Charles Inniss
New member
River Torridge update
No sign of our wet summer yet and the south west missed the deluge on sunday and cold north easterlies have now set in once again with a sharp frost this morning. Not to be satisfied with one salmon, Sheila Sykes caught a second: both about 9lb and both on a size 14 cascade!! Miles Parnell caught the largest fish of the season so far on the last day of April: approx 15lb. On the 1st May Martin Weeks and Ron Burton caught the first sea trout I have heard of at night: 8lb and 5lb.This cold wind is certainly not helping the brown trout fishing but anglers at The Half Moon have enjoyed some good sport but little activity on the surface. An encouraging sign has been the number of salmon smolts dropping back. We badly need some warmth and some good rain. Charles
27/04/2010 10:27 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge update: tues 27th April
Still no appreciable rain but the river levels are holding up surprisingly well. I have heard of two salmon caught over the weekend including the first ever Torridge salmon for Sheila Sykes after many years of trying. The sea trout have started to arrive in the lower river and with warmer nights it would well be worth fishing on dark: and at long last the trout have started to feed on the surface. We badly need a good spate to get what seems to be a reasonable early run of salmon moving up into the middle and upper beats. Apparently a dry April is normally followed by a wet summer: you have been warned. Keep fishing. Charles.
14/2010 11:11 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: monday 19th April
15 days without a drop of rain yet the river is holding up surprisingly well. Several salmon showing along the beats immediately upstream of the tidal water and I have heard of a couple caught in the last week. The sea trout will now be arriving and once the evenings warm up it will be well worth checking out the tail of your favourite pools on dark. The brown trout fishing is at long last coming to life: with good hatches of fly trout are beginning to rise around midday. All the swim-up fry from the hatchery have now been stocked out. Conditions were perfect and they all looked healthy and swam off strongly. We stocked out over 13,500 with a survival rate over 96%. We need some rain and warm south westerlies to freshen up the river. Keep fishing. Charles.
12/04/2010 08:45 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: monday 12th april
River now in absolute perfect order for salmon fishing. I have heard of 6 salmon caught in the last week: all from middle and lower beats: all absolutely fresh: largest 12lb. First sea trout of the season caught on Saturday: 5lb. With the cold nights the brown trout fishing has been slow but fish are starting to rise late afternoon. With the wild daffodils now in their full glory it really is a fantastic time to be down by the river. Charles
06/04/2010 08:58 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
tues 6th April: Torridge update
At long last the weather is settling down and so is the river. It will be in superb order for at least ten days: now is the time to be fishing the Torridge with a real chance of getting into a double figure springer and/or an early sea trout. So sort out your flexi time and head west!! Charles.
river torridge: tues 30th March
Patience is a virtue folks. The unsettled spell of weather continues and as you can see from the webcam the river is still too high and coloured for fishing. Every day small amounts of rain keep the river topped up. It will only need a couple of dry days and the river will come into perfect order. Charles.
04/04/2010 23:13 by Anthony Ward
No doubt about it this is a truly marvellous benefit to those of us from afar. Thanks to those responsible. The only down side is not having a chat to Charles to ask if it is worth travelling down to fish!
02/04/2010 09:30 by Julian Davey
Just a quick thank you for these web cams. For those of us who can't just wonder down to the river this is an invaluable resource. Brilliant.
19/03/2010 19:20 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge uppdate: Friday 19th March
The met office has been spot on again and the warm south west winds have duly arrrived bringing bands of rain off the Atlantic. About 13mm rain has fallen on the catchment in the last 24 hours and more is forecast. The river has risen slightly today and for those of you using the Sheepwash height board it is reading 1 foot 3 inches this evening. More fish to report this week: I have heard of two salmon taken on middle river beats and two from the lower river including a sea liced fish of approx 12lbs. A spate now will encourage more to enter fresh water from the estuary so you early season anglers can look forward to some good fishing: and the sea trout season has now opened and I will look forward to being able to report the first rod caught sea trout. One behind every stone folks!!
14/03/2010 09:45 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: sunday 14th March
Two more salmon caught yesterday on the lower river: both very fresh but quite small: one a thick stocky fish of approx only 5lb. River levels still holding at a good height. This morning no frost for the first time for ten days. an encouraging start to the season. Charles.
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13/03/2010 11:16 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: sat 13th March
Pleased to say I can report a salmon caught at Brightlea yesterday by John Graham: approx 7lb caught using an intermediary line on a size 6 Silver Stoat. At long last the nagging easterly wind has gone and spring seems to be in the air. No rain at ball since 28th February but the river is holding up well. For those of you that use the height board at Sheepwash: 1 foot 1inch this morning with water temp 40 rising to 43 later in the day. The AGM of our Fishery Association was well attended and enjoyed by one and all. All the eggs at the hatchery have now hatched and the young alevin are progressing well with only minimal losses.. I will keep you informed of any further catches. Charles.
15/03/2010 19:02 by Reg Lawton
John, delighted that you caught the first salmon of the new season on one of the Half Moon beats and I trust that Bob Whittaker has got over the shock and is now sleeping OK!
The Torridge webcam is a great idea and well done Charles for keeping us salmon fishermen, sorry, fisher persons informed.
