petered out. I picked up the sinking line once again and employed a fast retrieve with the occasional pause. This brought quick success in the shape of a brown of over 1lb. For the next twenty minutes or so we had several follows and a couple more stunningly marked browns.
As the battery was running low and the light fading we headed back to the dam end where I landed one more trout. The water surface became becalmed as dusk set in and what wind there was died away. The occasional trout punctuated the surface with a telling ripple. The sun sank behind the trees, the crimson sky reflecting through the trees onto the lake like a burning fire. Owls hooted in the trees and blackbirds cries echoed across the still water. It was time to go the longest day was as all days do ending.
Embers of a dying day
We had ended the session with five browns each to around 1lb 8oz and five rudd each. The fishing is comparable to wild brown trout fishing savoured by many on upland tarns and lochs in the North of the country. Fascinated fishing in beautiful surroundings and at a very reasonable cost.
Weir Marsh & Brightly Beats of the Taw
