2 Oct 2025

Hints of Gold and Autumn hues as the Salmon and Trout season ends with a flourish

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The salmon and trout fishing season on North Devon’s rivers has closed with a flourish as September rains have rejuvenated the rivers to bring a very welcome flush of cleaner oxygenated water. Since late Spring the rivers have languished with low levels and high temperatures resulting in fishing being suspended for an unprecedented number of weeks.

            September rod catches for salmon and sea trout on both the Taw and Torridge undoubtedly make up a significant percentage of the years total with an estimated thirty to forty salmon caught on both rivers throughout the month. This has been great news and a positive end to the season.

            Ian Blewett secretary of the River Taw Fisheries and Conservation Association closed his season in style tempting four salmon from the Taw during the final days of the season.

The historic Little Warham Fishery is changing hands after close to ten years in the custodianship of Anthony Wilmington and Amanda Milner. Anthony and his family are moving to a new location in the Torridge Valley where their deep roots with the river and its fish will continue. In a fitting close to an era Anthony tempted the biggest salmon from the Torridge this year estimated at over 20lb his second fish in a week as the river fined down following the big spate. Tony Bennett and James Crawford also enjoyed success during closing week of the season at Little Warham.

Amanda sent me this lovely account of the final day at Little Warham :-

The fishing was excellent and everyone enjoyed themselves. Lunchtime at the hut was full of reminiscing, and little Brook (now seven!) closed our time at Little Warham with the very last cast of the day.

As you can imagine, it was quite emotional for us both, reflecting on everything we’ve experienced here. From arriving to a house untouched for 50 years, to developing the holiday lets, to all the riverbank conservation and restoration Anthony has carried out — it’s been quite a journey. The fishing has been the icing on the cake, along with the lifelong friends we’ve made. All of this has deepened our connection to North Devon and to the Torridge.

What means the most to us is knowing we leave behind a lasting legacy at Little Warham — not only through the restored banks and healthier waters, but also in the spirit of community and friendship that has grown here. It feels good to know that the work and care invested will continue to benefit others long after our chapter closes.

Our next venture will carry those roots forward. We’ll continue offering holiday lets, while Anthony expands his passion for guiding and tuition on both the Taw and the Torridge — opening the sport up to less able anglers as well. He’ll also be available for consultancy and support to riparian owners, drawing on his hands-on experience with the riverbank restoration and specialist tree operations. And of course, we’ll remain active in campaigning against river pollution, with the support of Fish Legal.

I said to Anthony that he couldn’t have wished for a better fish to mark his last week here — the biggest of the season on the Torridge. Really, you couldn’t ask for more.

Below is a link to my report on visiting Little Warham in 2027.

LITTLE WARHAM FISHERY

Seth Tuson tempted a fine sea trout from a beat lower down the Torridge.

My own river season ended with two sessions in the closing week. The first to a Middle River Torridge beat that I have fished regularly over the past fifteen or so years. The conditions appeared to be perfect with the river carrying a healthy tinge of colour as it fined down following the long awaited spate. It was a delight to drift the fly across familiar lies and I expected a pull at any moment. It wasn’t to be however and I couldn’t help but reflect upon previous September days when I had caught salmon and seen plenty of fish showing. It seems that salmon fishing these days is very much like the National Lottery. You have to buy a ticket to have a chance but winning is so often just a dream.

I closed the season searching the Upper reaches of a Taw tributary where I found feisty wild brown trout with flanks of bronze and olive hues decorated with crimson spots. These jewelled delights have been at my lines end since I was a child and still bring that same sense of joy.

27 Sep 2025

Looe Basher 25

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My sea angling journey started many years ago fishing from the Banjo Pier in Looe, South Cornwall  so each year when we return to join what has become known as the Looe Basher group many memories are rekindled. I was booked onto the Reef Fishing trip on the Friday of the week which turned out to be a lucky break as two days of the six booked for the group ended up being cancelled due to inclement weather.

The Looe Basher is organised with military precision by Lee Armishaw of Watersmeet Publications who navigates many hurdles to put together this highly enjoyable convergance of friends each Autumn.

Lee Armishaw

I joined six other anglers on Dan Margetts, Sowenna and we sailed out of Looe on a grey morning eager to connect with the many species that dwell on the offshore reefs. The previous days highlight had been the sighting of a fin whale breaching close to the boat.

I hope to cover the trip in a future Sea Angler Feature so will not go into too much detail. But the trip resulted in some stunning fish that brought much colour to the grey Autumn day. Two of us boated nine species each on the day with a total of at least a dozen species to the boat including three comber.