Reg
03/03/2010 19:45 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge fishing report
The South West missed the violent storm and heavy rain that hit eastern England over the weekend. The river was rather high and slightly coloured on opening day, but is now coming into perfect order, albeit rather cold with a brisk easterly wind. Four superb spring salmon have been caught on the Lower Taw: fish which will have come in on the recent big spring tides. Fish were showing below Beam Weir last Saturday. The next few days really should produce some early Torridge salmon. All we need are some keen anglers!! Charles. The river height will be spot on for at least a week. Water temp: 6C.
09/03/2010 09:31 by Duncan Betts
Well I fished hard over the weekend, the lower river was at perfect height but very cold dropping from 40 to 38 F. One lost fish on Friday afternoon and a good pull on Saturday to show for my efforts. A case of nearly but not quite!
Duncan Betts
River Torridge Fishery Association
Another salmon season starts on 1st March and the trout and sea trout season opens a fortnight later. At long last the weather is warming up down here in Devon and the river is running at a good height. If there's no more rain conditions shoud be spot on for the opening day. We still get a few early springers in the Torridge: last year Bob Whittaker caught a fresh 8lb fish at Madeira on the first morning and Jonathan Sykes and his party had three in a day later in the month. I will keep you updated of any early season catches. Hope to see you on the river before too long. Charles
02/03/2010 11:02 by David Middlemiss
River in cracking condition on opening day yesterday, a touch big but great colour. Lovely conditions for being out on the bank and, pending fishy presence, seems like a good chance of an early fish for someone, somewhere... Good luck!
01/03/2010 10:30 by Duncan Betts
Good luck to anyone out fishing this week.... I'll be on the banks this weekend. dB
05/02/2010 20:54 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
February update
The start of another season is only three weeks away. I have had reports of large salmon moving upstream at Bideford as early as mid-January and last week a seal was seen devouring a salmon just below Bideford Bridge: maybe a returning kelt or maybe one of this year's springers!! We have survived the cold snap with the river almost completely frozen for several days. We managed to keep the hatchery insulated: all the eggs are now eyed and we have lost less than 100, so after our early problems all is progressing well and with some luck we will be able to stock out about 13,500 swim-up fry in early April. The AGM of the Torridge Fishery Association willbe held in early March at The Half Moon, Sheepwash and I will confirm the date asap. Tight lines. Charles.
05/02/2010 20:54 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
February update
The start of another season is only three weeks away. I have had reports of large salmon moving upstream at Bideford as early as mid-January and last week a seal was seen devouring a salmon just below Bideford Bridge: maybe a returning kelt or maybe one of this year's springers!! We have survived the cold snap with the river almost completely frozen for several days. We managed to keep the hatchery insulated: all the eggs are now eyed and we have lost less than 100, so after our early problems all is progressing well and with some luck we will be able to stock out about 13,500 swim-up fry in early April. The AGM of the Torridge Fishery Association willbe held in early March at The Half Moon, Sheepwash and I will confirm the date asap. Tight lines. Charles.
05/02/2010 20:54 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
February update
The start of another season is only three weeks away. I have had reports of large salmon moving upstream at Bideford as early as mid-January and last week a seal was seen devouring a salmon just below Bideford Bridge: maybe a returning kelt or maybe one of this year's springers!! We have survived the cold snap with the river almost completely frozen for several days. We managed to keep the hatchery insulated: all the eggs are now eyed and we have lost less than 100, so after our early problems all is progressing well and with some luck we will be able to stock out about 13,500 swim-up fry in early April. The AGM of the Torridge Fishery Association willbe held in early March at The Half Moon, Sheepwash and I will confirm the date asap. Tight lines. Charles.
14/12/2009 17:22 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge xmas message
Hi folks: so sorry I have not written up the blog for a couple of months. The season extension went off very quietly due to a lack of water and only three salmon were caught: none of them fresh fish and they were all safely released. The broodstock for the hatchery were caught without much difficulty, but disaster struck when freak winds blew open the lid of the holding tank. Several cocks jumped out and were lost. Of the two cocks left one became badly diseased and died before the hens were ready to strip, so we were only able to fertilise the eggs of two hens with the one remaining cock. So we have 13,700 eggs only this year but they are progressing well. At long last the weather has settled down and hopefully we willbe able to some redd counting later this week. Have a great Xmas.
river torridge saturday 24th October 9.00am
As you can see from the webcam the Torridge is in spate. 12mm rain overnight. This week has seen the first proper rain for almost two months. The hatchery is now ready to receive the brrodstock which wiil be trapped during November when the fish are running. The Association annual dinner was a great success. 54 of us sat down to a superb meal at The Half Moon with the draw taking place in the bar afterwards. The support for the raffle has been fantastic and altogether we raised £1630 towards the hatchery costs. Paul and Geraldine Ashworth would like to thank every body especially those who provided prizes. I will keep you updated on hatchery developments during the winter months. Charles.
17/10/2009 09:13 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: october 17th 2009.
Fairly predictably the salmon season ended on a quiet note. I have heard of only two salmon being caught during the extension fortnight: a fresh fish from Little Warham and a rather stale fish from just below Okement Foot caught by Steve Phelps on 10th October. However there were a number of fresh salmon showing in all the lower beats and below Beam Weir there were plenty of sea-liced school peal. After six weeks of dry settled conditions its all change this coming week with a deep low approaching from the Atlantic. Work has been going on apace preparing the hatchery for the next intake. Our annual association dinner at The Half Moon will take place today. It will be a great evening with 55 members and guests sitting down for a meal. I will report fully on the occasion next week.
