Rainbows and spartics at Bulldog

I joined Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club for their final Winter Challenge match of the season at Bulldog Fishery. After heavy rain the water was a little coloured and members struggled to catch for the first hour.

As the morning progressed I noticed rods starting to bend as members found the right formulae. I had been fishing a floating line with a bead headed black lure and had received just the one pull after an hour and a half of concerted effort.

I had tried several areas around the recently enlarged lake and noted that other members were catching from the very spots I had departed. I had to leave at lunch time and knew that if I was to catch I needed to change tactics.

I swapped over to an Intermediate Snowbee line, stuck with the black lure on the point and a Montana nymph on the dropper. After five minutes I had a good pull through the line and briefly hooked into a fish that came off after a few seconds.

A recently stocked spartic

Encouraged and with renewed confidence I continued to search the water moving a few yards to a small promontory. The line zipped tight and I was delighted to net a spartic trout of around 1lb 8oz. A few minutes later a chunky rainbow of around 4lb was safely netted after a good tussle. I fished on with confidence and completed my three fish bag by 1.00pm. Speaking with fellow members it was interseting to note that several fish had been tempted using flies with a touch of orange. I had caught on a black pattern; would I have tempted my fish earlier with a touch of orange? Was success down to depth and rate of retrieve? Or did the trout simply come on the feed?

My three fish bag including a 4lb rainbow and spartic.

Competition Result :-

1st Andre Muxworthy – 3 trout 9lb 3oz

2nd Wayne Thomas – 3 trout 8lb 8oz

3rd Nigel Bird – 3 trout 6lb 10oz

4th Colin Combe = 2 trout 5lb 10oz

5th Dave Mock –2 trout  5lb 5oz

Winner Andre Muxworthy with his three trout for 9lb 3oz.

It was now time for a quick catch up with fellow club members and to take a look at the drained carp lake with fishery owner Nigel Early. The lake has been drained, nuisance bream and small carp removed. The lake will reopen this coming Friday with plans to stock more carp over coming months. The lake has already produced carp to 33lb and will flourish over the coming months for sure. I have included a few pictures of the lake for future reference.

 

South West Fly Fair returns to Roadford Lake

South West Fly Fair returns to Roadford Lake

The South West Fly Fair makes a welcome return to Roadford Lake on Sunday 25 February.

The fair is hosted by charity South West Lakes Trust at Roadford Lake, between Launceston and Okehampton. The event is a highlight in the Westcountry’s angling calendar ahead of the new fishing season.

The day is made possible thanks to sponsorship from Catch, Chevron Hackles, Homeleigh Garden Centre, Snowbee and Turrall.

Throughout the day there will be fly tying demonstrations from local and national experts Charles Jardine and Rodney Wevill, with a chance to ‘have a go’, as well as the chance to pick up useful tips and valuable advice from experts including Simon Kidd (Snowbee).

Other activities include casting demonstrations, fly casting lessons, and – new for this year – a chance to speak to trout, sea and coarse fly fishers.

There will be coarse fly fishing demonstrations from Dom Garnett, trout cooking demonstrations and the opportunity to meet members of fly fishing clubs based at lakes across the South West as well as find out more about coaching and tuition available in the region – perfect for both newcomers to the sport and experienced anglers feeling a little rusty after the closed season.

Trade stands will be selling new and used tackle and equipment and food and drink will be available at the onsite café.

The event runs from 10am to 4pm with lots of activities on offer for the whole family including arts and crafts.

South West Lakes Trust’s Head of Angling, Ashley Bunning, said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming old and new faces to Roadford Lake to showcase the wonderful angling this region has to offer to beginner and experienced fly fishers.”

Book in advance to avoid disappointment. Entry is £6 for adults and free for under 18s. Entry includes car parking and a raffle ticket. Tickets are available from www.swlakestrust.org.uk/trout-fishing

All attendees to the event will be offered a 10% season ticket discount.

For more information please contact South West Lakes on 01566 771930 or email [email protected].

 

Bideford and District Angling Club Coarse section monthly competition

posted in: Match Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Bideford and District Angling Club

Coarse section monthly competition

Results:

1st Kevin Shears 39lb 2oz

2nd Nathan Underwood  31lb 9oz

3rd John Lisle 22lb 1oz

4th Martin Turner 19lb 14oz

5th Colin Cherrington 17lb 6oz

6th Richard Dennis 12lb 13oz

22 members fished.

A cold north westerly breeze blowing up towards the shallows greeted the competitors for this, the second match of our year-long league.

The old order was restored with the Kevin and Nathan show.!

Kev’s drawn peg 15 , one of the more sheltered spots , and pole fished maggots and sweetcorn hookbaits for a clear victory, Nathan, defending league champion , has fished on peg 9 , for second spot.

South West Fly Fair

posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

The South West Fly Fair makes a welcome return to Roadford Lake on Sunday 25 February. As well as being a highlight in the region’s angling calendar, it promises to be a fun and informative family day out with plenty of activities for all ages.

