16 Sep 2025

Bideford and District Angling Club September’Monthly Coarse Competition

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A wet and bedraggled bunch of happy anglers!

Bideford and District Angling Club
September’Monthly coarse competition
Results:
1st Craig Crash Lamey 56lb 2oz
2nd Kevin Shears 39lb 1oz
3rd Keith Copland 36lb 10oz
4th Keith Mountjoy 33lb 10oz
5th Warren Thornton 29lb 1oz
6th Paul Elworthy 28lb 12oz
17 members fished.
Continuous rain and cold blustery winds left our contestants soaked , but didn’t deter the fish from having a feed.
First and second places have come from each end of George’s lake.
Craig has drawn peg 14 and caught his winning net of carp on the pole using sweetcorn over Micros.
League leader, Kevin, has fished peg 1 in the shallow end and had a late run of carp on the long pole to secure second place.
Committee member , Keith has come third on peg 19.
15 Sep 2025

End of season flourish for Devon Rivers

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http://www.halfmoonsheepwash.co.uk

After a long dry summer North Devon’s rivers are now rejuvenated as heavy rain swells the flow. The salmon that have been waiting in the estuaries are now surging up river. On the Lower Taw close to twenty salmon have been caught as the rising water bring fish up. As I write this the Taw and Torridge are in full spate with fishing virtually impossible. It is expected that as levels drop and the clarity improves salmon and sea trout will be spread throughout the rivers with fish likely throughout the catchments.

Richard Nickell with a fine Taw salmon

The Rivers of Exmoor including the Lyn, Exe and its major tributary the Barle should all be worth a try.

Salmon and sea trout have also been reported from the Arundell beats on the Tamar and its tributaries.

12 Sep 2025

WEEKLY ANGLING REPORT – September 14th -2025

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BIDEFORD SECURE IMPRESSIVE WIN OVER PLYMOUTH

                        Bideford & District Angling Club secured an impressive victory against Plymouth and District Angling Club at Bake Lakes. Bideford totalled weight was 147lb 6oz with Plymouth only managing 35lb 14oz. The individual winner on the day was Bideford’s Craig Lamey.  The combined weight totals after the two legs were Bideford 447lb15oz to Plymouth’s 150lb 12oz.

42lb carp – Stafford Moor

            Scott Cowling banked a fine mirror carp of 42lb whilst fishing Stafford Moor’s Lodge Lake. The venue also produced eight fish for Rob Gibbon and his friends the biggest 36lb.

Smoothound Dominate

            Smoothound dominated Bideford Angling Clubs monthly sea rover with Stephen Found landing a fine specimen of 14lb 10oz. Andrew Clements was runner up with a thornback ray of 9lb 2oz. Dale Kiff and Jenson Kiff took the remaining places with smoothound scaling 9lb 11oz, 9lb 9oz, 8lb 1oz and 7lb 4oz.

Bass Wins Appledore Rover

            Michael Hammett took top spot in Appledore Shipbuilders rover with a bass of 4lb 5oz.

Triggerfish wins CMSAC Competition

            Kevin Legge won Combe Martin SAC’s rover with a specimen triggerfish scaling 3lb 15oz. I took second and third place with thick lipped grey mullet of 4lb 14oz and 4lb 1oz.

Trevor Telling Memorial 2025

            The Annual Trevor Telling Memorial Competition at Wimbleball was won by Colin Combe who boated five trout for a total weight of 12lb 8.5oz. The bank trophy was won by Roger Truscott who banked three trout for 5lb 12oz. The prizes were presented by well- known and respected fly fishing writer and instructor Peter Cockwill. All monies raised go to the Exeter Hospice Care Team.

            As water levels at local reservoirs recover and water temperatures drop trout sport is expected to improve with late September and October often providing some of the seasons best sport.

RAIN BRINGS HOPE OF SILVER

            Heavy rain showers have brought hope that salmon will move into North Devon’s rivers bring a late flourish to what has been a poor season with drought conditions dominating throughout the summer.

FLOUNDER FISHING SEASON

            Late September is the traditional start of the flounder fishing season and competitions are already planned for the coming months. The Barnstaple Bait & Tackle Dan Miles Memorial Open Competition is on Sunday November 30th and is proving a popular event with over 100 entrants in last year’s event. All proceeds go to Children’s Hospice South West Little Bridge House, Fremington.

