The latest Storm is forecast to hit the region over the weekend and most local competitions have wisely been cancelled. A storm with winds from the North West forecast to reach 90 MPH is very unusual and a RED WARNING is certainly cause for concern. There are those who will say that the Met Office and the media are hyping it up but they cannot win for they were heavily criticised last week when floods hit Wales and residents said they had not been warned. Weather forecasting is still an in-precise science despite all the technology that is in place. Lets hope its not as bad as forecast. Should be some good fishing in the aftermath of the storm.
It’s December so it seems Ok to start talking Christmas. We are very fortunate in North Devon to have fishing tackle shops in all of our major towns and as local anglers we really need to support them. With Christmas just a couple of weeks away now is the time to buy that fishy present. It might be that you have to pay a little more as compared to the internet but there is no postage, a good after sales service, you get to see what you’re buying and you ensure that you have somewhere to buy fresh bait. Not to mention the vital social benefits of meeting fellow anglers whilst browsing those lines of tempting produce.
BARNSTAPLE
Barnstaple Bait and Tackle offers an excellent range of tackle for all disciplines and is convenienly located in Queen Street, close to the central Car Park and Bus Station. The shop is owned by Chris Connaughton a well known and respected local angler.
ILFRACOMBE
Danny Watson (Above right ) is a lure fishing fanatic a fact that is reflected when-ever you walk into his tackle shop in Ilfracombe High Street. Thousands of lures to tempt every angler and every fish. Danny supplies local charter boats with lures and tackle and has an extensive knowledge on how lures work and their design features. In addition to the vast array of lures the shop also carries an extensive range of sea tackle and coarse fishing essentials.
BIDEFORD
Anglers Heaven is owned by Tom Wade and has recently undergone a significant extension with a large retail area offering fishing tackle for all disciplines. Tom also stocks a range of shooting and country sports equipment.
BRAUNTON
The Braunton Bait Box is run by keen local angler Craig McCloughlin and offers a good range of sea angling tackle and quaility bait. The shop also has a range of coarse fishing tackle and is a stockist for Chillcheater clothing of Braunton.
Reed – Chillcheater is a North Devon Based company located in Braunton that offers a wide range of high quality outdoor clothing that has gained a reputation amongst local anglers for keeping them warm and dry in the worst of conditions.
EXMOOR
Lance Nicholson’s shop is located in the lively Exmoor town of Dulverton and offers a wide range of game fishing tackle and country clothing. It is also an excellent source on information on where to fish and what is happening across the Upper Exe and Barle catchments.
CORNWALL
The Arundell is a traditional country hotel on the Cornish Border that offers excellent river fishing throughout the year. The hotel has a tackle shop that stocks an excellent range of top end tackle from Orvis. This is undoubtedly the top venue for West Country winter grayling.
Anglers Heaven in Bideford has had a significant extension with a vast range of products from top brands now available for anglers of all disciplines. I called into the shop last week with my wife Pauline and was very impressed. in addition to top quailty tackle Tom Wade also keeps a good supply of fresh live and frozen bait.
GRAND OPENING/BLACK FRIDAY SALE Friday 29th/Saturday 30th November
Join Tom Wade and family for the new shop extension party.
Strong winds and heavy rain associated with Storm Burt failed to deter competitors from trying their luck along the banks of the Taw Estuary in the second heat of Flukeys flounder competition that raised money for Children’s Hospice South West.
FLUKEYS FLOUNDER COMP Part 2 Report from David Jenkins
What a days fishing. Rain wind and lots of wood. Plenty of people weighed in with some good fish caught. Difficult day but some great results. The charity pot is up around £600 so thank to everyone taking part.
MURRAY REDMORE he was the only junior to catch so took the lot.
Senior Results
1st Tarrant Wotton 1lb 11oz
2nd Nigel Gullen 1lb10oz
3rd David Jenkins 1lb 7oz
4th Sine Pimon 1lb 6 7/8oz
Details of PT3 to come for the 15th December
Big thanks to Simon Pine, Daniel Mackie and Marcus Offield for the prizes, organising, the food and allowing us in the pub.
Combe Martin SAC – Flounder Competition
Nick Philips took first and second place in Combe Martin SAC’s annual flounder competition tempted flounder of 1lb 4oz and 1lb 3oz. Lenny Lake was third with a flounder of 1lb 1oz. Several bass were also caught the best around 3lb.
