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Post by halfstoned on Jun 2, 2017 17:21:46 GMT
Fished up the West Okement above Meldon on Thursday evening, as the near side path is closed the first job was to cross the dam Twenty minutes walk to get to the top end From here a short stroll down hill to the river Most of the fish here are small but there is the occasional 7" to 8" specimen
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Post by halfstoned on Jun 2, 2017 17:41:30 GMT
Normally I would have said that would be the limit for up here that was until I came to this pool and cast to a rise in the fast water Suddenly I was attached to something bigger and was fortunate to land this monster at nearly 10"! The river continues into a gorge which you can fish but it's tough going
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Post by halfstoned on Jun 2, 2017 17:53:42 GMT
Walk up around the gorge and you reach the moor proper with black a tor high above you Now you are above the tree line which makes casting easier Here you will find black a tor copse one of the highest oak woodlands in Britain One more fish from below the woods and it was time to start the 45 min walk back to the car Please pm if you want any further info lots of free rising fish up here i must have caught at least 20 with many more coming adrift and lots of rises missed, great fun. Please check the firing times online,take felt soled waders ( I didn't and slipped a few times) and insect repellent if fishing in the evening ( midge net recommend).
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Post by devonfishing52 on Jun 2, 2017 19:12:17 GMT
Great pictures, I worked up there recently nice bit of water below the dam as in picturesque, I guess this is up above the dam I thought about giving the dam a cast did you get a good look as you passed Rich
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Post by halfstoned on Jun 2, 2017 19:25:28 GMT
Hi Rich , I have fished the reservoir a bit in the past but the steep banks mean there is only a small section by the picnic benches with a decent back cast. Might be better now with the low water but I've always done better in the river and running water just ticks my boxes, having said that there are bigger fish in Meldon, I just can't catch them😕
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Post by devonfishing52 on Jun 2, 2017 20:11:50 GMT
Hi Chris Ah ok I won't rush up there, nothing wrong with those fish you've got there, I'm on a survey tomorrow so will get on the river after hopefully anyway Rich
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Post by halfstoned on Jun 14, 2017 21:23:55 GMT
Back on the West Okement this evening after work, as the red flag was showing for firing on the moors I tried a section below the dam , locally known as blue bell woods. Some nice water here but very noisy from the road nearby. It was clear from the first few pools that the fish weren't looking up as I only managed one rise, a change to duo and in the next pool I hooked a good fish which actually took some line off the reel! Unfortunately just as I was regretting not taking my net it threw the hook. Pool below the road bridge, a good fish lives here. This set the trend for another session of "rubber hooks r us" where upon nearly every fish refused to have its picture taken, I landed maybe four or five but should have had a dozen, a couple of the one's which didn't get away pictured below. Some on klink but most took the nymph . Perhaps on another day when the fish are rising it will be worth another visit, there are obviously some good fish here to be caught ( best landed about 9") but it was a bit noisy for me with difficult wading and lots of overhanging trees I'd say you've got to be keen to try this beat, the fishing above Meldon is much nicer.
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Post by halfstoned on Jun 22, 2017 22:04:47 GMT
Back on the section above Meldon dam tonight and it was tough. I knew the odds were against me when I realised that having marched all the way to the top end I reached for the camera only to discover I'd left it in the car ( some photos from last time will have to do, please ignore the sunshine ) The first section below the gorge was nicely sheltered but the midges had a field day with me and as the fish weren't really rising ( and the one's that did I missed) I retreated to higher ground. Up on the moor the wind kept the midges away but made presentation difficult and although some fish were caught they were all small, lots of the pools which normally produce ignored my best efforts but it is a lovely place to spend an evening even if the fish aren't playing ball! Successful patterns were Whickhams fancy and a little deer hair sedge, strangely my quill klink failed to bring the fish up like it normally does. I must try and get up here for a daytime session as I always seem to run out of time when I so want to see what the next pool looks like ( maybe the midges will be less of an issue as well)
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Post by halfstoned on Jul 6, 2017 17:19:14 GMT
No photos I'm afraid as I didn't bother taking the camera as it appears photo bucket doesn't do 3rd party hosting anymore without paying ( does anyone know of an alternative?) But I wish I had taken it as I caught two nice fish from the river above Meldon, one of 10" and one of 11 1/4" ( carefully measured) both led me a merry dance and with no net I had to beach the larger fish. I think these fish must run up out of the reservoir either to feed or for extra oxygen because once you get above the gorge you don't seem to catch anything of this size. The larger fish looked slightly out of place for such a small stream and was beautifully marked.
