A glimpse of silver – Arundell Summer Fishing

The season certainly seem to be drifting by on life’s current in an ever increasing speed and it seems only a short time since I was last at the Arundell for the grayling day back in early March. https://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/2025/03/06/arundell-spring-grayling-day/

Over three months later and the grayling closed season has passed and summer sea trout are ascending the rivers of the Tamar catchment. The Arundell boasts twenty miles of water amidst lush landscapes of the Devon and Cornish borders. I had arranged a day’s fishing with my good friend Jeff Pearce and had arranged to meet at the Arundell tackle shop for 9:00am.

Traffic at Bideford delayed my journey and it was 9:30am before I arrived and apologised for my lateness. Jeff had enjoyed chatting with fellow fishing guests and James Christoforou who is the venues head of Fishing.

James is a breath of fresh air with an abundance of passion and optimism befitting an angler from a younger generation. James talked of the recent upturn in fishing in the rivers following a good summer spate with good numbers of sea trout showing along with a few salmon. These migratory visitors really are the icing on the cake with abundant wild brown trout and some stunning grayling providing consistent opportunity’s for anglers.

It is always well worth listening carefully to advice from experienced local anglers and James certainly knows the hotels waters intimately explaining to Jeff and I where to fish and suggesting which flies to use and how to fish them.

Jeff is a keen exponent of nymph fishing and engaged in an in depth discussion with James delving into the intricacies of fly design. Like many other anglers I know including myself he carries an extensive selection of fly patterns yet in reality only fishes with a tiny proportion of them. My own interpretation of the discussion is to some extent that there is some basis in certain flies working well on specific rivers. This could be in part be due to anglers following trends and traditions. It is also likely that certain colours are more visible in certain tinges of water colour. The weight of a nymph is undoubtedly vital in ensuring that a fly gets down to where the fish are so the stronger and deeper the pool the heavier the fly needs to be. So the perfect nymph for the Arundell waters is perhaps a tungsten silver headed jig style with black body and sprinkling of silver flashy sparkle.

It was late morning by the time we actually arrived at the waters edge keen to start exploring the deep pools and runs. We both carried two rods one set up with a dry fly and the other with a nymphing set up.

We started fishing on Beat 2 and Bridge Pool where Jeff commenced the days quest drifting his team of nymphs slow and deep as a rather nonchalant duck observed proceedings.

The lush green foliage of late June hung over the river its course carved through rocky bed rock over thousands of years. As I often say each river has its own unique character and the River Lyd is undoubtedly one of the West Country’s finest and after recent rainfall to flush sediment its waters seemed to be in sparkling health.

            BB that great Countryside Writers Children’s Book ‘The Little Grey Men’ is a classic tome that captures the magic of a rivers journey and the shaded waters of the River Lyd somehow resonated within the pages of the book. This morning could easily have been a day BB describes “ After a soft grey morning, the sun had slowly broken through the clouds, and every blackbird and thrush in Lucking’s Meadow began to warble and tune up; the first opening bars of a great symphony in praise of life”. My ponderings on gnomes dwelling in the shady banks of the River Lyd are undoubtedly deluded for BB states “ For secrecy  was of utmost importance, especially in these modern days when discovery would mean the end of everything. Why these little creatures had survived for so long is puzzling, because  though they lived in this rural countryside, it was by no means ‘wild’ in the sense that some parts of Devon and Cornwall are wild, and there are, to my knowledge, no gnomes left now in either of these last two localities, though I understand they are still to be found in some parts of Ireland”.

            We fished carefully up through deep shady pools that hid their secrets as sunlight broke through the vibrant green canopy of midsummer. We were both using bright indicators to suspend our nymphs to just trip the riverbed. This was not traditional fly fishing and the purist would certainly not approve. We are going through a revolution in fly fishing at the moment as technics from across the wider world are embraced by a younger generation who push the boundaries and break down the barriers between disciplines.

Watching our bright indicators drift slowly through deep calm pools is little different to trotting with a float and what’s wrong with that?

            There is no doubt that catching on an upstream dry fly is more satisfying and that delectable moment of deception is one to savour. However life is short and in these modern times if we want a younger generation to embrace the sport then perhaps we have to accept a wider range of tactics and values. It is perhaps possible to draw comparison with today’s cricket scene. The traditionalist will always extol proper Test match cricket; five days of endeavours to be savoured and analysed. A younger generation will perhaps prefer the wham bam thrust of 20/20 cricket that is all over in just a few hours.

