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!