Brightly Coloured success at Ilfracombe
Toby Bassett enjoyed a great afternoon with his good friend Rob Pearson. Their target originally was mullet and they found a few nice ones feeding but only 1 take for Rob. Toby turned his attention LRF tactics with king ragworm baits. This resulted in some stunning brightly coloured wrasse. Toby also caught a flounder of 1lb 2oz. All caught in and around the Ilfracombe Harbour area.
‘Ebry day good fer fishing’ – but not ebry day good for catchin fish’.
Hot and getting hotter; mid-July the forecast gives wall to wall sunshine with temperatures into the mid-twenties. It’s not a perfect day to be heading out trout fishing yet there are worse places to be than floating about on Wimbleball. Part of anglings enjoyment is after all working for a result when conditions are difficult.
I had arranged to meet with Snowbee Ambassador Jeff Pearce to try our luck in the height of summer. We were optimistic as we launched the boat despite the bright sunny conditions and headed for Rugg’s Bay for a drift or two. During these hot days of Summer, a boat is a distinct advantage enabling the option to search far and wide for the trout.
Plenty of water, sun cream, sun hats and sunglasses were essentials for today and Jeff had equipped himself with Snowbee’s finest.
A pleasing breeze was blowing down through the bay as we started our first drift. Jeff elected to start on a floater whilst I went down deep with a blue flash damsel on the point and a bright yellow and orange blob on a dropper. This proved to be a promising tactic as after half a dozen casts a fish was on! Then off! After I lost a couple more Jeff also went down deep and had a couple of pulls. Eventually after a run of fish on and off I managed to get a hard fighting rainbow to the net.
As the middle of the day approached we decided to head off to the deep water near the dam where a few fish had been tempted the previous day using sinking lines and boobies. An angler there reported on some success with several follows and a couple of good rainbows.
We tried for an hour without success and decided to move into the wooded Upton Arm where we might tempt a wild brown in addition to the rainbows. After half an hour our spirits dropped as expectation started to ebb in the hot sun. We headed back to the deep water where a good rainbow followed my lure close to the boat before turning away.
It was now late afternoon and we decided to head right back up to Rugg’s and drift in the breeze ensuring we at least covered plenty of water. After ten minutes Jeff’s olive damsel was nailed by one of Wimbleball’s energetic rainbows. A blank was at least saved, reward for dogged persistence.
As we drifted the occasional fish was glimpsed following the flies. On one retrieve I was astounded to see a group of good sized rainbows chasing my team of flies before turning away at the last moment. Thinking we had found a shoal we dropped anchor and fished static for an hour giving a floating line and a team of imitative patterns a try. Whilst it was good to slow down and chill for a while I felt that the fish were not feeding and the best hope was a stripped lure or blob to stimulate an aggressive response.
We upped anchor and drifted until we ran out of water, calling it a day at close to 7.00pm after ten hours with just a fish each it had been a hard day’s fishing.
A Jamaican proverb: ‘Ebry day good fer fishing’ – but not ebry day good for catchin fish’.
A phrase for the day and the reason I will be back again whatever the weather.
After a long hot day afloat perhaps a cool beer at the George Inn at Brompton Regis? https://thegeorgeinnexmoor.co.uk/?fbclid=IwAR3a8bHVB5iHmbvTNTYunb_jCt1nG-rz9Nm-DLtWYL1cpV408SQdS8VD8pQ
Aaron takes the lead in bass competition
Aaron Brooker caught this pleasing bass of 5lb 6oz that gives him the lead in Braunton Baits July competition.
Big Cats like the sunshine!
Phil Burke was the Cat that got the cream after just a few hours on Nirvana’s Specimen Cat Lake, he catches a 47lb Wels Catfish!
Phil caught the Catfish on a 28mm halibut pellet over a bed of pellets. A fantastic fight on a 9ft Nash Dwarf rod.
FAMILY TIME IN PARADISE
FATHER & SON TIME, MAKING MEMORIES ON THE BANK
John Deprielle took his 2 Sons fishing to Anglers Eldorado where they had a great time catching Golden Tench from the Top Lake & also a 34lb Catfish from the Cat & Carp Lake 2.
UPPER TAMAR CARP HAUL
Karl Yates had a session to remember at Upper Tamar. He banked 14 carp haul with the best being a 33lb common. Karl also had 4 fish over 20lbs – 20.04, 20.08, 20.12 and 23.12. Joined by his grandad late in the session he also had a couple with a 18.00 and 22.12! Well done Karl (and grandad) great fishing!
Reel Deal – Getting among the shark
Daniel Hawkins has been putting anglers onto some superb shark fishing throughout early July with porbeagle to over 100lb. In two incredible days 23 shark were brought to the side of the boat!
Images from the waters edge
There is far more to fishing than simply catching fish which is just as well. I don’t always want to carry a large camera to the waters edge especially when traveling light with the fly rod or lure rod. Below are few images captured on the Go Pro that often gives a totally different perspective. On a recent holiday to Cornwall I spent several hours casting a team of flies to huge shoals of golden grey mullet. At one point hundreds of silver flanks could be seen as wave crashed onto the sands giving a window into a watery world. To blank in such surroundings is not too bad.
After the first flush of summer we now enter those calm days after the excitement of spring and early. As the days slowly shorten, the trees take on a slightly darker hue, the mewing of young buzzards drifts across the valley, the screeching of swifts are all signs of the passing year. As an angler it is an exciting time for there is so much to look forward to casting in many waters.
Twenty Plus smoothound
This 21lb smoothound was tempted on John Barbeary’s Bluefin.