            Jeff was first to connect and I watched as a sea trout gyrated in the strong current as it was persuaded to the waiting net. The silver flanks glistened as we admired its beauty before slipping it back into the cool waters.

Boosted by this success we both searched intently drifting the nymphs through the pools. I hooked a small brown trout that shook the hook and caught a couple of small parr.

            We then took a break to drive a short distance to the fish beat 3 a stretch of river that we had fished back in early March when Jeff had caught a grayling and I had lost one.

            We went our separate ways now alternating between pools immersed in our own endeavours to a large extent.  When we met up a short while later Jeff was excited to recall the capture of a fine sea trout estimated at around 2lb at had made his reel scream as it battled gamely.

 

            It is often the case that when I fish with Jeff we seem to mirror each other’s catch’s and when one of us enjoys a good first half the other succeeds in the second half. This was certainly my hope as I searched the pools attempting to read the water carefully focussing on those sections that took my fancy.

            The deep fast water towards the head of the pools and runs tempted me and I searched these areas in preference to the slower deeper areas.

            I undoubtedly missed a couple of fish as my indicator dipped beneath the surface or twitched vigorously with my strike finding no connection.

            Then that wonderful moment of connection came and a bar of silver erupted from the water leaping almost to eye level before coming adrift after just a few seconds of adrenalin fuelled excitement.

            Ten minutes later I hooked another larger fish that battled hard again leaping from the water before diving deep and under the far bank where I feared the line would catch in the roots of bankside trees. I savoured the bending rod and feel of a good fish in the strong current. I knelt at the water’s edge and guided the sea trout towards the waiting net. Then elation turned to dejection as the hook hold gave and my silver prize disappeared with flick of its tail.

            The two glimpses of silver leaping and gyrating on my line are lodged in that deep file of memories in the mind. Merging with the lush green of early summer clear glistening water following a summer spate. The electric blue of kingfisher and the cheerful echoes of chiff-chaff and wren song in a river valley. Damsel flies and dragon flies haunting the river margins. As many of BB’s books commence,

The wonder of the world

Its beauty and its power,

The shapes of things,

Their colours lights and shades,

Look ye also while life lasts.

            I caught up with Jeff at the weir pool and told of my losses. We chatted and fished the deep water above the weir together. A few trout dimpled the surface and Jeff switched to dry fly tactics whilst I persisted with the deep nymph tactics and missed a couple of chances.

We had planned to pack up at around 5.00pm but a glance at the time revealed it was now past 6.00pm and after ten or so last casts we reluctantly walked back across the waterside meadows to return home. Already plotting further trips with a youthful enthusiasm that belied our years. The indicator deep fished nymph will certainly be used elsewhere to explore those deeper pools when the fish are not rising.

The Arundell – Hosts Team England Qualifier

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The Arundell are thrilled to host a Team England Fly Fishing qualifier competition right here on their home waters during peak trout season.
This exciting competition focuses on catching wild trout on the fly, and offers a fantastic opportunity for fly fishers, especially local anglers to showcase their skills.
Successful competitors will earn a place in the finals, with the ultimate chance to represent England
Don’t miss out on this incredible day of friendly competition, camaraderie, and world-class river fishing!
Entry fee is £55 (£30 TEFF fee and £25 for a day ticket)

JACK PERKS at THE ARUNDELL

One of the highlights of the next few months will be our screening of Jack Perks’ wonderful film – Britain’s Hidden Fish on March 5th.  Starting at 7pm in the Tamar Room, the 1 hr long film will be followed by a talk by Jack Perks.  Tickets cost just £8 and are available through our Reception Team.

This beautiful documentary explores the underwater world of the UK, from our chalk streams to the open sea. Narrated by Jeremy Wade (River Monsters) this film was shot over the course of two years to bring stories, behaviours and footage never seen before of British fish.

Prior to the screening, the Arundell fishing team will be hosting a complimentary gathering with tea, coffee and nibbles in the morning from 10am followed by a wander down to our most productive Grayling beats, where our seasoned guides will demonstrate and teach our approach to catch Grayling on the fly.  Afterwards, anglers will have an opportunity to fish the beats for the prestigious lady of the stream before heading back to the Hotel for the screening.  Please let either our Fishing or Reception Teams know if you would like to attend.

