George’s lake Tarka swims hosted the 4th leg of our year long league,
Craig put another impressive net of carp on the scales for victory on peg 16.
He has caught a few on luncheon meat but switched to maggot over groundbait later taking advantage of the empty peg between him and Kevin, who came in second with some good carp and silvers on maggot on the short pole off of peg 14.
Ever consistent Nathan retains his dominance in the league with a single carp and a net of silvers for third place, shallow maggot accounted for his net.
Darren’s all skimmer 4th placed net was next-door to Nathan on pegs 10 and 11, short pole maggot over groundbait.
Next weekend we host the first leg of the inter club match against Bude Canal Angling club.
First place today went to Martin Turner on peg 17 with a nice net full mainly carp for a weight of 36lbs 15oz, 2nd place was Kevin Shears on peg 4 with a weight of 32lbs 13oz ,3rd place was Stefan Clarke on peg 9 with 27lbs 1oz and 4th place today went to Antony Bentley on peg 6 with 27lbs. The next Rod and Reel match will be on the 26.4.26 at tarka. If you would like to book on to the next Rod and Reel match you can do so 30days before the match in advance on clubmate.
The Fly Fishing community gathered at the Arundell for the first day of the West Country Trout Festival on March 14th the eve of a new River Fishing season. It proved to be a highly enjoyable day of learning, socialising and tackle browsing. My mind is overwhelmed with images, thoughts and plans for a new season so rather than try and report on the day with long winded narrative I will simply post images and relevant captions with links to relevant websites.
DAVID PILKINGTON
David Pilkington got the talks underway enthralling the audience by reading an extract from his highly anticipated book that reflects upon a lifetime at the water’s edge. His narrative tells of social change and declining salmon runs interspersed with rich and relevant humour.
WILD TROUT TRUST
David Oakley – Glimpses into Wildie Waters
David Oakley delivered a fascinating and informative talk on the work of the Wild Trout Trust. He highlighted the many issues that impact upon our rivers including; Agricultural pollution, Physical modifications, Waste Water, Urban pollution, Invasive species, Abstraction, Hydro and global warming.
He outlined the benefits of wood in rivers, The renaturalisation of rivers after years of misguided abuse. The importance of shade and the return to natural wiggling and meandering water courses.
Jeff Pearce presented ‘Echoes of the Run: Can salmon still thrive in our South West Rivers? Jeff has lived close to the River Fowey for much of his life and has an intimate connection with the river and its fish. He explained the sad plight of the salmon and the issues that threaten their survival as they migrate from high on Bodmin Moor to their Ocean feeding grounds and back to their birthplace.
Jeff showed the vital work being undertaken on the River to give the sea trout and salmon a fighting chance.
The impact of Colliford and Siblyback Reservoirs was highlighted along with the hatchery that is being used to compensate for the loss of vital spawning grounds.
Discussed the expansive strategies being developed by SWRA, including their sea trout and salmon action plan and smolt augmentation initiatives. I missed much of this talk but picked up at its conclusion as William talked of a Noah’s Ark to help salmon to survive as the destructive fishing industry is regulated via international agreements.
William Entwisle
ALEX JARDINE
Alex emphasised the value and unique importance of English Chalk Streams. There are 210 chalk streams across the world 160 of which are in England with the others in France. The delights of fishing throughout the seasons were described with tactics and approach outlined with in-depth analysis of the trout’s view of the world.
Charles sketches various nymphs that are vital indicators of river health
Charles is a gifted teacher and introduced his inspiring Fishing for school program with vigour and passion. The bugs life world of River Fly transfixed the audience and introduced the universal value of Latin across the scientific community. He explained how viewing the abundance of life in rivers linked to art and broader learning. Full details of Fishing For Schools can be found at :-
From Charles talk of Latin and life within the water we moved on to a little psychology as Nigel Nunn introduced his world of fly tying. Asking; How trout see things and why they take a fly? Nigel’s non symmetrical scruffy flies are designed to give the illusion of life. A great deal of thought, observation and experimentation is behind the designs of Nigel’s creations that tempt wily trout across the globe.
Nigel related to the names of some of his flies an example being the Gypsy Queen a vibrant pink and green fly, alegedly named after an Irish saying:-
Pink and Green
Should never be seen
Except on the back of a gypsy queen.
Nigel agreed with my comment that one of the most important factors in fly choice is Confidence and belief in its effectiveness.
Dom talks coarse fish on the fly the new frontier; exploring a wide range of West Country venues suggesting that Fly Fishing offers opportunites to target many species not tradionally targeted with Fly Tackle. Species targetted by Dom included perch, Rudd, pike, carp, bream, roach, chub and even huge catfish.
