I take a look back at images from the previous month and make a few notes about fishing adventures I have enjoyed.
A great first day of February at Bulldog with a bag of trout topped off by a beast of a brown trout scaling 13lb 7oz. The biggest from the fishery for a while.
Nights on the rocky shoreline with Kevin are always an adventure…I. might be getting a bit old for this but while I still can I do…
Kevin with 17lb eel. He surpassed this a few weeks later with a CMSAC record eel of 37lb 14oz. ( Below)
Mullet fishing is an all year round game these days.
The South West Fly Fair gets us Fly Fishers thinking of the coming season..
Great to be back at Wimbleball high on Exmoor
A night on the shoreline with Kevin who gets an early smoothound; there here all year round it seems!
Always good to get the target species… an 8lb plus huss
The Arundell for an excellent talk by author John Bailey fishing consultant for the Mortimer and Whitehouse Gone Fishing Programme
The River Lyd running high as a new season approaches.
Combe Martin SAC held their Spring Rover during the first full weekend of March with the clubs keen mullet fishers gathering at Lynmouth Harbour to fish morning tides on the Saturday and Sunday. Conditions seemed perfect with a light Southerly breeze and mist draped over the coastal cliffs. Every tide is certainly different as regards the fishing as proved the case. A big swell was pushing into the shoreline each day with a few surfers riding the clean breaks.
Saturday saw small mullet in abundance with just one good sized mullet caught by John Avery and numerous very small mullet several of just a few ounces. These small mullet rattled my rod tips throughout whittling the bread off the hooks in minutes.
Sundays tide saw an abundance of specimen sized mullet milling around in the clear water. The majority seemed totally uninterested in feeding but two good fish succumbed including a superb specimen of 5lb 2.5oz to the rod of dedicated mullet angler John Shapland. John has caught a mullet every month since March 2021 a total of 61 months which is certainly an achievement and testimony to both his efforts and the changing climate.
Club Secretary Nick Phillips was also delighted to tempt a good fish of 3lb 10oz.
Team work
John Avery added a second mullet of 2lb 7oz to his weekend total. Interestingly all three successful club members only had the one bite.
Members retired to the Pavilion Cafe for a full English with tea and coffee and vowed to do it all again before too long.
The Arundell Arms is a 300 year old Coaching Inn set in West Devon that is at the heart of the West Country Fly Fishing Scene. The Arundell has a rich fishing history and has hosted many influential anglers and gifted literary scholars during its history as one of England’s precious country hotels.
On the evening of February 28th Pauline and I joined with friends to listen to a talk by the well known angling author John Bailey who is also the lead angling consultant in the popular BBC Two series, Mortimer & Whitehouse : Gone Fishing.
I have many of John Baileys angling books and my favourite is ‘Travels with a Two Piece’ published in 1985. The book takes the reader on a journey around the UK with John and his trusty vintage split cane fly rod. Within the pages of this delightful book are stories of fishing in the West Country with particular relevance to the Tamar and its tributaries. The magic of night fishing for the wily sea trout of the Lyd are encapsulated in this pleasing prose from the book. “ The pool lies under the gloom and disorder of Gathered Wood. There is a silence there, enough to hear the small brown trout moving on the shallows, so silent you fancy you hear the moon above slowly spin in the sky, the owl float in the air or the mists actually rise from the meadow dips. There is a magic in the very earth this night.”
In the forty odd years since these words were written much has changed in this world and yet the rivers still flow and anglers still fish these waters hoping to connect with the wild fish that swim within.
In 2025 John revisited these waters as part of the Gone Fishing Team and his talk described in detail the processes involved in the production of this highly popular program its vital human element and the dynamics between its three main characters, Bob, Paul and Ted the dog. The entertaining and informative talk was delivered with a liberal sprinkling of humour. The genuine warmth and honesty of the show emphasised throughout.
There are many who watch Gone Fishing who are not anglers and yet they are entranced by the adventures of Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse as they cast their lines into waters across the UK and beyond. The program focuses on wild fish from wild waters a factor that is undoubtedly a reflection of John’s passion for such waters.