04/10/2009 18:41 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 4th October 6.00pm
Despite the river being almost down to summer level, Fred Beaumont, fishing the Little Warham beat, managed to winkle out a fresh grilse on 1st October, and while he was playing the fish several more were showing in the pool. There was certainly a run of grilse on the spring tides around the 18th September and these are now spread throughout the lower and middle river. With the water cooling and the urge to move upstream greater, salmon become more active even in low water: so you salmon anglers don't despair, get out and fish the single barbless flies. There's rain on the way this week so there is still time for some good fishing conditions. Please take a photo of any fresh fish caught as the purpose of the extension is to assess the numbers of late running salmon. Charles.
08/10/2009 21:03 by BERNARD CRICK
Web cam seems to show river Torridge still low after a small rise. Could some kind person give us info to help
end of season plans to fish the extension. Levels colour and fish movements if known would be appreciated. Thank you.
08/10/2009 17:01 by Duncan Betts
Well there has been a rise.... was it enough?? Has anyone had any luck? I'll be fishing this weekend...dB
27/09/2009 08:36 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 27th september 9.00am
Very little to report and river now getting low after almost three weeks without rain. If you salmon fishers want some sport during the extension fortnight you had better get your prayer mat out pronto!! Charles.
wed 23rd september 10.00am
After a fortnight without any appreciable rain the river is now getting too low for salmon fishing apart from beats immediately upstream of the tidal water. The spring tides over the weekend brought in some grilse in the 5/6lb range. There were several showing in the weir pool at Beam on Saturday but they seem to have now moved upstream. The brown trout anglers are enjoying some good sport at the moment. If the weather breaks the season could end with a flourish. Don't forget that providing you have a permit obtained from me you can fish for salmon during the first fortnight of October. Keep fishing. Charles. charles.inniss@btinternet.com.
river torridge Friday 18th september 11.00am
At long last the nagging easterly wind has abated. River now getting plenty low enough for salmon, but ideal for sea trout and brown trout fishing. A superb sea trout of approx 8lb was caught and released on Wednesday evening from a middle river beat. There certainly seem to be a good number of large sea trout in the system this year. Peter Inman fishing the Half Moon water at Sheepwash caught a brown trout measuring 19" on a daddy longlegs,
ne of several over 2lb caught this season.
Don't forget we have been granted a fortnight extension to October 14th for salmon fishing but a permit must be obtained from Charles Inniss: 01409231237: charles.inniss@btinternet.com. Keep fishing. Charles.
15/09/2009 09:36 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge tuesday 15th sept 9.00am
River levels are falling away but it is still a good height for salmon fishing. The trouble is as the river falls away so does the fishing effort. I have heard of only one salmon caught over the weekend not far below Okement Foot. The trout fishing is difficult: still too much water but with large numbers of daddy long legs in the fields by the river it could liven up later this week. If the trout are not rising,try fishing a nymph fairly deep. I will check a couple of my favourite spots at dusk in the next few days to see if any fresh sea trout have come in on the last spate. Charles.
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15/09/2009 20:31 by Matthew Haynes
Good luck Charles!
13/09/2009 08:52 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 13th september 9.00am
The glorious autumn weather continues. Fish or no fish it is an absolute joy to be by the river at the moment. I will give an update on catches tomorrow. Don't forget the EA has granted an extension to the salmon fishing season to October 14th. During the extension fortnight fishing with barbless hooks and 100% catch and release. Anglers must be in possession of a permit obtainable from me: Charles Inniss, Beeches, Sheepwash, Beaworthy, Devon. EX21 5NW. Tel: 01409231237 e-mail: charles.inniss@btinternet.com.
12/09/2009 08:57 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: saturday 12th sept 9.00am
The cloudless skies and easterly breeze are certainly making fishing difficult and the best time seems to be early evening. The river is only falling slowly and is now at a perfect height for the salmon anglers. Salmon which have been running hard will now start to settle in their new lies and for the next few days should be tempted by a well presented fly. Reports of fish being caught throughout the system are still coming in, with rods at The Little Warham Fishery doing particularly well. There has been a sizeable run of grilse in the 5/7lb range. This is unusual for the Torridge. I am sure our grilse stock was wiped out by excessive estuary netting over 30 years ago. Maybe, just maybe, this run of grilse is the first sign of our hatchery project paying off. Keep fishing. Charles.
10/09/2009 10:25 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge thurs 10th sept 10.00am
As you can see from the webcam the river is holding. It will drop steadily over the weekend but will remain a good fishing height until at least the middle of next week. The bright sun combined with an easterly breeze is making fishing difficult, but the water conditions are perfect. Never too high or too late in the season for night sea trout fishing; ask Colin Buckingham who caught a 5lb sea trout at 9.00pm last night!!
All of us involved with our hatchery were saddened to hear that Paul Elliott had passed away and our thoughts are with his family. Paul developed his most successful hatchery at Wainsford on the Fowey and gave us much helpful advice when we were setting up our hatchery.
09/09/2009 09:01 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge wednesday 9th september 9.00am
Light rain and drizzle overnight has meant the river has stayed the same level and colour for the last 24 hours: fantastic. More salmon caught yesterday. We are now moving into a period of more settled weather but the river will hold at a good fishing height until at least early next week.
