Mark Frith landed this stunning shore caught pollock scaling 8lb 4oz whilst fishing from a North Devon Rock Mark. The fish was tempted using a squid bait presented on a pennel rig.
Top Ten Turkeys at Triple Hooks Christmas Open
Flounder enthusiasts cast their lines into the Taw estuary in the hope of securing their Christmas Dinner. The top ten lucky winners were as follows.
1 Darren Short 1lb 9 3/8oz
2 Nigel Gullen 1lb 8 1/8oz
3 Nathan Clements 1lb 7 3/4oz
4 John password 1lb 7 1/4oz
5 Taz Wotton. 1lb 6 3/4oz
6 Dennis Toleman 1lb 5 3/4oz
7 Steve Luxton. 1lb 3 1/2oz
8 Nick Braunton 1lb 3/1/8oz
9 Paul downing 1lb 3oz
10. Devlin Wotton. 1lb 2 7/8oz
Combe Martin SAC Christmas Competition
A dozen club members fished in Combe Martin Sea Angling Club’s Christmas Competition that saw five specimen fish registered. The winner was (myself) Wayne Thomas with a spurdog scaling 12lb 3oz.
Kevin Legge was runner up with a spurdog of 11lb 10oz. Kevin also landed a spurdog of 10lb 6oz and a bull huss of 10lb 3oz.
(Above) Kevin Legge with his 11lb 10oz spurdog
(Above) Kevin Legge with a spurdog of 10lb 6oz.
(Above) Kody Chugg was third with a fine specimen conger of 23lb 1oz.
Members fished a wide variety of marks along the North Devon and Somerset coastline where they landed a variety of species including whiting, dogfish, thornback ray, grey mullet and pouting in addition to the specimen fish registered.
North Devon Tackle Shops
There is something special about the local tackle shop; a vital part of angling’s social structure and a focal point where you are likely to bump into fellow anglers and engage in fishy talk. In North Devon we are fortunate to to have several great tackle shops each of them having a special niche within the local angling scene. At this time of year the local tackle shop is of course a great place to locate Christmas presents for the angler! I am very grateful for the support North Devon Angling News receives from Summerlands Tackle at Westward Ho!, High Street Tackle, Ilfracombe and North Devon Tackle in Barnstaple.
(Above) Jamie Miller at North Devon Tackle where they stock an extensive range of bait and tackle for Carp, Coarse and Sea anglers. Click on their advert below to browse on line. An ideal present for anglers is a gift voucher for North Devon Tackle.
( Above) Danny Watson at High Street Tackle Ilfracombe. Danny and Pauline specialize in bass fishing lures and carry a very impressive range to tempt both angler and bass. They also have a a wide range of sea and coarse tackle to satisfy the needs of all local anglers.
(Above) Just a few of the lures on display at High Street Tackle. Click on the advert below to browse on line.
(Above) Heather at Summerlands Tackle Westward Ho! Summerlands tackle is well established family business that has a vast range of tackle for all angling disciplines their latest offers that would make ideal Christmas presents are :-
Fenix 1750 Lumen’s headlight – HP30R was £139.99 now £116.99
Rovex Boots – Was £49.99 now £39.99
Deeper Pro + was £219.99 now £199.99 (Below)
Free 525 Mag 2 Reel with every Century Beachcaster sold whilst in stocks last. Click on the advert below to browse on line.
I am sure all the local tackle dealers would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all their customers. The recent news regarding the reprieve for bass anglers will come as a relief to all our local tackle dealers. Whilst it is unfair that anglers are restricted to catch and release for bass when commercial fishing can still retain fish it is far better than the total ban that was being discussed.
I would like to to wish all our local tackle dealers a Happy and prosperous New Year. As I said earlier local tackle shops are part of anglings rich social network; many a fishing excursion has been planned in the tackle shop.
Bideford Angling Club AGM – Date
Bideford Angling club are holding their AGM at 20.00 on Friday 19th Jan. 2018 at the Bideford Conservative club. All proposed rule changes or applications for office must be received by 29/12/17 Please Email [email protected] Or PM Pete Skinner on facebook..
