Cornwall Fishing

Cornwall, fishing can be enjoyed all year round, and the mild Cornish winters
ensure that it is not too much of a hardship. The salmon and trout season depends
on the river and runs from April or May to October or November (check with the
phone numbers given for exact details)
Newquay makes a good base for the fisherman, with half a dozen well stocked
lakes within ten minutes drive from the centre of Newquay, and if you drive
an extra half hour there are several more, on a range of lakes and rivers offering
both coarse and fly options.
I have done my best to draw together the various bits of information on the
different locations, any suggestions or additions are welcome. Click on
the buttons for further information.
Beach Angling
- As long as the beach fisherman is careful to avoid bathers and seaweed,
the experiences off the North Cornish beaches can be very good
- Bude breakwater and Crackington Haven have various flatfish, dogfish and
mackerel.
- Widemouth Bay, Crooklets, Northcott Mouth and Maer can all be fished for
flatfish for about two hours either side of low water
- Constantine, Mawgan Porth, Watergate Bay, Crantock, Holywell and Perranporth
all can be fished for flatfish and rays
Rock Angling
- Care should be taken because of the strength of the waves. But flat fish
and rays plus mackerel and pollock can be found at the following spots
- Trenance, Trevose, Park Head, Rumps Point east of Padstow, Daymar Bay, Godrevy
Point, Navax Point and Rumps point near St Agnes
Rivers and Lakes
- Upper Tamar between Kingford
Mill and Bridgerule. Tickets are required for brown trout
- Lower Tamar Lake is run by SW Water. Permits for Brown
and Rainbow Trout are available from on site machines - 15th March to 12 October.
tel the ranger on 01 288 312262
- Upper Tamar Lake near Kilkhampton is 80 acres stocked with
coarse fish. 81 acres, SWW fishery with brown and rainbow trout; fly
only. Season mid March to mid Oct. day £5, 4 fish limit, £3 conc. Bank sites
mainly, limited boat option. Permits from self-service unit at reservoir dam.
- Permits required for sea trout and brown trout on the Tamar, Ottery,
Inny and Carey Rivers.
- Colliford Lake, Liskeard. 900 acres. SWW fly fishery,
with natural brown trout. Day ticket £7. Self service tickets in Simonstone
car park. No boats. Open 1mid March to mid October. Once again provided some
excellent sport with the hard fishing brown trout, many of which were between
1 ½ lbs. and 1 ¾ lbs. Most fish fell to small flies such as soldier
palmers and bibio's fished just below the surface. So far this season there
has been an absence of daddy long legs which were so prolific last year.
The nearby small fishery at Temple always carries a good stock of well conditioned
fish and the Jones family will give advice on tactics and flies. This year
a rainbow weighing 7 lbs 15 oz was taken, plus 3 fish bag weighing 13 lbs
on an orange lure. Another fisherman used a muddler on a floating line for
his 7 fish bag weighing 15 lbs 15 oz.. The lake was fished and recommended
by the renowned Swiss fly fisherman A. Schwab
- Crowdy Reservoir near Camelford has rainbow and
brown trout with a permit, 115 acre South West Water trout fishery, stocked
with brown trout fry,supplemented with rainbows. Fly, spinning and bait fishing
zoned. Season mid March to mid October, day £6 from Spar Shop, Camelford (01840
212356).
- Siblyback Lake, Liskeard. 140 acres. Fly only, with
stocked rainbow trout. Season end Mar to end Oct. Day permits £7, information
from Watersports Centre, Siblyback, Common Moor, Liskeard, tel: 01579 346522.
A report in August 1998 showed that during August 279 rainbow trout
were caught from 110 returns which included 16 limit bags. The best fish of
9 lbs 6 oz was taken by D. Brackman from Callington using a montana. Mr.Patterson
of St. Austell caught a rainbow of 3 lbs 15 oz on a stick fly, while J. Gilran
used an imitation of a water boatman beetle to take a rainbow of 3 lbs 14
oz.
- Porth Reservoir, Newquay. 40 acres, SWW fishery,
bream, rudd, tench, roach, perch, eels, and carp. Open all year, 24 hour day,
day permits £3.50 from self-service unit at car park or from Mrs P Ford, The
Bungalow, Porth Reservoir, Newquay (01637 879481).
- Menalhyl, Newquay. Brown trout. Contact. Sec, Mawgan AC
or The Merrymoor, Mawgan Porth for tickets, wt £5.
