Fine winter trout at Bratton Water

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Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club held the first heat of their Winter Challenge series at Bratton Water where all members secured three fish bags by mid morning. The winning bag of three browns fell to myself (Wayne Thomas) and totalled 9lb 14oz. In runner up spot was Colin Combe with  9lb 12oz and in third Andre Muxworthy with 8lb 12oz.

(Above) Winning bag of three quality browns to 4lb

Bratton Water is nestled in a wooded valley protected from most winds which is always good especially when a bitter East wind is blowing as it was on the day of our visit. With a bright blue sky I wondered if we would struggle to catch but these fears were unfounded as the trout responded well to a variety of tactics. I chose to fish a light rod combined with a floating line and long 6lb b.s leader with a small gold-head PTN on the tip and small diawl-bach on a dropper. Casting a long line and allowing the fly to sink before commencing a very slow erratic retrieve. The choice of tactics was more to do with how I wanted to fish as opposed to what I thought would catch most. Other members succeeded using small lures fished on intermediate lines with speedier retrieves.

(Above)Three quality rainbows caught by Nigel Bird
Members take a break

South West Lakes Trout Fisheries Report (October 2018)

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South West Lakes Trout Fisheries Report (October 2018)

The latest report from South West Lakes Trust not much from North Devon but some news from South Devon and Mid Devon might be worth a trip away for a change of scenery.

General:

With a couple of early winter storms hitting the South West recently, the waters have been stirred up, levels started to rise and water temperatures continued to drop in the reservoirs across the region. Daddies and sedges on the water have meant that fish have been looking up to feed, and dry patterns have produced some excellent results. The South West Lakes Trust’s Brown Trout waters (Roadford, Fernworthy, and Colliford) closed for the season on12 October; the season at its stocked rainbow waters (Kennick, Siblyback, Stithians, and Burrator) will be extended until the end of November.

Fishing:

Kennick – Catch rates picked up as the month progressed, peaking with a weekly catch rate of 3.2 fish per rod. Clampitts Bay, Smithacott, The Narrows and The Lawns have proved the best locations for bank anglers, while boats had the most success fishing into the margins of the more inaccessible banks. With Buzzers and Daddies on the water, surface-feeding fish were most active in the mornings, and anglers caught fish on Claret Snafflers, Hoppers, Daddies, and Black Spiders fished in the surface film. Sub-surface feeders could be caught on Gold-head Damsels, Diawl Bach’s, and Montana’s, with a few deeper fish being caught on Boobies and Tadpoles.

The best fish of the month was a 4lb 7oz rainbow, caught by Dave Perks (from Newquay), which helped him secure top place (and a prize of £1000) in the South West Lakes Trust’s ‘Best of The Best’ annual competition, held on 7 October; runner-up was Paul Jones (from Wadebridge). Chris Bolt (from Newton Abbot) caught the best Brown trout, weighing in at 3lb 8oz).

Siblyback – Mornings and evenings continue to be the most productive times to fish, and with plenty of midge activity on the water (particularly in the evenings), and a lot of surface-feeding fish off the North Shore. Two meadows has produced consistently good fishing, with fish coming up to take Hoppers, Black Gnats and Ants, and Black and Peacock Spiders. Buzzer patterns fished at various depths have proved effective, especially in teams with a Damsel Nymph or Montana on the point.

Burrator – the water temperatures continue to drop (now around 16 ºc), and plenty of fish can be seen moving on the surface in the mornings – small black dry patterns (such as Black Gnats, Ants, and Black Buzzer emergers) have produced some good bags. Sub-surface feeders have been caught on Damsel Nymphs, Diawl Back’s, and small Montana’s, with deeper fish taking Boobies, Black Lures, and Olive Nomads. The most productive bank areas have been the point and banks on the Longstone Peninsula, while boats have consistently picked up fish between the two dams.

 

 

 

Stithians – Yellowort Bay has produced the best fishing, and with plenty of sedges about, dry patterns proved the method of choice – a selection of flies, including Klinkhammers, Sedges, Dung Files, and Bibios all caught fish. Brown Sedge Pupa caught sub-surface feeders, with a few fish also taking pulled lures in the deeper water.by the dam.

Colliford – Floating line tactics, often with pulled patterns such as Soldier Palmers and Bibios fished close to the water’s edge in the mornings produced some good results, especially along the east bank and by the dam, with anglers averaging three fish per rod. Dean Boucher caught the best fish – a brown of 2lbs.

