Special Events

Wild Trout Festival 2012

Saturday 2nd - Tuesday 5th June

Join us this June at The Arundell Arms for the second Wild Trout Festival. Last year's event was a great success and saw a relaxed atmosphere with new friends made and wonderful fish caught. Fish the peak of the trout season on the Tamar and tributaries and enjoy casting to free-rising wild brownies in beautiful surroundings. The Arundell Arms has 20 miles of its own water on the Tamar system, meaning that you will have up to a mile of river all to yourself.

During the festival, our resident AAPGAI instructors - David Pilkington and Tim Smith - will be running daily demos and workshops which you may like to attend to help you sharpen up your fishing skills. They will also be on the beats to give help and advice during each afternoon. The festival promises to be great fun and a chance to experience the best of Westcountry trout fishing on some of the region’s finest wild trout water.

Tariff

£130 per day (B&B including fishing). £470 for all four days (B&B including fishing). Optional demos and workshops will be from £10 to £25 per person. There will be limited spaces available for non-residents at £30 per day.

Workshops and Demos

Saturday 2nd June: 10.30am - 12.30pm

Casting Workshop
Brush up those casting skills and learn to land your fly where it counts. A demonstration on small stream casting techniques will be followed by individual tuition to help improve your technique. Techniques covered will include: tightening loops, casting under overhanging trees, aerial mends and more.

Sunday 3rd June: 10.30am - 11.30am

Upstream Fishing
A demonstration on the river. Learn a few new methods to try when fishing for wild brown trout. The approach, how to fish delicately, fishing the dry and the nymph at the same time, indicator nymph fishing, wading and more.

Monday 4th June: 10.30am - 11.30am

Drag-Free Drift
In nearly all instances, your dry fly should drift naturally with the current; stop that fly from skating and you will catch more fish. A demonstration on methods used to avoid a dragging dry fly: mending line on the water, mending line in the cast, the downstream dry fly and more.

Tuesday 5th June: 10.30am - 11.30am

Matching The Hatch
A riverbank workshop on what the trout eat and how, when and where to choose a suitable imitation. Spend an hour catching bugs on the streams with our instructors. Learn about the lifecycle of aquatic insects and become an angler that thinks before casting.

Westcountry Sea Trout Festival 2012

Thursday 26th - Monday 30th July

We are proud to present the third annual Westcountry Sea Trout Festival – a celebration of Devon and Cornwall’s most exciting game fish. This year's event has been moved to coincide with what is usually the prime week of night fishing at The Arundell Arms. Each night, anglers will enjoy what is surely the pinnacle of the fly fisher’s art, on the rivers Tamar and Lyd on the Devon/Cornwall border. Now in its third year, the festival has proven most popular with experienced trout fishers looking for a new challenge. We find that once bitten by the night fishing bug, there is no going back!

Each morning, the Arundell Arms instructors, David Pilkington and Tim Smith, will run a series of workshops, demonstrations and tuition events. In the afternoons, you can choose to walk your allocated beat with our ghillies and instructors and pick their brains about where the fish lie and the best way to approach them. In addition, the instructors and other local guides will be on the beats each night to offer help and advice.

There will be a fishing tackle prize for the largest sea trout caught, measured and released during the festival.

Tariff

£130 per day (B&B including fishing), £610 for all five days (B&B including fishing). Optional demos and workshops will be from £10 to £25 per person. There will be limited spaces available for non-residents at £30 per day.

Workshops and Demos

Thursday 26th July: 11.00am - 12.30pm

The Basics of Night Fishing
Where and how to start when fishing for sea trout for the first time. This in-depth demonstration on the riverbank will include everything you need to know to catch that first fish. Topics covered will include: Safety, tackle choice and setup, fly choice, casting and retrieving, covering the water effectively and much more.

Friday 27th July: 11.00am - 1.00pm

Casting Workshop
Improve your casting skills with the help of our instructors. With particular emphasis on casting at night, we will tweak your technique to help you put that fly where you want it - even in the dark. A demonstration will be followed by individual instruction to help you fish more efficiently (and hopefully lose less flies in the trees!).

Saturday 28th July: 11.00am - 12.00pm

Alternative Methods
What to do when the 'usual' flies don't work. A demonstration on the riverbank in the use of surface lures and large sunk lures for night fishing. These techniques will not only produce fish when all else fails, but are often the first port of call when hunting for the really BIG sea trout.

Sunday 29th July: 11.00am - 12.30pm

Daytime Fishing
You CAN fish for sea trout and still get a good night's sleep. A demonstration on the river on methods used for daytime fishing, including: sea trout nymphing in clear water, fishing for sea trout in spates, fly choice and water level, an occasional salmon and more.
This demo will be followed by fishing on the rivers if you would like to try out the techniques.

Monday 30th July: 11.00am - 1.00pm

Sea Trout Fly Tying
A demonstration at the hotel on how to tie modern sea trout flies. Learn the techniques required and the materials and hooks needed to start tying your own deadly fly patterns. Flies included will be wets such as Pilk's Bumble and Pilk's PR, surface lures - the WMD Gurgler - and a new one for the really big fish - the Werewolf.

The Arundell Arms Macnab 18th June

Why not try the Arundell Arms Fly Rod Macnab - a wild brown trout, bass and sea trout... on the same day. On the spring tides of June, July and August, sea trout run the rivers and school bass swarm in the estuaries. Seize the opportunity to enjoy a full day's guided fly fishing for these truly wild fish, in spectacular surroundings. Our resident instructors will lead you, fishing for wild browns in the morning, bass on the coast in the afternoon and then sea trout at night. Limited to six anglers per day between two instructors. Experienced anglers only.