Fly Fishing on Dartmoor (The East Dart)

[@andyman2516]

I loved this video Chris, it has encouraged me to walk much further from the car and also to give myself plenty of time. There is a joy to feeling you are the only one on the river. The views were spectacular. Thank you

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

So much river up there, I barely scratched the surface. I thought I was going to come up to the waterfall, but looking at the map, I was barely a third of the way there! Incidentally, a friend of mine told me he was an adjudicator when they had the river finals up there. Apparently, the guy who won fished above the waterfall!! Must have been quite a hike.

[@soultrader57fishingandmusi25]

Magical place Chris, no doubt about it! Water like rose' wine, and dynamic little missles waiting for that fly! I wonder how big that "big un" would have been? You'll always remember that spot! Happy close season! 😂👍

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Cheers, Dave. I hope to see some winter videos from yourself to help pass the closed season👍 I'm telling myself that trout wasn't that big. He was just too smart for me.

[@soultrader57fishingandmusi25]

All things relative! In the last days, I had a nice 1 just over a pound from my wee river nearby, over the moon! Wouldn't have been anything exceptional from the irwell or Darwen. But found another prime grayling Dales river on a club list that I hardly ever use, so that's good for winter. Also cutting work hours to the bone soon too. Great getting these fishing club subs half price!!! 👍

[@westcountryflyfishing]

It's a great river I love fishing it and I start where you started and work up as well.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Good to hear I didn't get it wrong then, I do think the access improved further up after the river turned into the gorge, but maybe that's just being unfamiliar with the place.

[@carlhughes9584]

@@westcountryflyfishing tiny fish though.....must get boring

[@RickLohrey]

What a gorgeous little stream Chris …just lovely ..thanks mate 👍

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Glad you enjoyed it Rick👍

[@JoeQuinnFollow_the_fln]

Nice video and your camera shows how beautiful that little river is 👍

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Cheers, Joe, amazing the quality of these action cameras, and mine isn't all that up to date. The computer complains a bit when I ask it to render 4k.

[@mikehudson9083]

Stunning place and fish. Though it was a good job you took your Boy Scout trekking badge all those years ago Chris!!

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

🤣🤣 I'd say it was a good job. Google Maps started working 🤣

[@UK-Blue]

Gorgeous river Chris. That black trout was a stunner. We have summer again, might go to the river again this week. Cheers Mr.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Yep, you'd almost say it was hot, might be a chance for one more trip before seasons end.

[@fieldsman3307]

Wonderful Chris , makes me long to be in the west country and what a delight to see the river and riverbed so clean unlike the brown slime coating the welsh rivers, I've been out a bit and making the best of our spell of settled weather and catching a few grayling and wbt , shame you lost the big'un .

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Cheers, Mike, this weather is spoiling us, but maybe not the best for fishing. I'm trying to tell myself that it wasn't that big as the Dartmoor fish always punch above their weight. It's not working, though.😭

[@wildfisher]

Probably your best video yet Chris. A lovely stream.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

So nice to see a clean river bed, Fred. With scenery like that, you can't really go wrong from a filming point of view. More exploring to do next year.

[@teignghost]

I usually start further up, but you have covered some lovely water. A few years ago myself and a friend donned walking boots and camping equipment, fished all day and covered some serious miles, you might be surprised how far up there are brown trout, and I doubt they are fished for, too old to do that again!

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Morning Richard, I think I remember you posting about that trip? Something to do with the powers that be not letting you try it on the Teign headwaters because it was a nursery area? I'm not sure why the Dart would be any different? Next year, I'm going to put aside a longer day and explore further up👍 How has the Teign fished this year, much about?

[@teignghost]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 yes you are correct, I asked about the Teign and got a firm, but fair, no. Teign has fished really well this year, but patchy for the Sea Trout

[@DAVEforeverLFC]

That was a brilliant video Chris so jealous loved the dark coloured brown well worth the effort

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

I often catch really dark trout from my little moorland stream. I assume it's the dark background that they live next to.