  • ‘Have a go’ fly tying room with help from experts
  • 10% season ticket discount for all attendees
  • Tackle trading stands
  • Casting and fly tying demonstrations
  • Expert advice from trout, sea and coarse fly fishers
  • Meet local fly fishing clubs
  • Raffle with great prizes
  • Food and drink available at the onsite café

There will be activities including arts and crafts for all the family – bring your bikes and wellies to explore the lake.

Entry is £6 for adults and free for under 18s. Entry includes car parking and a raffle ticket.

Pre-booking essential!

Spartic offer an exciting challenge at Bulldog

posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Indi is a keen all-round angler and put her skills to use at Bulldog Fly Fishery tempting one of the first Spartic trout recently introduced into the venues trout lake. Spartic a cross between arctic char and brook trout  offer great sport and a welcome variation on the more common rainbow trout that are the more abundantly stocked trout.

Trout fishing

Our working farm has over the years built a great reputation for providing rainbow trout, a selection of which have held the stock record in Wales over a nine-year period as well as in England and Scotland for a time. We continue to rear trout for supply, however we now also carefully stock our own lake with our much coveted, hard-fighting rainbow trout, to enable fly fishing on site.

Our lake can host up to eight anglers at a time and can be booked for groups or corporate events. Food can be available via prior arrangement and includes our selection of burgers, sausages or smoked produce.

Opening times:

We are open all year, 7 days a week, dawn til dusk, except Christmas day – all by prior arrangement.

Prices:

3 Fish Ticket – £35

6 Fish Ticket – £45

Exciting news at Bulldog Fisheries

posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

 

Exciting news at Bulldog Fisheries

 Bulldog fisheries have officially been granted permission to stock spartic & tiger trout along side their rainbows & browns!

With a number were released straight into the fly lake ready for this weekend’s anglers, the remaining fish have been placed into the stock ponds to be grown on for trickle stocking through the coming months.

  Gerry Tyzack who ran Kingfisher Tackle for in Barnstaple visited Bulldog recently and enjoyed some great sport. Gerry has been a visitor to the fishery for many years taking visitors to the lake for instruction when he was running the shop that sadly shut its door close to twenty years ago.

COMBE MARTIN SAC – ILFRACOMBE HARBOUR FUN & SPECIES

Combe Martin SAC have launched a new fishing community project with the help of keen species enthusiast Toby Bassett. The new fun fishing event was launched on February 1st on Ilfracombe Pier with  local anglers starting an 11 month long species hunt that encourages anglers to catch as many species as possible from Ilfracombe Harbour area.

The essence of the fun fishing league is to encourage local anglers to socialise and share knowledge. Local business are supporting the event with prizes already pledged from Ilfracombe Aquarium, High Street Tackle, Turton’s Butchers and Quay Sports.

A pop up fishing event to get the event started was attended by a mixture of old and new club members. The weather was kind with a clear sky and a calm sea. Nine species of fish were caught during the three hours including; common shanny, rock goby, pouting, whiting, conger, dogfish, ballan wrasse, plaice, pollock and shore rockling. Prizes donated by High Street Tackle were awarded to Ross Stanway who caught the most species on the day. To Zephyr Laramy the most fish caught by a Junior and the smallest fish prize was awarded to Toby Bassett who caught a tiny common shanny using a size 16 hook!

Ross Stanway caught 7 species during the launch day event

 

The smallest fish of the night to Toby Bassett
Top junior Zephyr Laramy

The intention is to hold a pop up event once a month that will be picked to coincide with a suitable tide and hopefully good weather. Notice will be sent to club members seven days prior to the event. The competition runs until December 31st 2024 with major prizes to be presented early in 2025. Sponsors will be donating prizes with High Street Tackle providing a small prize each month for a category to be decided each month. February prize will be for the most species registered. March will be for the best photograph.

 

Rock Goby

 

Nickki Laramy with a whiting
Ross Stanway
James Thomas with a whiting
A whiting was my first fish of the event.
Plaice for Ross Stanway

 

Even this tackle twisting conger brought a smile as every species counts!

 

Whats coming up next?

This is not a pure LRF competition as all accepted angling methods are encouraged with bait as well as lures. The use of LRF tactics is a  branch of angling that undoubtedly opens an entirely new dimension to sea angling with some becoming totally addicted to the pursuit of the  range of species available. It is going to be fascinating to explore the vast range of species that dwell within Ilfracombe waters. We will be sharing our results with the local Aquarium and hope to provide a few exhibits for their extensive display tanks.

       We packed away as the flooding tide pushed us off the lower landings. James and I headed to the Bay-side Burger Bar to round off an enjoyable session savouring our spicy chicken and fries in the shadow of Verity.

Ross with a pouting

The Impact of Pollution – Ask The experts

This event at the end of February offers a unique opportunity to learn about water pollution across North Devon with representatives from across the region. I will be on the panel representing anglers though I do not profess to be an expert, just someone with a passion for angling  within a healthy eco-system.