Fishing Reports
For this Fishing Reports page to be effective, we really need details of your catches. Please send these to Mike Weaver, who also uses this information for his reports in Trout & Salmon (email weaver.mike@btinternet.com or telephone 01837 840911).
THE 2011 SEASON
Compared with 2010, the 2011 catches of salmon were up but sea trout and brown trout catches were down. The salmon total was 24 fish, the best of which was 32 inches and caught by Bill Crumby. All five of the salmon caught on fly, the best of which was 24 inches, were taken by Derek Lockett. Once again UTFA members passed the EA catch-and-release target for salmon with 79 per cent of fish returned. Although the sea trout catch of 106 was well down, it is worth noting that Richard Penrose averaged more than a fish per visit for the first time after fishing the upper Teign for many years. The biggest sea trout of 28 inches was caught by Brian Parry. The brown trout total was 794 fish of seven inches or above, with Richard Jackson taking the biggest of 15 inches. Although the stretch between Drogo Weir and Clifford Bridge produced the most trout as usual, it is worth noting that 53 fish were caught above Dogmarsh Bridge and 90 came from below Clifford Bridge. These top and bottom ends of our fishery are always worth a visit and the numbers of walkers and their dogs are tiny compared with the area around Fingle Bridge.
OCTOBER
12 October. A rather coloured cock salmon of about 3.5 lb for Derek Lockett while fishing a fly down the run above Drogo Weir Pool.
9 October. Another salmon of about 5 lb from Black Pool for Ted Crumby and two more about the same size lost.
7 October. An afternoon visit produced a 5 lb salmon at Boar's Reach for Ted Crumby, who later lost a fish further downstream.
5 October. The first salmon of the extension to the season have been reported.
Roy Robinson caught a salmon of 5 lb at OB Pool and then a fish of 4 lb at Broadmoor. Both safely released.
SEPTEMBER
30 September. Richard Penrose finished his season on a high with three sea trout from Chagford Weir Pool. Two were school peal of around 1 lb and
1 lb 4 oz, and the other was about 3 lb. Richard reports that this season was the first in which he had averaged more than a sea trout a visit, with 11 fish in nine outings.
27 September. Derek Myhill caught a rather slim salmon of 29 inches at Clifford.
26 September. A 5 lb salmon for Ted Crumby on an afternoon visit to Fingle.
21 September. Another good day for salmon with five reported so far. Derek Myhill caught two salmon - the first fish of 30 inches around noon and the second of 28 inches in the afternoon from above Clifford Bridge, where he also caught a sea trout of 20 inches. A salmon of 7 lb on Mepp from Upperton for Roy Robinson and a fish of 5 lb for Bill Crumby from Hut Pool. Roy also had a sea trout or 1 lb 8 oz at Boar's Reach. Neil Osborne went out in the evening and caught a 28-inch salmon at Rocky Pool. Derek Lockett caught three sea trout to 18 inches in the morning while fly fishing for salmon.
19 September. A salmon of 4 lb on a fly for Derek Lockett while fishing at Prestonbury.
18 September. Bill Crumby fished as the river was rising and caught a salmon estimated at between 11 lb and 12 lb from Boar's Reach and then lost another fish at BRS Pool.
13 September. A grilse of 4 lb 8 oz for Roy Robinson from Broadmoor Pit on a Mepp fished upstream. The same method also hooked a double-figure salmon but it came adrift after 10 minutes.
7 September. A good day for salmon fishermen after a sudden and dramatic rise of 18 inches in about 10 minutes on the previous day.
Ted Crumby caught a salmon on a Flying-C from the Slabs at Upperton, Brian Parry had his first-ever salmon of about 7 lb on a Flying-C at Boar's Reach, Derek Myhill had a small fish of about 3 lb on a Mepp at BRS Pool and Derek Lockett had a salmon of 27 inches on fly at Scotley Brook Pool. All were released.
