with Mike Maslin of Moorfishing
   

Fishing venues

Kennick, Tottiford & Trenchford Reservoirs

Located near Bovey Tracey, Devon, map ref: LR191, 812830, 805825, 812830

Surrounded by farmland and forest, these beautiful waters on the edge of Dartmoor are a peaceful retreat from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

Signposted from Trenchford car park, a number of walks meander through woodland and along the waters edge taking you to Tottiford where a rugged round-lake walk can be joined - fantastic for the non-angling partner.

Picnic areas are dotted around Trenchford and Tottiford and during early summer they are ablaze with the colour of rhododendrons.

Kennick is a top rated premier rainbow trout fishery with angling from the banks and boats. Permits can be purchased from the permit hut. Access to Kennick is restricted to anglers only due to the narrow banks and anglers’ backcasts.

Kennick is regularly stocked with rainbow trout and has a good head of natural browns, it is arguably the best reservoir fishery in Devon. I use it for training both bank and boat fishing.

Pike fishing

Both Tottiford and Trenchford offer pike fishing – the largest caught in 2005 was 27lb 4oz. Permits are available from the self service kiosk at Kennick.

River Dart

High in the heart of Dartmoor rise the East and West Dart. From where they rise to where they meet at Dartmeet, these two small rivers, owned mostly by the Duchy of Cornwall, offer salmon, sea trout and truly wild brown trout fishing for the visiting angler. The grand scenery, and the sense of freedom the angler enjoys when fishing here, can seldom be found anywhere else on this crowded island of ours. Recently described, after the English Rivers Final, as "wild brown trout fishing at its best". This is a moorland fishery, fast flowing, boulder strewn and usually clear.

Salmon and sea trout fishing can be very good on the Moor, but bear in mind, this is a spate river. We depend on rain!

Downstream from the Duchy fishery the river flows through a deep wooded valley, before leaving the Dartmoor National Park near Buckfastleigh and flowing on to its estuary at Totnes, then onto Dartmouth. There is a good population of brown trout in the lower reaches, but it is mainly a salmon and sea trout fishery.