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Post by pusser on Jul 6, 2017 18:41:59 GMT
regarding photo hosting, the best way to add photos to the forum is through the Tapatalk app as they can be added direct from your phone.
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Post by halfstoned on Jul 6, 2017 20:31:14 GMT
What if they are taken with a waterproof camera and uploaded to a computer?
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Post by pusser on Jul 7, 2017 6:48:08 GMT
What if they are taken with a waterproof camera and uploaded to a computer? I email them to myself, then save them to the phone (from the email app on the phone) and upload from there, a bit of a faff but better than mucking about with 3rd party photo hosting sites (and all of the associated adverts etc!).
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Post by marcouns62 on Jul 7, 2017 7:44:15 GMT
Testing upload from app
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Post by pusser on Jul 7, 2017 14:25:25 GMT
Testing upload from app Looks good to me
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Post by halfstoned on Jul 7, 2017 20:32:42 GMT
Cheers Pusser , I'll give it a go via email and see what happens.
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Post by hardytim on Aug 19, 2017 19:32:18 GMT
First time fishing on Dartmoor today. Headed up beyond Meldon Reservoir to fish the West Okement, with kind assistance from Halfstoned. It took a while to adjust to this style of fishing- shirt casts into pocket water, but ended up with 9 almost black WBT. All came to Wickhams fancy
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Post by hardytim on Aug 19, 2017 19:37:29 GMT
Obviously not got the hang of attaching pics yet!
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Post by halfstoned on Aug 19, 2017 19:52:33 GMT
I feel dizzy Tim!! Not easy today, there had obviously been a major flood recently judging by the bankside vegetation and there was still a lot of water pushing through. This made for some interesting wading and many of the runs where I've caught before were too rapid to fish, so we had to fish the slower water at the back end of pools and down the sides. Also the promised sunshine appeared as we got back to the car park after we fished through squally showers all afternoon,and for some reason a lot of fish were either just snatching at the fly or jumping over it( they are always hard to hook but seemed particularly evasive today). All in all I think Tim acquitted himself admirably for his first attempt on Dartmoor it is a world away from chalk stream /meadow stream fishing.
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Post by halfstoned on Aug 24, 2017 18:55:07 GMT
Back on the West Okement today and as I had a pass for the whole day I decided to walk up past where Tim and I finished on Saturday and start from there. It took about 45 mins from the car park to reach the woods After a drink and a sandwich I made a start in the pool above the first wooded section The stream just goes on and on And although the fishing wasn't easy, with a fair breeze blowing upstream, I made a not so careful count of all the fish to hand ( not counting the myriad I either missed, pricked or the one's that threw the hook) and in 3 1/2 hours the total was 33. Strangely the fish higher up don't seem as dark. I didn't catch anything over 8" and it was a long walk but still great fun in beautiful surroundings. I think this sign must be about live firing ( I did check that there wasn't any on today) and at this point I decided to start the long walk back to the car, its a lot easier downhill! Must try and get back before the season ends, it felt just slightly Autumnal today , ho hum.
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Post by halfstoned on Sept 30, 2017 21:50:25 GMT
Tried to get out for the last day of the season but had to mix it with dog walking duties with the leader of the opposition, unfortunately the wind was blowing hard up on the moor. It was decided that we should walk below the dam to try and get out of the wind, to be honest I don't think either of us fancied walking up onto the moor. I only found two pools that I could cast into ( it was just as windy below the dam) and in both of them I was joined by my little helper. " Cast it here Dad " So I finished the season with a blank but it didn't matter, I've had a good year trying some new waters and new tactics. I hope to join CFFC next year and broaden my horizon's some more ( especially the Culm). Thanks to all of you who bothered to read and/or comment on this drivel, not being one for keeping a diary I've found that posting on here gives me something to look back on in the closed season. Time to get the waders washed and reproof them, sort fly boxes and order new kit, and look forward to next March. Perhaps I should take up Grayling fishing!
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