Fishing Reports

For this Fishing Reports page to be effective, we really need details of your catches. Until further notice, please send these to Mike Weaver, who also uses this information for his reports in Trout & Salmon, by email (weaver.mike@virgin.net), by telephone (01837 840911) or by post (Southecombe Meadow, Sticklepath, Okehampton, EX20 2NJ)

THE 2008 SEASON

CATCH RETURNS......NOW DUE

With the 2008 season at an end, catch returns are now due. For this year, the catch returns are being collated by committee member Tom Hill. Please send your returns to him at 25 Littleweek Close, Dawlish, Devon, EX7 0RA. Returns should be submitted by 31 October at the latest.

If you have mislaid the catch return forms sent out at the start of the season, you can go to the CATCH RETURNS page of this web site and print copies.

OCTOBER

The October extension. 18 salmon have been 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.

12 October. A final salmon of 5 lb from Upperton for Derek Myhill.

9 October. More salmon for the Crumby family. Ted had a fish of 7 lb from Upperton Neck and Bill one of 4 lb from the Slabs.

8 October. Derek Myhill went to Drogo Weir Pool and had a salmon of 4 lb.

6 October. A salmon of 33 inches (est 13 lb) from Upperton for Derek Myhill. Another salmon for Ted Crumby; a fish of 7 lb from Upperton Neck.

3 October. A 10 lb salmon from Upperton for Bill Crumby this afternoon.

1 October. The first salmon of the two-week experimental extension to the salmon season was a fish of 7 lb caught by Ted Crumby from the Flow Gauge Pool area.

SEPTEMBER

29 September. Mike Weaver enjoyed some good trout fishing below Fingle Bridge, with the fish more willing to take a dry fly than on any of his previous visits in 2008. Between 11 am and 1.30 pm he had 15 browns up to 14.5 inches, first on a Klinkhamer with a tan body and orange post, and then on a Sparkle Caddis.

24 September. John Lund enjoyed a productive two-hour trout fishing session around Fingle Bridge. Using a dry Deer Hair Sedge he caught browns of 8 in, 10 in 11 in, two at 12 in and two at 13 in.

18 September. 7lb Salmon for Ted Crumby out of flow gauge.

16 September. A 6 lb salmon for Ted Crumby from Scotley Brook Pool. A sea trout of 4 lb for Andy Waymouth out of Upperton and Mark Hill had a 2 lb fish from Drogo

15 September. A report from Derek Lockett of plenty of salmon coming to his fly in the past few weeks – mostly grilse of around 4 lb to 6 lb. Although many were missed or lost, he landed a fish of 4 lb 8 oz on 4 September from BRS Pool and one of 30 inches on 12 September from Upperton Head.

A visiting angler caught 2 sea trout up to 2lb.

13 September. A morning visit produced a salmon of 32 inches (estimated at 10 lb) from Holly Pit for Ian Pinwill, who later lost another in Black Pool.

12 September. A salmon of about 8 lb for Derek Myhill from the Slabs at Upperton, and a fish of about 10 lb for Ted Crumby from Upperton Head.

11 September. A 4 lb grilse for Ted Crumby.

10 September. BRS Pool produced a 5 lb grilse for Bill Crumby in the morning.

9 September. An evening session for Ian Pinwill produced a 5 lb grilse from

Fingle. He also lost a large fish in Black Pool. The river was high but with good colour.

7 September. A salmon of 9 lb for Ted Crumby from the Crack and another 4 lb grilse for Bill Crumby.

6 September. Paul Forshaw fished in the evening above Dogmarsh Bridge and had a 5 lb grilse on a Mepps. At Ten Beeches Bill Crumby had two grilse of 4 lb each and Ted Crumby had one of 5 lb at BRS Pool.

3 September. Upperton Head produced a salmon of 8 lb for Ted Crumby.

August

The continued high water through August has been producing probably the best month of salmon fishing for many years. The limit of one salmon per season has resulted in many of these fish being released.

31 August. The last fish of the month was a grilse of 4 lb 4 oz for Ian Pinwill.

30 August. 1lb 8oz Sea Trout caught by Richard Jackson at Upperton.

Just as the river has settled down, and the Sea Trout fishing has improved, the forecast is for more heavy rain!