Dominic Garnett casts a line for trout in Tinhay Lake
LAKESIDE
The bench tells of recent heavy rainfall
Alex Jardine gives a casting demonstration
IN THE COCKPIT
Jeff Pearce and Nigel Nunn creating tempting flies with a dash of banter and a cheery grin.
Jeff Pearce and Nigel Nunn swap tales and create tempting fliesMartins Minnows for streamer fishing tied by Jeff; these will be swimming in North Devon Rivers over the coming months
BREAK TIME
Sharing tales over pasties and coffee in the Deli
EXHIBITORS HALL
Exhibitors host a multitude of stands in the Tamar Room. Quality tackle, flies and holidays to tempt both angler and trout!
HANAK – Display top quality fly fishing tackle range that included rods, reels, apparel, hooks and terminal tackle.
UNIQUE FLIES Offer fine quality barbless flies for river and lake
The organising and coordinating of such of an event takes months of careful planning and behind the scenes work. James Christoforou, Lewis Hendrie and all at the Arundell are to be thanked for their efforts.
Bideford and District Angling Clubs annual presentation night was very well attended with around forty members in attendance at Bideford Conservative Club. Many thanks to Mervyn Beal for sending this report to North Devon Angling News .
The Club would like to thank Chris Connaughton-Mono for presenting the trophies. Big thank you to our guest speaker Alex Van Wienen from the Angling Trust. Also a big thank you to the Conservative Club and staff for the excellent buffet and to everyone who attended making the night a success.
BDAC Coarse section 2025 Cups and Trophies.
Mid Week Series Winner. Dave Anstey Shield Craig Lamey 103pts.
Mid Week Series Runner Up. Nathan Underwood 98pts.
Junior Series Winner. Leo Davies 68pts.
Junior Series Runner Up. Bailey Brambley. 55pts.
Rod & Reel Monthly Winner. Richard Jefferies 133pts.
Rod & Reel Monthly Runner Up. Martin Turner 124pts.
Evening Pairs Winners. Craig Lamey & Richard Jefferies 97Ib 5oz.
Best Weight In Match. Nathan Underwood 96Ib 3oz.
Matchman Of the the Year. Nathan Underwood 122pts.
Matchman Of The Year Runner Up Kevin Shears 105pts.
BDAC Sea Section 2025 Cups and Trophies.
Valentine Bowl – most points in the monthly Rover.
Andrew Clements
Stephen Found
Tony Gussin
All joint 1st on 28 points.
Keira short trophy – most points in 48 hour Rover. Paul Ackland 13 points
Stephanie Vanstone – best specimen caught from the shore. Stephen Found Common Smoothhound 18lb 14 – 188.75%
Jason talbot memorial plate – Best specimen ray caught from the shore. Stephen Found Smalleyed Ray 11lb 7 – 127.083%
Snake plate – best specimen Conger caught from the shore. Richard Jefferies Conger 14lb 13 – 74.06%
Best round fish from the shore Stephen Found Thinlipped Mullet 5lb 15 – 148.44%
Best specimen flat fish caught from the shore ( no ray) Paul Ackland sole 1lb 10 ½ – 94.64%
Best specimen shark from the shore. Stephen Found Common Smoothhound 18lb 14 – 188.75%
Winner of end of season competition Dale Kiff SpurFound 10lb 3 101.873%
Big Mike memorial vase Paul Ackland Dog 2lb 2 – 70.833%
Species challenge cup Stephen Found 5 Ray totalling 464.582%
New club records
Stephen Found Thinlipped Mullet 5lb 15
Stephen Found Common Smoothhound 18lb 14
Richard Jefferies Blue Skate 13lb 4oz.
Boat Section Winners.
Best Specimen Trophy. Patrick O’ Donnell. Bull Huss 15Ib 8oz.
Most Species Caught Boat Trip. Keith Mountjoy.
BDAC Game Section 2025 Cups and Trophies
1st: BDAC Highest Points Monthly Comps. Andy Clements 44pts.
2nd: BDAC Runner Up Terry Dymond.
Best Brown Trout Caught From Colliford Reservoir. Chris Clements.
Best Rainbow Trout Caught In Monthly Comps. A. Clements.
BDAC Combined Weight From Reservoir Fished. Andy Clements.
Chairmans Clubman Of the Year.Mervyn Beal.
The Club would like to thank Chris Connaughton-Mono for presenting the trophies. Big thank you to our guest speaker Alex Van Wienen from the Angling Trust. Also a big thank you to the Conservative Club and staff for the excellent buffet and to everyone who attended making the night a success.
