Sea Trout Fishing at Butterwell Farm

The perfect family holiday in Cornwall for the fly fisher in the family

 

Although Butterwell is a fantastic destination for nature loving families, for the dedicated Sea Trout fly fisher, it comes alive during Summer nights. I had a chat with one of our regular visitors who told me the story of how he fell in love with Butterwell…

“As a busy young man I had very little time to fish and nearly every hour away from a demanding career was spent with family travelling to distant and beautiful parts of the world on holiday. It took a while to realise, but the perfect solution was at Butterwell in Cornwall, where we could enjoy all aspects of a normal summer holiday with the family and then, just as everybody was heading for their pillows, I could walk no more than 25 meters and fish for wild Sea Trout, knowing the bed was only a couple of minutes away. In the early days a few schoolies was enough to keep me interested till the next holiday but over a few visits and with some more experience I started to encounter some very large fish on the River Camel.

 

 

In the dark everything seems that much larger and you can cast for hours covering each lie carefully working your way from pool to pool. The beauty of night fishing is you never know what size of fish you are going to catch as the fish move around a lot at night as they migrate up river. A double figure fish can suddenly hit the fly even in the very shallow tails of pools. All this just adds to the adrenalin rush when the rod is almost wrenched from your arm and the water explodes into a series of bright images in between some frantic line control and the odd prayer that you will manage to net the fish.

Sam is always around to guide you and will take you on a beat walk if you have time during the day. This helps to spot targets for the coming evenings fishing. Stealth is key for these often illuminating walks, which is why care is taken to restrict general access to the fishing areas at Butterwell. Very often the fish will not be in the same place at night and do not be surprised to see little by day as the bigger fish often hide in shaded deeper parts of pools and under riverbanks by day, but at night they come out to play. Experience has taught me that the biggest fish are at their most active quite late on.

The thing about Butterwell at night is that you are never truly alone, as a multitude of wild creatures share the river and banks with you, including otters, badgers, deer and the ever-present tawny owls. I remember one year a family of otters followed me round every night and the over enthusiastic cubs would chase the hooked Sea Trout and try to steal any left on the bank which were taken for the pot.

 

 

Butterwell always gives you a good chance of Sea Trout being only a mile above the tide, although in the middle of Cornwall, allowing the fish to creep in in the dead of night even in a total drought. If you are unlucky and a spate curtails night fishing, Sam allows you to fly fish in the day for Sea Trout, which are much more catchable by day in coloured or clearing water. There is even a chance of a prized Salmon, which now run as much in the Summer as the Autumn when the water encourages them.

Butterwell Farm is a magical place to enjoy a family holiday and get your fly fishing fix with truly wild fish all in one shot!”

 

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If you are interested in staying or fishing at Butterwell Farm please contact us today!