6 Nov 2025

ANGLING REPORT – November 6th, 2025

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ANGLING REPORT

Flounder Season in full swing

The flounder season is in full swing with regular competitions being held in the estuary. Triple Hook Clubs South West Water Open was won by Robbie Hancock with a flounder of 1lb 71/2oz. Runner up was Steve Baker with a flounder of 1lb 67/8oz and Garry Vaughan third with a flounder of 1lb 61/4oz. Triple Hook Clubs Open last Sunday was won by Paul Ackland with a fine flounder of 1lb 111/4oz. Runner up was Mario Manley with a flounder of 1lb 63/8oz, third Mark Hancock was third with a flounder of 1lb 51/2oz and Kevin Hancock forth with a flounder of 1lb 41/2oz.

( Above) Paul Ackland won Bideford Angling Clubs monthly sea rover with a flounder scaling 1lb 121/2oz.

The estuary is also producing good numbers of bass with many being tempted with baits intended for flounder. Increased rainfall and colder weather is perhaps needed to result in increased catches of the humble flounder that provide easy fishing close to the town. One of the beauties of flounder fishing is that it can be enjoyed by anglers of all ages and abilities.

BASS FISHING

            Jamie Steward has secured victory in Combe Martin SAC’s Lure Fishing League sponsored by High Street Tackle. The event ran from April 1st until October 31st with club members registering their top five lure caught bass. Jamie registered five bass for 354cm with Mark Drewer runner up with five bass for 351cm. The longest bass of 77cm was caught by Mark Drewer.

MATCH FISHING

Gary McClair won this year’s Stafford Moor November Silvers Festival with 31lb from Woodpecker Lake.

Bideford and District Angling Clubs team of fifteen travelled to Bude Canal for the second leg of their interclub match with Bude Angling Club. The match was a close run affair with Bude winning with 234 points to Bideford’s 230 points. Bideford secured overall victory carrying a thirty point advantage from the first heat held on their home water.

North Devon Match Group fished their latest Match at Oaktree Fishery where Paul Morris took top spot on the bottom lake with 62lb 10oz. Andy Preston was runner up with 38lb 2oz. On the top lake Nathan Underwood took top spot with 110lb 10oz. Daniel Underwood was runner up with 74lb 2oz.

Big trout continue to provide sport at Bulldog Trout Fishery with brown trout close to double figures featuring in recent catches. Mike Latham won the fisheries latest competition with six trout for 26lb 13oz. Nick Tamlin was runner up with six trout for 21lb 11oz and Ian Connabeer third with six trout for 13lb 10oz. Biggest fish of the day was a 9lb 10oz brown trout caught by Mike Latham.

28 Oct 2025

FISHING WISDOM – By Dominic Garnett

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FISHING WISDOM

A Miscellany of Angling Anecdotes, Facts and Folklore.

By Dominic Garnett

GMC Publications. ISBN 9781784947200

Dominic’s latest book delivers an array of wisdom and comment in his unique and at times quirky entertaining style. The book strips angling back to basics in the first few chapters adding clarity to tactics that will sharpen any anglers approach to the varied waters into which lines are cast.

The design of the book certainly oozes tradition and it is in many ways a timeless tome packed with information for anglers making their first tentative casts or reflecting upon a life time searching for that connection with those creatures that dwell within a fascinating and mysterious realm.

Dom is a multi-discipline angler like myself and I can relate to much within the book and found myself benefitting from the straight forward analysis of angling. It also stimulated my own thoughts on why we fish and its wider benefits.

As those darker winter nights approach it is a book well worth delving into deserving a place on any anglers bookshelf. My own personal favourite section is perhaps the Fishing and Culture section that celebrates anglings rich history and mythology.

It is a book that will never become outdated for its key themes are the timeless essence of angling through the ages.

Dominic Garnett ( Right) with a rare comber caught off Looe in Cornwall
13 Oct 2025

Mainline Baits Pairs Competition – 10th 11th 12th October

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26 Pairs competed for the October Mainline Pairs Competition.
Here are the complete photo’s of the competition, plus the result sheet and map.
Full report will be published on SWLT website.
Big thank you to Mainline Baits and John Kneebone, who once again sponsored our event.
Big thank you to our volunteer marshal’s, Gary, Bob, Laura, Ken, Wayne, Ian and our head of fisheries Leon, without their support these competitions would not run.
Also a big thank you to the anglers, who took part, you certainly made it another exciting competition. Hopefully see you all March 2026.