Neil Osborne went to Chagford Weir Pool on 5 September, the night before heavy rain, and made contact with the sea trout. After loosing a fish he went on to catch sea trout of 51 cm and 45 cm before finishing with a fish of 53 cm at 11 pm. The two biggest fish were released and each fish took a different fly pattern on size 8 single hooks.
AUGUST
A quiet month but finished well for Derek Lockett with a salmon of about 5 lb on a fly from BRS Pool above Clifford at 3 pm on 27 August.
JULY
28 July. After a quiet couple of weeks, Rob Mason had a 3 lb sea trout at Upperton on an Alexandra Snake.
21 July. Two very good sea trout from Chagford Weir Pool for Richard Penrose - 5 lb 2 oz and 3 lb 1 oz. The biggest fish put up a great fight and took the line down to the backing before being netted.
Sea trout of 5 lb 2 oz and 3 lb 1 oz from Chagford Weir Pool
for Richard Penrose
19 July. A salmon of 6 lb on fly for Derek Lockett, caught and released at Broadmoor Pit.
20 July. Another salmon for Ted Crumby - a fish of 5 lb from above Upperton.
18 July. A good night for Mark Hill with three sea trout of 3 lb, 2 lb 14 oz and
2 lb 12 oz from Drogo Weir Pool.
11 July. Two sea trout from Upperton for Ted Malleson - both 2 lb 4 oz.
9/10 July. Some good fishing with plenty of wild trout over this weekend for David West when fishing in the Dunsford Nature Reserve. His best brown was 12.5 inches. It is worth remembering that during the holiday season the river in the Dunsford Nature Reserve is likely to be much quieter than around Fingle Bridge.
8 July. A sea trout of 3 lb 5 oz for Richard Penrose while fishing at Chagford Weir Pool, which means that the sea trout are now distributed throughout the whole UTFA fishery. He reported plenty of activity until midnight when a drop in the temperature brought everything to a stop.
4, 5 and 6 July. Kelvin Whitfield enjoyed some good trout fishing, starting with 15 samall trout to 8" on the evening of 4 July, then a dozen fish to 13" the following day, and finally four small fish on the morning of 6 July.
1 July. Andy Waymouth caught his best sea trout of the season so far - a fish of 3 lb 8 oz. Previously, he had caught eight sea trout, starting with a fish of
2 lb 4 oz on 28 April.
JUNE
30 June. A sea trout of 2 lb from Drogo for Vernon Clarke, who reports that a friend had a good session with four sea trout a week earlier.
27 June. Visiting American angler Dan Kruse from Minneapolis had a productive session above and below Fingle Bridge, when he caught 16 trout, 5 stocked fish between 12'' and 14'' and a superb wild brown trout of 13'' all taken on the dry fly using a size 18 Adams.
25 June. Two more sea trout for Richard Penrose, who caught fish of 2 lb 12 oz and 2 lb 1 oz from Drogo.
18 June. The first salmon of the 2011 season have been caught on UTFA water, following the recent rain. Ted Crumby had a salmon of about 8 lb from above Clifford Bridge and Bill Crumby caught a fresh grilse of 4 lb at Upperton.
15 June. David West and his guest had a great day when they found the river level much improved after the weekend rain. In a six-hour session they caught 28 trout, mostly between 8 in and 12 in.
13 June. Two sea trout, estimated at just over 1 lb for Donald Arlett while fishing by day with a wet fly.
3 June. A brace of sea trout for Richard Penrose - 2 lb 4 oz and 1 lb 2 oz. He reported seeing plenty of sea trout, including some big fish. On the same night, Matt Cooper had a sea trout of 4 lb 8 oz, his fifth sea trout of the season.
MAY
Donald Arlett enjoyed some good trout fishing at the end of May. On 24 May he fished below Fingle Bridge and caught nine trout to 12 inches and a day later he went above Fingle Bridge and had six to 12 inches. Then on 31 May Donald went to Clifford and fished upstream, catching 17 trout to 12 inches. While fishing he saw mayflies and sedges hatching.