28 August. 2lb Sea Trout caught by Mark Hill at Chagford.

23 August. 2lb 4oz Sea Trout for Lesley Bryant and 2lb 12oz Sea Trout for Richard Jackson from Upperton.

22 August. A 6 lb salmon for Derek Lockett, caught on a fly at the Stones.

21 August. John Lund fished the upper Teign for the first time this season. He tried a goldhead Pheasant Tail Nymph for 45 minutes without success, changed to a dry Deer Hair Sedge and had four trout to 10 inches in 15 minutes.

Derek Myhill had a salmon of 5 lb 8 oz on a Flying-C at Upperton Neck during the evening.

19 August. A salmon of 10 lb for Ted Crumby from Island Pool.

17 and 18 August. Russell Scott-Lawson has been very busy; he caught six salmon over a two day period using a black Flying-C and a Rapala. He reports that he had to put in the miles for his fish, covering the river from Dogmarsh Bridge down to Clifford Bridge. On 17 August he had fish of 5 lb and

6 lb, followed by fish of 5 lb, 6 lb, 8 lb and 12 lb on the following day, with Fingle Weir Pool his most productive spot. He has also reported catching a 36 inch salmon at the beginning of August from Upperton, which he returned.

17 August. Two more salmon for Bill Crumby - a 4 lb grilse at Upperton and a salmon of 11 lb at Black Pool.

A salmon of 12 lb 8 oz from BRS Pool for Bill Crumby

16 August. Bill Crumby had a salmon of 12 lb 8 oz from BRS Pool and a fish of

6 lb at Upperton, while his guest Dimitri had a salmon of 7 lb 8 oz. Ted Crumby lost a good salmon at Holly Pit.

14 August. An afternoon session for Donald Arlett produced two fresh-run school peal. He was fishing below Fingle Bridge with a size 10 Bumble.

Another salmon for Ted Crumby, this time a grilse of 4 lb from BRS Pool above Clifford Bridge.

10 August. Bill Crumby went to Upperton this morning and found the river too flooded to fish anywhere except in the weir pool, where he had a grilse of 4 lb.

8 August. Peter Reid paid an early visit to the river above Clifford and caught (and released) a grilse of about 4 lb on a Rapala at Upperton Neck. He also saw four grilse moving upstream in a period of about 30 minutes and observed a large coloured salmon moving in the weir pool.

A mixed week for Paul Forshaw, who started with a sea trout of 18 inches (released) on Monday night at Fingle but Tuesday night at Drogo produced nothing. He arrived at Upperton on Thursday to find the river in raging flood so returned to fish for salmon on Friday, but no sign of any fish.

5 August. While fishing for trout below Fingle Bridge, Donald Arlett caught four browns to 12 inches and then finished with a sea trout of about 1 lb 4 oz.

3 August. A morning session produced three grilse around 4 lb for Bill Crumby. The fish came from Upperton, Rod's Pot and Flow Guage.

1 August. John Malleson, caught his first Teign salmon today, a fish of

11 lb 8 oz. He was fishing between Upperton and Clifford Bridge with a fly on a single-handed rod and AFTM 7 line.

John Malleson's 11 lb 8 oz salmon caught on a fly on 1 August

July

July summary. The big flood in early July brought a run of salmon through to the upper Teign and the five days from July 7 to 11 produced 10 salmon on the UTFA waters. Neil Osborne had three salmon up to 11 lb 8 oz and Bill Crumby also had three fish up to nine pounds. Another salmon of 32 inches was caught by Ted Crumby, who also caught a salmon of 8 lb on July 29. Most of the salmon were caught on Rapalas. Once the river had dropped by mid July, brown trout fishing and night fishing for sea-trout resumed, and 26 sea-trout were reported. Mark Hill took seven sea-trout up to 3 lb 8 oz and Matt Cooper had six, including four to 3 lb 8 oz in a single session at Fingle Weir Pool. Ted Malleson enjoyed a productive session on the night of July 28/29 at Upperton, with three sea-trout including the month’s best fish of 3 lb 12 oz. There were good catches of brown trout up to 13 inches and Phil Hawking had an outstanding brown of 18 inches from just below Fingle Bridge.

