October is perhaps the best month of the year to target thick lipped grey mullet as they feed hard prior to winter arriving.
Combe Martin SAC member Daniel Welch is keen mullet and angler and targets the species all year. His latest trip saw him bank a brace of mullet weighing 4lb 3oz and 3lb 13oz.
Two Boats fished Appledore Shipbuilder’s October boat competition. The winner was Andrew Atkinson with a Small Eyed Ray of 9lb 2ozs. Second was David Atkinson with a Dogfish of 3lb 0ozs and 3rd was Owen Atkinson with a Bull Huss of 10lb 4ozs.
Cooler temperatures a bit of fresh and the flounder season is well underway. Flattie fanatic David Jenkins has been targeting the Taw flatties catching close to 100 up to 1lb 8oz during a weeks fishing for his favourite fish. He also caught several bass with several over 3lb.
Bideford Angling Clubs monthly Rover was dominated by flounder.
1st Julien Stainer – flounder 1lb 8.5oz 76.562%
2nd Andy Sanders – flounder 1lb 7oz 71.875%
3rd Dick Talbot flounder – 1lb 5oz 65.625%
3rd Julien Stainer flounder – 1lb 5oz 65.625%
Appledore Ship-Builders
https://www.anglers-nlrs.co.uk
Good to call into Quay Sports today and drop off a load of old line for recycling. Good to hear that there is a 10% discount off new line for angler depositing their old line. This worthwhile scheme is supported by the Angling Trust and helps reduce line getting onto landfill sites where it can ensnare wildlife,
Daniel Hawkins focused on taking anglers in search of shark during the month of September and enjoyed a great deal of success bringing a good number of porbeagle and thresher shark to the side of the boat. The biggest porbeagle was estimated at an impressive 550lb.
Reel Deal moves up to Watchet for the winter season while the sister boat Predator 2 skippered by Archie Porter remains at Ilfracombe and will be running trips throughout the winter targeting spurdog, bull huss and conger.
Troy Laing and Toby Bassett were amongst anglers to enjoy some great bass sport off Ilfracombe on-board Bluefin. Autumn often provides some of the years best bass fishing over local reefs and this year everything seems to be running a little late so perhaps sport will continue right through the autumn months if weather permits access.
Below Troy Laing with a nice bass caught on Bluefin. A few days after the South Molton Club trip
John Shapland is a dedicated mullet angler devoting many hours in pursuit of his favourite fish. He took advantage of the recent combination of good weather and favourable tides to reach his target of one hundred mullet in a season. John quest for 100 mullet has resulted in 98 blank sessions totalling 173.5 hours.
The angling world is extremely diverse with many anglers chasing different species or styles. Some like myself target a wide range of species using different techniques and methods others focus upon a particular species or method. It is fortunate that this so as it ensures that there is niche for every angler with no one type or discipline superior to any other. I know anglers who target big fish from boats and tiny wild trout from streams. What a wonderful array of treasures dwell in our waters.
Appledore Shipbuilders BASS COMPETITION
Seven anglers fished Appledore Shipbuilders Annual Bass comp at Westward Ho!
Three bass were caught along with a few Small small eyed ray and a Conger.
Winner was Owen Atkinson with a fine fish of 7lb 0oz 4dr he was also second with another Bass weighing 4lb 7oz 12dr
Combe Martin SAC – Competition
Kevin Legge won Combe Martin SAC’s early September competition with a bull huss of 7lb 3oz. Ross Stanway won the species challenge of the competition with four species that included a red mullet.
