The Southwest is blessed with a great choice of Salmon rivers and has a particularly long season, with Salmon being in season somewhere in the Southwest from February through to December, leaving a closed season of little more than six weeks in the dead of winter. Although the Cornish rivers are well known for summer Salmon fishing, the Camel and Fowey are also noted for their autumn and winter fishing which continues up to the 15th December. At the other end of the Peninsula, to the east, there is Salmon fishing on the Frome and Avon. The river Taw, which has been improved in recent years, together with the Torridge, offers early fishing, together with North Devon’s East Lyn. In South Devon there is good fishing on the Tamar, the Dart, the Teign, the Taw and others. Different rivers restrict spinning at different times in favour of fly fishing.
However many consider the River Exe, which past surveys indicate has Salmon angling success rates which are amongst the highest in England and Wales, is still a premier river up there with the best of some of the Scottish rivers. However, unlike the Scottish rivers, the River Exe has never been intensively fished in the same way and therefore catch record comparisons are always misleading.
The Exe can produce excellent catches of grilse in late summer, and fishing near the estuary, being well South, produces some of the earliest Spring runs. As a result this gives the keen angler the opportunity to catch some of the largest salmon on beats close to the estuary. Undoubtedly one of the best beats on the Exe, originally owned by the Earls of Iddesleigh, is the Pynes Fishery, which runs from Brampford Speke to Cowley Bridge on the outskirts of Exeter, giving one mile of double bank and three miles of single bank fishing, with 30 named pools. In 1961 Pynes Fishing Ltd was formed, which now provides 11 rods on this outstanding stretch of river, with the Salmon season running from the 14th February to the 30th September, plus extensions depending on water levels up to the 14th October. A similar extension can apply to Sea Trout, which starts on the 15th March (with Brown Trout having the same start until the 30th September), and Grayling can be fished from the 16th June to 14th March.
There are marginal costs involved in owning a rod at Pynes with an annual subscription currently being £300 which covers the cost of bank and river maintenance and running the Company. A rod is also entitled to bring one guest fishing with them, or the rod holder’s guest can fish with their own guest on a separate occasion, on their own.
With such a length of river and choice of pools there are plenty of opportunities for rods to fish undisturbed, with good vehicular rights of access and plenty of places to park up and down the river.
The most exciting news for the Exe, especially for this beat, is the work Network Rail are planning to carry out in 2017/18 to prevent flooding of the railway line. The plan is to remove three weirs at Pynes, Cowley and Exwick. This should improve the number of Salmon coming up the Exe.
If you are keen on serious Salmon fishing and do not wish to travel to Scotland (and loathe the midges found there as much as everyone does), Pynes Fishery probably still provides the greatest selection of pools and river Salmon fishing in England and Wales.
Townsend Chartered Surveyors are offering a rod, which involves having a share in the Company and being appointed as a director, with a guide of £60,000. Contact property@townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk or ring 01392 823935. Details can be found on www.townsendcharteredsurveyors.co.uk