Reece Woolgar has won Combe Martin SAC’s club members annual Lure fishing league for the second consecutive year with a five bass total of 334.5cm. Reece was presented with £100 tackle voucher by Danny Watson at High Street Tackle. The club hopes to run the event to the same format next year. It is hoped that more lure anglers will join the club and take part in this event that is free to club members.
I asked Reece about his go to lures and two of his top three are pictured below.
The megabass Dark sleeper and Megabass AYU 5″ Spindleworms certainly deserve a place in any keen lure fishers lure box.
Lure fishing is certainly a fascinating branch of angling with many thousands of lures available. Danny stocks an impressive range of lures to cover every aspect and species within the UK and beyond.
Runner up in the lure competition was Wayne Thomas with five bass for 310 cm, Ross Stanway with five for 293cm and Dan Welch with five for 270cm.
I have been contacted by a representative from North Devon Council regarding parking at Castle Quay. Please note below. Whilst I personally appreciate that anglers have historically parked at this location rules are rules and any infringement by anglers can bring access into question.
“The Castle Quay car park in Barnstaple is reserved for permit holders only and cannot be used by anyone without a valid permit. There is pay & display parking close by; Commercial Road car park, Cattle Market car park, North Walk car park and Civic Centre car park (this one is managed by DCC).
Parking on the Castle Quay slipway is prohibited at all times – this includes the muddy areas to the side of it.
If the Civil Enforcement Officers approach it would be appreciated if customers would remain polite and co-operative, they are carrying out duties required of them as part of their job role.”
Any enquiries regarding this should made to :- Car Parks Manager, North Devon Council, Place, Property and Regeneration.
Bideford and District Angling Club held their AGM at Bideford Con Club on Friday November 15th, the event was very well attended. The club is North Devon’s largest angling club with a membership of over 500 that includes over fifty Junior members many undoubtedly attracted by the clubs two well maintained fishing lakes. Tarka Swims consists of Georges Lake and Karen’s Lake that between them provide excellent pleasure, match and carp fishing. The lakes manager Steve Bailey resigned from the post after many years of sterling service and was presented with gifts from the club in appreciation. The new lake manager is Mike Jones.
The clubs holds well attended coarse fishing Matchs each month and a summer series of events for Junior anglers. The club also hosts regular sea angling competitions and game fishing events.
Bideford and District Angling Club Match Secretary’s Report 2024
The Senior matches on George’s Lake, Tarka Swims have once again, been very well supported. With an average of 20 members regularly competing.
Our Junior Section has also been extremely well supported with 35 different youngsters enjoying the 3-hour Saturday events held throughout the summer. The 5-match series was won by Ethan Broom on 46 points, close second Lewis Hathaway on 45 points.
The 10 match, Summer Evening Series attracted 22 different anglers, we were blessed with some great weather for the 3-hour contests. Runaway winner was Nathan Underwood on 130 points with Kevin Shears 2nd on 92 points. The 3-hour pairs event was won by Rhys Elyes and Darren Polden with a remarkable total of 96lb 12oz.
Richard’s ‘Rod and Reel Only’ Competitions have been fully attended; organiser Richard Jefferies currently leads the league with 2 matches remaining.
At present, in the monthly Sunday Matches, Craig Lamey has an unassailable lead with Nathan in 2nd place.
Our 2-leg team match against Plymouth resulted in a resounding victory for us 713lb to 219lb. I hope to set up a more challenging contest against Bude Canal anglers.
This club offers a fantastic variation of disciplines; from the game beat on the Torridge to boat trips, shore fishing contests and, of course, the Tarka events. The lakes provide a host of opportunities to get involved; as members we need to be mindful that the membership is diverse and each of us find pleasure and fulfilment in our chosen pastime whether helping with the working parties, camping out overnight after the ‘Big One’ or witnessing the joy of watching the juniors catching their first fish.
Openness and understanding are essential if the club is to prosper; division is not healthy. As a club we must be respectful of members choices.
Regular matches, I believe, provide a very useful indicator as to the condition of the water and its inhabitants. Recorded results provide accurate information and trends can be monitored.