[@DaviekFlyFishing]

Very spoilt indeed Chris! Some nice golden bellys on some of those trout in amongst the real dark ones, brilliant. I assume you got back to the car ok🤞

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Yes, Davie just about made it back😄 I wish I'd fished it at 21 rather than 51. Next time, I need a longer day (all felt a bit rushed) and one of those water purifier things as my little bottle didn't last very long. Stunning place, though, and many many miles to explore.

[@thedalesangler]

Excellent video Chris. I noticed you had the same problem as me in following the track back to the car! Your experience was pretty much the same as mine, many of the good looking pools seemed to be deathly quiet when fishing through them. It took me a while to get the measure of them at first, simply by approaching a pool and sitting for twenty mins or so just to blend into the background. Then i would start to spot fish and could attempt a cast. As you say, you need a good long day on the river to fully explore its delights. It looks like i made it further upstream than you, where the bankside opens up a bit. I still have nightmares about the gorse and the ominous trek back to the car...

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

You wonder if a bit more water with that "peaty" stain would have helped Robert? Looking at both our videos, the water appeared crystal clear. Probably spooked most of the fish before even attempting a cast. Shouldn't really affect the rougher pocket water, though? Next time I'm going to start where I finished so to speak.

[@thedalesangler]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 I generally enter the river where the big house is (oh for a lottery win!) and then zig zag my way upstream. The furthest upstream i've reached is Cut Hill where there are some nice little pools. Sadly, time constraints and the ominous walk back stopped me going any further. I think you are right in that we spook more than we catch, and i've found the fishing only really starts after lunch when the temperatures are peaking.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Thanks, Robert. I think I see why some people wild camp and fish up there. We need to arrange one of those helicopter extractions you see in NZ 😅.

[@chrisanning1037]

Thankyou for the video, it was very interesting to me as I've fished the lower stretch a few times this year and the upper bit once. You had a few decent sized ones for the size of the water. I fished Bellever today, had a few on a 18 foam ant but it wasn't easy, I could tell it wasn't summer. It was still stunning just to be there fishing though.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Good to hear from a regular👍would you say that was pretty typical, or are the trout generally more free rising? I would love to have seen the size of the fish I lost. It felt heavy. Bellever is another spot on my list👍

[@chrisanning1037]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 Hi Chris, The beat can fish much better than what you experienced but, I've personally found the fish to be generally small'ish. Bellever is beautiful even for the moors but, it's hugely popular for dog walkers. The area seems to have a few better fish, well worth a visit.

[@Devonhoneyandcandles]

what a spot/area Chris. Love Devon.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Absolutely stunning, we are very lucky to live where we do👍 Good weather atm and some ivy just starting to flower. Could be a good end to a difficult bee season.👍

[@Devonhoneyandcandles]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 🤞

[@michaelhocking9037]

I used to come down to Devon most years and fish those beautiful waters I think Cherry brook being my favourite you did well none of those waters are easy.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Cherrybrook is lovely and a bit more accessible which could be a good or bad thing, I suppose. I really want to try the stretch between the two road bridges next season. I'm told it can fish rather well.

[@michaelhocking9037]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 hi Chris not sure how far you travel to fish but a really nice piece of water is River Lynher I spent a full day in there one year just wading quietly up stream fishing as I only problem you had to come back the way you went I think I got the ticket from Launceston Angling club a lot 10-12 inch fish.regards Michael

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

@@michaelhocking9037 So many streams Michael, I need to retire!

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

I have looked at joining Launceston, if only for the Grayling, but time is always against me.

[@tomdemianvingsgard4532]

Fabulous river and surroundings to match.. My go to is the klinkhamner and the midge emerger. The emerger I use a bit of gink on too, and if it sinks after the downsteam drift then fishes as a wet- fly on the retrieve. Best of 2 worlds. And when the klinkhammer looses the hacle, I trim the vertical bush and fish it like a half sunk emerger using a bit of gink😊

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

I pretty much went through the box on this day! I think it was as simple as the frost putting the fish off in the morning and then starting to feed as the day warmed up.👍

[@tomdemianvingsgard4532]

The bigger trout lost is always more memorable than the one caught...its strongly emotional.