10 Sep 2025

Plymouth and District Coarse Angling Club. Versus Bideford and District Angling Club.

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Plymouth and District Coarse Angling Club. Versus Bideford and District Angling Club.
Second leg away at Bakelakes.
Overall team result:
PADCAC 35lb 14oz
BDAC 147lb 6oz
Bakelakes near Saltash prove a difficult but interesting venue for the second leg of our annual 10 a side interclub match.
The weather has played its part , although relatively mild a number of very heavy downpours have certainly kept weights lower than expected.
Bideford filled the top six individual places, our winner on the day was the on-form Craig Lamey with a 7 carp haul for 38lb from peg 12 , he has fished with the pole and meat in the margins.
Darren Polden has had some larger carp on paste on peg 2 for the second spot with 24lb 6oz.
Plymouth’s top scorer with 7lb 4oz was Paul White on peg 6.
We thank Keith Escott for arranging the away leg, and look forward to next year’s event
After both legs BDAC 447lb 15oz
PADCAC. 150lb 12oz.
9 Sep 2025

TREVOR TELLING MEMORIAL COMPETITION REPORT 2025

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Six boats went out and 2 anglers fished from the bank. The day started out wet and was held up by an overhead thunder storm with lots of lightening, and no one fancied being fried by wagling a carbon conductor round 🤣🤣. The morning was slow to get going, the fish weren’t sure what the atmospheric pressure was doing. Gusty winds made casting from the boats or bank a challenge but everyone persisted and some were well rewarded. 5 fishermen were actually in their own competition and represented the Wistland Pound fly fishing club. Some entered the TT Memorial match and Colin Combe won boat trophy and a BTL of Jamieson’s whiskey with a total of 5 fish weighing a very respectable 12 lbs 81/2 Oz. His best three for our match came in at 8 lbs 12oz, well done to Colin and the other guys from their club.

The bank fishing was tough due to the low water, steep banks and the prevailing wind. However Andrew Hull ( last years winner) managed to land a lovely 2 lb 10oz beauty whilst Roger Truscott managed to land 3 fish with a total weight of 5lbs 11 Oz. Roger took the bank Trophy and a BTL of Jamieson’s Whiskey. The well known Fly fishing instructor and writer Peter Cockwill who knew Trevor well heard about the competition and asked to come along and regal his stories of teaching Trevor the finer arts of fly fishing when Peter managed the fishing lakes at Wintershall estate in Surrey and Trevor managed the farm, thankyou Peter, a great story and also for donating 2 of his books to 2 very lucky people. One was awarded to Richard Smith for catching his first ever Trout on the fly ( in fact he landed 2 and lost one at the net) and one was also given to Arthur, Trevor’s grandson who one day may even be as good a fisherman as Trevor and keep the spirit and practice of fly fishing in future generations. A total of 26 fish were caught with a total weight of 56 lbs for the day a great effort by everyone. Thanks go to Andrew Sheen, Chris Davis, Richard Smith, Colin Combe, André Muxworthy, Nigel Bird, Dave Mock, Roger Prout. Roger Truscott and Andrew Hull. All great fishermen and regulars of Wimbleball . Special thanks go to Mark Underhill for hosting the competition at his fishery, Karen Telling for closing the match Daughter Charlotte with young Arthur and hubby Mattius ( you never know, we may have a ladies competition next year) for supporting and cheering everyone on. All monies raised will go to the Exeter Hospice care team to help them continue to support sufferers and families thru very difficult times. Looking forward to next year’s match already and working with Jeff Pearce to ensure that even more people come along and enjoy the day. Alan Cross

Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club – Competition Result

1st – Colin Combe 12lbs 8.5 oz

2nd – Dave Eldrid 12lbs 5 oz

3rd -Nigel Bird 7lbs 10oz

4th -Andre Muxworthy 7lbs 8oz

5th -Dave Mock 5lbs 4oz

8 Sep 2025

LATEST SEA ANGLING RESULTS – SEPTEMBER 25

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BIDEFORD ANGLING CLUB – September Rover

 Results

1st Stephen Found – Smoothhound 14lb 10oz 146.250%

2nd Andrew Clements – Thornback Ray 9lb 2oz 103.388%

3rd Dale Kiff – Smoothhound 9lb 11 96.876%

4th Jenson kiff – Smoothhound 9lb 9 95.625%

5th Dale Kiff- Smoothhound 8lb 1oz 80.625%

6th Jenson kiff – Smoothhound 7lb 4oz 72.5%

APPLEDORE SHIPBUILDERS –

SEPTEMBER ROVER

Michael Hammett won Appledore Shipbuilders Rover with a bass of 4lb 5oz.

