The first of the "lads" bi-annual trips to Saunton Sands, although advancing age and various physical ailments mean that these are now less about surfing and more about walking, fishing and the odd round of golf. Had some personal stuff to sort out so arrived late on Friday to find the others already several bottles of red wine in.
Did my best to catch up while I cooked dinner - butter paneer, tarka dhal, rice, samosas, onion bhajis and all the trimmings - which was consumed with even more wine. Was therefore a bit bleary-eyed the following morning when the alarm went off at 05:30. Got dressed and crept out of the bungalow, although the loud snoring coming from the other rooms suggested that the occupants probably wouldn't have heard a bomb go off. Headed into Braunton and to the River Caen (pronounced "cane" by the locals) that runs through the centre of the town to target its abundant wild brown trout population. Got togged up in my new chest waders - some heavy duty, ripstop jobbies from Hart - and dropped into the river just upstream of the fish ladder that marks the boundary with the tidal section.
The river was still high after the recent rain, but at a steady level and just carrying a tinge of colour - perfect for what I wanted to do. Waded up to the first pool, flicked the worm-baited jighead upstream and had a tickle straight away as it bumped back along the bottom towards me. Next cast it was taken with a thump, the culprit going airborne and then shooting past me downstream a split second later. After a short but spirited fight I swept a stunning Devonshire brownie into the net. Carried on upstream under the tree canopy that shielded me from the adjacent industrial estate that was just starting to wake up for the day. The resident trout population certainly seemed to be in a ravenous mood as virtually every cast into a likely looking spot resulted in sharp rattles on the rod tip as the worm was grabbed and shortened by degrees by tiny teeth.
Missed a lot of bites by being a bit too eager, but then got my eye in and started to improve the bite to fish ratio as several more cracking little brownies graced the net - all red and black spots on the back and flanks, buttery yellow bellies and with black and white trim to the leading edge of the fins.
Looked at my watch to see that a couple of hours had flown by, although I'd barely covered half of the section up to the next road bridge as I'd been that busy. Outside of my little bubble it was still pretty quiet and the only "locals" aware of my presence were the birds - a pair of dippers, a kingfisher and a treecreeper being the highlights. Therefore carried on until I reached the bridge, which gave me a convenient route out of the river without having to risk pushing through the brambles in my waders. At that point I'd had eighteen spotties, but had been mugged by many more. That first fish had been the biggest of the bunch, but what the others lacked in size they made up for with looks.
Had turned into a fantastic morning by now - warm and sunny - and the town was getting busy, so headed back to the bungalow in time for a quick shower before joining the others to walk over Georgeham, a couple of pints of Exmoor Gold the reward!
You tried Exmoor Beast ? really nice drink that is if you like a porter !!
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