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What can the 2014 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Competition tell us about Dartmoor trout? The actor Sir Michael Hordern learnt to fly fish when his parents moved to Dartmoor in 1925:  "By day I got to know the wilder moorland streams, the East Dart, Swincombe, West Dart, Cherrybrook. Wallabrook.... I developed a love of the moor that has never left me." But in his later years he was critical of changing attitudes: "Actually catching the fish used to be of secondary interest, what really mattered being the expertise required in presenting exactly the right fly to the fish. These days an enormous amount of people have taken up fishing as a sport and all they seem to want to do is catch the biggest fish possible." Sir Michael was under no illusions about the size of Dartmoor trout: "Dartmoor fish may be small but my God they're the best that swim." In early June 2014 Dartmoor was the venue for the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Competition (CFFC). Seventy five experienced anglers representing nine countries each fished the East or West Dart for three hours.

Here is an analysis of each angler's catch based on results posted on the CFFC website.

• The first diagram shows that even experienced anglers find Dartmoor challenging
• Nearly a third (32%) of competitors failed to catch any fish over 6 inches long
  (Note: I assume that only fish over 150 mm (about 6 inches) were counted
• A group of anglers were catching at a rate of at least one fish every 10 to 15 minutes

• The next set of results illustrate Sir Michael's point that Dartmoor rivers are home to relatively small fish
• But bigger fish are present
• Two 13 inch fish were caught 
• And a further 18 fish over 10 inches were taken across the three days of competition

In a previous article I discussed the size of trout in the rivers we fish on Dartmoor and in South Devon. I hope it will help you appreciate our fish - of whatever size. It's our job to show you the necessary skills to catch them and explain why we treat them all with great care.

Conclusion: In an article in The Independent newspaper Andrew Brown summed up the attraction of fishing on Dartmoor:
"To gain a sense of remoteness from the quotidian world, and closeness to primal monsters, is one of the main reasons for fishing. This is quite unrelated to the size of the quarry. It is a function of their wildness. Wild brown trout are now almost impossible to find in the south-east of England, and are little valued where they are found, compared to fat stocked fish. Dartmoor offers the last remaining accessible and affordable fishing for them in southern England."

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Bibliography:

• Michael Hordern, "A World Elsewhere", Michael O'Mara Books Ltd, 1994.
• Commonwealth Fly Fishing Competition website retrieved on 18/06/14 http://www.cwffe.co.uk/
• Andrew Brown, The Independent newspaper article "Country: Dartmoor/ Wild trout in a perfect, miniature world". URL retrieved 18/6/14: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/country-dartmoor-wild-trout-in-a-perfect-miniature-world-1337096.html
• Paul Kenyon, "Trout size: Let's keep a sense of proportion" URL http://www.flyfishingdevon.co.uk/trout-size.shtml

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Author Paul Kenyon

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