7 Apr 2026

TORRIDGE RIVERS ASSOCIATION – NEWSREEL SPRING 2026

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Torridge Rivers Association

President: Lord Clinton

Chairman: Paul Ashworth Secretary: Charles Inniss

Beeches East Street Sheepwash Beaworthy Devon EX21 5NW

e-mail: [email protected]

NEWSREEL SPRING 2026

SUBSCRIPTIONS for 2026 are now due and are £20 .

The season so far: Salmon-wise it has been a most encouraging start to the season. Four fresh spring salmon have been caught: one of 10lb and three about about 8lb: one in the first week of the season at Riversmeet and three downstream from beam weir (two during Easter w/e). The salmon anglers have caught several trout up to 1.5lbs: all in good condition. With the weather warming the brown trout are starting to feed on the surface and there’s always the chance of an early running sea trout: these early fish are usually in the 3/5lb range.

The AGM: was held at The Half Moon on Friday 27^th March. Over 40 members and guests attended. Our President Lord Clinton was able to join us and also the Fishery Protection Officer, Sam Fenner. Our guest speaker for the evening was Willie Entwistle, the Chair of the South West Rivers Association (SWRA), who gave an enlightening talk on the importance of the SWRA which represents all the 20 westcountry rivers. The main aim of the SWRA is to highlight the particular problems of our rivers (water quality and the declining numbers of migratory fish) at the highest level. After the meeting we all enjoyed the usual excellent buffet.

THE HATCHERY: once again the hatchery project has been most successful and over 20,000 swim -up fry were stocked out in the last week of March into tributaries of the Upper Torridge, Lew and Okement. Once the eggs have been stripped from the hens, fertilised, and laid out in the egg box trays they have to be checked daily with any dead eggs removed. Silt is the one ongoing problem which if allowed to build up in the trays kills the eggs through lack of oxygen. The hatchery team will be looking into ways the silt loading can possibly be reduced next winter. FISHERY REPORT: Sam Fenner, our fishery protection officer, provided vital support in catching up the broodstock for the hatchery from the fish pass at Monkokehampton Weir. Sam is the only fishery protection officer for the whole of Devon!! The results of the EA juvenile survey at Okement Castle on the Okement were quite outstanding: indeed probably the best for all the rivers in Devon and Cornwall!! It was, he reminded us, more important than ever for us all to be the eyes and ears of the river and report any concerns. THE TORRIDGE WEBCAM is now at Taddiport Bridge on the Lower Torridge. It is now live. BEAVERS: There is now at least one beaver colony in the Torridge catchment!! Like it or not we are going to have to live with beavers. A group of us recently attended a very informative presentation at Hatherleigh Community Centre re. the pros and cons of beavers in our rivers. Our concern was the effect of beaver dams on salmon reaching their spawning grounds. Your committee will be arranging a similar presentation at The Half Moon during the summer. Details to follow in due course.

14 Aug 2025

T0RRIDGE RIVERS ASSOCIATION – NEWSREEL: SUMMER 2025

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Articles, Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

The Annual Egg Box Dinner:

This is always a most enjoyable evening and hopefully our Fishery Protection Officer, Sam Fenner, will be able to join us. As usual the dinner will be at The Half Moon Inn: Saturday 20^th September. It is always extremely popular so book early.

To book contact The Half Moon [email protected]: tel 01409231376

The Annual Raffle:

This year to save on the cost of printing raffle books and postage it has been decided to organise the raffle online. There will be a large board in the bar at The Half Moon with box numbers 1 to 1000. As members send in raffle monies (by cheque or BACS) I will write names into the boxes. Raffle tickets will cost £2: so for £10 you will have 5 tickets and for £20 ten chances to win one of the three excellent prizes. This is our major fundraising effort to help cover the cost of running the hatchery so please support generously.

Prizes: 1. Sportfish £100 voucher: 2.The Half Moon Inn £50 voucher: 3.Voucher for a case of 12 bottles of wine.

The Hatchery:

The EA has given us the go ahead to run the hatchery again this winter. Last year was a great success and in March 33,000 swim-up fry were stocked out into selected sites in the headwaters of the Torridge, Okement and Lew. Work is being undertaken to improve the safety of the site and the hatchery team are investigating ways to reduce the silt loading in the trays holding the eggs. All being well we will be trapping our broodstock during November.

