Last day lake trout...

Jon Barnard fished Tinhay Lake yesterday - aided by son Dan's superb netting skills - and landed a brace of trout with the best fish weighing in at over 5 1/2lb. What a great way to end 2009 Jon!
The lake continues to fish very well, despite the cold, and sinking lines have helped anglers get down to the deep-lying trout.

To open your 2010 fishing year in style, call us on 01566 784666 and treat yourself to a day ticket at Tinhay.

Westcountry Sea Trout Festival 2010

From Thursday 1st to Monday 6th July 2010, we are proud to present the inaugural Westcountry Sea Trout Festival – a celebration of one of Devon and Cornwall’s most exciting game fish. Each night, anglers will enjoy what is surely the pinnacle of the fly fisher’s art, on the rivers Lyd and Tamar at Lifton.
We have two full-time instructors, David Pilkington and Tim Smith. They hold the prestigious AAPGAI advanced qualifications in both single and double-handed disciplines. David and Tim will run a series of workshops throughout the festival. In addition, our instructors will be on the beats each night to offer help and advice. Over the course of the festival, local tackle company Snowbee will be in attendance, giving you the opportunity to try the latest equipment, tailored to Westcountry fly fishing.
A maximum of 12 anglers can fish on each night, so prior booking is essential. The festival is best-suited to those that have some fly fishing experience and can cast competently - you don’t have to have fished for sea trout before however! There will be a prize, kindly donated by Snowbee, for the captor of the largest sea trout (to be measured in length and returned) over the duration of the festival.
The cost of fishing is £26 per person, per night. There is a special rate of £110 per person, per night for fishing and B&B accommodation at the hotel. For those with the stamina to fish all five nights, the cost is £100 for fishing or £500 including B&B accommodation.

For more info, please e-mail us at: fishingoffice@arundellarms.com

Workshops (subject to change)

Thursday 1st July

Night fishing for sea trout: 11am – 1pm
A talk and demonstration by the river. Techniques for sea trout fly fishing at night; tackle and fly choice, presentation and more. £10 per person

Guided reconnaissance: 3pm – 6pm
Walk your beat with our instructors; note lies, spot fish and boost your knowledge of rivercraft. £10 per person


Friday 2nd July

Casting workshop: 11am – 1pm
A demonstration of tips and tricks to improve your casting on the river, including casting fundamentals, techniques for casting large flies and spey casts at night. This will be followed by one to one casting instruction on anything you’d like help with. £25 per person

Guided reconnaissance: 3pm – 6pm
Walk your beat with our instructors; note lies, spot fish and boost your knowledge of rivercraft. £10 per person

Saturday 3rd July

Westcountry favourites: 11am – 1pm
A fly tying demonstration. How to tie classic and modern sea trout flies of the Westcountry. £10 per person

Guided reconnaissance: 3pm – 6pm
Walk your beat with our instructors; note lies, spot fish and boost your knowledge of rivercraft. £10 per person

Sunday 4th July

Casting workshop: 11am – 1pm
A demonstration of tips and tricks to improve your casting on the river, including casting fundamentals, techniques for casting large flies and spey casts at night. This will be followed by one to one casting instruction on anything you’d like help with. £25 per person

Guided reconnaissance: 3pm – 6pm
Walk your beat with our instructors; note lies, spot fish and boost your knowledge of rivercraft. £10 per person

Monday 5th July

Day fishing for sea trout: 11am – 1pm
A talk and demonstration by the river. Techniques for sea trout fly fishing by day, including tackle and fly choice for high and low water. £10 per person

Guided reconnaissance: 3pm – 6pm
Walk your beat with our instructors; note lies, spot fish and boost your knowledge of rivercraft. £10 per person

Arundell Arms fly boxes - now available

We just taken delivery of a new batch of these lovely aluminium fly boxes, made in England by Richard Wheatley. They feature a side of flat foam and a side of spring-loaded compartments - perfect for holding a mixture of dries, wets and nymphs. At 3 1/2in x 2 3/8in x 1in, they are dinky boxes ideal for travelling light on the river.
These make a great gift for keen anglers - even if that means treating yourself!

The boxes are £24.99 each and are available in black or silver by emailing us at fishingoffice@arundellarms.com or by phoning 01566 784666

River Tamar webcam goes live

There is now a great-quality webcam on the lower River Tamar at Horsebridge. Thanks to Glyn Howells and his on-going project to install cameras on westcountry rivers, you can now see the river (with the image updated every 10 seconds) at the click of a mouse. The web page also links to cameras on other local rivers, including the Torridge, Tavy, Fowey, Camel and more.


Click here to visit the live Tamar camera:

RIVER TAMAR WEBCAM

Winter supplies for fly-tyers...

Many of us will be attempting to preserve sanity during the festive madness by dreaming of the season ahead and tying a few flies.
We now have limited stocks of the very best hook for tying sea trout flies - the Partridge D3STF. This is the hook used for the Pilk's Bumble and WMD (that between them accounted for 84 of our 2009 sea trout catch of 253) and is discontinued by the manufacturer.
These could be the last stocks on the planet - so if you would like to order some (at £4.50 for 25 hooks), call us on 01566 784666 or e-mail at fishingoffice@arundellarms.com.



