The latest lure designs

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Lure enthusiast Danny Watson with thoughts on the latest lures.

Take Advantage Of The Most Exciting IMA Development This Year….

Available to pre order now are the 2 brand new UK Exclusive colours from IMA, ST Ammo and Ghost Minnow…..featuring on the Chappy 100 and Salt Skimmer.

Those who know me or follow our social media posts will know that I have been a huge fan of the Chappy 100 for some time now. I use them myself with a fair bit of success and also recommend them highly to customers.

I consider and also mention to customers that the Chappy has some similar properties to the sometimes highly regarded, often hyped and notoriously difficult to obtain Whiplash Factory Spttin’ Wire – long casting, easy to work and makes a nice fuss on the surface. I spent quite sometime thinking that there was only one thing missing from the Chappy range and after discussing these thoughts in depth with a customer decided that it was time to speak to the distributor about it…..

What was the missing attribute?

I rang the importer and shared with him my passionate feelings that we really needed some Chappy lures with clear flanks or ghost colours or whatever else you like to call them….look at what him and the men in Japan came up with!

LURE FISHING

I joined South Molton Angling Club for an evening at Instow where members tried their luck with both Fly and lure tactics. It was an enjoyable evening but no bass were tempted. Fortunately the Cricket Club gave a chance for members to discuss tactics for next time over a welcome pint.

http://www.highstreettackle.co.uk

The following night I headed out onto the coast where I enjoyed more success. Early into the session I tempted a small bass on a surface lure and went on to tempt four more after dark on a soft plastic. The best of these a nice fish of 64cm that will be enjoyed pan fried with just a sprinkling of pepper.

Combe Martin SAC Lure Competition – fish registered so far.

Daniel Welch. three bass total – 167.5 cm

James Corner two bass – 122 cm

Wayne Thomas two bass – 115 cm

Peter Robinson one bass – 62 cm

Ross Stanway – One bass = 53 cm

A boat caught bass for James Corner of 60cm

 

Sexy mackerel lures – To tempt bass and anglers!

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Danny Watson at High Street Tackle love his lures and has a steady stream of lures arriving to tempt both anglers and bass!

Im thinking it won’t be long before a few bass are being tempted from North Devon’s coastline.

IMA Komomo II – Sexy Mackerel….

The IMA Komomo II is by far one of the most popular lures from IMA and has a place in many lure anglers A Team box…

At 110mm weighing 15g it casts extremely well and rated to swim at 10-20cm it will be in amongst the action on many occasions…

Just arrived in the UK is this new version for 2022 – Sexy Mackerel – click either of the pictures to buy yours now…..

The arrival of this colour brings the number of colours currently in stock of just this one model to 16 – from our massive selection of over 150 different IMA lures!

Lure Fishing – The latest lures

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The bass lure fishing season shouldn’t be long now as the water starts to warm up bass will be on the prowl and High Street Tackle Ilfracombe has a wide selection of the latest lures. Well worth calling in for a chat with Danny who is always ready to assist with lure choice.

 

New IMA Lures Colours – Available Now….

The first of this years new colours from IMA Lures have now arrived and are available to order…

First, and my personal favourite is the Chappy 100 in Pearl White – the Chappy is an excellent surface lure with a long casting ability that is very easy to walk across the surface, making as much splash as you dare and always backed up by its internal rattles…..

Several new additions now – this time it’s all about the colour. Previously only available in the Sasuke 105 we now have exclusive to the UK Aji (Horse Mackerel) available in the following models….

Hound Glide 125F

Sasuke 120 Reppa

Komomo 2

Komomo 2 90

Komomo SF125

Chappy 100

Lipper 90

At High Street Tackle we now consistently have over 150 different IMA Lure variants – without a doubt the largest selection in the UK constantly available, as well as lures we also keep the whole range of IMA storage boxes and the high quality aluminium pliers too – click on the pictures above to start viewing these products.

Visit High Street Tackle online…

New Rods from Penn – Review From High Street Tackle

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From the new 2022 range from Penn there was this range of rods – the Conflict Inshore…with the pandemic related absence of a trade again in 2021 I had to purchase these blind, just based on specification and instinct as well as some assurance from the sales rep. When they arrived I have to admit there were 2 thoughts that immediately crossed my mind. The first was ‘wow’ and the second was ‘why didn’t I order more?’