29 May. Vernon Clarke went sea trout fishing and hooked and lost a fish of around 2 lb on his first cast at about 10.15 pm. His fishing partner landed the one he hooked on his third cast (about 1.5 lb) but they did not have any more pulls from then until they packed up at midnight.
23 May. A welcome report of some sea trout, caught by Mark Hill, who had five fish to 2 lb 10 oz over the past week.
14 May. The Federation of Penisula Fly Fishers held its qualifier on the UTFA fishery. There were 28 competitors who each fished for 3.5 hours and the total catch was 135 trout between 15 and 32 centimetres. The winner was Lewis Hendrie from Exford, while second and third places in the morning session went to UTFA members Pete Kempton and Andrew Gooding.
Darren Hunt caught five browns between 7 in and 10 in on a couple of visits in early May all on a size 18 Adams.
April
The first sea trout of the season has been caught on UTFA water but no details have been received so far. Brown trout fishing has been slow with little sign of insect activity or rising fish. Some heavy rain is badly needed.
March
15 March. Opening day for brown trout. Brian Parry caught 4 fish up to 6 inches using a nymph, he fished from Clifford bridge up to Fingle bridge, but caught the fish just below Fingle, he also fished for sea trout in the evening and caught two fish, both kelts, one was measured at 26 inches which would equate to 7lb when it entered the river last year.
We need a good spate to get the kelts back to sea and some fresh fish in.
Richard Jackson was also out on opening day with two clients; they fished below Fingle bridge for two hours and caught four fish and lost another to the nymph once again all up to six inches.
No fish were rising at all.
There was a good hatch of large dark olives that started at midday and lasted for a couple of hours, two grannoms were also observed.
THE 2010 SEASON
Compared with 2009, 2010 catches of salmon were up but sea trout and brown trout catches were down. However, these are provisional totals as only 56% of full members and 43% of trout members had submitted returns at the end of November – one month after the deadline.
The very dry spring and early summer resulted in the first salmon being caught on 26 August, but that day produced plenty of fish with four for Bill Crumby and three for Derek Myhill. The total for the season was 21, topped by a 31-inch salmon for Ted Crumby, and 90% were released. Top place among the 163 sea trout was shared by Nick Evens and David Finch with fish of 25 inches. 928 brown trout were recorded and here too top place was shared, with fish of 15 inches for Brian Parry and Richard Jackson. Proof of the big trout on the upper Teign was provided by Paul Forshaw, with browns of 18.5 inches and 19 inches, though these were caught while night fly fishing for sea trout and spinning for salmon. Both of Paul’s trout came from the top end of the fishery.
October
Derek Myhill fished for salmon during the extension and had a cock fish of 7 lb as well as moving three more. He reported that all were rather coloured.
5 October. Two more salmon for Bill Crumby. First a fish of 6 lb above Upperton and then one of 5 lb from Weir Mill Pool.
4 October. Robert Mason spent the afternoon fishing from Clifford up to Fingle. He lost a grilse in Boar's Reach and then was in brief contact with another at Upperton. On returning to Boar's Reach he caught a salmon of about 7 lb on spinner.
2 October. The first salmon of the experimental extension to the salmon season have been reported by Bill Crumby. He first caught a salmon of 7 lb at Broadmoor Pit, then a fish of 5 lb below Clifford Bridge and finally lost one of about 4 lb at the net in BRS Pool. Meanwhile, Ted Crumby was catching a salmon of 9 lb at Rocky Pool.
September
30 September. Yet another salmon for Ted Crumby - this time a fish of 7 lb from Upperton.
24 September. A salmon of 5 lb for Nick Evens above Clifford Bridge, which he returned.
23 September. A salmon of 5 lb for Ted Crumby, this time from Fingle.
17 September. Neil Cleghorn from Nottingham caught his first-ever sea trout of 4 lb 4 oz at Fingle Weir Pool. He was fishing on a guest permit with UTFA member Matt Cooper.
