Bideford Angling Club – MONTHLY ROVER
1st Andrew Clements Wrasse 4lb 4 1/2oz 95.138%
2nd Stephen Found Wrasse 4lb 2 1/4oz 92.013%
3rd Andrew Clements Wrasse 3lb 9 3/4oz 80.207%
4th Paul Ackland Dog 2lb 4oz 75%
APPLEDORE SHIPBUILDERS MAY ROVER
1st Andrew Clements Wrasse 4lb 4 1/2oz 95.138%
2nd Stephen Found Wrasse 4lb 2 1/4oz 92.013%
3rd Andrew Clements Wrasse 3lb 9 3/4oz 80.207%
4th Paul Ackland Dog 2lb 4oz 75%
I visited Ilfracombe Pier last Sunday evening and attempted to catch a squid on a jig. After half an hour of casting and retrieving my confidence started to ebb. Persistence sometimes pays off however and I eventually felt a strange weight on the line. I was delighted to swing a squid of perhaps 12oz onto the pier.
I was told that before I arrived several herring and mackerel had been tempted. It also seemed slightly surreal to watch a garfish swim past close to the surface. Mackerel and garfish were once considered to be summer fish but as sea anglers we are getting used to the blurring of the seasons. It seems that we should cast off the traditions and try to ring the changes to keep abreast of nature as climate change rewrites the rule books.
Appledore Shipbuilders Easter cup was run this year for the first time as a multi day event .David Atkinson won the trophy with a 2lb 4oz Dogfish. Just pipping a 5lb 14oz Cod which was a nice surprise for Andrew Atkinson at this time of year. “Spring codling are frequently caught at this time of year, but this is the best one I’ve had in a long time”.
Calmer conditions have resulted in a down turn in sea angling sport with specimen fish hard to find over the past week. Despite this some good fish were recorded by anglers fishing the first week of February a time of year when catches traditionally start to decline. The seasons and the migration of fish in our waters is without doubt under going change with reports of mackerel from Ilfracombe in the past week and the presence of grey mullet throughout the calendar year.
1st Antony Smith Bull Huss 7lb 9oz 75.625%
2nd Andrew Clements Dog 2lb 3oz 72.916%
Club seceretary Nick Phillips won with a specimen whiting scaling 1lb 10oz. Runner up was Wayne Thomas with dogfish of 2lb 8oz.
Whiting, dogfish, spotted ray and conger were also caught by members who fished marks across North Devon.