Christmas Grayling

With the rivers finally fishable again after bank-high floods, milder days see the grayling offering superb sport on the Tamar and Lyd. Above is a picture of a fish of around 1 1/2lb, caught on a gold-head bug in Factory Pool on the Lyd.
Why not steal a day or two to see in the new year in style?

To contact the Fishing Office...

If you are ever in need of up-to-the-minute reports or simply to ask any fishing queries, we now have an email address for the fishing office.

fishingoffice@arundellarms.com

VIDEO: Spawning Salmon

We took a stroll along the upper Lyd today, to check on signs of spawning salmon. Catching a pair of fish in the act, we shot this video for use on our new Beginner's Salmon Fishing Course.
See the hen fish (on the left in the opening shot) cutting the redd with her tail as the cock fish aggressively defends his territory, dashing about to warn off nuisance trout and rival cock salmon.
See the act itself, before the hen fish covers her eggs with gravel using her tail and the cock fish disappears upstream!

This is one of British nature's true wonders - we hope you enjoy it.


.

ARTICLE: Westcountry Bass Fly Fishing

While the temperature struggles to beat freezing point, have a read of this article by hotel instructor David Pilkington and dream of hot summer evenings on the coast! Click HERE for David's advice on Westcountry Bass Fly Fishing...

VIDEO: Running Salmon

Here's a short video of salmon on the River Lyd, leaping Hartley Weir after an autumn spate. We've slowed the video down a little to help you spot them. With high water for most of the summer and autumn, the fish have had plenty of chance to run to the headwaters where they should now be starting to spawn.
To get a closer look, click on the four arrows to the left of the word 'vimeo' at the bottom of the video screen.


.

Gift Vouchers Now Available

Stuck for a gift? Why not treat someone special to an Arundell Arms gift voucher. Available in £20.00 or £50.00 denominations, these new vouchers can be used for fishing, accommodation, or meals.
For more information, or to purchase vouchers, contact the hotel reception on 01566 784666!

One More For The Records!

Having returned to the United States, regular Arundell Arms angling ace, Cathy Newman, emailed us a photograph of her 2008 salmon. Caught using a copper Mepps no.3, Cathy hooked the 8lb hen fish in Top Pool on beat 3 (River Lyd). After a boisterous fight in the fast water, the fish tired enough for Tim to net it. Well done Cathy - we look forward to seeing you next year!

VIDEO: Rising Trout

Here's a short video to ease the pain of the closed season!
While shooting some video footage for our Beginners' Courses, we came across this fish, feeding greedily in King Pool on the Lyd. Hats off to the wild westcountry brown trout... see you in March!


.

VIDEO: Salmon Fishing The River Lyd

There's nothing like catching a salmon to order! Here's a new video, shot in the first week of October 2008. Arundell Arms instructor David Pilkington plays, lands and releases a salmon of around 8 1/2lb in Blue Charm Pool on Home beat of the River Lyd. David used a 9ft 6in 7-wt outfit (ideal tackle for the Lyd), and the fish took a Cascade variant fished on an intermediate line.
Enjoy!


.

More salmon pictures

Here's a couple of extra photographs from successful Arundell Arms salmon anglers!



Jonathan Thomson-Glover, 8lb, Snipe Pool beat 8a.



Alexander and Andy Bliss, 7 1/2lb est, Ash Tree Pool beat 7a.

End of season salmon!

Here's a selection of salmon from the last week of the 2008 season, the most productive for 15 years!



Roy Buckingham with the last fish of the season, caught in Silver Doctor Pool on Home beat.



David Pilkington, 6 1/2lb, Coffin Pool beat 8a.



John Armstrong (his first salmon!) 6lb, Clare's Pool beat 1.



Mark Previte, 5lb, Stump Pool beat 8a.



Tim Smith, 5lb, King Pool beat 1.



Richard Hines, 6lb, Lydfoot beat 7a.