I expressed to John my belief that one aspect that makes the show so popular is that it relays the joys of companionship at the water’s edge and doesn’t actually take the fishing too seriously. For whilst John is a dedicated angler like myself many non- anglers would fail to grasp the depth and passion involved.
Wild rivers their value and the value of wild fish was discussed in depth along with the complex links between angling the community and the environment.
The impact of a changing society upon angling for young people was debated at length. I’m sure that many in the audience related to a time when children would fish alone and learn for themselves. Both John and myself could relate to a childhood spent at the water’s edge wandering free without fear in what is now a distant age. Few of today’s youth are likely to enjoy such freedoms.
Daffodills beside the wild waters of the LydA place to rest and watch the waters flow
The Arundell is a special place steeped in history and a tranquil oasis from the troubled world in which we live. After a delicious meal my wife and I retreated to the reading room its shelves abounding with angling and countryside titles in keeping with the hotels essence. There have undoubtedly been many interesting conversations within the timeless comfort of this room.
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I guess that is to some extent what raises the excitement level when returning to a favourite venue after a few months absence. Wimbleball Reservoir nestling in Exmoor’s rolling countryside is a special fishery that has been rejuvenated over the past decade under the management of Mark and Trudi Underhill. It’s hard fighting rainbow trout provide exciting fishing set in a lake that gives pleasing the illusion of wild fishing.
(Above) October 2025
The last time I had visited the lake was back in October when the water level was alarmingly low at around 25% and the boat jetty was a good walk from the water’s edge.
( Above)February 2026
On the second day of the season on February 27th we found the lake brim full after a very prolonged spell of wet weather that was in truth what was needed to replenish the lakes and rivers across the country.
Reports from opening day were encouraging with a good number of big trout banked and plenty of good catches. Top fish being a stunning double figure rainbow for Roger Truscott who had travelled up from Cornwall.
After negotiating Exmoor’s water logged roads I arrived shortly after 8.00am to find Bruce all tackled up and ready to go at the boat departure area. Several other anglers were already eagerly waiting to launch as fishery staff bailed out the boats and fine-tuned the outboards.
The top end of the lake has a good track record early season so we set off to Rugg’s and Bessom’s to try our luck. And so the search began with Bruce and I casting our choice of lures on sinking and intermediate lines. I was expectant from the off and fished a black lure and cormorant slowly with occasional twitches to impart life.
( Above) My normal early season go to flies.
After an hour without so much as a pull the reality that its not always easy started to dawn. But with the misty rain easing and occasional glimpses of brightness in the sky all was good and as the sweet melody of a wren’s song drifted from the marginal tree’s I just relished the moment.
A bank angler in action. Early season bank anglers often catch as much or more than boat fishers.
It’s always wise to keep a close eye on other anglers to determine if they are catching noting where and with what tactics. Constantly moving boats tends to indicate a lack of action whilst clusters of boats is often an indication of shoaling fish.
Whilst it is improper to crowd in too close its also wise to sidle a little closer as Fly fishers are generally a friendly bunch willing to share info and help each other. It’s not a competition after all and guys just wanna have fun.
After trying several areas Bruce and I had not had so much as a pull and by midday my confidence was just starting to ebb a little. Early season experience told me that a black fly fished on either an Intermediate or sinking line would work. However watching the anglers fishing other boats it appeared that they were catching on floating lines with a slow retrieve.
Our Friend Jeff appeared close to our boat and after a cheery greeting asked how we were doing. As I relayed our lack of success the line ripped tight and I was into a hard fighting rainbow that nailed the black lure with startling savagery.
My friend fishing on a nearby boat spoke of floating lines, long leaders black lures and cormorants. Encouraged that my fly choice was good I swapped my new Snowbee Intermediate for a Floater. I tied a Montana to the point and put a dial-bach and a cormorant on the droppers. Bruce meanwhile also changed to a floating line and tied on a bund drifting a team of nymphs as he enjoyed lunch.
Over the following three hours we enjoyed consistent action fishing teams of nymphs slowly. This was delightful fishing as a gentle breeze rippled the water and late winter sunshine illuminated the lake and leafless trees.
