24 Aug 2021

Daniel Welch takes lead in CMSAC lure competition.

by | posted in: Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0
Daniel Welch has taken the lead in Combe Martin SAC’s Lure Fishing competition that is sponsored by High Street Tackle. The competition ends on September 5th with presentation of prizes coinciding with the clubs annual fun fishing event on Ilfracombe Pier.
1st Daniel Welch – bass – 72cm (Boat)
2nd Wayne Thomas – bass – 67cm
3rd – Daniel Welch – bass – 62cm
High Street tackle sponsor Combe Martin SAC,s annual lure fishing competition that runs from July 1st until September 5th. The competition is open to paid up club members with a first prize of up £200 of quality lure tackle with £100 for the runner up.
Longest bass – To tip of the tail, overall length.
24 Aug 2021

Reconnecting with anglings simple pleasures

by | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Carp Fishing, Coarse Fishing, Sidebar | 0

I was pleased to take my friend Rick fishing at Horwood Lakes taking advantage of the Angling Trust & Environment Agencies joint Take a Friend Fishing Campaign.

Rick had not cast a line since 1985 and had been inspired to return to the water’s edge after reading my book “ I Caught A Glimpse”. We started off taking a walk around the the venue with fishery manager Neilsen Jeffery who has transformed the lakes in over a decade of hard work. Trees and rushes have been planted around the lakes perimeter where we observed several large hawk moth caterpillars feasting upon the willow leaves. These were collected from the juvenile willows and moved to the more mature willows on the upper Lake.

Swallows and martins swooped over the water as the summer sun beat down upon the reed fringed waters.

We set up in adjacent swims and selected a float from a float box that contained a pleasing array of balsa floats that had not seen the light of day for close to forty years.

The depth was set so that a grain of sweetcorn rested lightly upon the lakes bottom. A handful of corn was sprinkled around the float. Moments later the float bobbed and disappeared, a tiny tench was swung ashore for a smiling angler reconnected immediately to the joys of angling.

 

After an hour catching tiddler’s we spotted a few larger carp slurping down offerings of floating crust. Repositioning the weights to sit beneath the float we cast out segments of crust.

The carp toyed with the offerings often rejecting our hook-bait whilst devouring the free offerings. Persistence paid off though and throughout the day we caught half a dozen carp each the biggest an immaculate common carp its flanks glowing bronze and gold in the late summer sunshine.

It was a perfect day’s fishing using simple tactics that should be savoured by all anglers from time to time.

Peaceful corner

As we left the fishery we paused for a moment to reflect upon the memorial to young lives lost when a Wellington Bomber crashed nearby during the Second World War.

 

Horwood Fishery.
Set in rolling rural Farmland.
2 Stunning Lakes very well Stocked with just carp and tench.
Bottom Lake :-
Carp to double figures ranging from 2 lb to 19lb
Tench up to 3.5lb.
Top Lake:-
Carp ranging from 1lb to 19lb
small tench (lots of )
Drive to your peg so no walking ,
Come and relax at what are 2 stunning lakes .
Limited membership is available at £30 for the year from Neilsen Jeffery (phone 01237 421123) Please Note there are no day tickets available for this water.
20 Aug 2021

Young Luke banks first carp and its a double!

by | posted in: Club Page, Sidebar, Young At Heart | 0

Young Luke McCarthy’s mum and dad Heather & Simon from Summerlands Tackle are very proud of young Luke who baited up, cast out and landed, by himself, his very first carp, 15lb 14oz!

Summerlands Tackle

14 July 
⭐🎣🎉Summer Competition Time🎉🎣⭐
👊🎣👊It’s THE BIG FISHING ONE 👊🎣👊
WIN A £100 GIFT VOUCHER & £100 DONATED TO RNLI APPLEDORE 🧡
HOW TO ENTER… LIKE AND SHARE THIS POST TO ENTER! IF YOU WANT TO DOUBLE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING BRING US YOUR FAVOURITE FISHING PHOTO IN STORE FOR OUR WALL (You will then be entered twice!) Closing date 31st August 2021.
WHAT A 18 MONTHS… I think we can all say thank goodness for fishing and friends 🎣 So it seems only fitting that as we enter the “new normal” it only feels right to recognise how far we have all come and how well we have all done and to also give back to a charity just down the road from the shop that literally didn’t stop at all through the pandemic 🧡 Thank you for all your support, the shop is jam packed FULL of stock and summer ready for you 😁

 

20 Aug 2021

North Devon Rivers Latest

by | posted in: Game Fishing, Sidebar | 0

A lack of rain has undoubtedly contributed to another poor season on North Devon’s rivers with salmon and sea trout numbers below expectation. As the last month of the season looms anglers will be hoping for a big spate to bring in the fish that are hopefully waiting in the estuary. Good sport in last few weeks can very often restore many an anglers season.

Ian Blewett tempted this stunning River Taw salmon on  Size 12 Stoat’s tail. The fish was hooked in the fading light of dusk and eventually unhooked and released after darkness had descended. An exciting encounter in what Ian described as a poor season so far.

River Torridge Newsreel

The River Torridge Fishery Association

President: Lord Clinton

Chairman: Paul Ashworth                                                               Secretary:

Charles Inniss                                                                                                                         Beeches

Sheepwash                                                                                                                         Beaworthy

Devon

EX21 5NW

                                                                                                      [email protected]

                                                                                                                        tel: 01409231237

NEWSREEL: SUMMER 2021:               

The Annual Dinner and Raffle: will take place at The Half Moon Inn, Sheepwash on Saturday 25th September. Please book direct with The Half Moon.         Tel: 01409231376. e-mail:  [email protected]

The Half Moon has recently changed hands and the new owners, Haydn Beynon and his wife Kim are keen to meet as many of you as possible. They want to retain The Half Moon as a traditional fishing inn and in particular wish to encourage newcomers to take up river fly fishing. Our new fishery officer, Callum Underhill, will be joining us and is looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible.