Mark's Double Act

Mark Previte had never landed a salmon on a fly before visiting Bottom beat on the River Lyd a couple of weeks ago. With no sign of a fish in the morning, it was time to pull out the big-guns and a change to his own-devised Red Baron tube made all the difference. Mark proceeded to land not one but two grilse within ten minutes of each other! Mark is (so far) the only angler to land two fish on fly in a day this season... the pictures tell the story!


At around five pounds, Mark's first fly-caught salmon is a little cracker.



After a quick photo, the fish is returned to the Lyd - good on you Mark.



The Red Baron soon strikes again! A few casts in a gap above Jock Scott Pool sees the rod take on a hefty bend!



Fish number two - again around five pounds, which Mark also returns to the river.




The infamous Red Baron - it should be banned!




Mark, Dave and Gerald take five to reflect with a fresh pot of tea. How very civilised!

Tony's giant of the Lyd

Here's a belated photo of a beautiful 14in brown trout, caught in June by regular visitor Tony Bostock. With the Lyd's average size at 6 to 8in, this fish - estimated at over a pound - is a monster!
Tony was fishing the tiny Upper Lyd and caught the fish on a dry fly. He landed an astonishing 115 trout in just three evening's fishing!

Late-Season Deal

As a special offer, we are doing all-in packages for late-season anglers.

Dinner, bed and breakfast in the hotel (with fishing included) will cost just £120 per person, per night!

The offer is running until October 14th 2008, and is applicable to river fishing only. Please contact the hotel for more details and quote 'WEB OFFER' when enquiring.

Recent Pictures

It's been a hectic few weeks here at the hotel, which explains the lack of fresh new pictures on the web page. Anyway, here's a selection from the last month...

A nymph-caught brown makes a dash through the shallows.



All-action on the Ottery - finally fishable after a summer in spate.



A perfect wild brown trout from Beat 16.



The grayling put on a show too - Mr Hatt and pals had fish to 42cm on this particular day!



Stormy seas had slowed the sea fishing, but during settled spells, those bass just love a Popper - this one is 3lb 3oz.




Mackerel, sea trout (yes - in the sea!) and bass from a north coast rock mark.

Last-Minute Salmon Fishing

We still have some availability for those wishing to take advantage of late-season fishing.
September and early October is the prime time to fish for salmon on the Tamar and Lyd, with the brown trout fishing also excellent.

As a special offer, we are doing all-in packages for late-season anglers.

Dinner, bed and breakfast in the hotel (with fishing included) will cost just £120 per person, per night!

The offer is running until October 14th 2008, and is applicable to river fishing only. Please contact the hotel for more details and quote 'WEB OFFER' when enquiring.

So Close!

Seasoned River Fowey angler, Graham Bray, made it his target of the year to catch his first River Tamar salmon. After several fruitless attempts, Tim Smith took Graham to Gunnislake on the Lower Tamar fishery's beat 2.



The first run through Upper Cottage produced an aggressive take to a Bottle Tube fly and Graham was attached to a bright silver fish estimated at around 10 pounds...



After five minutes of searing runs up and down the river, several leaps and head-shakes from the fish...



... it came off!

You'll get there soon Graham!

Jo's First Tamar Salmon!

It's been a great week for Arundell Arms salmon anglers, with nine fish recorded (8 released); not bad for August!
Among the successful guests was Jo Hudgell... this is a note from partner Joe Sinclair:

"Many thanks for another great visit. Since you now have an updated page on the website I thought I'd send these over. The fish in the picture took a gold Mepps cast upstream into the Tamar water at Lydfoot (24th August). 9lb and safely released. Jo Hudgell's first Tamar salmon!

Once again many thanks and tight lines for the remainder of the season."

WELL DONE JO!!!

Salmon Bonanza

Although the river looked unfishable, clearing waters just tempted us to cast a fly on the Tamar today... The result? Three fly-caught salmon for under an hour's combined fishing effort, in one pool.