With reference to the second thought firstly – this has been rectified and more have been ordered….

Now let me explain the first thought…I am of the opinion and have even happily mentioned to the sales rep on more than one occasion that whilst I am a big fan of many of the rods across the range from Penn they have never really been a brand synonymous with the types of lure rods that are favoured by most UK customers for modern lure fishing….Japanese style, slim, fast action blanks with small lightweight guides – well, it has to be said that with the Conflict Inshore range this is now old news!

Now for some finer detail and better introductions to why I think this is such a good range of rods – do note though that none of this is meant to sound like one of those ‘best rods since sliced bread’ things though…keep reading and you’ll hopefully see what I am aiming at here. In the Conflict Inshore range there are 2 sub ranges if you like – known as the Conflict Inshore and the Conflict XR Inshore. The Conflict range is based around as the catalogue states, an extra fast Japanese style low diameter blank constructed with carbon X-Wrap technology.  Finished off with SW proof K -type guides and VSS style reel seats this range comprises 9 different models ranging in price from £69.99-£89.99.

The Conflict XR range is different in that the blank is of a higher quality carbon and the use of Fuji Alconite K-type guides and a Fuji VSS reel seat. In this range there are 7 different models to choose from with the price range being £124.99-£149.99…..so here is the reason for the first part of my excitement about these rods then is that I am more than happy and confident that they fit perfectly within their price brackets as a worthy consideration for customer purchases. As an example, for those who know me will know that my favoured line up for a so called entry level rod for general lure fishing was previously based around the following rods, Favourite Cobalt 902MH, HTO Lure Game HLG27MH or a Major Craft Ceana CNS 802MH, well now you can confidently throw in the Penn Conflict Inshore 9′ 30g or 8’2 45g for 2 examples.

The second exciting bit for me, is the inclusion in both ranges of models aimed at boat lure fishing, again doing this the modern way! Shorter rods comprising a short butt and long tip design/construction.  I know there are some very nice rods out there such as those offered by Smith, Tenryu and the HTO Nebula SP but for those customers who are looking for something a bit more entry level or not requiring such a big budget as it may not get used that frequently for instance, now we have something to fill that gap leading us to a straightforward conclusion to this article, these rods come from a very reputable brand with good availability and superb back up service.

Should you need any further information then please feel free to contact us……

The Conflict Inshore can be purchased here https://www.highstreettackle.co.uk/penn-conflict-inshore-spinning-rod-4702-p.asp

The Conflict XR Inshore can be purchased here https://www.highstreettackle.co.uk/penn-conflict-xr-inshore-spinning-rod-4707-p.asp

FUN FISHING @ Sea Ilfracombe 2021

Combe Martin SAC’s annual Fun Fish was once again held In conjunction with the Sea-Ilfracombe Festival at Ilfracombe Pier after a one year break. This year the club had not promoted the event to the extent of previous years as concerns about COVID still linger amongst many across society.

I arrived early to secure a parking place on the pier and called in to speak with Dan at the aquarium as they had offered some containers to hold any donations to the aquarium we could catch.

This event is as stated a fun event aimed at families and those happy to try something a little less serious. The format is a species competition with 10 points for the first of each species with 2 points for the next two after which any more of that species do not count.

We had eleven competitors dominated by the Stanway and Welch families who had come armed with a variety of baits and light tackle. The event was due to cast off at 10.00am and I took the inevitable snap of Verity towering above the pier dividing opinion as ever among both visitors and locals. It was loaned to Ilfracombe in 2012 by the well known artist Damien Hurst and is due to remain until 2032.

A brisk North East breeze was sweeping down the channel causing some concern that fish would be reluctant to feed. These fears were soon dismissed as rod tips started twitching as soon as baits hit the sea bed.

Young smiling faces soon followed as a succession of small pouting and pollock were swung ashore. I was kept busy with the camera whilst club secretary Nick Phillips made busy with the score sheet. Dan from the aquarium made regular visits throughout the morning to take the required fish back to their new home in the aquarium. I am pleased to say that numerous pouting and poor cod from previous fun fishing events still reside safely in the aquarium’s tanks.