Fernworthy – Surface fishing produced the best and most exciting sport, with a variety of dry patterns (including Light Sedges, Foam Beetles, Black Gnats) producing excellent results – G.Vernon caught eight fish using a Dry Adams, and Paul Ackland (from Plympton) caught six fish on dry Sedges. Sub-surface wets and nymph patterns also caught well (including Buzzers, Bibios, Kate McLarens, and Pearly Invictas.

Roadford – the season at Roadford finished with some excellent bank fishing, with a lot of fish showing all over the fishery, and fish being caught at Grinnacombe, Shop Inlet, Daveys Bank, Wortha Bay, and in the deeper water by the dam. Dean Boucher had a great session pulling teams of wets (the best combination consisting of Soldier Palmers and Bibios on droppers and a Black Tadpole on the point), catching twenty brown trout up to 2lbs, with the best results coming from fishing the rougher areas of water.

Chris Hall (October 2018)

 

ENDS

Issue date: 6 April 2018

For more information, please contact:

Alice Peters

Customer Communications and Marketing Officer

South West Lakes Trust

01566 771930

apeters@swlakestrust.org.uk

Blakewell – In prime condition for winter season

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Blakewell Fishery has undergone a major weed-cutting exercise following the long hot summer and is now in prime condition as we enter the cooler months when trout can provide exciting sport. The main road past Blakewell is currently closed but a short detour via Shirwell is well worth it. At this time of year a wide variety of tactics can work with a damsel nymph fished on a long leader a good bet.

(Above & Below)) Weed-cutting machinery in action-

A fine rainbow caught during last years Christmas Competition.

With Christmas coming its a good time to visit the on site tackle shop that has a selection of tackle from West Country based tackle company Snowbee. There is also the opportunity to enjoy a hot coffee and slice of cake.

European Lure Fishing Show 2018

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The European Lure Fishing Show 2018 was held at Bristol last weekend and I was fortunate to visit the show with fellow Combe Martin SAC members Nick and Jack Phillips.  This is the second year of the show and after hearing good reports from last year I thought it worth taking a look. The event focus’s on Lure fishing and Fly Fishing with an extensive range of products on display along with talks and demonstrations.

The best side of these shows is undoubtedly the opportunity to meet up with fellow anglers and swap tales with old friends.

We took time to listen to two talks; one on world wide fishing with Dave Lewis of Sea Angler with Dave giving sound advice on chasing those bucket list fish that take anglers to some stunning locations.

The second talk was delivered by Henry Gilbey and was a thought provoking one that revolved around the wearing of life-jackets. Henry told of two young brothers who tragically died whilst fishing off the North Cornish coast. The fact that Henry knew the mark well and that he had intended fishing it that day undoubtedly struck a cord. I know Henry and he is passionate about his fishing and has like most keen sea anglers had a few near misses.

After listening to Henry I visited the Art of Fishing stand and purchased two Crewsaver Buoyancy aids. One for myself and one for my son James. After close to fifty years of fishing I am all to aware of the statistics with anglers drowning every year I ask myself how likely am I to become one of those stats? The life jackets are not cumbersome and after a few minutes you forget you have them on. Why would you not wear one Henry asked? £70 is but a small price to pay if it saves your life?

It was noticeable that very few anglers attended Henry’s talk on safety at sea. I am sure that if Henry had been waxing lyrical about lure fishing  many would have sat hanging on his every word. Health and safety isn’t sexy but it was probably the most important topic on the agenda and most chose to ignore it!

Strangely in all the years I have been fishing on the coast I have given only passing thought to my own safety. Yet I have had nightmares about  fellow anglers being washed into the sea whilst I stand helpless on the shore. What would you say to their nearest and dearest?

Perhaps it is for others that you should don that life saving vest for lets face it if you get washed into the sea on a dark and stormy night without a life jacket your not going to worry for long.

A short film shot in conjunction with the RNLI on the North Devon Coast was a true eye opener as to what happens if you fall into the water wearing waders. I will share the film on my Facebook page when it is released. Take a few moments to watch.

Great to see Mark Underhill present and chatting to enthusiastic anglers about his first season at Wimbleball lake.

(Above) Angling Trust Blogger, Author and angling guide Dominick  Garnett

Wistlandpound Club – Visit to Exe Valley

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Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club members travelled to Exe Valley Fishery to compete for the secretary’s Shield.

The weather forecast gave the rain clearing away by mid morning but on this occasion this proved a little premature as heavy rain persisted for the first couple of hours with the Anchor Lake overflowing into an already swollen River Exe. The wind had however abated from the gale force winds of the previous two days that had been courtesy of storm Callum.

It was relatively mild and trout were rising from the start of the days competition. I started off with a damsel nymph and hooked into a hard fighting rainbow of around 3lb within ten minutes of starting.