Once again, I must thank those people who have supported events but especially those who have ensured that they run smoothly. Mervyn for his support scrutinising and publishing results. Steve and his team for providing us with a well maintained and safe environment to enjoy our chosen discipline.
Finally, I must comment on the shock of the closure of the institution that was Summerland’s Tackle; we wish the family well and thank them for all their support over many years.
Martin Turner stands for another term as club match secretary.
The first of the series result was as below : – Attracted forty anglers with Stefan Jones taking the top prize with a flounder of 1lb 81/4oz. Runner up was David Jenkins with a flounder of 1lb 67/8oz and third Taz Wotton with a flounder of 1lb 63/4oz.
The first weekend of November brought the 2024 season to a close for most Charter boats operating out of Ilfracombe. The calm weather resulted in a good end to the season. Last weekend Bluefin Charters, Predator 2 and Carrick Lee all had successful trips with tope to 42lb boated with several large fish lost. Bass, bull huss, pollock, scad, conger, wrasse, whiting and dogfish were caught and the trips were even more made memorable with sightings of porpoise, seal and tuna.
South Molton Angling Club – Bluefin
A quick report from Edward Rands on the clubs last sea trip of the season from Ilfracombe.
We set sail from the harbour at 07:30, early enough for me!, but the days are shorter now.
Our destination was Lundy, about 90 minutes later we were there jigging feathers and retrieving all sorts of plastic lures and began catching mainly pollack with a few wrasse now and again. Although the weather was overcast we were on the west side in some shelter from the easterly wind.
We drifted various marks and then decided to anchor for a while to finish the day off where we caught a little conger, some bull huss and a couple of scad which were used as bait and helped Chris Allin catch a 42lb tope which will take the Tope cup.
The shout was reel in and we headed home with a bucket full of pollack fillets which we shared around. The journey home was quite lumpy with wind against tide but everyone managed and no motion sickness occurred.
The list was
40 pollack to 5lb
6 ballan wrasse
3 scad
4 pouting
10 huss to 10lb
1 strap conger
1 tope 42lb
A very enjoyable day out with plenty of fish, good company and good banter.
Thanks to John and Ted for looking after us again on “Bluefin” and everyone else for supporting the cause.
PREDATOR 2
I enjoyed the last trip of the season on a mates trip on Predator 2 skippered by Dan Welch relishing a last chance to explore the reefs and deep channels West of Ilfracombe.
Big tope and big bass were on our agenda though it was good to be out fishing once again whatever we managed to catch.
The sea was calm as we left Ilfracombe just a light Easterly blowing down the channel. The grey November sky was mirrored by the sea the North Devon cliffs dark and sombre as we watched familiar landmarks pass by.
We explored close to the rocky shore at first casting lures to be rewarded with a few hard fighting pollock and wrasse.
With the tide easing Dan suggested we get out and drop the anchor in hope of a big late season tope or ray.
We soon reached our intended mark and a variety of baits were sent down onto the sandy ridges that have a reputation for tope and ray.
I had baited with a mackerel head and guts impaled on a 6/0 Sakuma Kong Hook with heavy wire trace. To my surprise after just a few minutes I felt a savage tug. I let out a few yards of slack and waited until the rod tip pulled over before leaning back into the fish. The rod hooped over and line was ripped from a moderately tight drag. I held on relishing the battle confident in my tackle as whatever had taken the bait started to accelerate away. Suddenly without warning the rod tip sprang back and I felt deflated knowing that I had lost contact with something special. I reeled in to find that the fish undoubtedly a big tope had come off.
Heartened by this we all fished on expectantly catching a succession of small huss and dogfish before the tide eased.
Dan suggested moving further out into faster tide to fish a channel between rocky reefs.
The anchor went down once again and fresh baits were sent down. For the next two hours a steady stream of decent huss and conger ensured regularly bent rods typical of Bristol Channel reef fishing. I also lost a large fish after a very brief connection.
When the tide strength demanded close to 2lb of lead to hold bottom we headed back close inshore to search a tide rip for bass. Here we enjoyed an hours great sport with bass, pollock and wrasse falling to lures the black fiiish minnows bringing most success.
We headed back to Ilfracombe against a lively sea driven by the East breeze. Pollock were filleted along with a couple of good table sized bass. We all chatted about more trips next year with plenty of excursions planned for 2025.