The week concluded with a gathering and a delicious meal in the Golden Guinea where the annual ‘Evans Top Rod award’ was presented to Dickie Howell who landed ten species in a single session and assisted Dan Margetts with crewing.  ‘The Evans Top Rod engraved Tankard is presented in fond memory of Peter Evans who was a regular attendee of the Looe Basher. He brought a warm presence, optimism and humour to the event and is greatly missed following his passing earlier this year.

Jack Perks was also congratulated in catching a comber to bring his tally of Uk species to 100!

 

12 Sep 2025

WEEKLY ANGLING REPORT – September 14th -2025

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BIDEFORD SECURE IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER PLYMOUTH

                        Bideford & District Angling Club secured an impressive victory against Plymouth and District Angling Club at Bake Lakes. Bideford totalled weight was 147lb 6oz with Plymouth only managing 35lb 14oz. The individual winner on the day was Bideford’s Craig Lamey.  The combined weight totals after the two legs were Bideford 447lb15oz to Plymouth’s 150lb 12oz.

42lb carp – Stafford Moor

            Scott Cowling banked a fine mirror carp of 42lb whilst fishing Stafford Moor’s Lodge Lake. The venue also produced eight fish for Rob Gibbon and his friends the biggest 36lb.

Smoothound Dominate

            Smoothound dominated Bideford Angling Clubs monthly sea rover with Stephen Found landing a fine specimen of 14lb 10oz. Andrew Clements was runner up with a thornback ray of 9lb 2oz. Dale Kiff and Jenson Kiff took the remaining places with smoothound scaling 9lb 11oz, 9lb 9oz, 8lb 1oz and 7lb 4oz.

Bass Wins Appledore Rover

            Michael Hammett took top spot in Appledore Shipbuilders rover with a bass of 4lb 5oz.

Triggerfish wins CMSAC Competition

            Kevin Legge won Combe Martin SAC’s rover with a specimen triggerfish scaling 3lb 15oz. I took second and third place with thick lipped grey mullet of 4lb 14oz and 4lb 1oz.

Trevor Telling Memorial 2025

            The Annual Trevor Telling Memorial Competition at Wimbleball was won by Colin Combe who boated five trout for a total weight of 12lb 8.5oz. The bank trophy was won by Roger Truscott who banked three trout for 5lb 12oz. The prizes were presented by well- known and respected fly fishing writer and instructor Peter Cockwill. All monies raised go to the Exeter Hospice Care Team.

            As water levels at local reservoirs recover and water temperatures drop trout sport is expected to improve with late September and October often providing some of the seasons best sport.

RAIN BRINGS HOPE OF SILVER

            Heavy rain showers have brought hope that salmon will move into North Devon’s rivers bring a late flourish to what has been a poor season with drought conditions dominating throughout the summer.

FLOUNDER FISHING SEASON

            Late September is the traditional start of the flounder fishing season and competitions are already planned for the coming months. The Barnstaple Bait & Tackle Dan Miles Memorial Open Competition is on Sunday November 30th and is proving a popular event with over 100 entrants in last year’s event. All proceeds go to Children’s Hospice South West Little Bridge House, Fremington.

9 Sep 2025

TREVOR TELLING MEMORIAL COMPETITION REPORT 2025

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Six boats went out and 2 anglers fished from the bank. The day started out wet and was held up by an overhead thunder storm with lots of lightening, and no one fancied being fried by wagling a carbon conductor round 🤣🤣. The morning was slow to get going, the fish weren’t sure what the atmospheric pressure was doing. Gusty winds made casting from the boats or bank a challenge but everyone persisted and some were well rewarded. 5 fishermen were actually in their own competition and represented the Wistland Pound fly fishing club. Some entered the TT Memorial match and Colin Combe won boat trophy and a BTL of Jamieson’s whiskey with a total of 5 fish weighing a very respectable 12 lbs 81/2 Oz. His best three for our match came in at 8 lbs 12oz, well done to Colin and the other guys from their club.

The bank fishing was tough due to the low water, steep banks and the prevailing wind. However Andrew Hull ( last years winner) managed to land a lovely 2 lb 10oz beauty whilst Roger Truscott managed to land 3 fish with a total weight of 5lbs 11 Oz. Roger took the bank Trophy and a BTL of Jamieson’s Whiskey. The well known Fly fishing instructor and writer Peter Cockwill who knew Trevor well heard about the competition and asked to come along and regal his stories of teaching Trevor the finer arts of fly fishing when Peter managed the fishing lakes at Wintershall estate in Surrey and Trevor managed the farm, thankyou Peter, a great story and also for donating 2 of his books to 2 very lucky people. One was awarded to Richard Smith for catching his first ever Trout on the fly ( in fact he landed 2 and lost one at the net) and one was also given to Arthur, Trevor’s grandson who one day may even be as good a fisherman as Trevor and keep the spirit and practice of fly fishing in future generations. A total of 26 fish were caught with a total weight of 56 lbs for the day a great effort by everyone. Thanks go to Andrew Sheen, Chris Davis, Richard Smith, Colin Combe, André Muxworthy, Nigel Bird, Dave Mock, Roger Prout. Roger Truscott and Andrew Hull. All great fishermen and regulars of Wimbleball . Special thanks go to Mark Underhill for hosting the competition at his fishery, Karen Telling for closing the match Daughter Charlotte with young Arthur and hubby Mattius ( you never know, we may have a ladies competition next year) for supporting and cheering everyone on. All monies raised will go to the Exeter Hospice care team to help them continue to support sufferers and families thru very difficult times. Looking forward to next year’s match already and working with Jeff Pearce to ensure that even more people come along and enjoy the day. Alan Cross

Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club – Competition Result

1st – Colin Combe 12lbs 8.5 oz

2nd – Dave Eldrid 12lbs 5 oz

3rd -Nigel Bird 7lbs 10oz

4th -Andre Muxworthy 7lbs 8oz

5th -Dave Mock 5lbs 4oz

8 Sep 2025

PROTECTING OUR SALMON – Dates for your diary

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https://www.exmoorsociety.com/individual-event/protecting-our-salmon-history-threats-and-their-future-on-exmoor

The iconic salmon have migrated up through Exmoor’s Rivers for thousands of years yet their extinction could be imminent if we do not focus our efforts on saving these beautiful enigmatic fish. It would be tragic to walk beside these waters without the chance to glimpse a salmon.

THE 2025 Salmon Run with the Westcountry Rivers Trust also highlights the plight of salmon see below for details.

Salmon Run 2025

 

2 Sep 2025

NORTH DEVON RIVERS TO FEATURE ON BBC COUNTRYFILE

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This Sunday’s forthcoming BBC Countryfile episode features North Devon’s Taw and Torridge the two major rivers that feature in Henry Williamson’s classic tomes, ‘Tarka The Otter’ , ‘Salar the Salmon’ and A Clear Water Stream. The program features interviews with prominent local anglers reflecting upon angling history, the iconic salmon and the efforts to ensure the future of these marvellous fish.

The ever cheerful Charles Inniss at the Half Moon with my wife Pauline.

To continue reading article from TACA click below :-

https://www.thetaca.com/news/a-century-of-tarka-heritage-rivers-amp-hope-for-the-future?ss_source=sscampaigns&ss_campaign_id=68b5762c7abfb569022f0cb1&ss_email_id=68b6a40caeb48f50a6e335d2&ss_campaign_name=A+Century+of+Tarka%3A+Heritage+%26+Hope+for+the+Future&ss_campaign_sent_date=2025-09-02T08%3A00%3A26Z

Charle Inniss returns a fine fresh salmon to the Torridge

 

31 Aug 2025

Combe Martin SAC Fun Fish 2025

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Hard to believe that another Combe Martin SAC Fun Fish has come and gone signalling the end of the Summer season in conjunction with the annual Sea-Ilfracombe Festival.

This popular event is very much what it says on the tin so to speak; a fun fishing event with few rules and the focus very much on family fun. Once again a big thank you from Combe Martin SAC for generous sponsorship from High Street Tackle, Ilfracombe Aquarium and Barnstaple Bait and Tackle.

This year’s event saw over twenty taking part with several young anglers catching or seeing their very first fish. The move to use lighter tackle and small barbless hooks has certainly boosted the catch rate ensuring that plenty of fish were tempted.

Nine species were caught including pollock, conger, blenny, red bream, tompot blenny, smelt, ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse and poor cod. A good number of red sea bream were donated to Ilfracombe aquarium where they can be seen along with other fish caught on previous fun fishing events over recent years.

The Welch Family won a trip to Ilfracombe Aquarium that they kindly donated to runner up family Jesubaul and Becky Mringer. The longest fish was a 54cm conger caught by Louie Cameron and the heaviest a ballan wrasse of 1lb 1oz to the rod of Daniel Welch. The top individual points scorer was Ben Clarke with 25 points and Jesubaul runner up with 24 points.

Daniel Welch with the heaviest fish a ballan wrasse of 1lb 1oz
The Cameron Family with Archie (right) holding his brothers conger

The event cast off at 2.30pm as a strong swell surged close to the pier landings and a heavy shower threatened to dampen the spirits.

Fortunately the storm clouds soon drifted past and a vivid rainbow appeared off Hillsborough as bright blue skies brightened the rest of the afternoon.

Fish were caught from the start despite the murky water stirred up by heavy swells throughout the previous week. Four or five lobster were caught which is far more than any previous Fun fish. Another interesting feature was the large number of small red bream caught throughout the two hour long event.