Effie Welch with a wrasse
Jake Stanway with one of the three smelt that helped to a winning points total
Charlie Stanway with scorpion fish
A fearsome looking scorpion fish
A corkwing wrasse
Effie Welch displays a corkwing wrasse
A rock goby
Solly Welch with a ballan wrasse

The morning proceeded with the species tally growing steadily to include pollock, pouting, poor cod, shanny, smelt, scorpion fish, rock gobies, ballan wrasse and corkwing wrasse. Many of these small fish are handsome creatures with an amazing array of colours decorating their flanks.

A Pretty corkwing wrasse

A rather concerning observation was a total lack of mackerel or garfish, species that would historically have been  abundant at this time of year. General consensus is that this year is one of the worst for mackerel in living memory.

I am sure that by the end of the four hours fishing mums and dads were glad to take a rest after working hard detangling rigs, retackling and unhooking fish. The results are as follows.

 

1st – Jake Stanway – 90 points

2nd – Charlie Stanway – 70 points

3rd – Ross Stanway – 66 points

4th – Effie Welch – 64 points

5th – Solly Welch – 52 points

6th – Paul Maxfield – 26 points

7th – Malin Marcus Young – 24 points

Longest fish – Solly Welch – Pollock 27cm

An array of  quality prizes donated by the clubs sponsors High Street Tackle were presented to the top five competitors. Ilfracombe Aquarium kindly donated family tickets for the two competing families enabling them to visit during the autumn and see the expanded layout and new exhibits.

Combe Martin Sea Angling Club plan to repeat the event next September once again working with the Sea Ilfracombe Festival organisers. With luck COVID fear will have subsided allowing a higher profile event welcoming back those VIP guest anglers and the local coastguard.

An unusual guest appearance at this years event was that of a rather wet and bedraggled grey squirrel that swam onto the pier steps and bounded energetically past competitors!

The competition prize giving was followed by the declaration of winning fish in the club’s lure fishing competition once again generously sponsored by Danny and Pauline at High Street Tackle.

1st – Daniel Welch – bass – 72cm – £200 Voucher

2nd – Wayne Thomas – bass – 67cm – £100 Voucher

3rd – Ross Stanway – bass  -55cm – £25.00 Voucher

 

Daniel Welch – Winning bass 72cm
Wayne Thomas – bass 67cm

 

Bass on lures

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Ross Stanway has taken the lead in Combe Martin SAC’s lure fishing competition sponsored by High Street Tackle Ilfracombe. He tempted a fine bass of 70cm that was estimated at 8lb 8oz. The fish was caught from a rock mark using a Black Fiiish minnow.My biggest bass to date 70cm exactly. Ross said ” Unfortunately I didn’t weigh it as I’ve taken to not carrying scales whilst lure fishing. But I estimated it at between 8-9lb. And theres a length to weight chart on uk bass that suggests a 70cm averages 8lb 8oz. It was a brilliant scrap in some pretty challenging conditions. Stiff nwly winds and a fair swell running. After a few quick snaps I slid it back in as quickly as I could. It was awesome to see it swim off. I’m over the moon to have caught what is definitely a PB for me. A little bit gutted that it happened when I was on my own but on the other hand it was a magical moment that I’ll never forget. Also landed 5 smaller ones around 2lb mark.”

Several members have been targeting the bass with Dan Welch landing several from local rock marks.

I fished a shallow and rocky beach mark in a brisk North West Wind to tempt a pleasing bass of 62cm (estimated at 6lb 8oz). The bass took a Mega bass spindle worm in water of no more than 18″. The soft plastic weedless lure enabled effective presentation in the weed strewn shallow rocky water.

DCIM100GOPROGOPR0340.JPG

 

Bass on the lure in CMSAC Competition

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Mark Jones is leading Combe Martin SAC’s lure fishing competition sponsored by Ilfracombe’s High Street Tackle with a bass of 64cm. This 60cm beauty is his most recent success for the lure fishing enthusiast who has registered several good fish into the competition. With just over a week of the competition remaining I feel other club members will be trying to oust mark from the top spot and win the top quality lure rod that is up for grabs.