BFFA Away-Day Competition at Tavistock Fishery Thursday 26 April 2018

Yet another good turn-out of eleven members for the competition at Tavistock Trout Fishery on 26th April 2018.  Apart from a couple of showers, the day was sunshine and cloud.  Although cool in the morning, it did warm up after lunch.  I took the water temperature at 10C while the air was around 12C.

The competition started at 10am and even before I had bought my ticket Jay Nicholls had a rainbow of over 3lb from Kingfisher and Bob Eccles had netted two others from the Big Osprey.

As it was very busy on the 'top' lakes - Kingfisher, Osprey & Big Osprey, I decided to have a few casts on Heron Lake.  With no anglers there at all I had plenty of choice of bank!  I was using a black Kennick Killer and had several plucks & pulls before landing one of 2lb 5oz.  Bob Prout had one from Little Heron.

The owner of Tavistock Fishery, Abigail,  generously gave a prize of a landing net for the winner and, as Jay's trout was within 3/8oz of Pete's winning trout, she gave him a baseball cap, too.  Much appreciated by us all.

Bob into an early rainbow on Big Osprey Lake

David changing the fly on Osprey Lake

Tony Hooper had one from Heron Lake

Terry fishing Big Osprey

Pat on Big Osprey Lake

Anthony fishing Osprey

Kelvin was joined by an admiring group of Guinea Fowl on Lower Heron!

Pete and Jay at the weigh-in

Abigail of Tavistock Fishery donated a 1st prize landing net & a cap for the runner-up

The BFFA competitors at the fishing hut.

Missing are Terry & Pat

Jay modelling the hat!

As with all our away-day competitions it is the biggest fish that wins.

Here are the results:-

The winner was Pete Phillips with a rainbow of 3lb 4 3/8oz.  He had another of 2lb 12oz.

A very close second with a bag of five rainbows was Jay Nicholls - the biggest at 3lb 4oz, 2 others at 3lb and another 2 at 2lb 12oz.

Bob Prout had two rainbows best 3lb 1/2oz

Bob Eccles took 4 trout between 2lb 8oz and 3lb

Pat Power had two at 2lb 10oz & 2lb 8oz

Don Brown one rainbow of 2lb 6oz

Tony Hooper one rainbow of 2lb 5oz 

David Lye, Kelvin Nikulin, Anthony Waldren and Terry Denley all put in nil returns.

BFFA Competition at Burrator on Saturday 14th April 2018

Eleven members fished the competition starting at 10am with a weigh-in at 3pm.  There was a south to southeast breeze blowing all day.  Honorary bailiff and BFFA member Al Lawson fished the south side of Longstone and later the end of the peninsular.  He won the competition with a five fish bag weight of just over 8lb.  His best fish was a rainbow of 2lb 12oz, the other four were all blues.  All taken, I think, on a damsel nymph. It was very nice to see Burrator Fly Fishers only family members there.  The Hampton team fished mostly at the end of the Longstone Peninsula.  Sadly, none of them reported any fish landed.  There were several nil returns from other members.

Here are the results:
Alan Lawson        5 fish for 8lb including a 2lb 12oz rainbow that was best fish of the day.
Tony Hooper        1 blue at 1lb 2oz
Terry Denley        2 blues for 3lb
Peter Macconnell  1 rainbow at 1lb 5oz
Mark Garbutt        1 rainbow at 1lb 8oz
Stuart Payne, Anthony Waldren, Tony Vallack, Mark, Ben & Magnus Hampton put in nil returns.

Tony Hooper on the south side of Longstone

Al Lawson into one of his fish

Alan had the best fish of the day - a 2lb 12oz rainbow

Tony Vallack on the end of Longstone

Magnus & Mark Hampton

Tony Hooper again

Mark, Tony & Peter stop for a Kelly Kettle brew

Al Lawson's winning bag of 4 blues and a rainbow

Stocking at Burrator - 16th March & 9th April 2018

I have attended two of the re-stockings this year.  The first one was at Longstone on 16th March 2018 where 270 trout were released into Burrator by Paul Evenden of Milemead Fisheries at Mill Hill near Tavistock.  Two other BFFA members came along for the 9am stocking, Kevin Sellar & Pat Power.

The trout were a mix of rainbows & blues and either 1lb 4oz or 1lb 8oz although a few were nearer 2lb.

Kevin & Pat chat to Paul

The trout are netted from the tanks to the reservoir

On Monday 9th April Paul released about 250 trout at the slipway where the two angling boats are moored.  There was a mix of rainbows and blue trout.  This was an afternoon stocking and was attended by Mike, a volunteer with SWLT, BFFA members Stuart McCullough and me.  My wife Sue also came along.

I had been told that some big trout of around 12lb were to be released at the same time and below are some photographs as two biggies were put into the reservoir.  Paul said that similar sized trout had already been put into Stithians, a reservoir of 274 acres near Redruth.  The chairman, Paul Wallace, of CAST the fly fishing club based there had landed and returned one of over 11lb during a a recent competition at Stithians. 

Paul Wallace at Stithians with a rainbow of over 11lbs

Trout going in at the slipway

Sue, Stuart & Mike at the slipway to watch Paul carry out the stocking

above & below -  Paul puts two rainbows of around 12lb into the lake

A Day in the Boat at Hawkridge Reservoir - 5th April 2018

A last minute check of the weather forecast - wet & windy - meant a change of day to fish at Hawkridge.  Unfortunately that also meant that Pat & Bob couldn't make our meet at the reservoir.  The day turned out to be a 'window in the weather' - dry all day with sun before lunch and increasing high level thin cloud in the afternoon.  I took the water temperature at 8C while the air was around 10-11C with a multi directional breeze eddying around the valley. There had been a lot of rain recently and the water was running over the dam.

I think the cool water slowed things down and despite lots of anglers fishing both on the bank and from boats we did not see much action in the morning.  My brother, Chris, & I had booked a boat and we used my electric outboard to fish various spots on the 32 acre lake which is managed by Wessex Water.  The permits were £20 each (concession) and a boat permit £15. Parking near the boats is quite limited and the main car park is near the reservoir entrance off the road (Lawyers Hill).  We dropped all the gear, motor & batteries at the permit/Ranger's hut just above the boat pontoon and while Chris parked the car and walked the 400yards back to the pontoon I got the boat ready.

We fished mostly towards the top end away from the dam.  Even so, the water is still quite deep with about 70' near the dam and still perhaps 30-40' off the pontoon.  Chris used a sinking line - either fast sinker or an intermediate line - and stuck with his favourite fly for Hawkridge, a white & lime green Cat's Whisker.  I had my two trout - both Spartics - on a floating line with one of my own tied black & green Kennick Killers (very like the Nomad) weighted with a 3.8mm gold bead.  The biggest was about 4.5lb the other around 3lb. The Spartics were a first for me.  Chris had four trout - three rainbows and a blue.  Again the blue was a first for Chris.

Although it is about 85 miles from Plymouth most of the drive is on dual carriageway and motorway with only the last few miles on backroads.  It is a very popular fishery with good bank fishing and boats usually available - book with the ranger in advance.

The boat pontoon

Chris & I at the top end of the lake

There was a delivery of trout during the day 

Chris into his first trout of the day

The previous line of buoys near the dam had been replaced by much bigger ones

Me into my first fish - a Spartic

At around 4.5lb it was a nice fish 

The Spartic variety is a cross between a Brook Trout & an Arctic Char