17 fished . Hot still conditions meant that Tarka proved quite tricky although a few of the better carp had a nibble. Stephen Craker followed up a victory from last week with another. His catch from peg B and included 2 good carp on the pole on bread. His neighbour on peg A , Pete landed a nice net of small carp plus a larger bonus one on the pole on bread for second.3rd spot went to our new member Mike Snudden on peg R who had 2 good carp. Dean Siford managed 4th spot unluckily lossing a good fish on the final whistle,
The penultimate match in the 10 match series was won by Kevin Shears on peg S ,he has landed an early carp on the pellet waggler then backed up with a net of bream on the pole on soft pellets. Colin Gorman , on the next peg has also had a carp and some bream on the feeder for best of the chasing pack. Martin Hawker has drawn the shallower peg B and landed carp plus tench on the pole on pellets for 3rd . Martin Turner has drawn peg N and caught a net of small fish shallow , this keeps him 6 points clear in the league with 1 match remaining.
Tarrant Wotton won Bideford Angling Clubs Sea Rover with a fine specimen thin lipped grey mullet of 4lb 81/2oz. Dick Talbot was runner up with a specimen wrasse of 5lb 61/2oz and Rob Harris third with a small eyed ray of 9lb 41/2oz. Forth was Tarrant with a thin lip of 4lb and fifth Andrew Clements with small eyed ray 8lb 3.25oz and sixth Terry Dymond with a wrasse of 4lb 1.5oz.
( Below) Cameron Atkinson won Appledore Shipbuilders monthly Rover with a fine shore caught pollock of 6lb 53/8oz.
The 8th match in our evening league was won by Richard Jefferies on peg S with a single large carp taken on bread on the pole, Martin Hawker also landed a good carp on the pole on peg E , 3rd place was Martin Turner with a catch of smaller fish on peg O. Stephen Craker landed 10 small carp on peg A for 4th.
Best junior and 5th overall was Tyler with 2 nice bream .
Bideford Angling Club arranged a Junior match and coaching session at their Tarka Swims Georges Lake – Well done to the club and its members for providing this valuable experience.
Junior Event @ Tarka Swims George’s Lake
1st Tyler Scott 7lb 5oz
2nd Charlie Evans 5lb 3 oz
3rd Thomas Scott 2lb
4th Joe Westcott 1lb 15 oz
5th Adam Wheeler 13oz .
This 3 hour event was fished on the shallow pegs .Celebrating his birthday , Tyler Scott landed a fine mixed catch alternating between shallow and full depth on the pole on peg F to secure victory on the first of our 4 match series , Charlie took second spot in his very 1st competition fishing on peg Z . Third place was Thomas Scott, next door to his brother on peg E .
Bideford & District Angling Club Opened their club Lake Tarka Swims back in 2006 and it has been a resounding success for the club attracting a good number of Junior anglers and providing a valuable facility for local disabled anglers. In addition to this it has been the venue for the club’s regular matches that are held monthly throughout the year with popular mid-week evening matches during the summer months.
Tarka Swims Lake – Opened in 2002
On Saturday June 22ndthe club opened a new lake named ‘Karen’s Lake’. Construction of this lake commenced in March 2013 and the six years leading up to its opening have not been without difficulty with a few leaks along the way. The club’s membership have done a sterling job in completing the project with regular working parties and much behind the scenes work to obtain funding and expertise. The venture has been a partnership between Bideford Club and the Environment Agency with funding from rod licence revenue and local businesses. The lake has excellent access for disabled anglers along with toilet facilities.
Steve Bailey, Jude Gubb- Bideford Town Council, Paul Carter E.A, Karen Slade, Pete Skinner
Karen’s Lake has been stocked with around seventy carp over 10lb with the biggest close to twenty pounds. The lakes opening saw a large number of local anglers descend upon the lake with their families. It was a perfect summers day with warm sunshine and a vivid blue sky decorated with white cotton wool clouds drifting on a warm summer breeze.
Gazebo’s, barbecue and cupcakes gave the event a village fete atmosphere. The carp were active swirling in the weeds as some began to spawn amorously as the water warmed. Other carp could be seen cruising in the clear water occasionally slurping down a piece of floating crust.
The first carp officially caught from the lake within fifteen minutes was caught by Matt Cross and pulled the scales close to 17lb. A few minutes later Nathan England hooked a beautiful dark coloured common of 17lb 5oz; in a perfect script his son Jake England hooked a golden mirror carp to allow a father and son portrait. Several other carp were caught including a mirror carp to the rod of Junior angler Tyler Scott and another mirror to Dean Siford.
The carp will undoubtedly wise up quickly and become more of a challenge in the coming years but I am sure the lake will bring many hours of pleasure to local anglers. Both lakes are testament to the hard work of Bideford Angling Club and its supporters. The venues are a wildlife haven with dragonflies, amphibians, grass snakes, bird life and aquatic life abundant.
Jude Gubb, Matt Cross, Steve BaileyFather and Son – Nathan England and Jake EnglandDean SifordTyler Scott in actionTyler Scott
Karen’s lake is members only and a very good reason to join this club that charges just £25.00 per year with a one off £20 joining fee. OAP Season is £18.00 . Juniors £3.00 per year.
Day Tickets for Tarka Swims Lake can be obtained from Summerlands Tackle.
Junior winner Tyler Scott 1lb14oz 17 fished on a pleasant warm evening Martin Turner caught shallow in the pole on peg P , his bonus bream gave him top spot over ,in form Pete who fished pole and soft pellets from peg H . Richard Jefferies landed a carp on bread and meat on peg L for 3rd spot , Ian Owen fished the pole on peg N for 4th on the night.
Conditions were cool and overcast for this, the 5th match in the series. Kevin fished the pole at 9 metres with maggot over groundbait for a nice net of roach and bream on peg O for victory. Martin’s 2nd place net was also taken on the pole on the nextdoor peg to the winner, lan landed a single skimmer and a couple of small fish for 3rd. Pete lost a large carp but his net of silvers has kept him in the points.