29/30 July. A good night-time session for Ted Malleson at Upperton, with sea trout of 3 lb 12 oz, 3 lb 8 oz and 1 lb.

29 July. Ted Crumby had a slightly-coloured salmon of 8 lb from Flow Guage Pool while fishing in low water.

Brown trout member Matt Cooper has made good use of his member's day permits with three sea trout sessions at Fingle Weir Pool. On his first outings back in June he had a sea trout each time, with fish of 2 lb 2 oz and 2 lb 4 oz. Then came his best session on 26 July, when he had four sea trout of 2 lb 2 oz, 2 lb 4 oz, 2 lb 8 oz and 3 lb 8 oz - the three largest fish being released. All of Matt's fish were taken on Black & Silver (Waddington/tube).

25 July. Peal weighing about 1 lb caught from Upperton by Richard Jackson. Mark Hill has caught three this week, 2 lb 8 oz, 1 lb 8 oz and 1 lb 4 oz.

22 July. Lesley Bryant caught two sea trout from Upperton, approx 3 lb, and a peal about 1 lb. Richard Jackson is back into the fish after his trip to Montana with a sea trout of 1 lb 8 oz.

20 July. One more sea trout for Mark Hill weighing in at 1 lb 8 oz.

Brown trout member Phil Hawking had a cracking brown trout measured at

18 inches from just below Fingle Bridge.

18 July.

Lesley Bryant caught a sea trout at Upperton - 2 lb 5 oz.

Andy Waymouth lost a box of spinners, swivels, etc today between Roddy's Pot and Boar's reach; if anyone finds them please telephone Andy on 07748517239.

17 July. Three sea trout for Mark Hill so far this week - 3 lb 8 oz, 3 lb 4 oz and

2 lb 14 oz.

11 July. Two more salmon of 4 lb and 9 lb for Bill Crumby from the Slabs at Upperton. And another salmon for Neil Osborne, who went straight to Steps Bridge from work and had a fish of 8 lb 8 oz on a gold and orange Rapala at

6 pm.

10 July. Three more salmon were caught today as the river fined down after a big spate. Neil Osborne first had a salmon of 32 inches (11 lb 8 oz) from OB Pool and then a fish of 30.5 inches (8 lb 12 oz) from Upperton. Both fish came to a Yozuri orange and gold minnow (similar to a Rapala). And Bill Crumby had a salmon of 8 lb between Upperton Neck and Upperton Weir Pool.

9 July. A salmon of about 6 lb was caught by a day permit holder who was fishing with a Rapala a short distance downstream from Dogmarsh (Mill End) Bridge.

8 July. River running high after heavy rain and two salmon reported. Fred Lockett had a fish of 8 lb 4 oz on a Flying-C at Clifford in the morning. And Upperton Neck produced a salmon of 32 inches for Ted Crumby, who lost two more downstream at Upperton Pool.

7 July. Robert Mason visited Upperton and found the river coloured. He used a Rapala and had a grilse of about 4 lb and lost a bigger salmon of 6 lb or 7 lb. He also had two sea trout around 3 lb.

2 July. Tim Robinson fished at Upperton with the river up a bit and had two small but very fresh sea trout of about 1 lb 4 oz each.

June

June summary. All three June salmon were caught in the first week of the month, while there was still plenty of water. Bill and Ted Crumby had salmon of 10 lb and Ian Pinwill had a fish of 8 lb 8 oz, all on spinners. There were reports of sea trout being caught right through the month with the total close to 30. Mark Hill had seven sea trout to 4 lb and Richard Jackson took six, including the best sea trout of 5 lb 7 oz. Plenty of brown trout were caught, the best a fish of 15.5 inches for Tim Robinson, while sea trout fishing at Upperton. Rising trout remained hard to find and most fish were caught on weighted nymphs.

28 June. A 2 lb 4 oz sea trout for Mark Hill from Drogo Weir Pool.

24 & 25 June. Tim Robinson fished at Upperton and on the first night had a sea trout of 3 lb. On the second night he had a sea trout of 1 lb 3 oz, as well as a brown trout of 15.5 inches that gave such a hard fight that he thought he was into another sea trout. Mark Hill caught a sea trout on the 24th at Drogo weighing 3 lb 12 oz and the same night Richard Jackson caught one from Upperton weighing 2 lb 8 oz.

