Fish for the Future

A quick look around some of the main spawning sites a couple of weeks ago revealed plenty of sea trout on the redds, and a few salmon. Another look yesterday in the same areas confirmed that while salmon numbers are still below average, a few more fish have now spawned, and the seeds are set for the grilse of 2018, and the salmon of 2019.  What makes this all the more encouraging is that this winter's spawning has taken place in reasonable heights of water, and not the howling, thrashing floods of the past two seasons.
We have a decent winter spate raging now, after heavy rain overnight, but at least most of the eggs are now already in the gravels, and will take their chance with Nature. One thing over which we do have some control is rod exploitation, and after two poor salmon seasons, and a nationwide collapse in salmon stocks, we at the Arundell Arms are willing to stand up and be counted, and will be implementing a 100% catch-and-release policy for salmon as from next season. In reality this doesn't change things very much, as we are pretty well doing this anyway. Major rivers around the country, including the Wye and the Scottish Dee have already gone down this route.
Catch-and-release may not be the answer to all the problems which our salmon face, but at least gives us the comfort that what fish have made it to our waters, and back into their natal rivers, will not be killed by our fishers.                                                                                                                            
The debate on this is opening up everywhere, other fisheries on the Tamar are now talking about it, and if a voluntary agreement could be achieved it would hasten the end of netting on our estuaries. Meanwhile, a very Merry Christmas to everyone, and great hopes for a good season in the New Year.

Winding down for the winter.

With all the river fishing now closed, except for grayling, tackle is being put away for the winter and things are much quieter at the hotel.
2014 has to go down as the worst salmon season since 1959, which for those with very long memories, was a drought of biblical proportions. We managed just 4 salmon, all released, with 2 more from our rod at Endsleigh. The season was spectacular for lack of both water and fish during the normal salmon-producing months.
Sea trout fishing, by contrast, was rather good, with a total of 172, of which we released 124. Had it not been quite so scorchingly hot from late June until the end of the season, no doubt we would have had several more. The whole Tamar system was stuffed with sea trout, on the last day of September I fished at Endsleigh, and eschewing the pleasure of trying to catch one of a very few salmon in hopeless water, took the trout rod and hooked 4 sea trout on dry flies.
Brown trout fishing was also good, and would have been a lot better without the sky high temperatures and dead low water which persisted for much of the season. We had 1,537 wild brownies from our rivers, one notable feature being the scarcity of fly life after the raging winter storms, and the success of nymphs.
We also had 127 grayling, more than usual, and possibly because more people fished nymphs, which are always very attractive to the Lady of the Stream.
Currently the rivers are settled after a decent spate in mid October, running quite clear and in fine order for grayling fishing. Sitting at the computer may have to be shelved for a couple of hours!
Tight Lines. David Pilkington

Rivers Update

Rivers are currently low and clear. Unsurprisingly this warm weather is dropping river levels and as such any thoughts of salmon fishing are, for now, on hold. We could really do with 2-3 inches of rain before we have any serious thoughts of casting salmon flies. Sea trout night fishing continues to be worthwhile however, with fish being caught by most that try for them and plenty of sea trout resident in the pools on the Lyd. Cold nights and the current huge moon are making the fishing trickier, but surface lures are working well and are exciting in the moonlight. Trout fishing has been patchy, and the Tamar is fishing best overall. Nymphs and wets have been most successful, although a few trout are rising sporadically to stoneflies and a few late olives. With the weather looking set for a while we'd better make the most of what has been a good year for sea trout at The Arundell Arms.

Proper rain, at last!
After a scorching July which saw river levels dropping steadily, then a strange August which was hot at first, then cold, but devoid of significant rain, we now have a good spate running. Two-thirds of an inch of rain fell at Lifton yesterday, with a very wet morning followed by more showers overnight. The Tamar at Polson bridge was 0.8 metres on the gauge at 0800, it was 0.9 metres at 1300, having languished at 0.3 for weeks.
Currently the water is very dirty, but this is the first decent spate since April, and will start to get some salmon moving.
Another belt of heavy rain is predicted for tomorrow afternoon, and falling on already wettted ground this should give another rise. One can almost hear the salmon lacing up their running boots, preparing to scamper up the river as the spate starts to drop and clear.