James Palmer hooks a lively fish that initially tries to run to Plymouth!




After a 10-minute, surging battle, David slips the net...



How about that for a 10lb+ beauty, just before release.



Tim managed to get in on the act too with this shining little grilse - proper job!



Who'd have thought we'd be fishing brass tube flies on sinking lines in mid-August?!



Another 10-pounder, this time for Mr Pilkington...




This could be a great back-end season! Why not take advantage of our Last-Minute Salmon Breaks?

Last Minute Salmon Fishing

We still have some availability for those wishing to take advantage of late-season fishing.
September and early October is the prime time to fish for salmon on the Tamar and Lyd, with the brown trout fishing usually being excellent. With what is looking like a late run of fish this year, the sea trout fishing in early September could well be worth making a date for.

As a special offer, we are doing all-in packages for late-season anglers.

Dinner, bed and breakfast in the hotel (with fishing included) will cost just £120 per person, per night! Please contact the hotel for more details and quote 'WEB OFFER' when enquiring.

Recent Pictures

Here are some recent pictures to get the pulse racing!


Tim Smith's salmon, shortly before being released. The 9lb fish took a bottle tube fly in Top Pool on beat 3, River Lyd.





Charles Allen looks pleased with his very first sea trout. He used a Stoat's Tail on a sink tip line on beat 3.



A shoal of sea trout on the nearby River Fowey in Cornwall!

Braving The Flood

Huge amounts of rain this week has meant a fishing holiday cut short for many guests. Unfortunately, the rivers have been unfishable on most days, and even venturing outdoors has taken courage!
One new recruit to the world of fly fishing this week was Cordelia Jenkin. Fishing with Tim for a couple of days, Cordelia wasn't put off by miserable weather conditions and picked up casting a fly like a duck to water...


Cordelia hooks her first trout on a dry fly, watched by a very proud grandmother!



This one's for breakfast!



Th River Wolf was the only fishable water on Tuesday, and the upstream nymph brought Cordelia several beautiful wild brown trout...

The Beasts of Tinhay...

While taking a beginner's course yesterday, we witnessed a couple of very large brown trout attempting to savage small rainbows as guests were playing them! These huge fish have been in the hotel lake for years and feed on minnows and the smaller trout as well as insects. Hatching a plan, David used a jumbo-sized leech fly and caught one of the smaller ones... a seven-pounder! There are several fish in the lake that would dwarf even this one!

Jake Walton's Tamar salmon

Here are a couple of pictures of Jake Walton's sealiced salmon that he landed last Friday. Jake was fishing with David Pilkington on the hotel's Lower Tamar Fishery rod and used an Ally's Shrimp to tempt the fish. What a cracker!

Adam's Macnab

Yesterday, Adam Fox-Edwards became the first angler to achieve the Arundell Arms Macnab of a trout, bass and sea trout in a single day! It was exhausting to say the least, but Adam fished like a demon and met the challenge with style. The bass were heaving in the estuary, the trout proved very tricky (the weather at that point was awful!) and the sea trout... well, magnificent as always.
The pictures tell the story...




The tide starts to flood and three hopeful anglers race to the water's edge. The game is on!



Pilks' deadly sandeel imitations. What bass could refuse?



The rod tip arches over and Adam hooks his first fly-caught bass in inches of water.



Okay, it's not a monster Adam... but it counts!



The school bass were packed tightly into shoals and almost fighting to take a fly!



Small, but stunning (and very spikey!) nonetheless.



A fine packed lunch by the sea? How very civilised!



Beat 4 on the Thrushel - the quest for species number two.



It was a struggle in monsoon downpours, but Adam finally nymphed a nice brown trout of around 10 inches.



Haunting... waiting for sea trout time.



Adam finally clinches victory, with this gleaming, fresh sea trout of 1lb 4oz - congratulations!