15 September. Another fish for Ted Crumby, this time a grilse of 4 lb from BRS Pool above Clifford.
Week ending 11 September. While having a day's salmon fishing this week, Paul Forshaw once again found some big brown trout. On one pool between the weir and bridge at Mill End (Dogmarsh) he caught first a brown of 15 inches and then one of 19 inches, both on a Flying-C. Paul's catch demonstrates that there are some big trout on the upper part of the fishery, well above where any stocking is done. Later in the day he had a sea trout of 13.5 inches and some smaller browns, but no salmon.
7 September. A salmon of 10 lb for Ted Crumby from the field with the lodges below Clifford Bridge. And two salmon of 5 lb and 4 lb for Derek Myhill from above Clifford. The larger of Derek's fish was badly damaged with one gill cover ripped off and nail marks, yet was still willing to take a spinner.
August
26 August. At last some heavy rain and salmon have arrived, producing the best day of salmon fishing on the Upper Teign for many years. In the morning Bill Crumby caught salmon of 4 lb, 7 lb, 8 lb and 9 lb, plus a sea trout of 3 lb. And in the afternoon, Ted Crumby had a fish of 4 lb. Derek Myhill also got among the fish, catching three grilse around 4 lb each, while Derek Lockett had a grilse on a fly.
8 August. Trout member Janet Till enjoyed a morning above Fingle when she caught a brown of 13 inches on a 16 PT Nymph from Rocky Pool.
5 August. A night-time visit to Chagford Weir Pool produced what is probably the best brown trout on the UTFA fishery this season - a fish of 18.5 inches for Paul Forshaw, who also had a sea trout of 17.75 inches. He was fishing with Neil Osborne, who caught two sea trout - the best a fish of 22.75 inches (est over
4 lb). All were released.
Paul Forshaw with 18.5 in brown and Neil Osborne with 22.75 in
sea trout, both from Chagford Weir Pool
3 August. Robert Mason caught a sea trout of 4 lb on A Muddler at Upperton. Robert reports that he saw plenty of fish moving during his night-time visit.
July
July finished on a high for brown trout fishing, as Mike Weaver found on the last day of the month. In spite of the low level of the river, he found the fishing as good as at any time this season. Between 10.30 am and 1.00 pm the browns just kept coming up for a size 18 Klinkhamer as he fished from Black Pool up to the pools below Sharp Tor. A dozen fish from 7 inches to 13 inches were recorded and a big fish was lost after a prolonged fight in Rhododendron Pool - was it a big brown hooked in the tail or possibly a sea trout? As it never surfaced there was no way of knowing.
Mark Hill caught eight sea trout during July and, as usual, he made night-time visits to several pools. On two occasions he visited Chagford Weir Pool and Drogo Weir Pool on the same night, and it was Chagford that produced his best fish of 5 lb 12 oz on 29 July.
June
28 June. Darren Everitt took advantage of the England/Germany football match to have the river virtually to himself. He fished from 11 am to 6 pm from Fingle up to the Engine House and had over 25 fish, including 10 of 11 inches or more. Many of his fish came to a PT Nymph fished below an indicator fly.
22 June. Mark Hill fished two weir pools on the same night - Chagford and then Drogo. The first produced a sea trout of 3 lb 8 oz, followed by a fish of
2 lb 12 oz on the other. Since then he has had a sea trout of 1 lb 8 oz at Upperton and his guest Owen West had one the same size.
15 June. Another two sea trout of 2lb and 3lb for Andy 'marvelous' Waymouth from Upperton and one for Brian Parry on the same night.
14 June. Brian Parry had a superb day's fishing from Clifford up to Fingle and caught 33 recordable brown trout, all on the dry fly. The dry fly also worked well for Donald Arlett, with plenty of trout in a session below Fingle, including four between 11 and 12 inches and one larger.
