Bass are top of the agenda for many anglers at this time of year. Kody Chugg employed big mackerel to tempt several bass between 4lb and 6lb during recent sessions. Calm seas and easterly winds are not ideal for seeking bass but the clearly water may well make lure fishing very worthwhile. Get ready with the baits when the winds turns SW and embrace those darker evenings.
Bideford and District Angling Club Coarse Section monthly competition on Tarka Swims Results:
1st Kev Shears 22lb 1oz
2nd Colin Cherrington 21lb 1oz
3rd Martin Turner 16lb 7oz
4th Steve Ashton 16lb 3oz
5th Richard Jefferies 13lb
6th John Lisle 12lb 15oz
7th Stephen Craker 12lb 12oz
8th Keith Mountjoy 11lb 4oz
23 fished. A classic Indian summer day led to a close match on George’s lake , Kevin fished the pole with maggot on peg 13 , a late run of skimmers brought him victory, over Colin’s mainly carp net on peg 16 , third was another mixed pole net on peg 11 , Steve has caught mainly on the feeder on peg 17 for fourth spot. Richard’s bread on the pole method was fifth.
Norman Bird was a founder member of Combe Martin Sea Angling Club and I was fortunate to join the club ten years after his son Nigel who joined the club in 1963. Nigel and I fished together with the club on many occasions during the seventies and early eighties and now fish together from time to time with the Wistlandpound Fly Fishing Club. I was pleased fo receive this picture from Nigel showing his grandson George enjoying his first fishing trip with his grandad at Bratton Water where they enjoyed catching a fine bag of rainbow and brown trout.
It is great to see the generations as they discover the joys of angling. For many years I enjoyed trips out of Combe Martin on George Eastmans boat Star of Scillionia PW265. and was also privileged to help out from time to time hauling lobster pots and taking trips around the bay. Those glorious summer days were greatly enhanced by Georges great grandad George Eastman of whom I have many fond memories . Much has changed over the years but I still feel a sense of belonging when I stroll upon the foreshore at Combe Martin reminiscing upon a lifetime of encounters within the bay.
Footnote – Nigel traced Star of Scillionia PW265 around the West Country over the years from the Isles of Scilly to the Helford Passage were she was finally decommissioned and broken up.
Aaron Larson now holds the new lake record up on Stafford Moor’s lodge lake with a stunning mirror of 34lb 14oz. Aaron was using Baitworks Creamino boilies over a spodded area on swim 14 (beach 1)
As autumn descends upon us the evenings draw in and it seems essential to try and fit in those short evening sessions with the lure rod before darkness descends and many of us turn to bait fishing. There is of course the opportunity to catch bass after dark with the lure but this is something I always intend to try but tend to shy away from as I feel slightly uncomfortable wading the boulder strewn marks I prefer whilst fishing alone.
This season I have fished far more using weedless soft plastics and have enjoyed some success using the Megabass spindle worms. This 5.5 inch lure gives me confidence as it is retrieved sending a pleasing pulsing action back through the light braid to the rod. I love fishing really shallow water as the tide floods in and have discovered that the bass will move into water less than a foot deep.
Whilst I carry a selection of lures I only tend to alternate between half a dozen patterns.
I arrived at my chosen mark as the tide was starting to flood and searched the shallow boulder strewn foreshore after ten minutes a flash of silver appeared just a few feet from where I stood slamming into the lure with ferocity. After a spirited battle at close range the bass of around 3lb 8oz was beached.
I fished on confident of further success and twenty minutes later the lure was hit by a far bigger fish that made an impressive reel screaming dash for freedom in the shallow water. A handsome bass of around 6lb was admired and its image captured before release.
The autumn months can offer the best chance of the year to catch that elusive double figure bass. At one time I believed the best chance of a double lay with a big bait. Now I am not so sure and feel confident that persistence with the lure will pay dividends eventually.
Combe Martin Sea Angling Club Member Rob Scoines has enjoyed considerable success over the past few weeks landing several quality fish from the North Devon shoreline and from his friends boat.
North Devon Match Group Summer league No 6 . Lake View Morchard Road . Results:
1st Tom Downing 74lb 14oz
2nd Craig Crash Lamey 58lb 2oz
3rd John Lisle 51lb1oz
4th Martin Turner 46lb 11oz
5th John Forster 46lb 4oz
6th John Bailey 39lb 2oz
7th Nathan Underwood 29lb 10oz
8th Kevin Shears 29lb 4oz.
18 fished. Thomas has continued his remarkable run with another winning catch, he has drawn peg 9 on the roadside and fished a small hybrid feeder out to the island with micros , he also caught long and short on the pole, second place went to another of our younger anglers, Craig has mainly caught on the long pole on peg 2 , 3rd spot went to John his catch , unusually, was only 13 fish, all on corn in the margins on peg 5 in the channel.4th spot went to Martin on peg 7 bomb and pellets and pole. John drew peg 18 and landed his 5th place mainly on the method. The foreshortening summer league has been convincingly won by Thomas Downing with 180points joint second Nathan Underwood and Martin Turner both on 45 points.
Daniel Welch won Combe Martin Sea Angling Clubs weekend Species competition securing eleven species using a variety of tactics. The event was concluded on Ilfracombe Pier where plenty of species where caught including an octopus that did not count in the competition. Dans species included thick lipped grey mullet, shanny, pouting, smelt, conger, poor cod, corkwing wrasse, ballan wrasse, pollock, tompot, rock goby. Runner up in the species competition was Ross Stanway with 8 species.
1st Andrew Clements thick lipped mullet 4lb 5 3/4oz 108.904%
2nd Antony Smith wrasse 3lb 1/2oz 60.625%
Ross Stanway (Right) has won this years Combe Martin SAC Lure Fishing Competition sponsored by Ilfracombe’s High Street Tackle. Ross takes away a top of the range N- One lure fishing rod from Major Craft. The winning bass neared 70 cm and was calculated to weigh over 9lb. Wayne Thomas was Runner who won an impressive bundle of quality lures. (Middle) with a bass of 62cm estimated at 6lb.