21 June. A sea trout of 2 lb 6 oz from Upperton for Neil Osborne, his third of the season.

19 June. Mark Hill caught a sea trout from Drogo weighing 2 lb 2 oz. Nick Evens had one at 3 lb and Richard Jackson 2 lb 8 oz, both from Upperton.

18 June. Paul Forshaw has scored again at Upperton this time with two sea trout of 3 lb 5 oz and 15 inches, the Scoobie once more the successful fly.

17 June. More sea trout from Upperton. Rob Mason had a fish of 2 lb 2 oz on a cold clear night with a full moon. And Paul Forshaw caught a sea trout of 3 lb on a 1.5 inch Black and Red Scoobie.

15 June. Mark Hill again, 2 lb 4 oz on a freezing cold night at Upperton.

14 June. Mark Hill had a good night at Upperton, catching sea trout at 4 lb and 1 lb 12 oz. Ted Malleson had a sea trout of 4 lb 8 oz and Graham Miles also got in on the action with a fish of approximately 4 lb.

Even though the nights have been very cold, it doesn't appear to have affected the quality of the fishing.

13 June. The river in perfect condition for trout fishing and Mike Weaver enjoyed a productive session from 11 am to 2 pm, with 12 trout between

8 inches and just over 13 inches. There was no sign of rising trout and all of the fish, with one exception, were caught on a size 14 goldhead GRHE Nymph.

Richard Penrose caught his first sea trout of the season from Drogo, weighing in at 4 lb 2 oz.

12 June. Andy Waymouth caught a sea trout weighing in at 3 lb 6 oz from Upperton and Richard Jackson caught one the same night weighing 1 lb 8 oz.

9 June. Lesley Bryant caught her first sea trout of the season weighing 3 lb 4 oz from Upperton - what a great start! Richard Jackson also caught two sea trout. One was a large fish weighing 5 lb 7 oz, which took a full 20 minutes to subdue, and the other a fish of 3 lb 3 oz .

However, Nick Evens had a very unusual catch. Lesley brought her friend along to see how it’s done, and her pet Bichon Frise (looks like a small poodle) fell for Nick’s tube fly. He employed excellent catch-and-release technique and returned the dog to it’s owner!

7 June. Mark Hill caught a 2 lb sea trout from Upperton but reported the river was still running high after the recent rain, not ideal sea trout conditions.

5 June. This morning Ted Crumby had a salmon of 31 inches (about 10 lb ) from Flow Gauge Pool.

3 June. Ian Pinwill caught a salmon of about 8 lb 8 oz in Engine House Pool at

7 pm. Although conditions were ideal, it was the only fish seen.

2 June. Richard Jackson spent a couple of hours brown trout fishing below and above Fingle Bridge catching mainly wild brown trout; in addition he landed a 2 lb sea trout which took a size 16 Elk Hair Sedge.

1 June. Bill Crumby has started June with another salmon, this time a fish of

10 lb. He also lost a salmon of about 8 lb.

A 3 lb 10 oz sea trout caught by Richard Jackson on 12 May (left) and

Paul Forshaw with a 3 lb sea trout caught on 17 June

May

May summary. Sea trout fishing in May was the best for several years with around 30 fish caught. Richard Jackson had four to 3 lb 10 oz and Darren Everitt had a sea trout of 3 lb while fishing for brown trout with a nymph. Four salmon were caught, including two unusually small fish of 4 lb and 3 lb for so early in the season for Richard Penrose. There were good catches of brown trout up to 14 inches, mainly on nymphs, and 26 competitors in the Federation heat on 31 May caught 214 browns.

31 May. Mike Weaver, chairman of the UTFA, joined the 26 competitors in the Eliminator at Fingle Bridge and wished them well as they set off. The river was still a bit on the high side for trout fishing, though ideal for salmon. Fortunately it had dropped sharply and cleared, compared with 24 hours earlier, when it would have been virtually impossible for the Eliminator. With the river dropping through the day, the trout fishing was very good and Denis Symonds, the Hon Sec of the Penisula Federation of Fly Fishers (organisers of the eliminator) has written to thank the UTFA for providing the venue and passed on the high praise of the competitors for the quality of the fishing.