Environment Agency – North Devon’s New Fishery Officer

 

The Hatchery: it’s that time of the year again: in early November we will be trapping the broodstock of five hens and five cocks. This winter we are again planning to rear 30,000 swim-up fry to stock out into the headwaters next spring. After the disappointment of not being able to operate last year, the EA are happy for us to run our hatchery this year with 50% of our eggs being grown on to “swim-up” fry at the Colliford hatchery in Cornwall.

The season so far: it’s been an unusual year. An exceptionally cold and dry April was followed by a month of incessant rain and not until early June did the river come into good fishing condition. Because of the Covid restrictions there have not been so many visiting anglers but several large sea trout over 5lb have been caught by those fishing after dark: mostly from middle river beats. An 8lb bass was recently caught in the weir pool at Beam!!

The AGM: the agm could not be held this year, but all being well will take place next spring.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: most of the £20 subscriptions for this year have now been paid. Thank you all very much. I would be grateful to receive the few that are outstanding. Please make cheques payable to the Torridge Fishery Association and forward to me at the above address. If paying by BACS: a/c no: 0082770: sort code: 51 70 16. Ref: Torridge Owners Association. Raffle ticket money and subs can be paid with one cheque.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the dinner: it is always a most enjoyable evening.

20 Aug 2021

Stafford Moor Carp Update

by | posted in: Carp Fishing, Sidebar | 0

(Below)Lee James who had 4 fish out from swim 5 (lord island) on Beatties lake, Lee caught on Sticky baits Manilla over our house pellets plus Lee now has a new pb of 26lb 4oz.

(Below) Geoff Wright and nephew Jon Bentley who had 37 fish out from the beach swim on Beatties lake , all fish were caught on sticky baits krill boilies and krill 16mm wafters.

 

 

20 Aug 2021

KRACKING 40

by | posted in: Carp Fishing, Sidebar | 0
Massive congratulations to Sam Passmore 27, from Plymouth who felt he had the fishing gods looking over him when he caught a personal best 44lb 4oz Mirror known as Parrot and a 29lb 13oz Mirror.
Both Carp were caught using 18mm Krill wafters from Nirvana’s Kracking Carp Lake.
Anglers Paradise
18 Aug 2021

Persistence and lessons learnt

by | posted in: At the Waters Edge, Sea Angling, Sidebar | 0

Sometimes as I put these pages together and see what everyone is catching I wonder where I am going wrong. In the past few months, I have persisted lure fishing for bass despite blank after blank. I have fished ground that I have enjoyed success at in the past confident that it would eventually come right.

Calm clear conditions
A weed strewn shoreline

Calm conditions, interspersed with rougher water and masses of weed. I fished early, late and at different states of tide. Its seldom that everything is right after all. One morning I arrived at the water’s edge on the early morning flood. Third cast and wallop a heavy fish hit the lure hard. After a few strong runs the bass that I estimated to be between 8lb and 10lb was wallowing on a short line. All was going well until in a sickening moment the hook hold gave way and the lure flew back towards me. The big bass was gone with a flick of its tail to linger hauntingly in the minds eye. Strange how the loss of a big fish often remains etched in the mind far longer than a successful capture.

The loss of the bass spurred me onto more sessions and yet more blanks. On one occasion I arrived to find a huge swell surging into the shoreline. Despite this I persevered  and found a slightly calmer area with no weed. I caught sight of a few mullet their flanks catching the evening sunlight. After two hours still no bass; a move to a second mark brought the same result.

A couple of days later I return to the same mark. A brisk North West wind is blowing into the shoreline but there is little swell just a fizzy wind driven sea. I wade out and flick out a dark coloured Mega bass spindle worm lure. Third cast and bang the rod tip slams round the line zipping out to sea the rod pulsing in the hands the reels singing in protest. After a short exhilarating encounter a bass of 67cm ( just over 6lb) is secured. In the next two and   a half hours I beach another five bass estimated at between 3lb 8oz and 6lb. Three of the fish are close to 6lb. I pack away after darkness has descended my soft lures depleted by the aggressive bass.

Confidence is restored in the marks, the lures and my own judgement. It would be easy to just plan trips based on tide, weather and time of day. Problem is sometimes we can only go when it suits us. Choosing those perfect conditions would be ideal but getting tide times, weather, water clarity and time of day to fall into place is difficult. Then of course there is lure choice or bait choice plus location.

The following day I headed to Ilfracombe Pier for a short LRF session with my good friend Keith Armishaw of River Reads and Angling Heritage. After a later than planned start we fished the rising tide to tempt a few miniature pouting and pollock. Keith added a shanny to list and totally out-fished me using fragments of mackerel. I stuck to ISOME imitation ragworm and failed to connect with several good tugs.

Grey mullet were next on the agenda and we headed off to our chosen mark electing to fish the sheltered area out of the brisk North West breeze. A friend arrived on the opposite shoreline electing to fish into the teeth of the wind. Lesson learnt four mullet to 5lb 1oz on the windward shoreline – Nil, from the sheltered shoreline!

Remember the fish will be where the food is and not where you are most comfortable.