SEA ANGLING CATCHES

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Bidefords March  48-hour results.

1st Andrew Clements  Bull Huss 12lb 9oz 125.625%

2nd Graham Snow  Thicklipped Mullet 3lb 6oz 84.375%

3rd Graham Snow Thicklipped Mullet 3lb 4oz 81.250% 

Bull huss from Ilfracombe

Combe Martin SAC member Paul Lorrimore landed a personal best bull huss of 12lb 5oz whilst fishingf an Ilfracombe shore mark.

Combe Martin SAC Junior member Lenny Lake fished from John Barbeary’s Bluefin out of ilfracombe to boat a fine bull huss of 12lb 2oz.

Billy Evans won Appledore Shipbuilders league competition with a smoothound of 9lb 6oz. Andrew Atkinson was runner up with a smoothound of 9lb 0.25oz and Graham Snow third with a thick lipped grey mullet of 3lb 6oz.

Combe Martin SAC AGM and presentation night.

Kyle Bishop recieves his well deserved Merit award from club secretary Nick Phillips.

Combe Martin SAC held their AGM and presentation night at the White Lion Inn Braunton on Friday January 26th. The club had enjoyed a successful year in 2023 with members registering a good number of specimen fish. The club are introducing a predator award next season for the member registering the best tope, conger, bull huss and spurdog specimen rating total. The winner will receive a megladon sharks tooth for 12 months from club member Daniel Welch.

Award winner for 2023 were as follows :-

2023 Trophy Winners

Cod Trophy    Mark Jones.    6lb 12oz

Bass Trophy   David Brooke – 12lb 6oz

Mullet Cup       Kyle Bishop = Thin Lipped grey mullet    5lb 3oz 129%

Conger Cup       Shane Pavio Hook Way – 23lb 7oz

Flatfish Cup       Daniel Welch.  Flounder 1lb 9oz

Shore Shield       Kyle Bishop   tope 61lb 9oz  205%

Medway Cup     Mark Jones  Porbeagle Shark  151% calculated by formula

Ray Shield    Jamie ~Steward small eyed ray – 12lb 13oz

Wrasse Trophy   Daniel Welch   5lb

Burgess Trophy     Charlie Stanway – ballan wrasse 4lb 15.5oz 110%

Scouse Shield     Wayne Thomas  – rockling 15oz

D Kyte Award     Wayne Thomas 4 mullet total 312%

Out Of Limits    Ollie Passmore –  ballan wrasse     5lb 6oz

Ollie Passmore recieves the Out Of Limits trophy for a fine wrasse of 5lb 6oz

Thornback Cup     – Mark Jones 13lb 10oz

Specimen League –    Kyle Bishop

Bass                     10lb 6oz      129.688%

Bull Huss                15lb 5oz.     153.125%

Spurdog                13lb 3oz.      132%

Thin Lipped grey mullet. 5lb 3oz.  129.688%

Tope                      61lb 9oz.         205.208%

Ballan wrasse         4lb 15oz.         109.722%

                                           Total – 859.306%

   

Runner up Jamie Steward

small eyed ray 12lb 13oz 128.125 S
tope 37lb 12oz 122.083 S
gilthead bream 4lb 4oz 141.667
thin lipped grey mullet 4lb 14oz 122.875 S
smoothound 13lb 3oz 131.875 S
bull huss 11lb 4oz 112 S
758.625

 

Top four boat specimens

Mark Jones –

bass 9lb 1oz 113.281 B
porbeagle 265lb 151.43 B
tope 36lb 90 B
pollock 7lb 4oz 72.5 B
427.211

Club Records 

Kyle Bishop – Skate 13lb 8oz

Shaun Quartly – blue-mouth 6oz

Kyle Bishop – bull huss  15lb 5oz

Daniel Welch – bonito 3lb 15oz (Boat)

Shane Pavio Hook Way – Thresher Shark – 300lb ( Estimated)

 Fish of the season –

Winter 22/23    David Brooke – bull huss 15lb 2oz             151%

Spring 23            Jamie Steward – Gilt head bream  4lb 4oz 141%

Summer  23       Kyle Bishop.   Tope     61lb 9oz.                      205%

Autumn 223–     David Brook.   Bass  12lb 6oz                          154.688%

Merit Award  –    Kyle Bishop outstanding catches throughout the year.