All three sizes of the Partridge D3STF are available in limited numbers.

October Report and Season Summary

With the exception of a fleeting rise of around a foot during the second week, October saw low water and leaf soup for salmon fishers at the Arundell Arms. On the last few days of the season reasonable numbers of fish were present on the middle Tamar, although many were coloured. From the start of the month up to the last day on the 14th, 12 fish were landed (all of them released). Highlights included first fish for regular guest James Graham and for local angler Ben Garnett. James landed a cock fish of around 6lb in Top Pool on the Lyd on a Mepps. Ben landed two – one to a spinner and one to a home-tied Cascade – both grilse, on the Tamar. Alan Vinnicombe had a very productive day on the Tamar, landing four to 28 inches on spinner, and the best fish - 10lb-plus - was landed by hotel instructor David Pilkington in Quarry Pool on a Sunray Shadow on the last day of the season.
The final flurry in October took the salmon total to 23 fish off the Arundell Arms beats, with another six from the hotel rods on other beats. The largest fish of the season, estimated at 13lb, was landed by Alexander Jones in Lydfoot on the Tamar in late July. All but two fish were returned to the river. This total is a considerable drop from last season’s 50 fish, especially seeing as salmon fishing pressure was arguably greater this year. This backs up the general view that the river was badly lacking in salmon in 2009. On a brighter note, the sea trout total of 253 plus nine from hotel rods on other beats (with the majority released) was the best for 10 years. The largest fish, estimated at 5lb, was caught and released by Gabriele Miotti in Quarry Pool on the Tamar. If the peak four weeks of the season in July and August hadn't been lost due to relentless high water, we are confident that many more would have been added to the records. For those lucky enough to have fished when the conditions were right, some truly superb sport was had fly fishing at night. There was a very good mixture of fish too, with high numbers of school peal and plenty from 2 to 5lb. Some larger fish still were spotted, and at least four anglers reported being broken by monsters in the dark – time for some stronger string next season!
Trout fishing was also severely hampered by relentless spate conditions during the summer, but the total of 2204 wild brown trout (with all but a handful released) was almost double the five-year average. May yielded a fantastic 684 fish, including a good number over 10 inches, and most of them on dry fly. Trout fishers also picked up some reasonable numbers of grayling to nearly 2lb, and sightings of large fish rising during the closing days of the salmon season will be enough for hardy types to target these over the coming winter months.
With the exception of the worrying salmon situation, it was a good season at the Arundell Arms. We would have preferred the rain during the summer to have come at the back end, but there’s always next year!

The Season Finale 2009

The 14th October saw a group of rods fishing the last day of the Tamar salmon season. The river was low, and despite lots of fish splashing in several pools, the morning saw the hopeful anglers draw a blank. As late afternoon arrived and the sun lost its strength, things improved - with three salmon landed. Congratulations must go to Ben Garnett, who not only landed a fish of 4 1/2lb on a Mepps in Railway Hut, but also one of 5 1/2lb on a Cascade in Snipe Pool - his first two salmon ever. David Pilkington also landed a fish (10-11lb) at just gone 6pm on what is becoming a popular fly on the Tamar - a Sunray Shadow. All fish were released.

The neck of Quarry Pool...


A leisurely lunch was had by all!


Ben looked fairly attentive when the pasties were out...


Ben Garnett's first salmon, 4 1/2lb, caught and released in Railway Hut on a Mepps.



David Pilkington shows us how it's done...






- Since writing this report at the end of the season, Roy Buckingham mentioned that he happened to find himself fishing Silver Doctor Pool on the Lyd on his way home on the 14th... where he landed and returned a nice nine-pound hen fish on a Mepps. He's not lost his touch!

Another first for James

You may remember seeing pictures of regular guest James Graham's first sea trout caught this summer. Well he's done it again, landing his first salmon (and hooking another!) on the River Lyd on Sunday. CONGRATULATIONS James!

Current River Conditions

We will endeavour to update these videos when there is a significant change of river conditions.


River Lyd at Lifton - 8/10/09



River Tamar at Polson - 8/10/09

'Til next year

Here's a picture of one of the last sea trout of the season - a two pounder caught in Bridget's Pool on the 29th September 2009. It's been a great season, despite losing the peak of it due to high water. Here's hoping for plenty of exciting night-time excursions in 2010...

Fieldsports Britain

Here's a new internet television programme from www.fieldsportschannel.tv
This first episode features fishing at the Arundell Arms with an attempt (!) at the Devon Macnab...
If your internet connection isn't the fastest, click on the 'HQ' button at the bottom of the video, making sure it isn't highlighted in red.

Sea Trout for James

Regular guest and fanatical fisherman, James Graham, emailed us a selection of pictures from his fishing this summer, including shots of his first forays into the world of sea trout fishing...

September Salmon on the Tamar

With under a month of the season left, here are a few recent pictures to whet the appetite! While salmon numbers on the Tamar are still slim, there are one or two to be caught - call us on 01566 784666 to book a beat! Here are some shots from yesterday of a day at Endsleigh. Three grilse and a sea trout were landed by the two Arundell Arms rods...