Latest conditions

Cooler temperatures, heavy showers and at times high winds have brought an autumnal air to the rivers at Lifton. Trout fishing is up and down  - typical for August - but some anglers have done well fishing goldhead nymphs on the Lyd. The smaller tributaries could certainly do with an extra inch or three of water, but the rain falling seems to dry up within minutes of its arrival! In the meantime, sea trout night fishing is certainly still on the cards, with fish being caught on most nights and shoals now present in every pool. A spell of warmer, settled weather will no doubt improve sea trout catches further. We are coming up to salmon time at the Arundell Arms, though the salmon rods will stay in the cupboard until we have some serious rain to lift the river levels.

Sea Trout Update

The hotel sea trout catch now stands at 106, the highest at this point in the season since 2010. There are good numbers of fish throughout, and those fishing a light, delicate approach at night are picking up fish consistently. Last night regular sea trout guest, Alan Madsen, caught three to 2.5lb on beat 3 on the Lyd. Flies of size 8-12 have been catching most fish, with the surface lure also proving deadly.
After almost an inch of rain over the previous 24hrs, the Lyd has just had a top up of water, which should boost catches further by freshening the water and encouraging new fish to run. Prospects are looking very good indeed!!!

Sea Trout Season In Full Swing

With rivers now down to summer low, sea trout are running through to us every night. Eleven were caught last night between five rods, all very fresh, bringing the season's total to 60.
Sea lampreys have also been running, with more of them spawning in the Tamar and Lyd than we have seen for many years.

They're here!

Devon has 'enjoyed' copious amounts of rain in the last couple of weeks, keeping the rivers very full and giving ideal water for migratory fish to run. David Pilkington took advantage of this water to try for a daytime sea trout on the Lyd. He was surprised (and delighted!) to catch a very fresh 28 inch cock salmon in Silver Doctor pool, when he was really supposed to be picking wild garlic for the chefs.
Inspired, David took Richard Archer down to Bottom beat in the afternoon, where Richard very kindly snapped this picture of our first sea trout of the season, as you can see a sparkling fresh hen fish of 18 inches. The salmon and the sea trout both took the same fly, a size 6 Black Tadpole, fished on a sink-tip. Another sea trout was seen to jump twice in Stoat's tail pool.
Swarms of black gnats are mating over the stickles, we saw 3 mayflies on the Lyd, it really is time to go fishing.

First Tamar salmon landed!

We have just heard that the first salmon of the 2014 season has been landed on the River Tamar. The bright silver springer was caught on fly on a private fishery on the lower river. 

With the Tamar still running high, it might not be too long before we are announcing the first Arundell fish of the year!

Start of the season report

River levels were fairly high for the opening of the trout season, and are still holding at a good level into April. 20 wild brownies, up to 9 inches, and 3 grayling up to 13 inches, have been caught so far from the Arundell Arms beats on the Lyd, Tamar and Carey. There are also some sea trout smolts starting to shoal in the Lyd, the salmon smolts will also appear soon, and this fact has not gone unnoticed by the cormorants and goosanders. Not much fly has been hatching this early in the season, but in a month's time we should be in the thick of the trout season with olives, black gnats and plenty of rising fish.

Migratory fish are so far pretty scarce, with nothing as yet reported on the Tamar. With such consistently high flows there is every chance of sea trout or salmon pushing well up into the middle reaches in the next few weeks. May will see a real chance of salmon or peal here at Lifton, with the best of the fishing expected a little later on. Sea trout sport peaks in July, with chances of a salmon always dependant on the right water conditions. All the springs and small streams are still flowing at full volume, and although the ground is slowly drying out, it has a very long way to go before we start worrying about flow levels.

David Pilkington

The miracle of Tinhay

The ability to perform miracles can often be a useful asset for a fishing instructor. Here 'Dynamo' Dave Pilkington can be seen walking on water at Tinhay Lake (and even catching a fish). 

