Westcountry Sea Trout Festival 2011

Well we're finally back on planet Lifton, having spent the last four days or so at Blenheim Palace for the CLA Game Fair. It's always great fun and a change from being on the river banks talking about fishing to, er, being stood in a field talking about fishing! To all those regular Arundell Arms folks that visited us at the show - thanks for popping in and we hope you enjoyed the event. Now to another event.
The Sea Trout Festival (1st to 12th July) was a great success. Sadly, the drought we've experienced all spring and summer threw us a bit of a curved ball and the sea trout were a little thin on the ground. With lots of anglers fishing over 10 nights and our ghillies working their hardest to find the fish, a total catch of only 19 fish was a little disappointing. However, the demonstrations and organisation seemed (we hope!) to run smoothly, and many newcomers to sea trout and fly fishing at night caught their first fish. The largest fish of the event was landed by Tony Brown on the Tamar, and weighed approximately 3lb. There were one or two larger fish seen during the nights, but they remained elusive.
The highlight of the event was undoubtedly the Gala Day, where a happy bunch of keen anglers gathered to hear talks from the likes of Dr Graeme Harris (author - Successful Sea Trout Angling) and the marvelous folks at the Westcountry Rivers Trust. Some of the latest research was indeed fascinating, especially the information on the AARC project: AARC PROJECT
The mysterious lives of sea trout are gradually being unraveled!
The day continued with talks and demos on all things sea trout related, followed by a very entertaining discussion/ q&a session with David Pilkington, Bob Mountjoy (author - The Sea Trout Diaries) and Charles Innis (fishery manager - The Half Moon Inn, River Torridge). Cormorants, canoeists and catching big peal were all up for discussion. To wrap things up in his own supremely entertaining style, Charles Jardine (straight off the plane from Norway) very kindly dropped in with a few rods. Charles' demo was the perfect end to the day as the afternoon sun faded and thoughts turned to the river bank at night.
David and Tim would like to thank all of the anglers that attended and special mention must go to the additional ghillies during the event - Alex, David, Gerald and Joe. We'd also like to thank the Celtic Sea Trout Project, The Westcountry Rivers Trust, Country Sports South West, Simon Kidd at Snowbee (everyone was impressed by the new Switch rods!) Paul Hopwood and www.seatroutforum.com, and last but by no means least... Charles Innis, Bob Mountjoy and Charles Jardine.
We have already been asked the question about the 2012 event... we'll let you know early next year!

A collection of pics...

July Update

Sorry for the lack of reports of late - it's been a busy fortnight here at the Arundell Arms. A full report of the Sea Trout Festival will come soon, complete with pictures, but suffice to say that a great time was had by all. Sadly, the fish were very much thin on the ground, with a lot of hours fished by a lot of anglers for only 19 landed to 3lb. However, most of these fish were first ever sea trout for the festival goers, which is the aim of the game.
The sea trout are still a little thin on the ground, although reports of large shoals of school peal on the lower river are very encouraging... so watch this space.
Trout fishing is still relatively good for the time of year, and small goldhead nymphs are taking the lion's share. A size 16 goldhead Prince Nymph was just the ticket for one angler on beat 3 of the Lyd yesterday who - in his own words - caught 'TOO MANY' fish!!!
Salmon... well. When we finally get some rain, we'll let you know. Tomorrow's forecast is a wet one so fingers crossed.

Sea Trout Season... is upon us!

A small lift in river level following last Sunday's heavy rain has persuaded a few sea trout to run the Lyd. We have started to land the odd fish, with little fishing pressure. With more rain forecast for tomorrow, it all bodes well to bring numbers of fish to Lifton. We still have some availability for the peak sea trout fishing in July, so call us on 01566 784666 for more details.
Don't forget that Saturday 2nd of July sees the Sea Trout Gala Day at The Arundell Arms - a day not to be missed. Full details can be found here:

WESTCOUNTRY SEA TROUT FESTIVAL - BROCHURE

River Trout Fishing Update

The weather has now changed to scorching sunshine! With no rain to speak of (still!), rivers are desperately low, although the Wolf, Thrushel and lower Lyd are carrying extra flow due to a release from Roadford Lake. In the hot weather the trout fishing has been tough, although anglers fishing shaded sections have done well on both dry fly and wet Coachman. The May total at The Arundell Arms was 941 wild brown trout. This was well over double the five-year average of 410 trout, so a great result. However! It has to be said that the fishing was by no means easy, and it has more to do with the beats being fished hard on most days. The best trout of the month - 14 inches - was landed by Wiltshire-based AAPGAI instructor Jim Williams on his first foray on the little River Carey. This river has long been virtually unfishable and recent bank clearance work has meant that skilled anglers can now enjoy some challenging stream fishing once again. However, as you can read from Jim's blog... a little extra water and a slightly smaller rod does help...! To read about Jim's exploits on the Carey, click here: THE RIVER CAREY
We also have our first sea trout to report; a bright fish of 1 1/2lb caught by Tom Ellison on a Coachman in Quarry Pool. A few (ie very few as yet!) have been spotted on the Tamar, so it won't be long before the first night fishers take to the river banks. As seems to be the case everywhere in the south of England... we badly need some rain.

Devon Fly Fishing at The Arundell Arms - Spring Update

Sorry for the lack of reports of late - it's been very busy here at the hotel with anglers... and the odd fish.
River levels are still very much near drought conditions. The trout have been rising well, but - due to low water and slow currents - have been hard to catch. Around 250 wild browns were caught last week, with the best - a 12-incher - falling to Mr George Seymour on Bottom Beat on the Lyd. The fish have been rising to reasonable hatches of mayfly, but also to black gnat and small olives. Unfortunately a very gusty wind over the last week has driven much of the fly life off the river and put the fish down. Accurate casting is also hampered by these conditions.
On the salmon and sea trout front, we have had reports of fish being caught on the beats below the hotel water, so it won't be long until we see a silver leaper or two at Lifton. Needless to say a spate would work wonders and really kick start the sea trout season.
There are certainly a few fish in the lower reaches of the river, and Gerald Spiers took advantage of a couple of evenings near the tidal reaches, landing two sea trout to 5.5lb and a salmon of 28 inches. The fish were caught using small flies and light leaders - tactics usually employed in August... such are the current conditions. Here's hoping for some rain!!!


Mayfly spinners above the Tamar.

Trout Fishing in the Southwest begins here...

On the first of May, right on cue, we saw the first swifts and the first Yellow May Duns. A couple of days later, we saw the first yellow sally, and the first fledgling heron, in the fields by the lower Lyd. On sunny days the black gnats are swarming over the stickles, with trout rising like well-oiled machines. Spring is now well and truly with us, the May blossom a riot in the hedges, and trout fishing is good, if a little demanding in very low water. Rain is falling as I write, we do need a good soak now to fill the river, and bring up the salmon and sea trout which are pushing into the estuary and lower beats.