Kyle Bishop with the 61lb 9oz tope that won the best specimen award

The club are also launching an Ilfracombe based species league that will be run in conjunction with keen Ilfracombe anglers

Species competition Format

  1. Most species wins
  2. All fish to photographed with captor and proof of location
  3. Boundaries from lime kiln to Cheyne beach
  4. CMSAC Club members
  5. Comp starts 1st of Feb 2024 until December 31st 2024

Subsequent years will be as per calendar year

  1. Entry for CMSAC members is free as part of membership
  2. Fishing to club rules – 2 rods, four hooks

9 . Prizes upfront

 1st, 2nd , 3rd

Season Ticket for aquarium ( Family TBC)

£25.00 Voucher High Street Tackle

Voucher for local butchers ( TBC)

  1. Catch a Release encouraged

Entries to be sent to Fish Recorder Wayne Thomas or Toby Bassett.

Photos required clearly showing fish, captor and location.

League will be kept updated by Fish Recorder and in addition to individual entries a tally will kept as a club tally as a collective team effort.

Will try and arrange a few pop up species days throughout the year to encourage social interaction with members.

SEA ANGLING RESULTS

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COMBE MARTIN SAC  FESTIVE FISH

Club’s members fished a competition over the festive period that concluded on January 7th. A range of species were caught from the North Devon shoreline, including bull huss, conger, grey mullet. ray and whiting. The winner of the competition was Wayne Thomas with a bull huss of 9lb 11oz.

Runner up was also Wayne with a thick lipped grey mullet of 3lb 11oz.

Bideford Angling Club  – January Rover

Bideford Angling Clubs January Rover was won by Julien Stainer with a bull huss of 9lb 5oz. Nathan Clements was runner up and forth with huss of 8lb 10.5oz and 7lb 13.5oz. Paul Ackland was third with a dogfish of 2lb 7oz.

Appledore Shipbuilders January Rover

       19 fished Appledore Shipbuilders January rover.

The Anglers reported targeting several different species with most catching their targets. Some lovely fish were caught today with 4 specimens recorded at the weigh in.

Claudio Pinto had a fine Small Eyed of 9lb 4ozs and Josh Atkinson had a Whiting of 1lb 11 3/4ozs both coming in at 115.87% to take joint first place. Andrew Atkinson was third with a Whiting of 1lb 10 3/4ozs.

CHRISTMAS SEA COMPETITION RESULTS

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CHRISTMAS SEA COMPETITION RESULTS

Thirty Five anglers fished Triple Hook Clubs Christmas Flounder Open and only six of the competitors registered flounder. N. Wilkinson won the top prize with a flounder of 1lb 8.75oz. Runner up was Taz Wotton with a flounder of 1lb 5.5oz. Mark Beer was third a flounder of 1lb 47/8oz and Rob Hancock was fourth with a flounder of 1lb 2oz and Kevin Hancock fifth with a flounder of 1lb 0.25oz and sixth Mark Hancock with a flounder of 15oz.


BIDEFORD CLUB RESULT

Stephen Found won Bideford Angling Clubs forty eight hour rover with a dogfish of 2lb 7oz. Tony Gussin took second and third with a conger of 14lb 5oz and a pouting of 1lb 1oz.

COMBE MARTIN SAC RESULT

Bull huss dominated Combe Martin SAC Christmas Competition with Ross Stanway securing top spot with a huss of 12lb 11oz. David Brooke took second and third with huss of 10lb 5oz and 9lb 14oz. Kevin Legge was fourth with a huss of 9lb 7oz.

Ross Stanway with his huss of 12lb 11oz
Ross Stanway huss 9lb 2oz.
David Brooke with huss of 10lb 5oz and 9lb 14oz

Members also caught thick lipped grey mullet, dogfish, conger and codling.

SEA ANGLING NEWS ROUND UP

Michael Hammett won Appledore Shipbuilders December Rover with a whiting of 1lb 9.75oz. Josh Atkinson took second and third place with whiting of 1lb 7.25oz and 1lb 5oz.

