Conger secures win in Combe Martin SAC Rover

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Matt Jeffery secured top spot in Combe Martin SAC’s Six Hour Rover landing a conger of 18lb 6oz. Conditions proved difficult at many marks along the coast with a large swell pounding the coastline. Fish were hard to find with several of the competitors failing to catch. Runner up was Kevin Legge with a rockling of 1lb 6.5oz and third Ross Stanway with a dogfish of 2lb 3oz. Jonathon Stanway caught a conger of 14lb 8oz and David Jenkins a dogfish of 1lb 9.5oz.

This competition signals the end of the clubs winter fixtures. The coming months will see attention turn to spring ray, bull huss and grey mullet.

A night on the rocks

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Reports of catches from the open coast seem to have eased off since the dawn of the New Year which is no surprise for several reasons. The calm weather and high pressure has resulted in water clarity increasing this tends to ensure that fish move into deeper water. During rough weather many species move close inshore to feed upon food that is dislodged by the rough sea. Shoals of bait fish are also broken up during rough weather and the prey also become harder for predatory fish to see which may encourage these fish close inshore to search for alternative food. Remember fish are basically interested in two things; sex and food! The other factor is of course a reduction in angling effort as most have gone back to work after the Christmas break and those that do fish tend to be the dedicated few who do not always share their catches on social media.

I decided to head out onto a rock mark I have not fished for a few years determined to see what was about and to ensure I keep a bait in the water. I like to get out at least twice a week throughout the year. It was exceptionally calm when we arrived at the chosen venue and I could see that other angler’s lights were shining out from other rock marks in the area. As always I wondered how they were fairing and whether our choice of mark would reward us.

It’s always good to arrive at the water’s edge and make that first cast of a session. On this occasion I baited with a decent hookfull of freshly frozen herring caught during last week’s visit to Torquay. (See earlier feature http://www.northdevonanglingnews.co.uk/2019/01/06/squid-trip-brings-glittering-bonus/). Before I had the second rod baited the ratchet clicked and the rod tip rattled. Picking up the rod I leaned into what felt a weighty fish. To my dismay I immediately became snagged. Placing the rod in the rest I baited the second rod and put that out before once again trying to extract the fish from the snag. A steady direct pull resulted in  a slow release of tension as the tackle pulled free. Lifting the rod I was pleased to feel a weight on the line. Moments later a conger and a large stem of kelp arrived at the surface. I scurried down to the water and grabbed the heavy wire trace lifting the eel of around 9lb onto the rocks. This is a big benefit of using a heavy trace as most fish can be dragged out without use of a gaff or net neither of which are ideal when dealing with conger.

RIGS FOR TOOTHY CRITTERS – Article by Kevin Legge

I had expressed that the evening seemed perfect for catching a big eel with calm, mild conditions and a dark overcast sky. The conger were certainly on the feed as the next hour and a half up to high water saw us land around half a dozen more eels, no hoped for monsters but not the dreaded straps we have been catching recently. The session progressed as most do far quicker than one would like and with frequent bites and several lost sets of gear time to sit back and savour the evening was limited. So much so that we were both perspiring as a result of dressing for what we thought would be a cold night. A benefit of Reeds Chillcheater clothing I guess.

Shortly after high water the rod tip nodded decisively as something mouthed the bait out in the dark water. I pick up the rod and lifted to feel a pleasing resistance, another moderate sized eel was what I expected but to my delight a decent bull huss appeared in the clear water illuminated by the headlights beam. To be honest it looked bigger than it actually was as I called urgently for Rob to grab the landing net. To my relief the huss was soon safely within the net. It failed to make double figures but at 8lb 10oz was a pleasing result that proved very difficult to get a photo of as it twisted and turned in my hands.

With work the following day it was not going to be a late finish and at close to 11.00pm we packed away the gear and began the steep climb back to the van. As we packed away the gear I recalled dark nights beneath the trees when I had fished there as a teenager forty odd years ago. I am lucky that I still have the energy and drive to continue chasing the fish on winter nights. I commented to Rob that I often hear owls calling from the tree’s here and as the words drifted into the night the distinctive hoot of a tawny owl sounded as if answering with a hoot that he was indeed still there!

Conger and codling for Christmas Anglers

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Nathan Clements enjoyed success on a North Devon rock enjoying the fresh air instead of the crowds of Factory Friday. This conger scaled 23lb 13oz and is one of the biggest shore caught eel reported so far this autumn. The biggest eels of the winter often show after Christmas so lets hope there are a few more to come. So far this autumn there have been large numbers of small eels that are nuisance but are perhaps a good sign for the future?

(Below) Young Charlie Stanway will be hoping for some chips to go with this cod he caught at Ilfracombe whilst fishing with his Dad.

Prospects for the Festive period are excellant with South West Winds and mild conditions. Matt Jeffery tempted a tope of 25lb 4oz and I expect one or two more of these toothy critters to show over the christmas holiday period along with spurdog and huss.

(Below) Ian laird landed this spurdog on a recent trip and is hoping to hook a bigger one before the winter is over.

Paul enjoys dream fishing session.

Paul Lorrimore described his latest session as dream fishing! A huge swell made fishing difficult but undoubtedly brought the fish on the feed. Paul landed twenty conger to 12lb, seven bull huss the best two weighing 9lb 14oz and 12lb 10oz along with a blonde ray of 12lb 10oz. All were caught on frozen Ammo baits bought at High Street Tackle.

Shore sport update

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There are some good fish coming in along the North Devon coast at the moment with conger, bull huss, blonde ray and spurdog, It is important that those reading this get a true perspective as these fish generally require effort to catch. I obviously get to see lots of good fish to report on and I too sometimes get over optimistic when I set out onto the shoreline. Last night was a typical session when I joined fellow CMSAC member Rob Scoines at a local rock mark. We were both optimistic on arrival at our chosen mark but after close to five hours we had managed seven or eight small conger (commonly known as straps or bootlaces) and a solitary pollock. My own catch rate was undoubtedly impacted upon by my choice of 8/0 hooks and wire trace with several traces coming back as twisted tangles following the small eels attempts to eat the large baits.

There are often plenty of trips to the shoreline that bring little reward but its all part of the long term game. Put in the hours; sit back watch those rod tips for before long they will nod, the reel will scream and the rod will bend. Below are a few catches from this week.

(Above)Paul Lorrimore landed several eels to 18lb 8oz
Chay Boggis with a good huss

Dan Welch – blonde ray of around 9lb.

Toby Boats Conger 44lb 8oz

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Toby Bassett joined a party of anglers aboard John Barbeary’s boat Bluefin off Ilfracombe and boated a fine specimen conger of 44lb 8oz.. The spurdog they were targetting  proved harder to find than on recent trips but good numbers of conger proved adequate consultation with good numbers of twenty pound plus eels boated.

Private Boats Enjoy Offshore Sport

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The recent calm weather has allowed several of North Devon’s boat owners to venture out and savour the sport on offer. James Gubb Fradgley and Rob Scoines sailed out of Lynmouth and landed spurdog to 17lb, thirty conger to 29lb a blonde ray of 13lb and several bull huss.

(Above)James Gubb with a 29lb conger
James Gubb – blonde ray
Rob Scoines -bull huss
Rob Scoines – spurdog 17lb
(Above ) James Gubb  specimen bull huss
Dan Welch and Ross Stanway sailed out of Ilfracombe and also discovered conger, huss and spurdog.
(Above) Ross Stanway with a specimen huss
(Above) Dan Welch – spurdog
(Above) Ross Stanway with a spurdog
Dan Welch – conger 28lb

Combe Martin SAC Christmas Competition

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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.