- Argal and College Reservoirs SWW fisheries. Argal,
nr Penryn: 65 acres, fly only for rainbow trout. Season: beginning
April - end Oct. Day ticket £11, from self-service at Hill Farm Barn.
Boats £7 per day, bookable in advance. College, nr Falmouth:
38 acres coarse only, with carp over 30lb, large perch, pike, bream, tench,
eels. Day ticket £3.50 open all year, 24 hr day.Permits from self-service
unit at Argal Reservoir car park. St from Mrs P Ford, The Bungalow, Porth
Reservoir, Newquay (01637 879481).
- The River Camel has sea trout and brown trout. The
river rises on Bodmin Moor and flows 25 miles to the sea at Padstow. The wild
moorland scenery has ensured that the river is pollution free and that large
runs of sea trout and salmon survive Tel 01 208 76484 for details
- The Butterwell Fishery is a picturesque holding of 40 Acres,
on the Camel just downstream of Nanstallon Village and
about a mile above the tidal reaches. It has 8 natural holding pools along
the Butterwell stretch, plus a further 12 new pools. The new pools have
been built with large granite boulders placed across the river bed to form
underwater weirs and they are now proving to be very popular holding pools
for both seatrout and salmon.
There is half a mile of double bank water plus half a mile of single bank
water and is divided into two equal beats for two rods each, which alternate
daily. The season starts at the beginning of April, with the main
run of seatrout beginning in June and best in July and August. The first good
runs of salmon begin in September and carries on until the season closes in
mid December. Catches from Butterwell in 1995, 1996 and 1997 for salmon have
been 68, 93, 60 and for sea trout in these years 148, 242, 277. The cost of
fishing in 1998 is £15.- per rod per day
- Fenwick Trout Fishery, Dunmere, Bodmin can be contacted
on 01 208 78296 all year.
- The River Fowey has a season for sea trout and salmon
from April 1 to Sept 30 on a 2 mile stretch neat Lanhydrock. Information from
01 208 74281 The Fowey rises near the highest point of Bodmin Moor from which
it flows south then turns to the west, and finally south again through Lostwithiel
to its long estuary. This is another late salmon river with good sea trout
fishing as well.
- The East and West Looe Rivers have a salmon and
trout season from 1st April to 15 December. 01 503 263535
- Stithians Reservoir,Redruth. 247 acres. SWW brown
and rainbow trout fishery; fly, spinning, bait
fishing zoned. Season mid Mar - mid Oct . Day ticket £6. Limited boats.Permits
from Londis Supply Store, Stithians (01209 860301); Peninsula Watersports
Centre, Stithians (01209 860409).
- Drift Reservoir. Near Penzance (3m); sixty-five
acres in quiet valley. Wild brown and stocked rainbow trout (fly only).
Limit, 3 rainbows per day, no limit on wild browns. Day ticket £6 from
warden on reservoir, by car park, or Mr Terry Shorland, Driftways, Drift Dam,
Penzance (01736 63869). 7m from Penzance are 3 carp pools at Tindeen Fishery,
day ticket £2. J Laity, Bostrase,Millpool, Goldsithney, tel: 01736 763486.
St Buryan Lake carp pool, tel: St Buryan 220.
- Mylor Angling Lakes , Mylor Bridge, near Falmouth. tel
01 326 373975 Open all year from 8.30 am to one hour before dusk Fly
for rainbow trout in Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. £5.50 to fish plus
1.75 per lb
- Bude Canal has coarse available. Tel 01 288 361399
- Dutson Water near Launceston offers coarse. Tel 01 566
772607
- Tredidon Barton Lake also has coarse near Launceston. Tel
01 566 86288
- Bolingey Lake near Perrinporth is a 4 acre coarse lake
where you can fish by the hour.
- Hayle. Fishing stations: Relubbus, Hayle Causeway
and Gwinear. Trout and sea trout. Good beach
fishing near Hayle, and the estuary very good, particularly for bass, mullet
and flats; plenty of natural
bait. Mazarion AC has three coarse pools in St Erth, nr Hayle, tickets from
The County Angler, see above.
Tackle shop: Angoves Sports, Copperhouse, Hayle.
- Bake Lakes offer both coarse and fly fishing in the scenic countryside
near Trerulefoot, between Looe, Liskeard and Saltash. www.bakelakes.co.uk
For the Sea Fisherman you can visit The
Huer's Hut, Newquay. This site is based in Newquay and dedicated
to sea angling in the county. It includes the notices and news as a free service.
It has more about sea angling than I could possibly tell you
The hotel to stay at when
visiting Cornwall is Corisande Manor Hotel,
Cornwall find out more about it