A few more follows and takes followed but as is often the case the trout seemed to grow warier as anglers lines splashed upon the water. Noticing several trout rising a couple of yards along the bank I relocated; tied on a daddy longs imitation and fished it very slowly to quickly complete my three fish limit of fish to kill and take. Other members were also catching trout on a regular basis with small imitative patterns outscoring lures.

It was now time to snip off the barbed hooks and go catch and release for the remainder of the day. This proved both fascinating and frustrating for me as I successfully hooked a succession of trout on buzzers and diawl bachs all of them coming detached before reaching the net. This wasn’t really an issue as the most exciting part is hooking the fish and all appeared to be fish between 2lb and 4lb and whilst it is good to get them to the net its not important as it the successful deception that matters in this instance.

By mid afternoon all members had completed their three fish bags and gone on the enjoy some catch and release action.

The competition was won by Dave Mock who weighed in three trout for total of 9lb 14oz. Runner up was Colin Combe with three for 9lb and third myself with three for 8lb 14oz.

4th -Paul Grisley 8lb 12oz

5th – Nigel Bird 8lb

6th David Eldred 6lb 4oz

The trout averaged 3lb for the day with all members taking their allocated quota. The innovative pricing structure combining various options of catch and release and catch and kill gives excellent value depending upon individual preference.  The lake is can now be fished without hindrance from weed and the water remained clear despite the flooded river Exe racing past full of turbidity and flotsam.

PERKS WINS £1000 AT BEST OF THE BEST TROUT FISHING FINAL!

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PERKS WINS £1000 AT BEST OF THE BEST TROUT FISHING FINAL!


Dave Perks from Newquay has won the annual Best of the Best competition at Kennick reservoir near Bovey Tracey in Devon. Dave caught 6 Rainbow Trout for 12lbs 10oz to scoop the £1000 top prize.

The competition which is now in its fifth year is run by South West Lakes Trust, the largest provider of trout fishing in Cornwall and Devon. Snowbee, based in Plympton, who are a leading brand within the trout fishing industry were once again the sole sponsor of the competition.

The competition was held on 7th October at the stunning 50 acre venue which is heavily stocked with Rainbow and Blue trout. Dave’s bag of fish included a fine 4lb 7oz Rainbow. Dave finished runner up in the 2017 final and went one better this time holding off the challenge of Paul Jones from Wadebridge who was runner up for the second successive year. Paul caught 7 Rainbows for 10lb 4oz and collected £400 for his efforts.

Third place, winning £250, was Graham Watts from Bodmin who caught 6 fish for 10lb 3oz.

In total 97 Rainbows were caught by the 35 finalists for a rod average of 2.8 fish per person. There were also some cracking Brown trout caught and released with Chris Bolt managing the largest at 3lb 8oz. Fish were caught by a variety of fly patterns throughout the day.

Ben Smeeth, Head of Angling for South West Lakes Trust commented ‘it was a cracking final and many congratulations to Dave Perks on the win but well done to all anglers on qualifying for the final and a huge thankyou to Snowbee for sponsoring the event. Our Rainbow trout fisheries will be open for everyone to enjoy until the end of November’

LAST CAST – Seasons End

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The last week of the salmon the salmon season brought promise of some tail end sport following on from heavy rain that swelled all the local rivers. It was indeed great to see a decent flow after the long summer drought.
I made a couple of visits to the middle Torridge and failed to tempt a salmon. I was beginning to question my fishing ability until we attended the annual Egg Box dinner at the Half Moon at Sheepwash. Several of the guests had been out fishing and the majority had nothing to report.
Good news came from Little Warham Fishery where four salmon had been tempted. I believe the total for the week on the Torridge was up around eight salmon.


On the Taw several anglers fared better with nine salmon from the Weirmarsh and Brightly beats.

Richard Johns caught three of 10lb, 8lb and 8lb. Edd Oldrey landed a 10lb salmon, G.Nichol a brace of 10lb and 8lb. Chris Steer an 8lb salmon and Richard Jewell a salmon of 5lb.

Several were also caught from beats further upriver. Reports from the Taw are always harder to obtain as much of the river is privately owned.
The Egg Box dinner at the Half Moon Inn saw over fifty River Torridge Fishery Association members in attendance who all enjoyed a delicious meal. This is always a warm and friendly occasion with plenty of fishing talk reminiscing and hope for future seasons. The raffle and dinner raised well in excess of £1000 to invest in river projects including the hatchery that has enabled the stocking of thousands of swim up fry over recent seasons.

I will leave you with a few images from my last morning on the Torridge this season.

