What a day we had at our Fly Fishing Competition on 29th March!
We kicked things off under overcast skies with calm conditions—no wind in the morning, though the forecast warned us of high winds and rain later on. The fishing started slower than usual (no classic 30 minutes of madness this time!), but it didn’t take long for things to pick up, with fish coming out steadily and a couple of anglers already hitting their morning limits.
Lunch couldn’t have come at a better time. With the wind picking up and a touch of rain setting in, everyone was more than happy to tuck into one of Bulldog’s famous roast pork baps with roasties, warming up in the hut with the fire going. Plenty of chat and laughter—especially about Chris’s monster catch… a BIG tiger that had everyone talking!
After lunch, we had a bit of a peg shuffle as the wind made casting tricky. With a redraw done, anglers got back to it, battling the conditions right up until the final horn. In perfect timing, Andrew landed his 6th and final fish of the day just before the end—great effort!
Then it was on to the all-important weigh-in…
Results
1st – Dave & Fred Chapman – 25lb 6oz
2nd – Nick “Lennie” Tamlin – 25lb 5oz
3rd – Pete Davey (Fishing for Heroes) – 24lb 8oz
Biggest Fish of the Day
Chris Dunn – 9lb 4oz Tiger Trout (NEW Tiger lake record!)
Honourable Mentions
Ian Connabeer – 5lb 15oz Rainbow
Mark Ison – 5lb 11oz Brown & 6lb 10oz Spartic
Pete Davey – 6lb 6oz Rainbow
Fred Chapman – 5lb 13oz Rainbow
Nick Tamlin – 6lb 1oz Rainbow
Plenty of quality fish came out in the 4–6lb range, meaning even those off the podium went home smiling
Thanks to everyone who took part—great atmosphere, great fishing, and a brilliant day all round.
Torridge Fly Fishing Club manages the fishing at Gammaton Reservoirs near Bideford, North Devon.
The top lake at Gammaton has been restocked. Day tickets remain at £28 for 3 fish this season .
Membership for the season is also available at £190. Members can catch 6 fish a week up to a maximum of 40 .
Membership enquiries to Robert Chugg: 07491931003. Email : [email protected]
QR Code below to book tickets:-
Gammaton Reservoirs are nestled in a peaceful valley just a short drive from Bideford. They are reguarly stocked with quality rainbow trout averaging between 2lb and 3lb. Dry fly and buzzer tactics can work well along with all standard tactics. The lower lake also contains a few perch and other coarse species that can be tempted on fly tactics.
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.
They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I guess that is to some extent what raises the excitement level when returning to a favourite venue after a few months absence. Wimbleball Reservoir nestling in Exmoor’s rolling countryside is a special fishery that has been rejuvenated over the past decade under the management of Mark and Trudi Underhill. It’s hard fighting rainbow trout provide exciting fishing set in a lake that gives pleasing the illusion of wild fishing.
(Above) October 2025
The last time I had visited the lake was back in October when the water level was alarmingly low at around 25% and the boat jetty was a good walk from the water’s edge.
( Above)February 2026
On the second day of the season on February 27th we found the lake brim full after a very prolonged spell of wet weather that was in truth what was needed to replenish the lakes and rivers across the country.
Reports from opening day were encouraging with a good number of big trout banked and plenty of good catches. Top fish being a stunning double figure rainbow for Roger Truscott who had travelled up from Cornwall.
After negotiating Exmoor’s water logged roads I arrived shortly after 8.00am to find Bruce all tackled up and ready to go at the boat departure area. Several other anglers were already eagerly waiting to launch as fishery staff bailed out the boats and fine-tuned the outboards.
The top end of the lake has a good track record early season so we set off to Rugg’s and Bessom’s to try our luck. And so the search began with Bruce and I casting our choice of lures on sinking and intermediate lines. I was expectant from the off and fished a black lure and cormorant slowly with occasional twitches to impart life.
( Above) My normal early season go to flies.
