DAY AND SEASON PERMITS

Permit rooms are closed until further notice. Please purchase your day and season permits here or call one of our team on 01566 771930.

 

Reminders & Requests

• Please send me any photos of your catches, lakes or any nature or wildlife pictures that we could utilise for press articles or social media posting. It would also be great to have some clear and close up photos of some of the flies used, and would be very keen to see flies tied at home as well, so if you have any photos to hand please send them to- [email protected]

 

• Please complete Catch Returns online, this will enable us to gain a clearer picture of our lakes and stock levels which of course in turn will help us to continue to improve our Anglers experience.

 

• Any Roadford Brown Trout with adipose removed as part of the project study please record and send any photo/details of these Brown Trout caught.

 

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!) 

 

BOATS 

 

We currently have four boats available at Kennick, three at Roadford and one at Stithians. The two boats for Siblyback will be available soon.

To book a boat for the fisheries please click here.

 

News and Highlights from the week:

There are still plenty of spaces left for qualifying for the Best of the Best Competition:

The qualifiers have a maximum of 12 people per heat with the top 6 qualifying for the £2000 final at Kennick on 17^th October. 

Places still available for the dates below - To book in please call our office on 01566 771930. Don’t delay!

 

Burrator – 18 September (New date)

Kennick – 25 September (New date)

Kennick – 2 October

 

All the information and rules can be found here: https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/best-of-the-best

 

The full list of qualifiers will be posted on our Best of the Best page on our website (link above).

 

Please keep the catch reports coming in, we really do appreciate the depth of information they offer and it’s a great help to us. Thanks also for the great photos and videos we’ve received so far.

Kennick  

Kennick Highlights:

 Rod Average: 2.51

 Good week at Kennick, lots of anglers making the most of the weather. Some great bags including Geoff V with 5 fish one day and 10 (7Rainbow and 3BRown)  another day, caught on Buzzers, David H 10 fish on floating line, Mike L 15 fish, Graham R 10 fish to 3.5lb on lures/damsels, M holt 6 fish on a yellow/green lure.

Lovely report from Mike H – ‘It was a gloriously sunny and warm day with a gentle SE breeze (18C when we packed up at 3pm!). 2 boats out and 12 bank anglers. Although there were not many fish showing, Hil and I decided to fish dries all day. We caught one 2lb Rainbow (outside Clampitts), 'lost' two more in front of the Dam (all on a dry Daddy) and rose another five. It could not have been anything but enjoyable. There was some fly life on the surface (hatching or being blown on), but no Hawthorns or Beetles yet.’

 A mostly sunny and warm week with golden-eye ducks spotted on the lake.

View the full Catch Report here

Check out the Kennick fishing map here

The Kennick fishing guide is here

 

Siblyback

Siblyback Highlights:

Rod Average: 3.14

Lots of Anglers reporting surface activity this week, with fish feeding in the morning and later in the afternoon, and a variety of techniques used to convert to catches;  Bill C had 6 rainbows to 2.5lbs by boat, drifting all over, Martin E had 4 rainbows to 3lbs, E Evans had 5 rainbow to over 2lbs, Robert W had 5 rainbow to 2lbs, Roger P had 4 rainbows to 2lbs, Andrew P had 2 rainbows and a brown, Phil M-R had 8 'hard-fighting fish in tip-top condition' and Ron W had 9 rainbows and 2 browns to 3lbs.

We received this report from Ron W of Roadford Fly Dresser’s Guild who met up for their annual memorial fishing competition in memory of Keith Harrison and Dave Pollard:

‘It was fantastic to see those Members that could make the day as we had not had any meetings since the start of the lock down March 2020, a long catch up / chat during setting up was much needed..

We started with a good breeze from the south in two meadows, Paul saw plenty of fish moving quite close in and thought his river tactics would pay divided. Ron managed just one small rainbow on an orange blob. As none of us really wanted to take too many fish home so we agreed to change the rules from heaviest bag to highest number of fish landed to be deemed winner. shortly after Don turned up with 6 fish in his net...