Salmon Season End of season flourish

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After one of the worst salmon and sea trout fishing seasons for several years it is good to report on a few fish as longed for rain brought a significant rise in both the Taw and Torridge. I expect to get a more details of fish from the Torridge when I attend the end of season Egg Box Dinner at the Half Moon but below are few images of fish caught in the last week of the season.

(Below)Ian Blewett’s early morning brace of Taw salmon

(Below)Chay Boggis caught this pleasing grilse of around 3lb from a middle Taw beat

(Below)The middle Torridge earlier this week fining down fading light.

Wimbleball Season continues until the end of November

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Its great news for Fly Fishers at Wimbleball Fly Fishery where the season has been extended until the end of November. Its been quite a season with the quality of the fishing surpassing expectation during a difficult year for trout fishing. Throughout the season anglers have enjoyed sport with tail perfect hard fighting rainbows and wild brown trout.

(Above)The 2 browns caught by Duncan Kier, the smaller one from Upton arm and the larger from Bessoms.

See recent comments from visiting anglers below.

Friday John Hern and boat partner bagged up on the boat and had double hook ups in the process

Duncan Kier and boat Partner had 11 fish to the boat which included a 5.5lb and a 8.5lb Brown.

The Withers, Father and 2 sons, caught 17 fish from the bank at Cowmoor of which 6 were browns.

Tight lines.

An excellent evening fishing on Bessoms yesterday. Despite the cold wind, there were 5 anglers. Fish rising, fry being chased, rods bending. I had to pull myself away after taking 2 well sized rainbow trout whilst missing others. Before fishing, I’d read that the “Clifton” used to be the fly of choice. I quickly tied 2 and can say, yes, they work. Savage takes. The smaller version was more successful! Size 12, very short black zonker wing, chartreuse tag, peacock body, red seal fur on the head with a little UV. Wish I had more. Suggest a minimum of 9lb 12′ leader. Steady retrieve with lots of pauses. A big thank you to Mark and Trudi.

“Today was my day on the bank at Wimbleball and what a day, lovely wild Brownies and scintillating top water sport with super fit, super fast full finned Rainbows taking me into the backing, a C&R ticket allows you to keep two for the pot then go barbless and shake em off.
Check it out I can’t recommend it enough…..Chris”

“Great day yesterday for Mike Stone and boat partner they had 24 fish to the boat drifting right down the middle of the narrows towards Bessoms.”

“Storm Ali and it’s leaden sky’s didn’t stop Ian and myself enjoying superb sport from the bank at Wimbleball today, these rainbows coupled with wild browns were eager to take our offerings, fish were moving close to the bank just as the clean was meeting coloured water disturbed by the gale force wind!”

I visited the lake back in March and hope to return once more before the close of the season on October 31st. Late in the season trout often feed on fry so lures can once again prove effective as can daddy long leg patterns and nymphs.

http://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/2018/03/25/new-start-wimbleball/

For all fishing information please call Mark on 07758561412
Facebook: Wimbleball Fly Fishery
Email: Wimbleballflyfishery@aol.co.uk

Autumn Trout at Blakewell

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As the river season closes its time to start thinking of Stllwater trout to keep in practice.

Its been a challenging summer for still water trout fishery’s and fish farming with high water temperatures and prolific weed growth causing many problems. At Blakewell the Nickel’s have as always endeavored to keep the fishery ticking over offering anglers a special ticket option of an open ticket entitling the angler to keep visiting as many times as they like until their bag limit has been completed. This offer continues until the end of October when normal operation resumes.

Early in October a specialist weed cutting company will be visiting the fishery to eradicate the problematic weed in preparation for the winter season when trout fishing is at its best.

The imminent closure of the Barnstaple to Muddiford Road is no obstacle to visiting Blakewell as a short diversion around Shirwell will only delay arrival by ten minutes.

The lake at present at the end of September has weed covering 50% of the lake but as you can see from these pictures I took today large areas are weed free allowing plenty of water to cast a fly. At this time of year a bushy daddy long legs imitation  will produce exciting takes on most days. A muddler minnow stripped across the surface could also work well as will all the normal buzzers and nymphs. Plenty of trout were showing as I walked around the lake with anglers telling of of browns to over six pounds in recent weeks. If your on holiday and have no tackle with you this is no obstacle to enjoying a day fishing as top quality Snowbee Fly Fishing tackle is available to hire.

Fun fishing is also available for children with a heavily stocked trout pond where children can catch the families supper.

The cafe offers a delightful place to call in for a coffee or cream tea with a tasty looking array of hot for to choose from. On a sunny day sit beside the stock ponds or on  cold day sit beside the wood-burner!