Getting A Taste For The Salt

For the third year running, rods headed to St Mawes in Cornwall to compete in the Kilchoman UK Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival for The Field Cup – and the chance to land a wide range of species

- Marina Gibson

IN September, the Kilchoman UK Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival took over St Mawes for the third year running – and The Field was delighted to be back to present The Field Cup. This small, picturesque town on the Roseland Peninsula in southern Cornwall, once renowned for its commercial fishing, is now a popular tourist destination complete with buckets, spades and shrimping nets.

The festival was founded by husband and wife Amelia and Tim Whitaker. “Several years ago we had [fishing guide] Nick Anthony stay here at Nearwater, our B&B. Over the week he would go out fly-fishing before breakfast each morning and come back with a huge grin on his face, sharing stories of the numbers of fish he was catching off the fly,” said Amelia Whitaker. “Saltwater fly-fishing festivals are already big in the USA and Ireland and Nick, who was once a member of the SAS, managed to persuade me that I should create something similar at home; he felt there were huge opportunities for such a festival. I love a challenge and in 2015 the first Kilchoman UK Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival was held.

“Three years later, we can see that the number of entrants and interest in this wonderfully exciting sport is growing. Tim and I love being part of this festival and thanks to the generous support of the Wills family, who are owners of Kilchoman whisky in Islay, the title sponsors of the festival, we now have The Kilchoman UK Saltwater Fly Fishing Festival.” Known as “The Salt”, the festival has gone from strength to strength and it now attracts rods from right across the British Isles.”