Watch the trailer of Britain’s Hidden Fish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_E6nJT0OfdA&ab_channel=CHASINGSCALES

Angela Harding – Book Release at The Arundell

On September 25th The Arundell are hosting an evening with Angela Harding celebrating the release of her new book ‘Still Waters and Wild Waves’. A book that will undoubtedly connect with many anglers and those who love the waters edge.

https://www.thearundell.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Angela-Harding-25th-Sept.pdf

The rivers have cooled with some welcome, refreshing rain and the grayling are now coming into the peak of condition. The Arundell are running specialist grayling nymphing courses on the weekends of the 5th/6th and 12th/13th October.
This course will take you through tightline nymphing, indicator fishing and the duo method. The course also includes 2hrs hours of fly tying, constructing tungsten beaded jig flies, weighted shrimps and caddis flies. After the fly tying, we’ll look at tackle set up, tapered leaders, tippet, indicators, fly size and fly weigh.
For more details please go to the link in our bio or email [email protected]

Heady Summer days at the Arundell

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Heady June Summer Days

Warm sun, the heady scent of honeysuckle in the hedgerows, the excitement of the first sea trout coming through and it seems those bitter northeast winds of last week have been relegated to nothing but a distant fading memory.  Thank goodness summer is finally here!

There has been much excitement after a very successful, slightly windy but warm and balmy day up on the North Devon shoreline, with several well sized sea bass caught.  Slightly closer to home on the Lower Lyd, it was the sea trout coming through that had the Fishing Shop buzzing with excitement.  A total of 5 were caught last week with the largest coming in at 3 lbs and a couple in at 2.5 lbs. More generally, on the rivers there are still plenty of hatches to be found and when they come it can be fantastic with some 20 wild brown trout caught in just a couple of hours.

The Arundell gardens are now well and truly in their full June glory.  Rambling pink roses, the delicate green of the euphorbia, the exotic aroma of the yellow yarrow and the occasional bright flash of the lupins. An English country garden at its best and its wonderful to see the Afternoon Teas on the terrace are in full swing!

For those with young children, don’t forget that on the last two Saturdays in July (20th & 27th) and most Saturdays in August (3rd, 10th, 24th & 31st) we will be offering our 1 hr introduction to fly fishing lessons down at the lake.  Booking essential.

SPRING SALMON and PRESTIGIUOS AWARD FOR STEPHEN PHELPS AT SWW RIVERS AGM

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After a slow start to the 2024 salmon season a few fish are starting to show as the river fines down and temperatures rise. Roger Bickley caught a 9lb fresh run springer from the middle Taw and

Seth Tuson caught a beautiful 13lb springer from the River Torridge.

(Below)

“After an awful start to the season with river heights rarely dropping below 1m on the gauge, I’ve finally managed to get out salmon fishing a few times recently. After what feels like endless blanks over the last couple of years, I’m over the moon to have caught this 13lb salmon on a single handed rod, full floating line and small shrimp style fly. It feels like a great privilege to catch a fish like this on the Torridge as they become rarer and I’m so happy that all the time I’ve put in has been worth it.”

Stuart Gardener was a founding member of the South West Rivers Association in the 1960’s and created an annual award to be presented to someone who has done exceptional work for fishing organisations in the South west.

This encompasses the twenty two South West River Associations.

This year the award was presented to Stephen Phelps at the Associations AGM at the Arundell Arms the beating heart of West Country Fishing. Stephen writes :-
“I was presented with it, I’ll hold it for a year.
At yesterday’s SWRA AGM i was speechless, just mumbled a “thank you”.
Today I realise the enormity of it to me. I will, I’m sure not receive anything so special again.
Previous recipients include Charles Inniss, previous chairmen of the association, even Lord Clinton our President, until he passed away about a month ago.
Hope you don’t mind me sharing but I am overwhelmed chuffed.”

A pollution incident on the River Taw caused wide concern across the angling community. Fortunately there were no reports of fish deaths following the incident that affected several miles of the mid to Lower Taw. The Environment Agency carried out an investigation and will undoubtedly continue to monitor the situation.

Anglers and those at the water edge are encouraged to report any pollution concerns to the EA on the hotline number 0800 807060