Birdsong filled the air and I watched a pair of grebes practicing their Spring courtship routine. It seemed that Winter was losing Its grip as the day drifted along on calm waters.
With an hours fishing left and sport slowing we decided to have an hour in the boat bay before leaving. Other anglers had also had the same idea and several boats fished as a heavy squall swept across the lake.
Heavy rain beat down but failed to dampen our enthusiasm. As the rain passed by sunshine broke through and a rainbow appeared adding vivid colours to the fading day.
We banked the boat and compared notes with fellow anglers. It seemed that all had enjoyed success with floating lines and small dark flies most effective. Bruce and I had boated nine good rainbows averaging 2lb to 3lb. Other anglers had faired equally well with one angler reporting eleven trout to the net along with tales of bigger fish coming adrift.
It was good to be back and I look forward to my next trip on this wonderful lake.
Angling clubs traditionally hold their AGM’s at the start or end of the season and these events are an important social gathering for the membership. The meeting is a reset point for the club enabling members to guide the committee as to the direction the club should follow and an opportunity for the committee to engage with members.
I attended two AGM’s in the past week the first was that of South Molton & District Angling Club on February 10th and the second was Dulverton Anglers Association on February 12th.
South Molton & District Angling Club’s 57th AGM was held at South Molton’s Masonic Lodge. Close to thirty members attended and it was very much business as usual as club Chairman Ed Rands addressed the members and introduced the committee officers as they delivered their reports.
Before the formal meeting commenced Daniel Skeat’s and Karen Saunders of the West Country Rivers Trust gave an informative presentation outlying the valuable work undertaken across the region via the Teign and Taw Fisheries plan. The funding for much of this work is from the governments Water Restoration Fund.
Karen and Daniel gave an outline on work with the farming community to effectively manage maize crops to reduce soil run off that is causing serious issues for salmonids spawning sites.
Electro fishing results across the Taw catchment gave some room for optimism with fry counts encouraging across some sites.
The Taw shad eDNA survey results were inconclusive with only a tiny percentage of samples giving a positive indication of the presence of shad. It is known from anglers catches and observations that both twaite and allis shad are migrating into the River Taw and as this is an annual event spawning is probably taking place though there is not yet conclusive evidence.
The West Country Rivers Trust are working closely with the North Devon Biosphere , National Trust and other organisations to improve river and wetland habitat.
The club continues to thrive in an everchanging world with members enjoying excellent wild brown trout fishing on the River Bray. The long dry summer impacted upon fishing during the latter part of the season though a few migratory fish were contacted during the final days as rivers responded to rain.
The Dulverton Anglers Association AGM was held at the Anchor Inn, Exebridge, on Thursday, February 12th. The venue meeting room was packed with close to fifty members keen to support the club and hear a talk from Pete Tyjas the new editor of Trout and Salmon Magazine.
The hard working committee briefed the members on a successful year with the club in excellent financial health. The club now has close to 300 members who enjoy access to fishing on nine beats of the Upper Exe, Barle and Haddeo.
Habitat improvement was high on the agenda and it was clear that there is a dedicated team who carry out regular work across the associations waters.
Devon based Pete Tyjas was given a warm welcome and delivered an inspiring, entertaining and informative talk on West Country Fly Fishing, his life and Trout and Salmon Magazine.
The future of Fly Fishing and the direction of Trout and Salmon was high on the agenda with social media and AI constantly influencing society and readers habits. Pete oozes passion and optimism for the future believing that there could be a shift back towards traditional print media as what is seen online becomes increasingly false.
Angling can by its nature be a fundamentally solitary pursuit and yet its community is vital for it to thrive. Fly fishing like all disciplines of angling continues to evolve as long established traditions are challenged. Club meetings, talks, shows and tackle shops are at the heart of angling and fresh ideas are essential for the pastimes future.
The West Country Fly Fair is being held at Roadford Lake this Sunday and is always an enjoyble curtain raiser to the Spring and Summer Fly fishing season.
Dale Kiff won Bideford Angling Clubs 48hour Rover with a Bass of 5lb 10oz.
We’ve been working hard behind the scenes to make this happen, and we’re finally ready to share the news…
Bude Bait & Tackle is coming!
