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.
Thursday, 31 December 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
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
Friday, 18 December 2009
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
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
Click here to visit the live Tamar camera:
RIVER TAMAR WEBCAM
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
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.
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.
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
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 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!
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