Paul continued along two meadows determined to land a fish or two from close in, whilst the rest of us headed to Stocky bay. - John jumped down the bank into the first spot just after the stones followed by Don and Myself.  John spotted fish moving and had a couple of gentle takes. I missed a hard take. I spotted fish moving across the top so changed over to my 5wt Snowbee prestige rod with a floating line - black booby on the point, buzzer and black & peacock on the droppers - very slow figure of eight, just letting the fly's drift in the wind without losing control - I watched the line at the end of the rod tighten up into a good 3lb plus rainbow - next cast - similar but rainbow around 2 1/2lb - then all went quiet.

John had moved round right into stocky bay where he lost a couple got and broken off on another before landing 3 rainbows - all a good size and a hard fight - around 1 3/4 to 2 1/2lb safely realised back.

I spotted the fish out in front so changed back to the intermediate line on a 7wt rod, which I can cast further out. Paul by now had no luck in two meadows was fishing next to John in stocky bay. Don fishing close in had a couple of hard fighting rainbows on but did not manage to land them, but was content to show us four more fish in his net!

The distance was paying off - I changed the point fly over as I had plenty of takes but no hook ups, this worked catching a good size brown around 1lb a smaller one around 4 inch's and another 6 rainbows before the rain came in Heavey and we called it a day just after 3.pm. I had plenty of fish follow close in and little / gentle takes, swirl and turn away, making the day really busy and exciting.  My tally - 11 fish just about beat Don's 10 stickleback's that swam into his net resting in the water!!?

Advice / tip - yes at times they biguns are chasing the fry / sticklebacks in shallow water - Pauls river tactics were not working but a cat's whisker may have done the job along two meadows’.

 

And this one from Phil M-R: ‘Arrived at the water very early, around 6:15am - I didnt know if it was going to be another hot one even though the met forecast (never to be trusted anyway) said it was going to be a cooler day. I had fished Monday and landed one, but the sun was bright and the temperature was high - conditions I hate so I left before 09:00. Today, however was perfect. Light breeze coming in from the south west creating just a ripple on the surface, warm - but with quite a bit of cloud passing through the fish were rising all over the place. I started with buzzers and an orange blob under a bung fished about three feet deep and close in. Nothing, which surprised me a little - the buzzer was only about 18in down - and right in front of their eyes. So I tried deeper - and still nothing. On one of the casts the bung slipped right down the line so that it was the orange blob that was about 18 deep - and then the action started. I took the buzzers off at this point and just fished blobs 1 - 2ft deep. By this time it was 07:00, I had landed four fish and had lost many more before 08:00 and by 09:30 I had all seven. I had tied up many different variants of blob on the previous weekend, black ones, white ones, olive ones, tequila sunrise (my favourite) yellows and hot pinks. Every time I had a fish I would ring the changes to a different colour - it didnt seem to make much difference, though the darker colours were slower to produce. It was still quite a bright morning, so maybe the old adage bright day bright fly, dull day dark fly holds true I will continue the blob colour experiment next week! Another altogether excellent days fishing, with hard fighting fish in tip top condition - barre one which was showing the effects of a cormorant attack. Superb...’

 

View the full Catch Report here

Read our guide to fishing at Siblyback here

Check out our Siblyback fishing map here

Burrator

Burrator Highlights:

Rod Average: 4.37

 Good week at Burrator, with a healthy rod average. Bags included 11 fish for Mark M on black buzzers and PT nymphs, Miles P with 12 fish caught on pearly spider and tungten hares ear; anglers saying they were catching both on sinking and floating line 3-5ft deep and on the bottom. Nice report here from Al Lawson who had 6 rainbows and a brown – ‘Trickier at burry on Friday very little surface movement, with the bright sunshine keeping the fish down throughout the day. Got a few plucks on the floating line but only one fish to a foam back beetle. Switched to the intermediate and pulled a damsel with more success and solid takes. No one place doing better caught on several banks. Great day 👍’

Dominic C also reported a great day’s fishing with some young anglers: ‘Yesterday we took my niece and nephew Charlotte  and Joshua fishing at Burrator Reservoir for their first fishing trip and they loved it - a fantastic spot with the sound of cuckoo in the background. The best moment was when my niece said - I love fishing!’