Combe Martin SAC – SEPTEMBER ROVER

1st Kevin Legge – Triggerfish 3lb 15oz – 131.25%

 

2nd – Wayne Thomas – thick lipped grey mullet 4lb 14oz

3rd Wayne Thomas – thick lipped grey mullet 4lb 1oz

 

8 Sep 2025

PROTECTING OUR SALMON – Dates for your diary

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https://www.exmoorsociety.com/individual-event/protecting-our-salmon-history-threats-and-their-future-on-exmoor

The iconic salmon have migrated up through Exmoor’s Rivers for thousands of years yet their extinction could be imminent if we do not focus our efforts on saving these beautiful enigmatic fish. It would be tragic to walk beside these waters without the chance to glimpse a salmon.

THE 2025 Salmon Run with the Westcountry Rivers Trust also highlights the plight of salmon see below for details.

Salmon Run 2025

 

4 Sep 2025

WEEKLY ANGLING REPORT – September 4th 2025

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NORTH DEVON RIVERS TO FEATURE ON BBC COUNTRYFILE

This Sunday’s forthcoming BBC Countryfile episode features North Devon’s Taw and Torridge the two major rivers that feature in Henry Williamson’s classic tomes, ‘Tarka The Otter’ , ‘Salar the Salmon’ and A Clear Water Stream. The program features interviews with prominent local anglers reflecting upon angling history, the iconic salmon and the efforts to ensure the future of these marvellous fish.

TROUT & SALMON FISHING

Autumn is often a golden spell for anglers as temperatures drop and rain brings a welcome lift to the regions rivers that will encourage salmon and sea trout to enter the river systems. Trout anglers will also enjoy the chance to cast their flies into the rejuvenated streams and onto the regions reservoirs as cooler water encourages fish to the upper layers. Large dry daddy longlegs can provide exciting opportunities and large wild brown trout can also be seen slashing into shoals of fry in the lakes margins.

MATCH FISHING

Bideford Angling Clubs Rod N Reel Coarse Match on their home-water was won by Nathan Underwood with 96lb 3oz. Runner up was Martin Turner with 40lb 7oz and Kevin Shears third with 37lb 14oz.

Nick Jones won Stafford Moor’s Open match last weekend with 172lb 14oz.

The venues specimen carp lakes are in fine form with good carp from Beattie’s and Lodge Lake. Tony Franklin banked fourteen fish during a four day session including a personal best of 42lb.

At Bulldog Fishery a short closure to allow repairs to a water main seemed to result in the lakes resident carp feeding well on reopening with a group of anglers on a group booking banking 42 carp including a mirror carp of 33lb 1oz and a common carp of 32lb 10oz.

Combe Martin SAC hosted their Annual Fun Fishing event on Ilfracombe Pier an event that was enjoyed by over twenty anglers from different generations. Nine species were caught including pollock, conger, blenny, red bream, tompot blenny, smelt, ballan wrasse, corkwing wrasse and poor cod. A good number of red sea bream were donated to Ilfracombe aquarium where they can be seen along with other fish caught on previous fun fishing events over recent years.

The Welch Family won a trip to Ilfracombe Aquarium that they kindly donated to runner up family Jesubaul and Becky Mringer. The longest fish was a 54cm conger caught by Louie Cameron and the heaviest a ballan wrasse of 1lb 1oz to the rod of Daniel Welch. The top individual points scorer was Ben Clarke with 25 points and Jesubaul runner up with 24 points.

Combe Martin SAC are very appreciative for generous sponsorship of the event from High Street Tackle, Ilfracombe Aquarium and Barnstaple Bait and Tackle.

Combe Martin SAC member David Brooke has set a new club boat record with a fine specimen gilthead bream of 6lb 4oz.

Autumn is often a time of plenty for sea anglers with water temperatures at their peak resulting in a wide range of species being present. Trigger fish, sea bream, red mullet and sole are all possible targets from Ilfracombe Pier along with squid on Autumn nights.