The River Taw is well known for its game fishing but there are a few local anglers in and around Barnstaple who will treasure memories of a time when big silver flanked roach with crimson fins where caught on a regular basis. My book ” I Caught a Glimpse’ contains several recollections of big roach.
Whilst at the Dulverton Anglers Association AGM I got chatting to a fellow club member called Chris Arnold. It turned out that he once lived close to Barnstaple and one of his best friends is also a good friend of mine who I have fished with on numerous occasions over the years. Martin Turner is a keen and successful match angler who also applies his natural angling talents across all disciplines.
Following on from our chat Chris sent me this account of a day fishing the River Taw close to fifty years ago.
There are still roach and dace in the River Taw though it is several years since any specimens as big as Martins have been caught though there is always the chance that lurking within Barnstaple & District Angling Clubs waters descendants of those silver flanked still remain and will once again grow to exceed that magical 2lb weight.
Martin Turner still catching with Bideford & Distrct Angling Club
In 1976 there was a drought with no rain for many months.
The river levels fell and the big roach in the River Taw gradually dropped down into lower and deeper waters. They eventually found themselves in Bridge Pool, Newbridge which is the top of the beat owned by Barnstaple & District Angling Association.
I can’t remember why (maybe we spotted them off the bridge) but it was a weekday evening in August 1976 that we both raced to get there first. Martin and I were both 17. He had a motorbike whilst I relied on my father for lift. I arrived around two minutes after Martin, so gracefully yielded the peg to him.
There was no point in me bothering to fish even the other side of Bridge Pool as we knew exactly where the fish were.
Roach Poles had only just been invented. I had not yet bought one, but Martin had done so. I just sat behind Martin and watched him fish a big lump of bread flake with a float on his pole with a sized 10 or 12 hook. There was no groundbait – just some scrunched up bread that he threw in from time to time. If it had been me, I would have probably trotted down a single maggot on a size 22 hook. Martin’s talent for fishing is unique – in knowing what to do and when to do it. He is the most naturally talented angler I have ever had the privilege of fishing with.
What happened then was probably the most significant catch in UK coarse fishing history since Georgina Ballantine in 1922.
Within a couple of hours I seem to recall that Martin caught around 9 roach. Three of them were over 2 lbs (not sure but think the best was 2 lb 10 oz), There were another three which we didn’t bother to weigh certainly over a pound and a half and some tiddlers of maybe around a pound.
I went back the following day and fished the same peg. Caught my best ever river roach at 2 lb 1oz and still have the photo, but alas, the shoal had moved on.
I didn’t realise the significance of Martin’s catch until a few years later.
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!
Big brown trout were the highlight of Bulldog Fisheries February Trout Open Competition with three double figure brown trout gracing the scales at the days end. The top angler was Andy Facey who tempted a fine brace of brown trout weighing 10lb 12oz and 9lb 2oz which when added the other three fish he caught gave him a winning weight of 29lb 4oz. Runner up was Dave Chapman with five trout for 23lb 10oz a bag that included a fine brown trout of 11lb 1oz. Third was Chris Dunn with six trout for 22lb 13oz and fourth myself with five trout for 22lb 2oz. I was fortunate to tempt the biggest fish of the day; a stunning brown trout scaling 13lb 7oz. All competitors caught fish including good numbers of rainbow trout and spartics of 5lb 7oz and 6lb 2oz.
Combe Martin SAC held their AGM and presentation night at the Mariners Arms, Braunton. Members reflected upon a successful 2025 during which some superb specimen fish were recorded. Shane Pavio Hookway won the clubs specimen league with five specimen fish that included a shore caught tope of 43lb 6oz and a pouting of 2lb 2oz. Best specimen fish from the shore was a gilthead bream of 5lb 10oz to the rod of Ollie Passmore. David Brooke won the clubs top Medway Cup for best caught specimen boat with a gilthead bream of 6lb 4oz. Daniel Welch was awarded the clubs Merit Award for his outstanding contribution to the club invigorating the boat sector of the club via his boat fishing enterprise Predator 2.
SPURDOG PACKS ON THE HUNT
John Barbeary’s Charter boat Blue Fin is now back in the water at Ilfracombe taking anglers to deep water marks where huge packs of spurdog are on the hunt. A party of anglers fishing last weekend caught an estimated 150 spurdog to almost 20lb. They also boated conger, bull huss, dogfish and rockling.
Nathan Clements won Bideford Angling Clubs monthly sea rover with a dogfish of 2lb 3.25oz.