11 and 12 June. Mike Weaver found swarms of black gnats over the river and plenty of trout rising between 10.30am and 1.30pm upstream from Fingle Weir Pool. A size 16 dry Black Gnat produced a dozen trout between 7 and 11 inches. Not another angler was seen. The following day he fished below Fingle Bridge from 10.30am to 12.00 noon and had five trout between 8 and 12.5 inches. And later on the same day David West had an enjoyable 1.5 hours in the evening below Fingle Bridge with an almost identical catch of four trout between 8 and 12.5 inches.
10 June. Nick Evens caught a superb sea trout, the largest to come off the UTFA waters this year from Drogo Pool - it weighed in at 6lb 4oz.
On the same night Lesley Bryant caught three sea trout from Upperton up to 2lb 10oz.
May
29 May. 19 competitors in the Federation of Peninsula Flyfishers regional qualifier caught 136 trout between 12 cm and 32 cm. For more details go to UTFA News page.
Mark Hill had four sea trout in May, from three different weir pools. Two fish of 5 lb 9 oz and 1 lb 12 oz came from Drogo, one at 1 lb 12 oz from Upperton and one of 1 lb 14 oz from Chagford on 29 May.
24 May. Simon Jefferies, Reg Wonnacott and Roger Halliday fished in the evening between 6 pm and 9 pm, when they caught around 16 trout, with six between 9 inches and 12 inches. Most were caught on small Sparkle Duns.
21 May. Another good day with the brown trout for David West, who was using a variety of dry flies. He caught 12 fish with six over eight inches and a best trout of 13.5 inches. Mike Weaver was fishing on the morning of the same day above Fingle and also found plenty of rising trout. Eight of his dozen fish were were between seven and 11 inches, but all came to the same fly - a size 18 Parachute Black Gnat.
Andy Waymouth's sea trout fishing has got off to a good start with four visits in May producing four fish, including the two biggest sea trout reported so far. On 5 May he started with a sea trout of 6 lb 1 oz, followed by fish of 3 lb on 6 May, 2 lb 9 oz on 10 May, and 5 lb 14 oz on 15 May.
15 May. An excellent four-hour session in the late morning for David West, fishing downstream from Fingle. He caught 16 browns, with many between 8 and 10 inches, and two at 12 inches - on small dry olives.
Slightly higher temperatures are at last bringing some trout to the surface. On the evening on 10 May, Simon Jefferies and Phil Hawking fished below Fingle and found a few trout rising, even though it was still rather chilly. Simon's best fish was a brown of 15 inches on a Klinkhamer and Phil's one of 10 inches.
Mike Weaver fished above Fingle on 10 May and below Fingle on 12 May, finding rising trout on both visits and the fish willing to take dry flies. In the early afternoon on his second visit the black gnats were beginning to swarm over the faster water and there was a fair hatch of olive uprights. His best two fish were both 11 inches.
May started with chilly nights still making it hard going for sea trout fishing but Ted Malleson went out on the evening of 1 May and had a fish on 1 lb 10 oz at Upperton.
April
27 and 28 April. Kevin Whitfield, a member from Essex, enjoyed two good days on his first visit of the season. On the first day he fished from Fingle Bridge downstream to just above Upperton and caught seven trout between 7 inches and 10 inches on a size 18 goldhead Hare's Ear on the point and a sparsely-dressed Black Spider on the dropper. The following day he fished from Mill End down to Fingle Weir and had six between 7 inches and 11 inches on a size 20 Pheasant Tail Nymph on the point and a size 16 Willow Grub on the dropper. On both days Kevin also caught a number of small fish.
Colin Pape fished for trout on four occasions in April and, although he reports that it was often tough going in chilly conditions, he was pleasantly surprised by the size and condition of the fish. On 4 April he fished below Clifford Bridge and had a trout of 10 inches in high water; then on 14 April he caught fish of 8 inches and 9 inches below Fingle; 21 April produced trout of 10 inches, 9 inches and 7 inches below Fingle; and in warmer weather on 30 April he caught trout of 12 inches and 10 inches below Fingle. All of the fish reported took Hare's Ear Nymph or Pheasant Tail Nymph, but a few small fish came up for a Klinkhamer. On three of his outings Colin never saw another angler.