Joan Cairns won Triple Hook Clubs Open Ladies Flounder Competition with a flounder of 1lb 7.5oz. Amber Chapel was runner up with a flounder of 1lb 5.5oz.

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.

Fun and Joy in Fowey and Looe

Fowey pronounced Foy to rhyme with joy is situated on the South Coast of Cornwall at the mouth of the River Fowey that tumbles down to the sea from high on Bodmin Moor.

My son James and I were joining a party of anglers at nearby Looe in search of the mighty bluefin tuna that I have added to my bucket list. More of that trip later in the article but for now I will focus on a preceding fun day in the Fowey estuary.

These days my number one goal in fishing is to enjoy it and savour the day and all that it brings. A big fish is nice but friends and the places that the quest takes one are undoubtedly more important. The tuna trip was on the Monday and to avoid an exhausting day and make it a longer trip we had booked B & B in the Ship Inn in Fowey.

My good friend Jeff Pearce lives close to Fowey and has a small boat that he uses to explore the fishing in the Fowey Estuary. James and I were meeting with him at 10:00 to spend a day afloat in sheltered waters in search of a few different species.

We left home shortly after 7.00am and arrived in Fowey just after 9.00am giving us time to park up and grab a coffee and a pasty to take out on the boat. A message from Jeff confirmed that he would pick us up at a riverside pontoon and could we pick up a large Cornish pasty and a coffee. I left James guarding the fishing gear and headed back down Fowey’s narrow streets to grab another pasty and a coffee.

It was refreshing to see the streets so quiet out of season without the hustle and bustle of the summer. A contrast to the many times I have visited with my wife during the summer and early Autumn.

Jeff arrived as planned and James and I jumped aboard full of expectation for the day ahead. Whilst I was very familiar with Fowey this was James first visit and I was pleased to introduce him to somewhere new.

These sheltered deep water Cornish estuaries are unique with trees reaching right down to the high water mark. Fowey like the Fal estuary further to the South has exceptionally deep channels that allow the passage and mooring for large ships. The China Clay industry has been an integral part of Fowey’s history for many years and it was to a mark close to China Clay landing jetties that we headed to make our first casts.

Tying up at a convenient buoy we set up with simple running rigs and threaded king ragworm onto size 4 Sakuma Chinu hooks.

Autumn sunshine broke through the clouds and enhanced the colours of the trees that lined the estuary. We settled into the waiting game absorbing the atmosphere of the sheltered estuary. A buzzard mewed above and glided to rest on a nearby tree. After a few minutes Jeff tempted a small ballan wrasse to get the days scoreboard ticking along.

         The estuary is home to a wide range of species and is popular with LRF enthusiasts who catch a huge range of species by scaling down their tackle. Next time I will make sure I bring along my ultra- light outfit and take the species chase little more serious.

         Recent years have seen an increase of species that many will link to climate change. I was keen to catch any new species to add to my life’s angling tally.

         I added a small wrasse to the days total and James caught a whiting. Then a sharp rattle on the rod tip produced a pleasing encounter with a couchs bream, one of two I was to catch that day. These fish have become prolific in the estuary over recent years along with gilt head bream. Whilst the Fowey estuary has a healthy population of gilthead bream they do not seem to grow as big as those in other West Country estuaries.

         Jeff has intimate knowledge of the estuary and as the tide ebbed he suggested a move to where he expected the fish to be based upon many previous trips. Local knowledge is always invaluable when visiting any venue and we were lucky to have a local guide; a short cut to success.

         The next mark brought a couple of dogfish and a beautiful tub gurnard that must have been close to 2lb. The brilliant blue tipped fins and red flanks are truly stunning. The fish emitted  deep grunts as I removed the hook and held it for a quick photo before slipping it back into the estuary.

         A few bass were added to the days tally all of which were returned in line with conservation regulations in place to safeguard stocks.

         It was chilled out fishing watching the life of the estuary. Seagulls tussling upon the water, a kingfisher flashing past. James even glimpsed a deer at the water’s edge.

         The Fowey estuary has a rich literary history. Daphne du Maurier’s former home sits overlooking the Bodinnick Car ferry. Perhaps it was Fowey’s gulls that inspired her novel the Birds.