With the recent closure of the tackle shop in Bude, we didn’t want to see local anglers left without easy access to bait and tackle. After a lot of effort and planning, we’re excited to announce that we’ll be opening Bude Bait & Tackle in the coming months.
For our juniors and local anglers in Barnstaple, Chris will be staying in Barnstaple, and we’ll be making another exciting announcement later this week introducing the manager of our new Bude store.
We’re aiming to open in April, so please follow our page for updates and progress as we get closer to opening day.
Your support means everything to us — likes, shares, and comments are hugely appreciated, so please help spread the word!
We are very pleased to announce the first Hanak Workshop of 2026 calendar.
This workshop will be running as one of the main events at ‘The Westcountry trout festival’ hosted by the famous, Arundell Arms Hotel in the south west of England. With an aim to get everyoybody underway and kickstart their 2026 trout season.
Saturday 14th March
Location – The Arundell Arms, Lifton (South Devon)
Time – doors open from 9:00am and will go on late into the afternoon.
As well as demonstrations from the team, down by the riverside and Lifton Lake by:
This will be the first time we have so many of our team all in one place.
There will also be casting demonstrations given by, non other than fly fishing legend Charles Jardine.
Fly tying demonstrations and workshops with @Nigel Nunn & Jeff Pearce
Plus a series of presentations from:
Sean Leonard, President of the Wild Trout Trust, will discuss the incredible work the Trust carries out and explore modern fishery management approaches required to support wild fish.
-Jeff Pearce of the South West Rivers Association will talk about the expansive strategies currently being developed by SWRA, including their Sea Trout and Salmon Action Plan and Smolt to Adult Augmentation initiatives.
–Dominic Garnett will speak about fly fishing for coarse species and trout fishing on urban streams.
-Nigel Nunn will discuss his renowned fly patterns and delve into the reasoning behind their design.
-Charles Jardine will talk about the inspiring work he is currently involved in, including Fishing for Schools.
-David Pilkington will discuss the history of The Arundell and will read an extract from his highly anticipated fly fishing book.
But it doesn’t end there.
There will be a series of big name brands and shops on site displaying all the new range of 2026 and selling fly fishing products, such as:
Unique flies – displaying an incredible range of barbless flies both lake & river. Along with A big range of the Hanak product line including three quarters of the entire graphene rod range from Hanak. With the complete new lineup of Hanak rods launched for 2026
This will be an opportunity for please to get their hands on pretty JsPatch FlyFishing to pick up and have a cast in our dedicated cast area
JsPatch FlyFishing – offering and displaying some of the finest had crafted most well thought out Fly Fishing products on the market
For those interested, please get in contact with James Christoforou at the Arundell Arms to book your place on 01566 784666
This will be one of the biggest events in the Southwest celebrating all things Fly Fishing and the beginning of what we hope will be an incredible season.
Angling clubs traditionally hold their AGM’s at the start or end of a season and these events are an important social gathering for the membership. The meeting is a reset point for the club enabling members to guide the committee as to the direction the club should follow and an opportunity for the committee to engage with members.
I attended two AGM’s in the past week the first was that of South Molton & District Angling Club on February 10th and the second was Dulverton Anglers Association on February 12th. Both events were well attended and reflected anglers vital links to conservation of river habitats.
South Molton AGM
This was the clubs 57th AGM and was held at South Molton’s Masonic Hall. Close to thirty members attended and it was very much business as usual as club Chairman Ed Rands addressed the members and introduced the committee officers as they delivered their reports.
Before the formal meeting commenced Daniel Skeat’s and Karen Saunders of the West Country Rivers Trust gave an informative presentation outlying the valuable work undertaken across the region via the Teign and Taw Fisheries plan. The funding for much of this work is from the governments Water Restoration Fund.
Karen and Daniel gave an outline on work with the farming community to effectively manage maize crops to reduce soil run off that is causing serious issues for salmonids spawning sites.
Electro fishing results across the Taw catchment gave some room for optimism with fry counts encouraging across some sites.