Apologies if I have spelt any names wrong, a strong breeze, aging ears and a rain smeared score sheet undoubtedly contribute to any errors. Everyone who registered a fish took home a prize from our sponsors and in my view everyone who took part was a winner. I hope that those smiles convert just a few to enjoy the marvellous pastime that can forge a deep and lasting connection with the natural world.

28 Aug 2025

WEEKLY ANGLING REPORT – August 28th 2025

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            Members of Combe Martin SAC spent a day off Ilfracombe fishing on Daniel Welch’s boat Predator 2. Whilst the hoped for tope failed to show members found ten different species fishing on the seabed as cloudy water hampered lure fishing. The species caught included mackerel, scad, black bream, bull huss, smoothound, gurnard, conger, pollock, bass and dogfish.

             Combe Martin SAC host their annual fun fishing event this Sunday on Ilfracombe Pier with fishing starting at 2.30pm and ending at 4.30pm. This easy going event has been running for several years in conjunction with the Sea-Ilfracombe Festival. All young anglers should be accompanied by a responsible adult. The club would like to thank the ongoing support of High Street Tackle, Barnstaple Bait and Tackle and Ilfracombe Aquarium. Prizes are awarded for anglers under 16 who catch the most species and longest fish. The heaviest fish caught by and the top family points total.

 

            Late summer and early Autumn offer a wide range of species to target in saltwater as the seasons transition. All tactics can work at this time of year with both bait and lure tactics proving effective dependant on the prevailing conditions. An increasing number of anglers are now compiling records of the fish species they catch. A branch of angling I would compare to keen birdwatchers often referred to as twitchers. This can become very addictive with anglers traveling long distances and adapting tackle to target species not caught on standard sea tackle. Some mini sea species are caught using tiny hooks and gossamer thin lines paired with miniature rods. I recently bought Jack Perks excellent book “Field Guide to British Fish- Freshwater and Marine”. The book contains information and quality photo’s of 200 species found in UK waters. It has a useful tick list in the back of the book to record your own tally of species.

The book is a perfect companion to Alwynne Wheeler’s Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe that was first published in 1978. It is fascinating to compare the two books that illustrate the significant changes that are happening in both marine and freshwater eco systems.

            Ben Evenden won Stafford Moor’s Sunday Open with 197lb 9oz.

            Stafford Moor’s Carp Lakes are in fine form with plenty of multiple hauls. Dan Hoskin and his son fished Beattie’s Lake to bank sixteen carp twelve of which were over twenty pounds with the best a fine fish of 28lb. Martin Burton banked four carp to 32lb and Owen Thrumble banked forty carp over five days to 30lb 5oz.

24 Aug 2025

Combe Martin SAC – Predator 2 Boat Trip

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Combe Martin SAC’s Boat trip on Predator 2 was a trip we had been anticipating eagerly and with a fine day forecast optimism was high as we set out of Ilfracombe harbour on a calm morning.

As expected Skipper Dan Welch had a plan and it was to be a down channel day. Buoyed by stories of bass and tope we bounced over the calm waters and were overtaken by ever speedy Dan Hawkins on Reel Deal who was destined for the reefs of the North Cornish coast.

First stop was the turbulent tide race off Morte Point where bass and wrasse were targeted with lures. The water clarity was disappointing and after a short drift it was decided to head to mixed ground a short distance off the headland and drop the anchor. I opted to fish my light rod with a two hook paternoster baited with small strips of squid on size 4 Sakumu Chinu hooks. The rod tip was soon rattling as scad hit the baits, these were kept fresh as they would surely prove good baits for tope later in the day.

A steady trickle of species were caught including a bass, red gurnard, pollock, smoothound, dogfish, small conger and scad. As the tide eased Dan suggested we move out into deeper water with more tide flow.

 

“Peter the conger charmer”

This was big bait territory and large fish baits were sent to rest on the sea bed. Peter Robinson proved to be the conger charmer tempting a good fish of around 20lb along with others throughout the day. A few bull huss seized our baits and bent the rods. The tope proved elusive and we moved again further out to an area that had been producing some good tope in recent weeks.

The water was very murky and Dan thought this was the result of algae blooms and the dead algae being stirred up by the big tides. Bideford Bay had been alive with bait fish, bass, dolphins and birds a few days before this trip. It seemed devoid of life today with no signs of activity and little or no action as we dropped our baits to the seabed.

An increasingly frustrated Dan could only suggest we head back to where we had started the day and resume sport with the multitude of species that lurk close inshore.

We enjoyed the last couple of hours fishing off the spectacular headland of Morte point. Black bream, bull huss, conger, mackerel and pollock were brought to the boat with Peter Robinson catching a good number of fish from the boats stern.

Dan said it had been one of the toughest days of the season. But we all had a very enjoyable day boating ten different species of fish without actually focussing on amassing a large tally. The next few months will offer an array of opportunities and when the water clarity improves I feel sure sport will take off as it so often does in early autumn.