And don't ignore the brown trout fishing. Last week Colin Buckingham tells me he caught eight all over 1lb with two well over 2lb: all on dry fly.
08/09/2009 17:35 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: tuesday 8th September 5.00pm
The chairman of the association has just given me a severe lecture for not updating the blog this morning: I forgot!! The river is now in perfect order with good numbers of salmon throughout the system. I have been told of at least 10 fish being caught in the last three days from beats all along the river. John Graham, fishing The Half Moon waters, went home a happy man having landed three salmon (largest approx 15lb) and lost another.
For those of you trying to correlate the height boards with the blog images. At 11.00 this morning the board at Sheepwash was reading 1' 9'', and at Newbridge, where the webcam is sited, the board was reading a fraction above 0.4dcm.
As expected the sea trout have mostly moved into the headwaters.
07/09/2009 08:41 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: monday morning 7th september
No rain of any quantity to affect the river which is now coming into perfect order. The only report I have received is a 9lb salmon and 4lb sea trout caught yesterday on a middle river beat by Graham Roberts. I walked the river last night and there were plenty of trout rising. Keep fishing folks!! Charles.
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06/09/2009 08:53 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 6th sept.
A dry 24 hours and river dropping, clearing and coming into good order. Still high for lower river but I would expect some action for those fishing the middle and upper stretches. Note the height on the webcam this morning at 75cm. From there down to 50cm is just about the best fishing heights. Let me know of any successes. Charles
06/09/2009 20:08 by Matthew Haynes
Hi Charles
I have just seen the forecast for next week, looks promising. You could have a lot to put into the blog!
Good luck to all those lucky enough to be fishing.
Matt Haynes
06/09/2009 17:50 by simon Hillcox
Thanks Charles, great new facility and great info. I'll be driving down tomorrow, Monday, first thing and fishing Chapel from late morning and i'll let you know if I have any success; all of which probably means we'll have another spate tonight!
Thanks,
Best,
Simon Hillcox.
06/09/2009 10:16 by Steve Read
Hi Charles,
Great to see this up and running, should save you some telephone time talking to all of us about the height etc.
Just curious to know how we datum the height measurements against what we already know to be the best heights.
Say for example its 4 on the board there at the bridge, how do you relate that to the 0, 50, 75cm etc shown on the screen, probably simple but I've missed it.
Kind regards,
SR
05/09/2009 08:52 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: saturday morning 5th september.
We've had a dry night and the river is down to 0.86 at TomRockhays bridge; still coloured but clearing. Upper river should fish well later today and middle river tomorrow. The forecast for early next week is more rain so it's a case of making the most of limited opportunities!! I expect to hear of some action later today and tomorrow. Charles
04/09/2009 09:05 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge Friday morning 4th September
Be patient folks: another 15mm rain overnight and the river is rising rapidly again and very coloured. Get the gardening done this weekend and head to the Torridge early next week. When the weather finally settles down there will will be some excellent autumn fishing with salmon and sea trout spread throughout the system.
On Wedneday, Phil Wilkinson fishing The Half Moon waters caught a salmon of approx 8lb below Beam Weir and as the river started to rise late afternoon the weir pool filled up with fish and he saw several ascending the weir and fish pass. Very encouraging. Next report tomorrow morning. Charles.
04/09/2009 14:35 by Duncan Betts
Well done what an excellent service, I agree with El midd although it is another distraction from work!!! dB
04/09/2009 13:03 by David Middlemiss
Charles,
Just a quick comment to say how great the webcam looks and how useful these reports and updates will be to all types of fishermen, including those like myself who fish regularly but do not live near the banks. Hope additional contributions make for a truly interactive and helpful service.
El Midd
03/09/2009 08:48 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
Torridge Report: Thursday morning 3rd September
We have a good spate: just what the doctor ordered!! The upper Torridge at Sheepwash has risen more than 1 metre overnight and as you can see from the webcam the main river is in full spate. The height at Tom Rockhays Bridge (upper Torridge) is 1.6metres and for those of you who use the height board at Sheepwash Bridge this equates to 4 feet 9 inches. As a rough guide, for the upper reaches the river needs to be about 0.8m, the middle river 0.7m and the lower river 0.6m. All these readings are from the height board at Tom Rockhays Bridge. Certainly if there is no more rain the middle and upper beats of the river will fish well over the weekend. I will update on height and colour tomorrow morning. Have the rods at the ready and forget the gardening!! Charles.
02/09/2009 20:17 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
report wednesday evening 3rd september
Well folks the autumn rains have arrived with a vengeance: 25mm rain (1 inch exactly) in the last eight hours and I expect the river to be in full spate tomorrow morning. The Met Office assure us the weather is settling down so the river should be in perfect order for the salmon anglers this weekend, so do make an effort to get down to your favourite stretch of water. You'll never have a better chance!!
02/09/2009 18:08 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
Welcome To The River Torridge Blog
We're testing this system, so please feel free to register. We'll be updating river conditions shortly.