With a slight easing in the stormy weather, water levels should soon start to recede, and with the lengthening days signs of spring are everywhere. Last Sunday, a rare and beautiful day of sunshine and calm airs, honey bees were busy in the snowdrops. On the cliffs at Crackington, a skylark was singing his heart out. The trout season beckons. 

Danielsson Reels Back In Stock

With a new season around the corner, it could be time to treat yourself to a new fly reel. We are proud to be one of only a handful of British retailers of these fantastic Swedish-made reels. We have used many premium fly reels over the years and have settled on Danielsson as offering flawless performance at a sensible price. Made by a small family firm in Sweden, these are hard to get hold of and tend to fly off the shelves... so be quick!

The reels are priced from £145, and details can be found here: DANIELSSON REELS

Contact us via fishingoffice@arundellarms.com or on 01566 784666 to order.

Water, water, everywhere

This was the Tamar at mid-morning today. The reading on the gauge, about 2.75 metres, speaks for itself. A good height for salmon would be 0.6 metres, for trout fishing a mere 0.3 is fine.

The debris on the fence shows the height of the last flood, another metre on the present height.

This is the view from Polson Bridge looking upstream on Beat 9A. We normally walk through the metal gate, beside which is a stile where you can climb down a good 8 feet to access the pool under the bridge

At least the beat notice board is still visible!

Fly Dressers' Guild - Fly Tying Weekends

A unique opportunity to learn how to tie flies or brush up your skills at one of the finest hotels and leading fly fishing schools in Devon:

22nd & 23rd Feb for absolute beginners

15th & 16th March for improvers

The fly tying sessions - led by instructors from the Fly Dressers Guild - will take place on Saturday morning and afternoon and Sunday morning, with the opportunity to fish the catch and release lake on Sunday afternoon.

All materials will be provided; fly tying tools can be provided too if notified in advance.

Please contact Adam at the Arundell Arms directly for further details on the package and or to make a booking -www.arundellarms.com or +44 (0) 1566 784666.

Portents of Spring

The winter so far has been extremely wet - you may have noticed! Rivers have been in flood for weeks and the ground is super-saturated. The Christams Eve flood peaked at a staggering 19 feet 4 inches down at Endsleigh, and was well into the teens of feet up here at Lifton. A walk along the Tamar  last week revealed hints of the damage which will need to be addressed before we start fishing, with three wooden ladders completely gone from just one beat. Those familiar with Coffin Pool at the junction of beats 7B and 8A may recall a mass of fallen trees lodged firmly in the pool tail for the last two years - well, they are gone!
One has only moved some 50 yards, and is now in Little Coffin pool, fortunately very close to the bank and out of the way. Another has come to rest a further 200 yards down, in Chain Bridge pool, and again not in a place which will affect fishing. The other went a good quarter-mile and is in the shallows above Tunnel pool. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away.
Signs of approaching Spring are everywhere, this year's growth of Dog's Mercury is actually in flower, and the hazel catkins, normally tightly compacted, are fully extended into the 'lamb's tails' which we normally expect in March. In spite of early morning ice today, and miserable cold rain, a blackbird is singing his heart out in the hotel garden, and wood pigeons are getting amorous in the ash trees.
The accompanying photo shows the level of Tinhay Lake, hopefully it will subside by the time we resume fishing properly.

Here's to 2014 - a new season beckons

A happy new year to one and all. After a season of desperately low water conditions, we were hoping for a drop of rain in 2014 and it appears to have come a few months early... We often get a large winter flood on the Tamar system, but since a rise of nearly 14 feet on Christmas Eve, it's barely dropped back. At the time of writing, nearly all of the rivers are once again just about in the fields. Needless to say, grayling fishing is on hold for the time being.
Prior to Christmas, we walked the tributaries to look for signs of spawning salmon. Although a little later than usually expected, we were very pleased to witness several pairs of fish and many redds throughout the Lyd, Wolf and Thrushel. This came as a small sigh of relief as relatively few salmon seemed present in the river during the season. All being well, the offspring of these fish will be taking our flies on the Tamar and Lyd in 2017 and 2018!
Here's to a fish-filled 2014 season. Our course dates and fishing availability have all been updated on the main hotel website, so please CLICK HERE for more information.

High-summer trout fishing on the Tamar