Michael Hammett won Appledore Shipbuilders monthly sea rover with a thornback ray of 7lb 6oz. Jack Sharrock was runner up with a small eyed ray of 6lb 13oz and Andrew Atkinson third with a thornback ray of 6lb 10oz.
North Devon Match Group fished their latest Match at Stafford Moor saw good catches for members on both Tanner’s Lake and Woodies. Roger Ackroyd was top rod on Tanners with 116lb 14oz and Dave Stockton winner on Woodies with 101lb 1oz.
Antony Smith secured first place in Bideford Angling Clubs forty eight hour rover with a specimen spurdog of 13lb 1.5oz. Stephen Found was runner up with a bull huss of 12lb 9oz and Andrew Clements third with a huss of 12lb 7oz. The specimen fish emphasise the significance of the weather in fishing. After several weeks of poor fishing along the coast with a North and Easterly winds predominating a swing to a South Westerly flow has invigorated sport. The next few weeks should see some good fish from the North Devon coast especially following any storms that stir up the seabed.
North Devon Match Group fished their first match of 2026 at the ever prolific Stafford Moor. The Match was fished on Woodies Lake and Tanners and both lakes gave great fishing. Dave Stockton was top rod on Woodies with 190lb 13oz and Steve Hayman runner up with 143lb. Tom Downing was the winner on Tanners with 108lb 2oz and Les Polden runner up with 100lb 14oz.
Each season I venture over to fish for grayling on the Upper Exe and its tributaries that are accessed via Dulverton Angling Association membership. Grayling are not native to Exmoor but have thrived since their introduction into the Exe in around 1896. These delightful silver ladies of the stream offer an excuse to visit the river in the depths of winter. Probing the river using tight line nymphing tactics I connected with two grayling one of which shed the hook the other was brought to the net and admired for a moment before being slipped back into the cool water.
The valleys at this time of year have a certain atmosphere that contrasts with the vibrancy of Spring and summer. There is state of slumber as the cold of winter still maintains a grip yet there are signs of spring as snowdrops flower and the intensity of birdsong seems to be increasing as if there is expectancy in the cool air.
There are less than two months until the start of a new trout fishing season non local rivers and that time will soon pass. Now is the time to sort out those fly boxes, tie flies for the new season and plan where you intend to cast a line.
STORMY DAYS FOR ANGLERS
Storm Ingrid swept across the South West last weekend with rainfall swelling the regions rivers. Its impact on the salmon redds high on the moors and upper tributaries of rivers is unknown. It seems remarkable that the salmons tiny eggs buried in the gravel survive. Yet winter floods happen every year and these remarkable migratory fish survive against all odds. I have heard some encouraging results from last year’s fry surveys with good numbers of salmon fry recorded across many of North Devon’s rivers. It is to be hoped that ongoing work across the region is starting to bring hope for the future.
On Friday night Combe Martin SAC hold their AGM and presentation night at the Mariners Arms in Braunton. As chairman of the club and club officer for close to fifty years I have seen significant change in angling and the angling community. The club like many others is struggling to adapt to changes in society and social habits. I remember with fondness the clubs annual dinner, dance and presentation night when at its peak over one hundred would attend to cheer on the cup and trophy winners. The desire to win trophies has declined across the sea angling sector as a grip and grin picture on social media seems to have become the preferred option. Adapting to change is undoubtedly a challenge for all clubs as the way we fish changes. Clubs are vital in bringing anglers together and it is to be hoped that community survives as the modern world continues to evolve.
The Angling Trust is the sports representative body and I have been a member since its formation. The Angling Trust and Fish Legal work to protect, promote and develop angling for all anglers across all disciplines. Sadly only a small proportion of anglers belong to this organisation with many openly criticising the organisation for its failure to deliver. The organisation needs vital funds to bring the results that anglers need to safeguard the future. If every angler joined, the trust would be a powerful body that could fight for the future of angling a pastime that brings many benefits across society.
Bideford and District Angling Club members endured cold wet and windy conditions at their monthly rod n reel competition fished at their home water Tarka Swims. Paul Whitehead was the winner with 17lb 10oz. Martin Turner was runner up with 12lb 10oz, Paul Elworthy third with 12lb 9oz and Colin O Hagan forth with 11lb 11oz.
Steve Johnson was awarded angler of the year in Barnstaple Bait and Tackle Match Groups presentation night evening.
Kevin Shears won the latest open match at Stafford Moor fishery with 169lb 4oz.
Bulldog Trout Fishery hold their latest Open Fly Fishing Competition this Sunday spaces are limited and can be secured by contacting the fishery via the contact details on their website www.bulldogfisheries.com
SPURDOG PACKS ON THE HUNT