Some recent salmon pictures...

While salmon are still sadly thin on the ground, one or two have been landed recently by fly fishers at the Arundell Arms.


A fresh grilse (returned) for Alexander Jones, caught in July on a Black and Orange Tube. Oak Tree Pool, beat 7A.


...and another on the same day for Alexander; 12-14lb (returned)on the same fly in Lydfoot, beat 7A.


It's not impossible to hook Tamar salmon in rising water!


An August 10-pounder for Tim Smith in Lydfoot. The fish took an Orange Templedog.


The fish was safely returned to the river.

Sea trout by day and night...

Here are three recent sea trout, all 4lb + in size, and all released to the rivers...


Jim Foster, Lyd Beat 3, size 10 Black and Silver


Toby Gray, Tamar Beat 7A, Orange Tempeldog


Tim Smith, Lyd Beat 3, size 4 WMD

Sea trout pictures...

A few shots of recent nocturnal activities!

News from the coast

The bass seem to have woken up after a slow start to the summer... recent trips to the north Devon shorelines with hotel guests have produced many fine fish to over 4lb, all on flies. One of the most effective methods has been to use large surface poppers - an extremely exciting way to fish as the water explodes in front of you!
For more information, or to book guided days on the estuary or off the rocks, phone David or Tim on 01566 784666.


A 3 1/2lb bass taken on a large surface popper.

More June sea trout

A couple of pictures from earlier in the week...


Fish weighed at 1lb 8oz a piece - G.Spiers and T.Smith, Bottom Beat


Fish returned - estimated at 3 1/2 to 4lb - T.Smith, Beat 2


Fish weighed at 2lb - A.Jones, Beat 7a

Early Sea Trout

A picture to whet the night fisher's appetite...



This fish - 4lb 12oz - was caught by Tim Smith last night on beat 3 on the Lyd. It took a variant of Pilk's Bumble on a midge-tip line. Unfortunately it could not be returned due to being deeply-hooked, but the two others that joined it later in the night went back just fine.
Sea trout fishing seems to have started early this year... with a bang!

The Sea Trout Are Here!

There are several early sea trout now lurking in the beats at Lifton. The first of the night fishers late last week reported hearing fish jump, and Mr Norris - fishing beat 3 last night - landed three good fish to 3lb. He released two of them.
David Chapman (pictured) also caught and released a sea trout yesterday (18in - approx 2lb) while fishing Quarry Pool in the evening with a Tempeldog on an intermediate line.
As long as the current unsettled weather doesn't bring any more rain, prospects look good...

May Report

Rivers remained low for the first half of May until a spate on the 15th that brought the main Tamar up by nearly three feet. Until this point, trout fishing had been steady, although cold conditions meant that nymphs and wet flies took most of the fish. As the spate dropped, milder weather kick-started the large hatches of black gnats along with the first of the mayfly. Despite a further couple of small spates ruining trout fishing, overall anglers enjoyed superb sport with well over 650 brown trout recorded for the month on the Arundell Arms water. Many nice trout of around 10 inches were caught, with several around 12 inches landed on dries on the Ottery. A superb grayling estimated at two pounds was landed by Mr Davies on the Thrushel.
The first salmon on the hotel water was landed and released on May 20th, as a spate dropped away. Gerald Spiers hooked the fish in Quarry Pool on the Tamar on his own tube fly pattern, a Mumbra. The bright silver fish was measured at 29 inches, estimated at nine pounds. On the same day, David Pilkington landed and released the first sea trout of around 2 1/2lb in Silver Doctor Pool on the Lyd. The fish was caught in coloured water on a large Black Tadpole during the day.
While the lack of salmon being seen is a little worrying to say the least, reports of reasonable numbers of early sea trout from the lower river bodes well for the onset of night fly fishing at Lifton. With the rivers holding their heights well - even in the hot weather at the time of writing - trout fishing should remain very good thanks to large hatches of gnats, olives and a generous sprinkling of mayfly.

A Taste Of Fly Fishing

We held the first of a series of fly fishing 'Taster Days' on Monday, which proved a big success. Essentially a condensed fishing course, the participants were taught the basics of fly casting, tackle and fishing techniques among many hints and tricks to help catch that first trout. Most of the newly-fledged fishers managed to land a fish on the day, and all went away with grins on their faces.
Oh, and the lavish picnic lunch provided also went down a storm!

We have two more Taster Days planned for the summer: Tuesday 11th June and Monday 10th August.
The cost is £60.00 per person, which includes all tuition, tackle hire, Environment Agency licence, fishing charges and lunch!

If you fancy a fun day out to learn something new, please give us a call on 01566 784666.

Hooked For Life

8 year old James Hodson showed us all how it's done when he came to stay recently with his Dad. James started off on Tinhay lake with his first ever fish - a lovely rainbow of 2lb. The next day he took to nymph fishing on the River Thrushel, catching several trout and two grayling to 1lb 8oz - fantastic fish. Well done that lad!
Here are the pics...