Result! – Ministers Dismiss Bass Fishing Ban, But Catch & Release Only In 2018 – For Now…
Perhaps it is worth speaking up; a partial victory for now see press release below.
Petition update
European Anglers Alliance
14 Dec 2017 — Thanks to YOUR support the EU Council of Ministers has rejected the Commission’s proposal to ban members of the public fishing for sea bass in the first half of 2018. Anglers, charter boats, bass fishing guides and others will now be able to legally fish for and catch bass throughout 2018.
However, as things stand no member of the public fishing recreationally will be able to keep a single bass to eat in 2018, while commercial hook & line vessels will be able to land up to five tonnes each in 2018. This isn’t fair BUT our pressure has helped to ensure that, following the results of a science benchmarking to be completed in March, the EU Commission will reconsider whether the public should be able to retain bass for some months in the second half of 2018. We are confident that this benchmarking will reduce the estimate of the impact of angling and open the door for anglers to be allowed to keep fish to eat within sustainable limits and whilst allowing the stock to recover.
We will therefore be keeping the petition open so we can update you on progress. In the meantime, please keep sharing the petition with your friends, colleagues, family and neighbours. It has become apparent that despite the important message of the campaign, and the amazing support of nearly 18,000 people, it is extremely difficult to communicate with the estimated two million people across Europe who fish recreationally for bass.
Thanks again for your amazing support. Each one of you should be very proud of standing up for your right and helping to influence the EU decision-making process. Generations of anglers and recreational fishers to come will owe you a debt of gratitude for making a stand and defending the right of the public to access a publicly-owned resource.
For more news and information about how EAA, EFTTA and their members are representing the interests of anglers and those whose livelihoods rely on it please take the time to visit http://www.eaa-europe.org/ http://www.eftta.co.uk/
We know that angling cousins from across Europe have supported the petition. In order to help support what we do please consider joining the EAA organisation from your country which has been involved in protecting your right to fish:
France: FNPP – www.fnppsf.fr/
UK: Angling Trust – www.anglingtrust.net
Netherlands: Sportvisserij Nederland – www.sportvisserijnederland.nl/
Denmark: Danmarks Sportfiskerforbund – www.sportsfiskeren.dk/
Belgium: Sportvisserij Vlaanderen – www.sportvisserijvlaanderen.be/
Rockling Reward
A short session on the rocks produced plenty of dogfish for Rob Scoines and myself. Conditions seemed perfect with the seas having settled nicely following the weekend storms. A pleasant surprise was this near specimen rockling of 1lb 9oz that fell to Rob along with pollock of a couple of pounds. There a bound to be a few spurdog and bull huss about but getting through the dogfish and small conger is as always a challenge.
Reel Deal News – Spurdog chasing the herring!
Top picture – Chris Waddham 7lb and lower picture and cod competition leader with a total length of cod 1.39m Paul Chidgy 15lb12oz
Daniel Hawkins reports from up Channel that fishing has been mixed with cod hard to find at times. Big shoals of herrings are bringing the spurdog close inshore where they are being tempted along with ray, conger, huss and good numbers of whiting.
(Above) 30lb conger Dan Cook
(Above) spurdog to the rod of Pete Richards
Work is progressing well on Reel Deal 2 that will be taking anglers out of Ilfracombe next summer when shark will once again be on the agenda.
See pictures below
Fancy a cod trip – Get the Reel Deal
Bideford Anglers Brave the storm in Festive Competition
Thirty five anglers braved hostile conditions to compete for an array of fine prizes in Bideford and District Angling Clubs Christmas Open.
Eighteen flounder were brought to the scales.
Winner of the competition was Ian Hooper with a fine Torridge Estuary flounder scaling 1lb 73/4oz. In runner up spot Terry Dymond with a flounder of 1lb 13/4oz and third J. Andrew with a flounder of 1lb 11/2oz. In fourth was Paul Burslem with a flounder of 1lb 1/8oz and fifth P. Allin with a flounder of 1lb 3/4oz.
Tommy Taylor took the top two places in the Junior section with two flounder of just under 1lb.