After an hour without so much as a pull the reality that its not always easy started to dawn. But with the misty rain easing and occasional glimpses of brightness in the sky all was good and as the sweet melody of a wren’s song drifted from the marginal tree’s I just relished the moment.
A bank angler in action. Early season bank anglers often catch as much or more than boat fishers.
It’s always wise to keep a close eye on other anglers to determine if they are catching noting where and with what tactics. Constantly moving boats tends to indicate a lack of action whilst clusters of boats is often an indication of shoaling fish.
Whilst it is improper to crowd in too close its also wise to sidle a little closer as Fly fishers are generally a friendly bunch willing to share info and help each other. It’s not a competition after all and guys just wanna have fun.
After trying several areas Bruce and I had not had so much as a pull and by midday my confidence was just starting to ebb a little. Early season experience told me that a black fly fished on either an Intermediate or sinking line would work. However watching the anglers fishing other boats it appeared that they were catching on floating lines with a slow retrieve.
Our Friend Jeff appeared close to our boat and after a cheery greeting asked how we were doing. As I relayed our lack of success the line ripped tight and I was into a hard fighting rainbow that nailed the black lure with startling savagery.
My friend fishing on a nearby boat spoke of floating lines, long leaders black lures and cormorants. Encouraged that my fly choice was good I swapped my new Snowbee Intermediate for a Floater. I tied a Montana to the point and put a dial-bach and a cormorant on the droppers. Bruce meanwhile also changed to a floating line and tied on a bund drifting a team of nymphs as he enjoyed lunch.
Over the following three hours we enjoyed consistent action fishing teams of nymphs slowly. This was delightful fishing as a gentle breeze rippled the water and late winter sunshine illuminated the lake and leafless trees.
Birdsong filled the air and I watched a pair of grebes practicing their Spring courtship routine. It seemed that Winter was losing Its grip as the day drifted along on calm waters.
With an hours fishing left and sport slowing we decided to have an hour in the boat bay before leaving. Other anglers had also had the same idea and several boats fished as a heavy squall swept across the lake.
Heavy rain beat down but failed to dampen our enthusiasm. As the rain passed by sunshine broke through and a rainbow appeared adding vivid colours to the fading day.
We banked the boat and compared notes with fellow anglers. It seemed that all had enjoyed success with floating lines and small dark flies most effective. Bruce and I had boated nine good rainbows averaging 2lb to 3lb. Other anglers had faired equally well with one angler reporting eleven trout to the net along with tales of bigger fish coming adrift.
It was good to be back and I look forward to my next trip on this wonderful lake.
We are very pleased to announce the first Hanak Workshop of 2026 calendar.
This workshop will be running as one of the main events at ‘The Westcountry trout festival’ hosted by the famous, Arundell Arms Hotel in the south west of England. With an aim to get everyoybody underway and kickstart their 2026 trout season.
Saturday 14th March
Location – The Arundell Arms, Lifton (South Devon)
Time – doors open from 9:00am and will go on late into the afternoon.
As well as demonstrations from the team, down by the riverside and Lifton Lake by:
This will be the first time we have so many of our team all in one place.
There will also be casting demonstrations given by, non other than fly fishing legend Charles Jardine.
Fly tying demonstrations and workshops with @Nigel Nunn & Jeff Pearce
Plus a series of presentations from:
Sean Leonard, President of the Wild Trout Trust, will discuss the incredible work the Trust carries out and explore modern fishery management approaches required to support wild fish.
-Jeff Pearce of the South West Rivers Association will talk about the expansive strategies currently being developed by SWRA, including their Sea Trout and Salmon Action Plan and Smolt to Adult Augmentation initiatives.
–Dominic Garnett will speak about fly fishing for coarse species and trout fishing on urban streams.
-Nigel Nunn will discuss his renowned fly patterns and delve into the reasoning behind their design.
-Charles Jardine will talk about the inspiring work he is currently involved in, including Fishing for Schools.
-David Pilkington will discuss the history of The Arundell and will read an extract from his highly anticipated fly fishing book.
But it doesn’t end there.