First news of sea trout catches this season. Matt Cooper fished at Upperton on 26 April and had a fish of 18 inches (2lb 12 oz). He returned to Upperton the following evening and had two more sea trout of 3 lb and 18 inches. Matt reports that although there were no great numbers of fish in the pool, those that were there seemed ready to take a fly.
24 April. So far April has been a quiet month with few anglers on the UTFA water. The river is now at normal level but the water has remained cold, due to the night-time temperatures staying close to freezing. No salmon have been reported and the cold nights have kept the sea trout anglers off the water. The only reports of brown trout have come from Darren Everitt, who has caught some fish including one over 14 inches.
March
The 2010 salmon season opened on 1 February, but there are no reports of anyone wetting a line during February or so far in March and it is unlikely that any salmon had reached the UTFA fishery during February. Fishing for brown trout opened on 15 March and, as ever, Darren Everitt was on the river to greet the new season. He fished the stretch from Fingle Bridge up to Sharp Tor between 9.30 am and 1 pm. There was no sign of hatching insects or rising trout but he managed to catch two browns of 10in and 10.5in on a goldhead PT Nymph. He also caught several sea trout of school peal size - presumably spawned fish heading back for the sea.
THE 2009 SEASON
2009 was a good season for brown trout and a fair season for sea trout but catches of salmon were very disappointing. The total catch of brown trout was 1,079 fish over 7 inches with the best brown caught by Darren Everitt. The sea trout total was 178 and Andy Waymouth caught the most fish, with 43, and the biggest sea trout at 5 lb 10 oz. Second biggest season's catch was 37 for Richard Jackson. Only 15 salmon were caught, compared with 92 in 2008. Ted Crumby had the biggest salmon of 33.5 inches and Tom Hill's fish of 32 inches was the best on a fly. The two-week experimental extension to the salmon season ended on 14 October and no salmon were caught on UTFA waters, which remained low throughout the fortnight.
THE 2008 SEASON
The main feature of the 2008 season on the UTFA fishery was the almost continual high water, with the river rarely getting back to normal low levels. As a result, 2008 was good for the salmon angler, with more opportunities to fish than for many years. For the sea trout fishermen many nights were lost to high water, which also had an impact on trout fishing. The main details of the 2008 catches were as follows.
SALMON. 92 fish were reported (80 released), the best a salmon of 15 lb for Russell Scott-Lawson. John Malleson had the best salmon on fly – a fish of 11 lb 8 oz.
SEA TROUT. 119 fish were reported, the best a sea trout of 5 lb 7 oz for Richard Jackson. The best bag was four sea trout weighing a total of
10 lb 6 oz for Matt Cooper.
BROWN TROUT. 832 fish were reported, the best a brown trout of 15.5 in for Derek Myhill.
The October extension. 18 salmon were reported for the river as a whole, with 10 for LTFA members and 8 for UTFA members. Derek Myhill's 13 lb salmon from Upperton was the biggest and, although a few anglers persevered with the fly, all of the fish were caught on spinners.
THE 2007 SEASON
Catches of brown trout in 2007 were surprisingly good, in spite of many days being lost to the flood conditions in June and July. A total of 1,154 browns of 7 inches or above were caught, including plenty of large fish. The best brown of 20 inches was caught by Andrew Gooding in May, with several fish of 16 inches reported. Salmon fishing might have been better, considering the amount of rain, but 36 were caught, of which 30 were released. Richard Jewell had a salmon of 12 lb, and Ted and Bill Crumby were once again successful with the bigger salmon, with fish of 34 inches, 32 inches and 31 inches for Bill, and 11 lb and 10 lb for Ted. Ted Crumby had the only salmon in the October experimental extension. The sea trout fishing was very poor at a total of 62 fish, about a quarter of them being caught while salmon fishing. The biggest sea trout of 5 lb was caught by Richard Jackson.
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