The Taw shad eDNA survey results were inconclusive with only a tiny percentage of samples giving a positive indication of the presence of shad. It is known from anglers catches and observations that both twaite and allis shad are migrating into the River Taw and as this is an annual event spawning is probably taking place though there is not yet conclusive evidence.
Edward Rands taking eDNA samples from the River Taw
The West Country Rivers Trust are working closely with the North Devon Biosphere , National Trust and other organisations to improve river and wetland habitat.
The club continues to thrive in an everchanging world with members enjoying excellent wild brown trout fishing on the River Bray. The long dry summer impacted upon fishing during the latter part of the season though a few migratory fish were contacted during the final days as rivers responded to rain.
The River Bray
The clubs boat trips proved generally productive and enjoyable and more are planned for the coming season.
Trophies were awarded to Jim Ricketts for the best specimen fish with a black bream of 3lb. The Mac Trophy for the biggest Trout was won by Ed Rands with a brown trout of 4lb 8oz and the Hancocks Bass Trophy by myself with a bass of 7lb. The biggest fish trophy was awarded to Ed Rands for a tope of 25lb.
The Dulverton Anglers Association AGM was held at the Anchor Inn, Exebridge, on Thursday, February 12th. The venue meeting room was packed with close to fifty members keen to support the club and hear the talk by Pete Tyjas the new editor of Trout and Salmon Magazine.
The hard working committee briefed the members on a successful year with the club in excellent financial health. The club now has close to 300 members who enjoy access to fishing on nine beats of the Upper Exe, Barle and Haddeo.
Old Woman’s Pool
Habitat improvement was high on the agenda and it was clear that there is a dedicated team who carry out regular work across the associations waters.
Pete Tyjas was given a warm welcome and delivered an inspiring, entertaining and informative talk on West Country Fly Fishing, his life and Trout and Salmon Magazine. Pete was the owner of Fly Culture Magazine for seven years and had built a sound following via this high quality quarterly magazine. He was recently given the opportunity to take on the role of Trout and Salmon Magazine editor. It was too good an opportunity to miss and Pete seized the chance to impart his own style to this long standing publication.
Pete told how he moved to the West Country in 1999 inspired by the writings of John Gierach and Mike Weavers excellent book The Pursuit of Wild Trout. Pete spent several years as a fishing guide & Instructor at the Fox and Hounds Country Hotel. The hotel has a long history as a fishing hotel with waters on the River Taw a river that Pete calls his home river.
Pete gave numerous valuable tips on fly presentation and how to approach the river. He conveyed a deep love for fly fishing, trout and the rivers in which they live. Through Fly Culture a thriving community has been forged that Pete will undoubtedly continue to build upon via Trout and Salmon Magazine.
The future of Fly Fishing and the direction of Trout and Salmon was high on the agenda with social media and AI constantly influencing society and readers habits. Pete oozes passion and optimism for the future believing that there could be a shift back towards traditional print media as what is seen online becomes increasingly false.
The price of Trout and Salmon is now less than a pint of beer and offers entertainment and inspiration from both new and established writers fishing a wide variety of venues. Pete is keen to connect with all fly anglers ensuring that those venues fished by the majority of anglers feature alongside those prestigious rivers like the Tay, Tweed, Test and Spey.
A WEEKEND DEDICATED TO FLY ANGLERS
Trout & Salmon Gathering
CALL 01769 580345 TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE
We’ve blocked off our entire country hotel in Devon exclusively for a special weekend, 27-29 March 2026, to welcome in the new fly fishing season. Presented by Pete Tyjas and Trout & Salmon Magazine, the weekend will feature an exciting line-up of speakers, with exhibitors and demonstrations throughout the weekend. It’s an opportunity to get together with fly fishing enthusiasts and experts from across the country for a relaxed weekend of all things fly fishing.
We’ve blocked off our entire country hotel in Devon exclusively for a special weekend, 27-29 March 2026, to welcome in the new fly fishing season. Presented by Pete Tyjas and Trout & Salmon Magazine, the weekend will feature an exciting line-up of speakers, with exhibitors and demonstrations throughout the weekend. It’s an opportunity to get together with fly fishing enthusiasts and experts from across the country for a relaxed weekend of all things fly fishing.