The 2025 Season: following the pattern of recent years low flows seem to be the norm. The highlight has been a 15lb salmon caught on the second day of the season on the Madeira beat and anglers who have ventured out at night have enjoyed some success with the sea trout. During May and June the brown trout anglers enjoyed some excellent fishing with several fish over 2lb being caught.

Mike Weaver: the Devon River Reports:

A few weeks ago a guest staying at The Half Moon gave Adam old copies of the Trout and Salmon magazine with some going back to the early 1970’s and I was amazed to discover that over fifty years ago Mike Weaver was writing the Devon River Reports for the magazine and he is still, fifty years later, writing comprehensive monthly reports for the rivers in Devon. Well done Mike!! I have to admit these days I only buy the magazine to read the river reports.

In the April 1975 magazine Mike gave the rod returns of salmon and sea trout for the Devon rivers for 1974. The Torridge return was 156 down from 191 in 1973. The sea trout returns are astonishing. The total for all the Devon rivers was 3,778 of which the Taw return was 1,666 and the Torridge return 1,059. The two North Devon rivers accounted for over 75% of the Devon total.!! And almost certainly these returns did not include the large number of school peal which were caught. Taking into account there was much greater fishing effort in those days and spinning was allowed throughout the season but even so these returns show how dramatically stocks of both salmon and sea trout have declined in the last fifty years. Those were the days!!

Secretary: Charles Inniss Beeches Sheepwash

Beaworthy Devon EX21 5NW

e-mail: [email protected]

tel: 01409231237 (m)07464190944

26 Mar 2025

Torridge Rivers Association – Spring Newsreel

by Wayne Thomas | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

Torridge Rivers Association

President: Lord Clinton

Chairman: Paul Ashworth Secretary: Charles Inniss

Beeches, Sheepwash Beaworthy Devon EX215NW

e-mail: [email protected]

NEWSREEL: SPRING 2025

The season so far: it has been a more encouraging start to the season. March has been dry with the river clearing and falling only slowly. There have been three salmon caught all on the Lower Torridge including a superb springer of 15lb caught at Madeira on 2^nd March. Towards the end of the month warmer weather has led to a rise in the water temperature and the brown trout have started feeding on the surface: a sure sign that spring is on the way.

The AGM: was held at The Half Moon Inn on Friday 21st March. It was an excellent informal evening enjoyed by all present. 33 members and guests attended. We were delighted that our President Lord Clinton and Lady Clinton were able to join us and also Izzy Moser from the Devon Wildlife Trust and our fishery protection officer Sam Fenner. The agm supported the proposal for subscriptions to remain at £20. The committee was re-elected “en bloc”. After the meeting we all enjoyed the usual excellent Half Moon buffet. Membership has increased from 87 to 94, which is very encouraging.

The Hatchery Project: has been a great success this year with about 33,000 swim-up fry ready to be stocked out in selected sites in the headwaters in the next 2/3 weeks. We were able to trap our broodstock from the fish pass at Monkokehampton Weir with relative ease at the end of November and by mid-December all five hens had been stripped and the eggs fertilised. The alevin started to hatch at the end of January and have grown on steadily with very limited mortality. The weather has helped: it has been a colder winter than average with the water temperature only once going above 10C

Sam Fenner: Fishery Protection Officer: was able to help trap the broodstock for the hatchery by providing access to the site and the oxygenated tank to transport the fish back to the hatchery. He informed the agm he was now the only fishery protection officer for the whole of Devon. In the 1980’s when Paul Carter was our fishery officer there were 24!! It was now more important than ever for all of us to be the eyes and ears of the river and report any concerns.

Westcountry CSI: (Citizen Science Investigation) is a scheme established by the West Country Rivers Trust that involves regular monitoring the water quality of our streams and rivers. Volunteers are needed to support the scheme. Our Association and The Devon Wildlife Trust are supporting the initiative and Duncan Betts (one of our committee members) has agreed to lead the project on behalf of our Association. A training day has recently been held at Hatherleigh and those taking part have been supplied with the necessary equipment. The Upper Torridge has had more than its fair share of pollutions in recent years so regular water quality monitoring is essential.

Beavers: there are beavers in the Torridge catchment!! For many years, with the support of the Devon Wildlife Trust, beaver colonies have been held in enclosed areas but there have been escapees, either by accident or design (I suspect the latter!!) with the result beavers are now widespread throughout the county. There are arguments for and against beavers. My concern is that like all rodents they can multiply very quickly and they have no predators Ten years ago a pair of beavers were introduced as a trial into the River Otter: now there are over 100 in that river.