The Lynher is the largest Tamar tributary on the Cornish side — a small, fast spate river off Bodmin Moor that runs through quiet farmland and wooded valleys before joining the Tamar estuary at St Germans. It is principally a wild brown trout river, with sea trout (peal) on the lower beats from mid-June and an autumn salmon run that follows the lower Tamar. The Pillaton gauge sits low down, so by the time water shows there the upper river is already dropping; the fishery is best read by treating Pillaton as a falling-water indicator rather than a real-time level. Bodmin Moor granite gives the upper river the character of a Dartmoor headwater — short pools, broken pocket water, and the kind of small wild trout that reward 8ft 4wt and a careful walk. Atlantic salmon are assessed by the Environment Agency against each river's Conservation Limit — many principal rivers are classed 'at risk' with mandatory catch-and-release byelaws; check current rules before fishing.

• Granite