This is an interactive area between registered users and the blog administrator. This would generally be the person who is writing the reports. Great for angling tourists, tourists and locals alike ‘The Voice of the river’
You will in future be able to read the comments without registering, but to have your say, tell your tales and give advice,
No sign of our wet summer yet and the south west missed the deluge on sunday and cold north easterlies have now set in once again with a sharp frost this morning. Not to be satisfied with one salmon, Sheila Sykes caught a second: both about 9lb and both on a size 14 cascade!! Miles Parnell caught the largest fish of the season so far on the last day of April: approx 15lb. On the 1st May Martin Weeks and Ron Burton caught the first sea trout I have heard of at night: 8lb and 5lb.This cold wind is certainly not helping the brown trout fishing but anglers at The Half Moon have enjoyed some good sport but little activity on the surface. An encouraging sign has been the number of salmon smolts dropping back. We badly need some warmth and some good rain. Charles
27/04/2010 10:27 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge update: tues 27th April
Still no appreciable rain but the river levels are holding up surprisingly well. I have heard of two salmon caught over the weekend including the first ever Torridge salmon for Sheila Sykes after many years of trying. The sea trout have started to arrive in the lower river and with warmer nights it would well be worth fishing on dark: and at long last the trout have started to feed on the surface. We badly need a good spate to get what seems to be a reasonable early run of salmon moving up into the middle and upper beats. Apparently a dry April is normally followed by a wet summer: you have been warned. Keep fishing. Charles.
14/2010 11:11 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: monday 19th April
15 days without a drop of rain yet the river is holding up surprisingly well. Several salmon showing along the beats immediately upstream of the tidal water and I have heard of a couple caught in the last week. The sea trout will now be arriving and once the evenings warm up it will be well worth checking out the tail of your favourite pools on dark. The brown trout fishing is at long last coming to life: with good hatches of fly trout are beginning to rise around midday. All the swim-up fry from the hatchery have now been stocked out. Conditions were perfect and they all looked healthy and swam off strongly. We stocked out over 13,500 with a survival rate over 96%. We need some rain and warm south westerlies to freshen up the river. Keep fishing. Charles.
12/04/2010 08:45 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: monday 12th april
River now in absolute perfect order for salmon fishing. I have heard of 6 salmon caught in the last week: all from middle and lower beats: all absolutely fresh: largest 12lb. First sea trout of the season caught on Saturday: 5lb. With the cold nights the brown trout fishing has been slow but fish are starting to rise late afternoon. With the wild daffodils now in their full glory it really is a fantastic time to be down by the river. Charles
06/04/2010 08:58 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
tues 6th April: Torridge update
At long last the weather is settling down and so is the river. It will be in superb order for at least ten days: now is the time to be fishing the Torridge with a real chance of getting into a double figure springer and/or an early sea trout. So sort out your flexi time and head west!! Charles.
river torridge: tues 30th March
Patience is a virtue folks. The unsettled spell of weather continues and as you can see from the webcam the river is still too high and coloured for fishing. Every day small amounts of rain keep the river topped up. It will only need a couple of dry days and the river will come into perfect order. Charles.
04/04/2010 23:13 by Anthony Ward
No doubt about it this is a truly marvellous benefit to those of us from afar. Thanks to those responsible. The only down side is not having a chat to Charles to ask if it is worth travelling down to fish!
02/04/2010 09:30 by Julian Davey
Just a quick thank you for these web cams. For those of us who can't just wonder down to the river this is an invaluable resource. Brilliant.
19/03/2010 19:20 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge uppdate: Friday 19th March
The met office has been spot on again and the warm south west winds have duly arrrived bringing bands of rain off the Atlantic. About 13mm rain has fallen on the catchment in the last 24 hours and more is forecast. The river has risen slightly today and for those of you using the Sheepwash height board it is reading 1 foot 3 inches this evening. More fish to report this week: I have heard of two salmon taken on middle river beats and two from the lower river including a sea liced fish of approx 12lbs. A spate now will encourage more to enter fresh water from the estuary so you early season anglers can look forward to some good fishing: and the sea trout season has now opened and I will look forward to being able to report the first rod caught sea trout. One behind every stone folks!!
14/03/2010 09:45 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: sunday 14th March
Two more salmon caught yesterday on the lower river: both very fresh but quite small: one a thick stocky fish of approx only 5lb. River levels still holding at a good height. This morning no frost for the first time for ten days. an encouraging start to the season. Charles.
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13/03/2010 11:16 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge update: sat 13th March
Pleased to say I can report a salmon caught at Brightlea yesterday by John Graham: approx 7lb caught using an intermediary line on a size 6 Silver Stoat. At long last the nagging easterly wind has gone and spring seems to be in the air. No rain at ball since 28th February but the river is holding up well. For those of you that use the height board at Sheepwash: 1 foot 1inch this morning with water temp 40 rising to 43 later in the day. The AGM of our Fishery Association was well attended and enjoyed by one and all. All the eggs at the hatchery have now hatched and the young alevin are progressing well with only minimal losses.. I will keep you informed of any further catches. Charles.
15/03/2010 19:02 by Reg Lawton
John, delighted that you caught the first salmon of the new season on one of the Half Moon beats and I trust that Bob Whittaker has got over the shock and is now sleeping OK!
The Torridge webcam is a great idea and well done Charles for keeping us salmon fishermen, sorry, fisher persons informed.
