The constant rain we’d been having in April and early May had meant I’d been kept off of the river and unable to work. Let's face it there are only so many flies you can tie and my fly boxes are at bursting point and cabin fever was starting to set in. A phone call from my good friend Jan asking if I’d like to come along to fish Kennick Lake couldn’t have been better timed.
The lake nestled right in Dartmoor, Devon is in a location that even for regular anglers like Jan is a setting that you just can’t get tired of. At 50 acres it is a great place for anglers wanting to try a bigger water for the first time without feeling intimidated but is also big enough to be interesting for the seasoned reservoir angler. It is run by South West Lakes Trust and I wouldn’t mind betting that it is the jewel in the crown of their fisheries. It is also nice to see that they work really closely with Kennick Fly Fishers, the club that runs out of the lake and a really nice lodge looks like proof of it.
Kennick is a second home for Jan. Her husband Keith drops her off for the day and picks her up in the evening after he has finished work. It is more often than not she leaves having put a dent into the rainbow trout population that are stocked there.
Keith was working a little further away than normal so was dropping Jan off at some ridiculously early time in the morning and I thought I put in a respectable performance turning up before 8am.
The nice thing about Kennick, and in fact many of the fisheries run by SWLT, is that they are self service. You fill in a permit along with your money and drop it in a safe in the kiosk and go fish. It means you can get there really, really early if you want to and not have to wait for anyone to open up.
Jan told me she would probably be down the far end of the lake so after parking that’s where I headed. Sure enough down at the bottom end she waved to me as I approached. The thing that struck me was the amount of anglers just getting ready to fish or even those already casting a line. It wasn’t a cast of thousands or anything, just a surprise to see so many who were obviously suffering a bit from lack of good weather and decided to head out.
It was real Dartmoor weather, low clouds and light drizzle. It wasn’t that warm either and I was pleased I put on a thicker fleece. The day before had been one of the few stunning days we’d had in recent weeks and I’d dropped a few hawthorn fly in the fly box as I’d hoped it would be similar weather and I’d be in a T shirt, fishing with the wind on my back and a bunch of them being blown on to the water.
Sadly it wasn’t to be, but on catching up with Jan she told me that she had seen the first signs of a trickle of buzzers starting to hatch and on cue we saw the fish were just starting to take notice too as the rings of a rise spread out across the mill pond like surface of the lake.
Jan ties all of her own flies and on seeing what had unfolded in front of us took off her pheasant tailed nymph and rigged up ready for buzzers. As it looked like the fish were moving up in the water column and we were fishing over some pretty shallow water she decided to fish one of her buzzer patterns 3 ft under a black dry fly as she felt there might be a chance of a fish taking the dry too. Who am I to argue and I did something similar. It worked.
I got hit first and a rainbow of 1 ½ pound pulled me more than it should have done and after getting it under control I eased out the hook and off it went. Oh yes, I forgot to say, you can buy a catch and release ticket too.
It seems Jan knows everyone who fishes Kennick and as a couple of guys moved into view in a boat she told me about their angling prowess as she did with quite a few other anglers while she keeps her considerable light hidden well under a bushel.
Each time the breeze dropped and the water became still we would see the odd rise as a buzzer struggled through the meniscus making them easy pickings for the trout. I cursed as I nodded to a passing angler and missed a fish that moved for my dry fly. A few casts later I wasn’t snoozing this time and I struck as my dry dipped during the slowest of retrieves. This was a better fish, only just, but I watched where I had dropped line when I'd been retrieving in case I was standing on it as the fish shot off to the middle of the lake.
There were a couple more runs before I got control and once again I slipped the hook and sent a rainbow of just under 2lb on its way.
It was Jan's turn next and she lifted in to a nice fish that she expertly played, netted and dispatched. Jan and Keith love to eat their fish and also get the larger specimens smoked at a local smokery. I’ve been on the receiving end of some and it is really good.
Jan was in the box seat again for the next couple of fish of similar size and then it was my turn. This fish was bigger and stronger, using its weight well. We reckoned it was 3lb or so and a great example of a nice rainbow trout.
I’d been talking to one of the regulars in the car park when I arrived who had told me that the average size of fish this year had gone up from 1 1/2lb to 1 3/4lb. You aren’t going to catch leviathans at Kennick but you’ll get good quality table fish that pull way beyond their weight.
I don’t think Jan and I moved more than 10 feet in the time we fished together. She told me she plays the long game and will really fish the water. She feels the fish are moving all the time and they’ll head her way eventually. I have to admit I move a lot if things aren’t happening but I took her advice and it worked. I had a few more fish before leaving her at 2pm. She fished on until Keith picked her up a 6pm with yet another bag full of Kennick rainbows.
If you are heading to Devon on holiday and fancy fishing in a beautiful setting for some quality fish, then Kennick should be top of your list. If you see Jan fishing make sure you give her a wave!
Kennick is run by South West Lakes Trust, more details of permit costs here
It is also worth taking a look at Kennick Fly Fishers excellent site for details and information on fishing Kennick
Tuition available at Kennick from The Dartmoor School of Fly Fishing