Trout FishingWe extend a warm welcome to all trout anglers. The range of fishing we offer ensures excellent sport for all abilities. Our still water fisheries are among the best in the west and vary in size from around 50 to over 900 acres! Our fisheries are picturesque and atmospheric lakes, including countless secluded bays, weedy shores and tree line margins to explore. We boast rainbows, browns and a large number of blues of the highest quality. Traditional fly fishing is the rule at our stocked fisheries, although other methods can be used at our free wilderness trout waters. Young People and Newcomers We are working hard to encourage young people and newcomers to take up the sport. Under 18 fish for free with a paying adult and part of their bag limit. Throughout the season, we host open days and events where we offer free fly fishing tuition for all. Boat Fishing Boats are available at most of our waters which provide an alternative to bank angling. These must be pre-booked, either by calling 01566 771930 (8.30am - 5.00pm 7 days a week) or online by scrolling to the bottom of your chosen lake page. You will need to sign a disclaimer before you can take a boat out. Once a year you will need to complete a boat induction – please watch the induction video here. Access for All Most of the waters benefit from facilities designed for disabled or wheelchair anglers, either by platforms or Wheelyboats. These boats must be booked at least 48 hours in advance. Clubs A number of the fisheries have associated local clubs. These are a great way to meet fellow anglers, as well as participating in competitions and social events. We run several competitions during the season - more details of each of these are available on our competitions page. Environment Agency Rod Licence Anglers on all our waters must have a valid Environment Agency rod licence which are available from post offices or via the Environment Agency. The only exception may be when attending a bona fide course or a coaching session with a qualified coach – please check beforehand. South West Lakes Trust South West Lakes Trust is the managing charity of SW Lakes Trust Fishing. The charity is a member of The Angling Trust. In 2014, the South West Lakes Trust fisheries hosted the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships; Scotland took gold and England won silver. Reporting an Incident: South West Lakes Trust manages a portfolio of nearly 50 lakes and other natural resources so it is not always possible for our wardens to be on the scene when issues occur. The very remote and rural nature of our estate, the thing that makes them so special, also means that modern mobile communications don’t always cover the areas we would like them to. This makes getting an immediate response to ongoing incidents very challenging. Please use this form to report any incidents of poaching, illegal fishing or any other form of antisocial behaviour to the management team so that we are able to take appropriate action. Complete Form Waters Prices Competitions and Events News and Results Catch Returns About us Contact News and Results SW Lakes Weekly Trout Fisheries Round Up - W/E 8th May Complete your Catch Returns online. Please send any photos to [email protected] Wistlandpound Wistlandpound is now approaching summer levels but there is no sign of the green algae that has historically blighted the water. The water is gin clear with abundant weed in the margins providing plenty of food for the brown trout and rudd that are thriving. Most fish are succumbing to small black lures and flies. Good catches of wild brown trout are being made with prolific numbers of rudd offering good sport in the shallow weedy bays. Photos: Wayne Thomas Kennick Rod Average: 3.29 Photo: Mallard with 10 newly-hatched ducklings, Mike Herring. A quieter week at Kennick last week with plenty of hatches failing to get a rise out of the fish, although all methods producing catches for most anglers. A slow or figure of 8 retrieve seemed to work best. Graham Roberts from Totnes caught 2 rainbows to 2.5lb whilst boat fishing: ‘Unfortunately for us, a strong-ish northerly wind did not seem to suit our fishing methods, or get a more usual response from the fish. However, we did notice fellow anglers having more success. There were huge numbers of Black Gnats swarming, and on the surface, which delighted a brood of tiny ducklings, but less so the fish! Lesser Black Backed Gulls in evidence, and one Great Black Backed Gull, plus a Little Grebe and a pair of Tufted Ducks.' Kennick Bank Pairs Competition – Sunday 8th May 2022 16 Anglers joined us for the annual Kennick Bank Pairs Competition on Sunday. The foggy start cleared up beautifully and the weather remained bright for the rest of the day. Some Anglers had a busy start with a lot of activity during the morning, especially at the causeway. But fishing picked up throughout the reservoir as the day went on. In total, 75 rainbows were caught with 14 full bags and a rod average of 4.69. Flies of the day were Damsel Nymphs, Diawl Bachs, Tadpoles, Blobs and Cats Whiskers. Winners of the event were John Hern and Alex Venn with a total bag weight of 17lbs 5oz who will both receive a Kennick Season Permit. Many congratulations to them and tight lines to all To become a member of Kennick Fly Fishers Association please visit https://www.kennickflyfishers.co.uk/membership View the full Catch Report here Check out the Kennick fishing map here The Kennick fishing guide is here Siblyback Rod Average: 3.83 Photos: Steve Barber. ‘I fished Saturday, breezy conditions at times. Caught 2 blue trout and 1 rainbow. Lost 3 others. Really gentle takes. I had a black buzzer on a dropper and a GRHE on point. Floating line and a 10ft leader. Slowly twitched back. I fished Dam end and stocky bay. Lots of little black flies hatching and a cuckoo was calling most of the morning.’ Fish were mostly found deep last week at around 6ft despite the plentiful insect hatches at surface, with a floating line and long leader seeming to do the trick, although a variety of fly lines and methods were employed to produce catches. Mrs Joyce Parkin from Wadebridge caught an impressive 8 trout in total, 7 rainbows to 3lb 4oz and 1 small brown, on a gold head Viva and Green Montana on a sink tip line with steady/fast retrieve. Martin Stevens from Liskeard caught 15 rainbows on a ‘ham and cheese’ FAB for a total bag weight of 20lbs, fishing at 2-6ft on a floating line with sink tip and slow figure of 8 retrieve. View the full Catch Report here Read our guide to fishing at Siblyback here Check out our Siblyback fishing map here Burrator Rod Average: 1.82 Photos: Allan Lawson ‘Great day! Nicely overcast and north-westerly breeze. I headed straight for the top of the lake with the intention of working my way between Lowery point and Bennett’s lawn. Having had a quick recce I could see a few moving just short of Bennett’s lawn so anchored upwind of them and went for a dry. (Black hopper).Third cast and a lovely little brown closely followed by a nice fighting rainbow. Fish not always showing but some great takes from out of nowhere. I ended up with four rainbows and two browns. Nothing big but very good condition and giving a great account of themselves. Great sport!’ View the full Catch Report here Read our guide to fishing at Burrator here Check out our Burrator fishing map here Stithians Rod Average: 3.07 A floating line fished subsurface with a slow retrieve seemed to be the order of the day at Stithians last week, with a variety of flies doing the trick but particularly hoppers. Michael J Wall from Falmouth caught “the most humungous brown trout I’ve ever seen, let alone caught” at a whopping 65cm, setting a new season record. Other notable catches include Nigel Burley from Truro with 8 rainbows and 2 browns on black hoppers fished dry or subsurface on a floating line. For CAST club membership details, please contact Graeme Clements (CAST Club Treasurer) through their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Stithianstroutfishing View the full Catch Report here Read our guide to fishing at Stithians here Check out our Stithians fishing map here Fernworthy Rod Average: 4.64 The wild brownies have been providing some fantastic sport at Fernworthy recently, with plenty of quality fish being caught as well as the stockies. Mark McIlwaine from Shaldon caught 15 to 2lb: ‘Fantastic day. Warm and sunny with a good breeze, fish were everywhere and rising late morning and evening. Slow retrieve worked until evening then I moved to dries. Had a few on static sedge but the action really got going when I tried fast retrieve across the surface. Missed a lot more than I hooked but very exciting. Saw buzzards, swallows, lizards and heard cuckoo.’ Photos: Mark McIlwaine Andrew Fulcher from Plymouth caught 11 on a floating line with long leader. Photo: Andrew Fulcher Wildlife: Adder, 2 cuckoos heard, buzzards, swallows, lizards. View the full Catch Report here Read our guide to fishing at Fernworthy here Check out our Fernworthy fishing map here Colliford Rod Average: 5.18 Plenty of full bags at Colliford last week with a catch of 10 for Chris Tilyard from Fraddon, 12 for Keith Burnett from Newquay on a solider palmer and 13 for Dean Boucher from Gunnislake. Fish are distributed nicely around the lake with most areas producing catches. Photos: Chris Lock ‘A beautiful setting sun topped a wonderful evening of fishing & enjoying the flora & fauna the lake has to offer. Sunset to dusk really is a most beautiful time of the day at Colliford without doubt. Caught two fish both returned. One a stunning overwintered fish & a brand new stockie. The former around 15" & the latter around 10". All in all an evening to be savoured & remembered for all the right reasons. So looking forward to my next visit.’ Wildlife: A flock of 30+ Whimbrel. View the full Catch Report here Read our guide to fishing at Colliford here Check out our Colliford fishing map here Roadford Rod Average: 2.80 Plenty of rises produced a catch of 10 brown trout for Alex Venn from Cullompton, fishing from a boat on humongous and nomad patterns. Wayne Middleton from Okehampton landed three to 1.5lb on a Bristol Hopper, while Rodney Wevill from Launceston caught 1 on a scruffy tiger. View the full Catch Report here Read our guide to fishing at Roadford here Check out our Roadford fishing map here Without your catch returns these reports wouldn’t be possible, and they also enable us to gain a clearer picture of our lakes and stock levels which in turn will help us to continue to improve our Anglers experience, so do please keep sending them, even if they’re nil returns! Complete your Catch Returns online here. Don’t forget to include any wildlife and nature sightings – we love to hear about them and they are a great help to our Environment Team! Please continue to send us any photos of your catches, the lakes or any wildlife/nature that we could utilise for press articles and social media. We are also keen to see any clear, close-up photos of any flies used, particularly home-tied ones. Please send any photos to [email protected]. DAY AND SEASON PERMITS Permits are no longer available on-site at the permit huts, please purchase your day and season permits here or call one of our team on 01566 771930. BOATS We currently have four boats available at Kennick, three at Roadford, two at Siblyback and one at Stithians. To book a boat for the fisheries please click here. Bag, Catch & Release limits: Rainbow Trout- Bag Limit is 5 fish. Catch & Release limit is 10 fish per day – we would kindly ask that all anglers purchase a further ticket if they would like to continue fishing. Brown Limit– Bag Limit is 4 fish. Catch & Release is unlimited (if you’re lucky enough to catch good numbers of our Brownies then we feel it’s well deserved!) Manage Cookie Preferences