Reg
03/03/2010 19:45 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
torridge fishing report
The South West missed the violent storm and heavy rain that hit eastern England over the weekend. The river was rather high and slightly coloured on opening day, but is now coming into perfect order, albeit rather cold with a brisk easterly wind. Four superb spring salmon have been caught on the Lower Taw: fish which will have come in on the recent big spring tides. Fish were showing below Beam Weir last Saturday. The next few days really should produce some early Torridge salmon. All we need are some keen anglers!! Charles. The river height will be spot on for at least a week. Water temp: 6C.
09/03/2010 09:31 by Duncan Betts
Well I fished hard over the weekend, the lower river was at perfect height but very cold dropping from 40 to 38 F. One lost fish on Friday afternoon and a good pull on Saturday to show for my efforts. A case of nearly but not quite!
Duncan Betts
River Torridge Fishery Association
Another salmon season starts on 1st March and the trout and sea trout season opens a fortnight later. At long last the weather is warming up down here in Devon and the river is running at a good height. If there's no more rain conditions shoud be spot on for the opening day. We still get a few early springers in the Torridge: last year Bob Whittaker caught a fresh 8lb fish at Madeira on the first morning and Jonathan Sykes and his party had three in a day later in the month. I will keep you updated of any early season catches. Hope to see you on the river before too long. Charles
02/03/2010 11:02 by David Middlemiss
River in cracking condition on opening day yesterday, a touch big but great colour. Lovely conditions for being out on the bank and, pending fishy presence, seems like a good chance of an early fish for someone, somewhere... Good luck!
01/03/2010 10:30 by Duncan Betts
Good luck to anyone out fishing this week.... I'll be on the banks this weekend. dB
05/02/2010 20:54 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
February update
The start of another season is only three weeks away. I have had reports of large salmon moving upstream at Bideford as early as mid-January and last week a seal was seen devouring a salmon just below Bideford Bridge: maybe a returning kelt or maybe one of this year's springers!! We have survived the cold snap with the river almost completely frozen for several days. We managed to keep the hatchery insulated: all the eggs are now eyed and we have lost less than 100, so after our early problems all is progressing well and with some luck we will be able to stock out about 13,500 swim-up fry in early April. The AGM of the Torridge Fishery Association willbe held in early March at The Half Moon, Sheepwash and I will confirm the date asap. Tight lines. Charles.
05/02/2010 20:54 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
February update
The start of another season is only three weeks away. I have had reports of large salmon moving upstream at Bideford as early as mid-January and last week a seal was seen devouring a salmon just below Bideford Bridge: maybe a returning kelt or maybe one of this year's springers!! We have survived the cold snap with the river almost completely frozen for several days. We managed to keep the hatchery insulated: all the eggs are now eyed and we have lost less than 100, so after our early problems all is progressing well and with some luck we will be able to stock out about 13,500 swim-up fry in early April. The AGM of the Torridge Fishery Association willbe held in early March at The Half Moon, Sheepwash and I will confirm the date asap. Tight lines. Charles.
05/02/2010 20:54 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
February update
The start of another season is only three weeks away. I have had reports of large salmon moving upstream at Bideford as early as mid-January and last week a seal was seen devouring a salmon just below Bideford Bridge: maybe a returning kelt or maybe one of this year's springers!! We have survived the cold snap with the river almost completely frozen for several days. We managed to keep the hatchery insulated: all the eggs are now eyed and we have lost less than 100, so after our early problems all is progressing well and with some luck we will be able to stock out about 13,500 swim-up fry in early April. The AGM of the Torridge Fishery Association willbe held in early March at The Half Moon, Sheepwash and I will confirm the date asap. Tight lines. Charles.
14/12/2009 17:22 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge xmas message
Hi folks: so sorry I have not written up the blog for a couple of months. The season extension went off very quietly due to a lack of water and only three salmon were caught: none of them fresh fish and they were all safely released. The broodstock for the hatchery were caught without much difficulty, but disaster struck when freak winds blew open the lid of the holding tank. Several cocks jumped out and were lost. Of the two cocks left one became badly diseased and died before the hens were ready to strip, so we were only able to fertilise the eggs of two hens with the one remaining cock. So we have 13,700 eggs only this year but they are progressing well. At long last the weather has settled down and hopefully we willbe able to some redd counting later this week. Have a great Xmas.
river torridge saturday 24th October 9.00am
As you can see from the webcam the Torridge is in spate. 12mm rain overnight. This week has seen the first proper rain for almost two months. The hatchery is now ready to receive the brrodstock which wiil be trapped during November when the fish are running. The Association annual dinner was a great success. 54 of us sat down to a superb meal at The Half Moon with the draw taking place in the bar afterwards. The support for the raffle has been fantastic and altogether we raised £1630 towards the hatchery costs. Paul and Geraldine Ashworth would like to thank every body especially those who provided prizes. I will keep you updated on hatchery developments during the winter months. Charles.
17/10/2009 09:13 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: october 17th 2009.
Fairly predictably the salmon season ended on a quiet note. I have heard of only two salmon being caught during the extension fortnight: a fresh fish from Little Warham and a rather stale fish from just below Okement Foot caught by Steve Phelps on 10th October. However there were a number of fresh salmon showing in all the lower beats and below Beam Weir there were plenty of sea-liced school peal. After six weeks of dry settled conditions its all change this coming week with a deep low approaching from the Atlantic. Work has been going on apace preparing the hatchery for the next intake. Our annual association dinner at The Half Moon will take place today. It will be a great evening with 55 members and guests sitting down for a meal. I will report fully on the occasion next week.