A total of 214 trout of 15 cm or over were caught, with 115 in the morning session (average 8.85 per rod) and 99 (average 7.62 per rod) in the afternoon session.

The winners are set out below.

Overall winner

Dennis Symonds

Morning session

First: Dennis Symonds

Second: Alex Bobba

Third: Peter Kempton (UTFA member)

Afternoon session

First: Robert Dadd

Second: Simon Kidd

Third: Martin Burgess

UTFA member, Darren Everitt, who competed in the elimiator, included a sea trout of 2 lb 8 oz in his catch, but this could not count towards his total as only resident brown trout are allowed - and not the migratory variety. This brought Darren's total of sea trout this season to eight - and all taken on a goldhead nymph while trout fishing.

3O May. Richard Penrose fished from Drogo to Fingle, caught another very small salmon of 3lb and lost a large possible double-figure salmon on a rapala. Richard's latest salmon and his previous fish of 4 lb were unusually small for the time of year and give rise to speculation as to whether they were exceptionally small spring fish or unusually early grilse.

29 May. Bill Crumby had a salmon of 9 lb, his first of the season, on a Flying-C while fishing upstream from Upperton Pool. On the same day he had two sea trout of 3 lb and 4 lb. Two days earlier on 27 May he had three sea trout, all around 3 lb.

27 May. More sea trout reported, with two for Andy Waymouth and three between 2 lb and 3 lb for Nick Evens.

Late May has produced some good trout fishing, with Andrew Gooding reporting a particularly good session above Fingle.

23 May . Junior member George Marshall has caught a Salmon estimated at 3lb whilst using a rapala. Its great to see a junior member having some success, the future backbone of our fishing club.Could he be a keener junior member than Nick Evens was?!

21 May. Another sea trout for Richard Jackson - a fish of 2 lb 14 oz from Upperton Weir Pool.

The first salmon of the 2008 season has been caught by Richard Penrose on 15 May. It was 4 lb and caught while he was fishing at Fingle Weir with a Rapala.

The Sea Trout have run well up into our river this year and have even been caught in Drogo Weir Pool. It bodes well for a good season ahead.

Richard Jackson caught another bar of silver at Upperton on the 12 May weighing 3 lb 10 oz.

Darren Everitt has caught a 3 lb sea trout on a Pheasant Tail Nymph while fishing for brown trout below Sharp Tor on 11 May.

Mark Hill had sea trout of 2 lb and 3 lb.

9 May. Another Sea Trout for Richard Jackson from Upperton Weir pool weighing 2 lb 10 oz.

6 May. Mike Weaver had a productive session around Fingle Bridge catching 14 brown trout, which included 7 stocked trout up to 13 inches and 7 wild fish up to 9 inches, mainly on a small goldhead nymph.

5 May. Richard Jackson fished below Fingle Bridge for a couple of hours and caught 7 wild brown trout up to 9 inches and 2 stocked trout at 13 inches, which mainly came to the nymph fished New Zealand style

4 May. Richard Jackson took a Sea Trout of 2 lb 6 oz whilst fishing at Upperton Weir pool.

April

25 April. Richard Jackson and Lesley Bryant fished at Upperton Weir; no fish taken, but a fish did show half way up the pool.

Tim Robinson fished for sea trout at Upperton Weir on the evening of 22 April. No sign of sea trout but he had a nice brown of about 14 inches.

The first sea trout of the season has been caught by Ted Crumby. It weighed 2 lb 8 oz and was caught while spinning for salmon at the Flow Gauge Pool.

March

The trout season on the upper Teign opened on 15 March and, as usual, UTFA member Darren Everitt was there to greet the new season. After arriving at Fingle Bridge at 8am, Darren fished above and below Fingle until 3pm, in spite of continuous rain and a rising river. Using a copperhead Pheasant Tail Nymph he caught 10 browns from 15 cm (6 in) up to 30 cm (12 in), as well as eight bright silver salmon smolts. 

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.