There will be a series of big name brands and shops on site displaying all the new range of 2026 and selling fly fishing products, such as:
Unique flies – displaying an incredible range of barbless flies both lake & river. Along with A big range of the Hanak product line including three quarters of the entire graphene rod range from Hanak. With the complete new lineup of Hanak rods launched for 2026
This will be an opportunity for please to get their hands on pretty JsPatch FlyFishing to pick up and have a cast in our dedicated cast area
JsPatch FlyFishing – offering and displaying some of the finest had crafted most well thought out Fly Fishing products on the market
For those interested, please get in contact with James Christoforou at the Arundell Arms to book your place on 01566 784666
This will be one of the biggest events in the Southwest celebrating all things Fly Fishing and the beginning of what we hope will be an incredible season.
Angling clubs traditionally hold their AGM’s at the start or end of a 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. Both events were well attended and reflected anglers vital links to conservation of river habitats.
South Molton AGM
This was the clubs 57th AGM and was held at South Molton’s Masonic Hall. 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.
Edward Rands taking eDNA samples from the River Taw
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 River Bray
The clubs boat trips proved generally productive and enjoyable and more are planned for the coming season.
Trophies were awarded to Jim Ricketts for the best specimen fish with a black bream of 3lb. The Mac Trophy for the biggest Trout was won by Ed Rands with a brown trout of 4lb 8oz and the Hancocks Bass Trophy by myself with a bass of 7lb. The biggest fish trophy was awarded to Ed Rands for a tope of 25lb.
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 the talk by 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.
Old Woman’s Pool
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.
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. Pete was the owner of Fly Culture Magazine for seven years and had built a sound following via this high quality quarterly magazine. He was recently given the opportunity to take on the role of Trout and Salmon Magazine editor. It was too good an opportunity to miss and Pete seized the chance to impart his own style to this long standing publication.
Pete told how he moved to the West Country in 1999 inspired by the writings of John Gierach and Mike Weavers excellent book The Pursuit of Wild Trout. Pete spent several years as a fishing guide & Instructor at the Fox and Hounds Country Hotel. The hotel has a long history as a fishing hotel with waters on the River Taw a river that Pete calls his home river.
Pete gave numerous valuable tips on fly presentation and how to approach the river. He conveyed a deep love for fly fishing, trout and the rivers in which they live. Through Fly Culture a thriving community has been forged that Pete will undoubtedly continue to build upon via 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.
The price of Trout and Salmon is now less than a pint of beer and offers entertainment and inspiration from both new and established writers fishing a wide variety of venues. Pete is keen to connect with all fly anglers ensuring that those venues fished by the majority of anglers feature alongside those prestigious rivers like the Tay, Tweed, Test and Spey.
A WEEKEND DEDICATED TO FLY ANGLERS
Trout & Salmon Gathering
CALL 01769 580345 TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE
We’ve blocked off our entire country hotel in Devon exclusively for a special weekend, 27-29 March 2026, to welcome in the new fly fishing season. Presented by Pete Tyjas and Trout & Salmon Magazine, the weekend will feature an exciting line-up of speakers, with exhibitors and demonstrations throughout the weekend. It’s an opportunity to get together with fly fishing enthusiasts and experts from across the country for a relaxed weekend of all things fly fishing.
Stillwater Trout anglers continue to enjoy top spot at Bulldog Fishery where Chris Warner-Hill put together this bag that included a fine 6lb 8oz spartic.
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.
Bruce Elston enjoyed a great days sports at Bulldog Fishery tempting a fine brace of brown trout weighing 7lb 12oz and 6lb 6oz. He also added a brace of rainbows and a spartic which that was his first of the species. The fish were all tempted on orange lures and damsel nymphs. Bulldog host their popular monthly open competition this Sunday, February 1st.
Results
1st – Dave & Fred Chapman – 25lb 6oz
2nd – Nick “Lennie” Tamlin – 25lb 5oz
3rd – Pete Davey (Fishing for Heroes) – 24lb 8oz
Biggest Fish of the Day
Honourable Mentions
SPURDOG PACKS ON THE HUNT