04/10/2009 18:41 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 4th October 6.00pm
Despite the river being almost down to summer level, Fred Beaumont, fishing the Little Warham beat, managed to winkle out a fresh grilse on 1st October, and while he was playing the fish several more were showing in the pool. There was certainly a run of grilse on the spring tides around the 18th September and these are now spread throughout the lower and middle river. With the water cooling and the urge to move upstream greater, salmon become more active even in low water: so you salmon anglers don't despair, get out and fish the single barbless flies. There's rain on the way this week so there is still time for some good fishing conditions. Please take a photo of any fresh fish caught as the purpose of the extension is to assess the numbers of late running salmon. Charles.
08/10/2009 21:03 by BERNARD CRICK
Web cam seems to show river Torridge still low after a small rise. Could some kind person give us info to help
end of season plans to fish the extension. Levels colour and fish movements if known would be appreciated. Thank you.
08/10/2009 17:01 by Duncan Betts
Well there has been a rise.... was it enough?? Has anyone had any luck? I'll be fishing this weekend...dB
27/09/2009 08:36 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 27th september 9.00am
Very little to report and river now getting low after almost three weeks without rain. If you salmon fishers want some sport during the extension fortnight you had better get your prayer mat out pronto!! Charles.
wed 23rd september 10.00am
After a fortnight without any appreciable rain the river is now getting too low for salmon fishing apart from beats immediately upstream of the tidal water. The spring tides over the weekend brought in some grilse in the 5/6lb range. There were several showing in the weir pool at Beam on Saturday but they seem to have now moved upstream. The brown trout anglers are enjoying some good sport at the moment. If the weather breaks the season could end with a flourish. Don't forget that providing you have a permit obtained from me you can fish for salmon during the first fortnight of October. Keep fishing. Charles. charles.inniss@btinternet.com.
river torridge Friday 18th september 11.00am
At long last the nagging easterly wind has abated. River now getting plenty low enough for salmon, but ideal for sea trout and brown trout fishing. A superb sea trout of approx 8lb was caught and released on Wednesday evening from a middle river beat. There certainly seem to be a good number of large sea trout in the system this year. Peter Inman fishing the Half Moon water at Sheepwash caught a brown trout measuring 19" on a daddy longlegs,
ne of several over 2lb caught this season.Don't forget we have been granted a fortnight extension to October 14th for salmon fishing but a permit must be obtained from Charles Inniss: 01409231237: charles.inniss@btinternet.com. Keep fishing. Charles.
15/09/2009 09:36 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge tuesday 15th sept 9.00am
River levels are falling away but it is still a good height for salmon fishing. The trouble is as the river falls away so does the fishing effort. I have heard of only one salmon caught over the weekend not far below Okement Foot. The trout fishing is difficult: still too much water but with large numbers of daddy long legs in the fields by the river it could liven up later this week. If the trout are not rising,try fishing a nymph fairly deep. I will check a couple of my favourite spots at dusk in the next few days to see if any fresh sea trout have come in on the last spate. Charles.
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15/09/2009 20:31 by Matthew Haynes
Good luck Charles!
13/09/2009 08:52 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 13th september 9.00am
The glorious autumn weather continues. Fish or no fish it is an absolute joy to be by the river at the moment. I will give an update on catches tomorrow. Don't forget the EA has granted an extension to the salmon fishing season to October 14th. During the extension fortnight fishing with barbless hooks and 100% catch and release. Anglers must be in possession of a permit obtainable from me: Charles Inniss, Beeches, Sheepwash, Beaworthy, Devon. EX21 5NW. Tel: 01409231237 e-mail: charles.inniss@btinternet.com.
12/09/2009 08:57 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: saturday 12th sept 9.00am
The cloudless skies and easterly breeze are certainly making fishing difficult and the best time seems to be early evening. The river is only falling slowly and is now at a perfect height for the salmon anglers. Salmon which have been running hard will now start to settle in their new lies and for the next few days should be tempted by a well presented fly. Reports of fish being caught throughout the system are still coming in, with rods at The Little Warham Fishery doing particularly well. There has been a sizeable run of grilse in the 5/7lb range. This is unusual for the Torridge. I am sure our grilse stock was wiped out by excessive estuary netting over 30 years ago. Maybe, just maybe, this run of grilse is the first sign of our hatchery project paying off. Keep fishing. Charles.
10/09/2009 10:25 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge thurs 10th sept 10.00am
As you can see from the webcam the river is holding. It will drop steadily over the weekend but will remain a good fishing height until at least the middle of next week. The bright sun combined with an easterly breeze is making fishing difficult, but the water conditions are perfect. Never too high or too late in the season for night sea trout fishing; ask Colin Buckingham who caught a 5lb sea trout at 9.00pm last night!!
All of us involved with our hatchery were saddened to hear that Paul Elliott had passed away and our thoughts are with his family. Paul developed his most successful hatchery at Wainsford on the Fowey and gave us much helpful advice when we were setting up our hatchery.
09/09/2009 09:01 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge wednesday 9th september 9.00am
Light rain and drizzle overnight has meant the river has stayed the same level and colour for the last 24 hours: fantastic. More salmon caught yesterday. We are now moving into a period of more settled weather but the river will hold at a good fishing height until at least early next week.