 

 View the full Catch Report here

Read our guide to fishing at Burrator here

Check out our Burrator fishing map here

 

Stithians

 Stithians Highlights:

 Rod Average: 4.79

Some great bags this week with a good rod average and high success rates. A few of the Anglers doing well were Tony C who landed numerous fish and enjoyed the 'great sport' when beetles brought the trout to the surface, Clive P had 3 visits during the week and got 14 fish, Nigel B had 8 rainbows, Warren C had 8 rainbows and a brown, Simon P had a successful evening session with 10 rainbows to 2lbs, Adam E had 2 rainbows, John E had 5 and Lee E had 8 to 2lbs, Robert G had 3 rainbow to 2.5lbs, Paul W had 3 brown and 5 rainbow  and Ian S had an 'excellent session' with 4 rainbow which fought hard.

Paul W provided this report: ‘Unfortunately by the time I had got to the lake, 10.00am conditions had changed from cloudy and settled to blowing hard and raining with strong gust. I was going to fish from the float tube but had to abandon that Idea as it was blowing into my shore line at mossops. I stuck it out, and missed hook ups on as many as I had caught! Good fishing in miserable conditions. Very few fish showing but they were up in the water and taking my hopper on a floating 6wt line with a slow or no retrieve.’

Wildlife-wise, reported were cuckoos and a whitethroat.

 

View the full Catch Report here

Read our guide to fishing at Stithians here

Check out our Stithians fishing map here

 

Fernworthy

 Fernworthy Highlights:

 

Rod Average – 2.64

Good week, with fish being caught all over the reservoir… Kevin P had a great day on the float tube catching 12 fish, David G had 14 fish ('As per my email. Virtually no surface activity to naturals but fish were more than happy to come to our flies. Could have easily doubled the bag if everything that went for the flies had stuck!') Charles B had 10 fish with a brown at 2lb, lovely fish - ''Mix of cloud and sun and light SW breeze. Fished smallish flies - fish either on top or in the first 18. Mixed retrieves to keep getting takes. Missed as many as I landed - fish well off the bank so had a lot of line out. Fished margins to start and got almost nothing so for once waded and it made a real difference as fish well off bank where ripple was best. Strange in that I caught my best fish ever from the lake, but also probably the smallest - small wild one.''.   . Report from Wayne W, who had 8 fish - .: Fished the evening, cloudy not much rising but tempted a couple to the surface with others taken just below the surface, had lots of takes and lost a couple at the net, great sport, lovely evening.

 

View the full Catch Report here

Read our guide to fishing at Fernworthy here

Check out our Fernworthy fishing map here

 

Colliford

Colliford Highlights:

Rod Average: 2.64

Some great sessions this week, with activity throughout the day but particularly in the early Mornings. Much better weather generally, with lots of takes during the cloudier periods. Victor W had 4 brownies, Daniel G had 5, Robert S had a fantastic session with 16 and Chris T had 5.

Chris T: ‘Perfect evening for dry flies, light southerly breeze and fog. Didn’t arrive until 6.30 but soon caught on black spider. Moved along to the spillway then Redhill point and then back to middle carpark. Had 4 fish on static dries. When the light began to fade I switched to pulled duck fly with a slow figure of eight retrieve and caught 1 more and had another slip the hook’.

Mostly calm and sunny week with swallows, swifts and cuckoos making an appearance.

View the full Catch Report here

Read our guide to fishing at Colliford here

Check out our Colliford fishing map here

 

Roadford

Roadford Highlights:

Rod Average: 1.27

Roadford fished steadily during the week with some enjoyable days had by Anglers. Wayne M had 2 browns, one of which was part of the adipose project, Graham L had 3 browns to 1.5lbs, Robert W had 2 trout and Nigel H also had 2.

Robert W provided this report: ‘Hot, Easterley, bright, noisy bank holiday!!! Managed to weedle out 3 lovely browns... on a slime line and small woolybugger. Very hard fishing.’

View the full Catch Report here

Read our guide to fishing at Roadford here

Check out our Roadford fishing map here

 

 

NEWS……here is our 2021 pre-season trout fishing newsletter

 

Hope to catch up on one of our waters in the very near future.

Tight lines!

Dil