9 Oct 2025

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF ANGLERS PARADISE

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A few words from Zenia at Anglers Paradise

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS OF ANGLERS PARADISE 🥳💃🕺🪩✨✨✨ What a great weekend it was…literally Fun…Fishing and Friends! The party went down a storm, our Chef Paul Casey did a great job with the food, Emma Knight did us proud with her live performance of beautiful acoustic music 🎶 to start the night, great live music in the bar and then one hell of a disco!! People danced, got merry and most importantly enjoyed celebrating 40 years of Anglers Paradise! It was lovely to have special friends attend in the likes of Mark and Judith Pitchers, Dean Macey, Daryl Hodges and Ian Jones from Dynamite, the GoCatch Team, Bob Roberts & Sue, Bill and Virginia Rushmer and of course all our amazing guests that joined us for the party of the year!! We are pleased to say that the GoCatch Team have filmed the Weekend’s shenanigans and we can’t wait to see it and share it with you all! Thank you to all that joined us in making it a weekend to remember…

Anglers Paradise
WINNERS 🏆🥇🥈🥉OF THE 40TH CELEBRATION OF ANGLERS PARADISE DYNAMITE 🧨 SPECIES CHALLENGE!
Well, not only did we party like it was 1985 last weekend but we also had a Species Challenge amongst the party goers! The baliffs said it was like watching Tom and Jerry around the Lakes!
The results and Winners were –
1st Place🥇DAN WILLIAMS-SHARPE – 10 Species
2nd Place🥈SAM WAHID – 8 Species (caught from 4 different Lakes)
3rd Place 🥉 MARK HAWITT – 8 Species (caught from 3 different Lakes)
Great angling boys! Congratulations and well done to you all!
Catch sheets are in the comments!
A MASSIVE THANK YOU to Dynamite Baits for the AMAZING Prizes that the winners went home with (cars were definitely full on departure!!)
Thank you to Alex Lister for helping with the Presentation and being a representative for Dynamite 🧨 💪🏻
5 Oct 2025

A Celebration of Forty years at Anglers Paradise

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Anglers Paradise

The Angler’s Paradise complex created by Zyg Gregorek celebrated forty years in September 2025. The venue has become one of the region’s top fisheries boasting over thirty lakes that are home to a vast range of freshwater species including specimen carp, grass carp, orfe, tench, perch, pike, trout and catfish to name but a few. The holiday complex has brought a wealth of happy memories for many family generations and it’s waters are now a thriving natural eco-system. The fishery is testament to the vision of Zyg who transformed a marshy piece of scrubland to create Anglers Paradise a for-runner that has become the template for complexes across the country. The venture is very much a family business with Zyg’s daughter Zenia Drury-Gregorek and her husband Joe very much at the helm continuing the sterling work undertaken by Zyg and his wife Rose. My wife and I joined the celebrations last weekend to witness a thriving community of anglers and their families forged over the past four decades.

Wine & Dine Celebrations
Conversations flows in the Safari Bar
Trophies and memories from around the world
Zenia and son Zee-Jay demonstrate fish care and how to get the best catfish pics

Bingo Time!

Zenia and Zyg working with the Angling Trust at a previous event.
Get Fishing
An Eldorado catfish for Bruce Elston
A specimen tiger trout caught from the trout lake
A Paradise sunrise
A netting day

Team working

Rainbow over Paradise
The latest capture from the Nirvana syndicate lake….CLINT WITH THE FREAK OF THE NIRVANA SYNDICATE, ‘JOY’ at 54lb 8oz
This fish is stacking on the lb’s and has plenty more growing to do. Will Joy be our first 60?
Silverback is among the elusive and if the other fish are anything to go by he may already be at 60lb…
Anglers Paradise

 

 

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.

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.

28 Aug 2025

Bulldog Carp

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Following a short closure to allow repairs to a water pipe Bulldogs Carp Lakes re-opened  and group of six anglers enjoyed great fishing on a lake exclusive. They banked 42 carp two of which where over 30lb one common 32lb 10oz and a mirror at 33lb 13oz loads of mid twenties and smallest being 9lb 6oz all lovely and strong fighting fish, “can’t thanks Nigel and Tom enough very welcoming and even done us burger and chips for our exclusive booking”.