Salmon and trout fishing, Tamar Valley

The River Tamar and its tributaries ( the Inny being one of them ) are a spawning ground for salmon, sea trout and brown trout; the season runs from 1st March to 14th October. When the fish start running obviously depends on how much rain falls during the season, but generally, small numbers appear in April, with more arriving between May and June in line with increased rainfall, followed by a second run during August and September. Since all netting in the river and estuary was stopped, the annual average number of catches has been increasing - the largest salmon caught in 2005 was 14lbs, and the largest sea trout 4½lbs.

The valley is a haven for wildlife, is exceptionally quiet and peaceful, with woodland on either bank that supports much birdlife and deer. During your day out fly fishing you should hear the high scree of buzzards as they circle overhead, maybe catch a flash of blue as a kingfisher flits by, and possibly, if you are very lucky, catch site of one of the otters that are known to live in this stretch.

Fishing is by fly only, and the relevant licenses must be obtained. If you do not have these they can be purchased from Stoke Climsland post office, a couple of miles away, or directly from the Environment Agency's website. The Environment Agency rules state that: all salmon caught before June 16th must be returned alive, as must any red fish and all salmon over 10lbs from September onwards. Rods are expected to return at least 70% of their catch ( 2 out of 3 ).

Managed fly fishing beats

FishTamar is an excellent online resource, with lots of information about the rivers, maps, river levels, latest catches etc. A number of beats can be booked direct through the site.

Angling 2000 is a scheme that manages access to 41 fisheries over 50kms throughout the South West, with a high concentration of good stretches nearby. It is operated through a unique token payment system which allows anglers to access any of the participating fisheries when they want and without the need to contact anyone beforehand.

Launceston Anglers Association manage a number of beats over about 13 miles on the rivers Tamar, Carey and Inny, and day tickets can be obtained from www.launcestonsports.co.uk.

Endsleigh Fishing Club has fishing on 12 miles of the lower River Tamar below Greystone Bridge, ten minutes by car.

Reservoir and lake fishing

If you prefer reservoir, or lake fishing then you might like to try one of a number of locations nearby. These include :

• Siblyback Lake, near Common Moor, south east Bodmin Moor
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• Colliford Reservoir, near Bolventor, middle of Bodmin Moor
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• Roadford Fishery, between Launceston and Oakhampton
  details ~ map