The Birds!  Image – James Thomas

         Kenneth Grahame frequently stayed near Fowey and the characters within his book ‘Wind in The Willows’ surely mirror those of our trip with the themes of nature, adventure, and friendship. And whilst Wind In The Willows is aimed at children I cannot help but think of us anglers as big kids rediscovering the simple pleasures of childhood. The joy and excitement I feel now as the rod tip nods is still as strong as it was all those years ago in a Cornish seaside town.

A tangle of starfish

A strong line back to the simplicity of childhood and a tonic for mental health that is being increasingly acknowledged.

         By early afternoon we had boated five species and felt confident of adding a few more as we drifted marks further down the estuary where we hoped to catch red mullet and dabs.

         To Jeffs surprise the drifts proved fruitless and we fished the last hour or so without a fish. The sun slowly sank below the horizon and Fowey’s lights began to twinkle in the fading day. The estuary was tranquil without the hustle and bustle of summer yachts the yellow mooring buoys now bobbing in lines upon the water.

         We bade our farewells to Jeff and headed off for a hot shower and a meal. Planning to reconvene at Looe Quayside ready to set sail at 9.00am in search of the mighty bluefin tuna.

         I will let James tell the tale of the tuna trip as he has written a fine account that I cannot hope to improve upon.

James in readiness

Arriving in the harbour of Looe with the sun glistening off the water was a great sign for the days fishing ahead. However, the evidence of recent storms was still prevalent with sea weed scattered across the beach.

A quick visit to the pasty shop to stock up for the day and we were ready to board Sowenna. As we waited on the quayside fellow anglers Jeff Pierce and James Coggan turned up and we were all full of excitement and anticipation for the day ahead.

A rainbow hung across the river, again a sign of the inclement and changeable weather that November often brings. We were all feeling fortunate to be heading out to sea with the chance of an encounter with a bluefin tuna.

Climbing down the ladder and stepping aboard we met the team, Dan Margetts and John McMaster who were very welcoming and busy preparing the boat and fishing tackle ready to head out to sea. Having never been tuna fishing before I was marvelling at the tall booms that are setup to trail squid lures behind the boat and the sheer size of the reels on the rods that were shining in the sun. As we left the harbour we chatted about how we were going to play the day and I was extremely grateful and a little nervous that I was given the opportunity of the first fish. Thank you to Jeff, James and my Dad for allowing me pole position on the day and the chance of a fish of a lifetime.

We headed out past Looe island with Dan at the helm chatting through the plan for the day. John set about explaining to me how to get ready to play a tuna; harness on and make sure you’re ready at all times as if one takes it’ll all happen in a flash. The main thing is to not give the fish any slack line and keep steady pressure on at all times.

My memories of fish I had lost in the past through bad angling started to resurface in my head; a huge halibut that had broken free in Norway due to a bad knot and a couch’s bream I lost after a clutch malfunction.  I think it is more curiosity of what these fish would have looked like and how much they would have weighed and the missed opportunity that does pain anyone that has lost a significant fish that was the target of an adventure. Sometimes you only have one shot as an opportunity presents itself for a catch and you want to do everything you can to secure the prize.

As an infrequent and novice angler I was feeling the pressure of being given first opportunity of the day and determined if I did get a chance of a tuna that I wouldn’t mess it up due to a lack of concentration.

The hard work and passion of the crew aboard Sowenna was evident and the dedication to be able to target bluefin tuna through the CHART programme and the hours at sea certainly cannot be underestimated. After an hour cruise into rougher waters, we were ready to start fishing. The method involves trolling for the fish with the engine continually rumbling away. The large booms were sent out and the line carefully played out on the reel until 4 rods were all fishing with the lures trailing behind the boat carefully arranged to avoid any tangles. The swell was gently rolling the boat with the odd slightly bigger wave chopping into the side bringing on the feeling of your stomach rising and the occasional clatter of crockery being moved around inside the cabin.

Stories of previous fishing trips were flowing and Dan decided to put out the shout for a cuppa tea. With that the Rod at the back of the boat bent over and the reel screamed off. John and I rushed to the stern and the reel then stopped screaming momentarily, had it come off? John’s experience kicked in as he wound the reel furiously to take up the slack line. The fish had started swimming towards the boat which is a nerve wracking situation as this could create slack line with a chance of the hook popping out. John regained control and passed the rod and reel over to me. The fish then set off on a charge peeling line off the reel with ease.

