A Spate River in Devon

July 23rd, 2023

I'm in a riverside cottage adjacent to the East Lyn river in Exmoor National Park, the Rockford Inn across the nearby footbridge.

This larger map situates (blue box) the region above.

I'm becoming very familiar with the river between Brendon and Lynmouth on the coast. I walk portions of the trail (part of the Coleridge Trail in the Lyn Valley) each day. I discovered the cottage on a walk in September 2022, detailed in my notes here.

In planning my extended stay this year, I resolved to learn fly fishing. I solicited advice about fishing gear I would need and have been the beneficiary of a few on-river lessons from experienced anglers. I learned one important practice for fishing the fast-moving water of this kind of river

Present the fly in a spot for two or so seconds only. If there's no take, put the fly somewhere slightly different. After you've covered that area, usually needing a few satisfactory casts only, move on. Move on...move on...

One can spend more time when fishing in larger ponds through which the stream is moving slower. I have two months until the end of the fishing season to develop and refine my nascent fishing skills!

This is a picture of the river just upstream of the footbridge.

It's a beautiful riverine environment. It's a challenging river to fish, particularly for a novice (me!). It's difficult to cast the line without snagging the hook on overhanging branches or on lichen-covered river rocks. This aside from delicately presenting -- yes, that's a fishing term intimating a certain angling expertise -- the fly in just the right spot, which is usually a small target of water in, say, a small pool or pocket. And moving from spot to spot without slipping off river-bottom rocks.

But I've made progress. This is the pool from which I caught my first fish.

It's a river renowned for wild Brown Trout. Because of the constrained food supply, they are relatively small. But beautiful, often with red spots from head to tail . This is the first fish.

And another a few days ago:

East Lyn is a spate river. I witnessed this fact today after it rained all yesterday and overnight. The river is now a faster-moving, sediment-laden torrent.

These before-and -after pictures show the rather dramatic change.

Above the footbridge:

The pond from which I caught my first:

Here is a video (audio on) of this location.

Now I'm going to have to wait for some time -- a day or so ? -- for the river to subside and clear before I can fish again. But it is the case that fishing is best after a spate when more fish enter the river and move upstream.

Cheers for now!