[@richardmeekums6321]

Great video again!! I would so get stuck in the trees!!!!

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

I left those bits out👍

[@richardmeekums6321]

So don’t believe you, but if you say so;)))👍👍🥳 keep fishing, always fishing and filming👍👍👍 you’re absolutely brilliant at both!!

[@riflemang176]

Hi Chris, really nice video. Apologies if it's been asked before but what weight and brand of line are you using please? It turns and lands really nicely on the water. Thank you. Neil

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Hi Neil, surprisingly enough, it's this line in moss green m.maxcatchfishing.com/fly-lines/65-weight-forward-floating-fly-line-2wt-8wt-for-new-starter.html I've tried lots of lines over the years, and this is as good as any of them imo. After all, I'm not casting very far. Given the price, you don't have to worry about damaging it as I just fit a new one. As an aside, a quick wipe with a cleaning pad and an application of line dressing can work wonders on any line👍

[@riflemang176]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 Chris thank you very much, that's incredible to see that's a maxcatch. I already use one on my 3 weight but I don't think it's a WF so the head doesn't shoot as well. I'll definitely be getting a couple of those. Do you go one weight up in line to your rod ie. 2 weight rod have a 3 weight line ?

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Honestly , the only way to know is to try some different weights. Two of my rods cast better with a line heavier, but my 3 weight is best with a 3 weight line. I think postage wise Maxcatch has a minimum spend, so I ordered 2,3 4, and 5 weights so I could try different ones on different rods.

[@riflemang176]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 great stuff thanks very much 👍🏻

[@robertalp3878]

Hi Chris, the Dart and Cherrybrook are beautiful rivers but its strange how they change. First year and West Dart had trout in every pool, East Drat nothing. Next Year West Dart nothing, Cherrybrook heaving. No rhyme or reason!

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

I think if we ever 100% worked it out Robert, it would spoil it for us. It's the anticipation of not knowing that keeps us going back, isn't it? "Anglings wonderful unpredictability " to quote A Passion for Angling.

[@robertalp3878]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 definitely it would be boring if we turned up and caught every time

[@carlhughes9584]

@@robertalp3878 No boring if all we ever do is catch tiny fish!!

[@robertalp3878]

@@carlhughes9584 I think, Carl, you’re missing the point. It’s not about just catching big fish, it’s about the whole experience, and these fish test your skill like no other imho

[@DutchyNo.1]

Lovely. Shame about the legendary 17 inch one you lost under boulder!

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

😆😆 yeah, I'm not sure it was quite that size, but it certainly had a bit of weight to it. It's my own fault for not reacting quickly enough, but I wasn't expecting it.

[@DutchyNo.1]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 😂

[@kevinp1948]

You needed to go up to the waterfall to get on the main path back. The one you were on is the old leat which is boggy in placess early season.

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Many thanks. Yeah, there were a few boggy areas where I was glad of the waders! Looking at my map, I was still miles away from the waterfall. Next time, I will skip the first part and start where the river takes a right turn up through the valley. Even then, making it to the waterfall will be a long day of fishing. I can't wait for next season now, not good, given the wait time.

[@Rocky-hs9ei]

Did you say "the first FROST of the year" Chris 😲

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Doh, as you can probably tell, none of this stuff is scripted😃 I do try and formulate the intro before hand and all the way there I was thinking "say meteorological autumn" because people can get a bit funny about when autumn starts. Then, when it comes to the actual "take," it went completely out of my head. A real pro would have watched it back and tried again, but there was fishing to be done👍👍

[@Rocky-hs9ei]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 LOL most of us here probably prefer you unscripted 👍👍

[@carlhughes9584]

Must get boring just catching such small trout all the time

[@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724]

Now, now Carl, size isn't everything 🤣 Of course, it would be great to be pulling out 3 pounders half the time, but they just don't live in these acidic moorland streams ( or if they do, I never catch them).

[@carlhughes9584]

@@chrismatthewsflyfishing7724 But some do as you alluded to with that book......I've caught an 18 inch trout out of an acidic mountain lake this season. Your time will come