And don't ignore the brown trout fishing. Last week Colin Buckingham tells me he caught eight all over 1lb with two well over 2lb: all on dry fly.
08/09/2009 17:35 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: tuesday 8th September 5.00pm
The chairman of the association has just given me a severe lecture for not updating the blog this morning: I forgot!! The river is now in perfect order with good numbers of salmon throughout the system. I have been told of at least 10 fish being caught in the last three days from beats all along the river. John Graham, fishing The Half Moon waters, went home a happy man having landed three salmon (largest approx 15lb) and lost another.
For those of you trying to correlate the height boards with the blog images. At 11.00 this morning the board at Sheepwash was reading 1' 9'', and at Newbridge, where the webcam is sited, the board was reading a fraction above 0.4dcm.
As expected the sea trout have mostly moved into the headwaters.
07/09/2009 08:41 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: monday morning 7th september
No rain of any quantity to affect the river which is now coming into perfect order. The only report I have received is a 9lb salmon and 4lb sea trout caught yesterday on a middle river beat by Graham Roberts. I walked the river last night and there were plenty of trout rising. Keep fishing folks!! Charles.
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06/09/2009 08:53 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge sunday 6th sept.
A dry 24 hours and river dropping, clearing and coming into good order. Still high for lower river but I would expect some action for those fishing the middle and upper stretches. Note the height on the webcam this morning at 75cm. From there down to 50cm is just about the best fishing heights. Let me know of any successes. Charles
06/09/2009 20:08 by Matthew Haynes
Hi Charles
I have just seen the forecast for next week, looks promising. You could have a lot to put into the blog!
Good luck to all those lucky enough to be fishing.
Matt Haynes
06/09/2009 17:50 by simon Hillcox
Thanks Charles, great new facility and great info. I'll be driving down tomorrow, Monday, first thing and fishing Chapel from late morning and i'll let you know if I have any success; all of which probably means we'll have another spate tonight!
Thanks,
Best,
Simon Hillcox.
06/09/2009 10:16 by Steve Read
Hi Charles,
Great to see this up and running, should save you some telephone time talking to all of us about the height etc.
Just curious to know how we datum the height measurements against what we already know to be the best heights.
Say for example its 4 on the board there at the bridge, how do you relate that to the 0, 50, 75cm etc shown on the screen, probably simple but I've missed it.
Kind regards,
SR
05/09/2009 08:52 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge: saturday morning 5th september.
We've had a dry night and the river is down to 0.86 at TomRockhays bridge; still coloured but clearing. Upper river should fish well later today and middle river tomorrow. The forecast for early next week is more rain so it's a case of making the most of limited opportunities!! I expect to hear of some action later today and tomorrow. Charles
04/09/2009 09:05 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
river torridge Friday morning 4th September
Be patient folks: another 15mm rain overnight and the river is rising rapidly again and very coloured. Get the gardening done this weekend and head to the Torridge early next week. When the weather finally settles down there will will be some excellent autumn fishing with salmon and sea trout spread throughout the system.
On Wedneday, Phil Wilkinson fishing The Half Moon waters caught a salmon of approx 8lb below Beam Weir and as the river started to rise late afternoon the weir pool filled up with fish and he saw several ascending the weir and fish pass. Very encouraging. Next report tomorrow morning. Charles.
04/09/2009 14:35 by Duncan Betts
Well done what an excellent service, I agree with El midd although it is another distraction from work!!! dB
04/09/2009 13:03 by David Middlemiss
Charles,
Just a quick comment to say how great the webcam looks and how useful these reports and updates will be to all types of fishermen, including those like myself who fish regularly but do not live near the banks. Hope additional contributions make for a truly interactive and helpful service.
El Midd
03/09/2009 08:48 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
Torridge Report: Thursday morning 3rd September
We have a good spate: just what the doctor ordered!! The upper Torridge at Sheepwash has risen more than 1 metre overnight and as you can see from the webcam the main river is in full spate. The height at Tom Rockhays Bridge (upper Torridge) is 1.6metres and for those of you who use the height board at Sheepwash Bridge this equates to 4 feet 9 inches. As a rough guide, for the upper reaches the river needs to be about 0.8m, the middle river 0.7m and the lower river 0.6m. All these readings are from the height board at Tom Rockhays Bridge. Certainly if there is no more rain the middle and upper beats of the river will fish well over the weekend. I will update on height and colour tomorrow morning. Have the rods at the ready and forget the gardening!! Charles.
02/09/2009 20:17 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
report wednesday evening 3rd september
Well folks the autumn rains have arrived with a vengeance: 25mm rain (1 inch exactly) in the last eight hours and I expect the river to be in full spate tomorrow morning. The Met Office assure us the weather is settling down so the river should be in perfect order for the salmon anglers this weekend, so do make an effort to get down to your favourite stretch of water. You'll never have a better chance!!
02/09/2009 18:08 by Charles Inniss - River Torridge Fishery Association (Administrator)
Welcome To The River Torridge Blog
We're testing this system, so please feel free to register. We'll be updating river conditions shortly.
This is an interactive area between registered users and the blog administrator. This would generally be the person who is writing the reports. Great for angling tourists, tourists and locals alike ‘The Voice of the river’
You will in future be able to read the comments without registering, but to have your say, tell your tales and give advice,