I was thinking of the battle and how long it would take to regain this line and I knew that a lot of effort and concentration would be required. The fish turned several times trying to create slack line but every time I managed to stay on top of the fish; I think spurred on by memories of previously lost fish. On this occasion, the tackle was expertly put together by Dan and John so an equipment failure was unlikely meaning it was up to me to stay in the moment and focus on the rod, reel , line and fish.

The next 25 minutes it was like the rest of the world had disappeared and all that mattered for that brief battle was hauling the fish in. Modern day life is so busy it’s rare to find a zen moment where you can truly switch off. I think that’s one of the things that draws people, including me, to amateur sport, whether that is negotiating a tricky section on the mountain bike, batting or bowling in a tight cricket match, felling a large tree or playing in a fish. It’s during the period of truly being in the zone with the adrenaline pumping that I feel most alive.

         After around 20 minutes of slowly gaining using the rolling sea to my advantage and the harness setup to slowly gain back line that the fish had earlier furiously stripped from the reel, the leader was in sight. After several circles around the boat the fish came into view for the first time; a lean magnificent silver bar full of muscle.

A short time later, the fish was secured alongside, a relieved feeling that I hadn’t let myself or the others on the boat down was the overwhelming emotion and a pure admiration for such a huge powerful creature that we were all grateful to witness and have a close encounter with.

The recovery of the fish began with it held steady next to the boat with time for some photos and for the fish to be tagged as part of the CHART program for scientific research which will be used to learn about the distribution of fish and their migration back into British waters.

I opened the door, staring at the fish and wondering how old it might be and how far it may have travelled. As I looked up to the camera one of the infrequent waves with a little more chop rolled in and covered me in icy cold water.

After regaining my composure, a few good photos were captured and we were ready to release the fish back to the depths of the ocean. With a powerful turn the fish swam out of sight. As someone recently said fishing trips are often about the memories that are made and this is certainly one that will live with me. The rest of the day passed by and I was gutted that no-one else had the opportunity to hook up with a tuna and felt a little guilty that I had been given the only chance of the day.

My dad had said before that if he had caught a tuna he would have retired from tuna fishing. Dan joked that he would make sure he was always number 4 so that he had to keep coming back. As we headed back to the harbour the light began to fade and thoughts started to turn to the journey home and the week of work ahead. Another adventure over and more great memories made! Thanks to Jeff, James, Dan, John and Dad for making it such an enjoyable trip; a trip I’ll never forget.

         James Thomas

James Thomas & James Goggan ( Fowey Aquarium)

I view a trip out after tuna as very much a team effort a day of excitement shared with friends. To witness one of these splendid fish is reward enough especially when it has been played in by your son. I have already booked up for next Autumn in the hope that I will feel the awesome power of these magnificent fish. Playing the weather lottery once again for in these times of extreme weather it seems that more trips are cancelled than actually get to go.

   

SEA ANGLING RESULTS

Bideford November’s Rover results

1st Stephen Found Flounder 2lb 4oz 112.4%

2nd Jon Stevens Thornback Ray  101.041%

3rd joint Andrew Clements  & Stephen Found Flounder 1lb 13 1/2 92.187%

Appledore Shipbuilders Monthly Sea Rover Results

15 members fished the November Rover today.

Some challenging conditions both at sea and In the rivers but most anglers managed to find a few fish. Reports of a lot of tiny bass pinching the baits for the people targetting Flounders and several flounders caught around the 1lb mark.

Best Flounder weighed in was 1lb 10 1/2ozs which wasn’t quite big enough to place.

Winner today was Josh Atkinson with a Bull Huss of 9lb 8ozs. Josh also managed to take 2nd place with another Huss of 9lb 3 3/4ozs.

Andrew Atkinson picked up the final place also with a Bull Huss of 8lb 9 1/4ozs.

Barnstaple Triple Hook Club Open Flounder – Result

1st Mario Manley – Flounder 1lb 77/8oz

2nd Mark Hancock flounder 1lb 73/4oz

3rd – Robbie Hancock – Flounder 1lb 51/4oz