Ross Stanway has established a healthy lead in Combe Martin SAC’s Lure Fishing league being the first member to register the required five fish. His total length for five bass is 273cms the best three bass all 56cm.
League standing at present is :-
Ross Stanway – Five bass – 273cm
Reece Woolgar – Three bass – 175.5
Mark Drewer – Two bass- 130.5 cm
Wayne Thomas – Two bass – 108cm
Kyle Bishop – One bass – 59cm
Barnstaple Bait and Tackle Opens on Saturday July 13th ensuring that Barnstaple anglers continue to have a well stocked tackle shop to visit for all their needs. I called in to the shop prior to its opening and chatted with Chris who is full of enthusiasm for the new venture. The shop carries on the legacy of Quay Sports where Chris was the manager. A wide range of bait and tackle from well-known brands is stocked. The shop caters for Coarse, Carp, Sea and Fly Fishers. It is essential that anglers use all of our excellent local tackle shops that provide far more than just bait and tackle. Friendly advice, a social meeting hub and convenience add value not found on line.
READY FOR YOU!! 
The regions rivers are still fairly low despite recent rain with small rises. Each rise brings the hope that a few salmon and sea trout will show but results are disappointing. To some extent of course catches are partially a result of reduced fishing effort and if anglers become disillusioned by a lack of fish and stop fishing then reports of fish dry up compounding the bleak picture.
Paul Carter tempted this superb looking wild brown trout from the River Taw. Paul was hoping for salmon following a small rise in the river following localised heavy rain. The numbers and size of brown trout in our rivers is a beacon of hope for the future showing that many of the problems regarding migratory species is related to survival at sea.
See below report from Don Hearn`
BARNSTAPLE AND DISTRICT ANGLING ASSOCIATION
NEWBRIDGE MID SEASON REPORT 5th July 2024
A difficult start again ,Too much water and now too little has resulted in just a few Salmon caught but more worrying ,hardly any sea trout. A few were caught on lures in March as expected , The Taw always seem to have a good early run of larger fish but It has been very quiet since..The Brown trout fishing is however thriving in lower waters and good fish up to and even over over 2lb have been reported .It seems more anglers are targeting the trout these days as the Salmon fishing becomes harder. It’s never easy anyway but the more you are there the luckier you get! At present the rain and tides have given the river a lift and it seem anything could happen on any visit. A 32” est. 13lb fish was taken by our Bailiff David Winter last week ,2 other smaller fish were caught earlier .and More are showing this week. A few sea trout have been caught and it is picking up but you have to lose your beauty sleep to find them. Interestingly, a few good size roach have been caught on a fly lately and it’s a reminder of the great roach fishing that used to exist on the Taw. The club has engaged again this year with the South West Rivers Trust regarding a Shad survey. This protected species has returned to the Taw after many years absence and has become an item of great interest. Any report of Shad either spawning, caught or found dead would be appreciated. Dead fish found should be retained if possible for collection (freezer) as the trust need evidence of spawning fish. This can add to the rivers status and it all helps in protecting our waterways, which do of course need all the help they can get these days.
Collection of Shad samples can be arrange by calling
Don Hearn on 07779619042
We were expecting support work , rock sacks etc, to be done to the banks alongside the railway swirlpool . This was supposed to start 16th June but apart from a few marking post nothing has happened. I will try and get some dates from the contractors and keep everyone posted as it may be a bit disruptive in that area for 2 weeks while the work progresses.
The club would like to thank you all for the continued support and hope a fish of a lifetime is waiting for you at Newbridge.
Don Hearn
Riverkeeper
Newbridge
I have made very few visits to the river so far this season and when I have visited I have been concerned at the lack of fish showing. The rocks within the river are very slippery and there is considerable sediment present which should clear to some extent when we get a big spate. The river is as always a pleasure to visit and you never know what success a visit will bring.
I was delighted to be invited to join a few friends on Dan Welch’s new boat Predator 2. Dan had spotted a window of opportunity with light winds forecast over the evening high water. Strong winds were forecast to sweep in overnight irradicating any boat fishing trips over the weekend.
Five of us climbed onto Predator 2 at 3.30pm. Skipper Dan Welch, Dave Welsh, Derek Stevens, Jonathon Stanway and myself.
The sea was calm and the water clear as we set out from Ilfracombe’s harbour. I relished the familiar scenery of North Devon’s rugged coast and landmarks. It is always refreshing to leave the hustle and bustle of the town to reach the tranquil detachment of the open sea.
We stopped for a drift off the tunnels outfalls catching a few mackerel for bait. We then steamed out to drift over a few reefs for bass. I stuck with the feathers and ensured that we had a full bucket of fresh bait for the main event.
Our intended target was tope over the high water slack. After several drifts without bass Dan suggested we head out and drop anchor. The tide would be running quite hard but would soon ease ensuring that we capitalised on the maximum time for tope action.
I always feel a sense of anticipation as the boat settles at anchor and the engine is cut. A peaceful silence descends, just the gentle slurp of water against the boats hull and the occasional cry of a seagull.
Several manx shearwaters were circling gracefully above the water. I was unsure if they were shearwaters but a quick google as I write this confirmed my identification. I was fascinated to learn that the manx shearwater are long lived birds sometimes living beyond fifty years of age. A fifty year old bird has it is estimated flown over 600,000 miles on migration throughout its life.
Looking up the Bristol Channel the dark towering cliffs of Great Hangman and Holdstone Down were capped with wisps of white mist. The sea was oily calm, thousands of jelly fish drifted past in the clear water. To the West weak sunshine struggled to break through a sky of grey.
I prepared a mackerel flapper and sent it into the depths with 1lb 8oz of lead to combat the strong tide. With all our baits in place we chatted of our appreciation of the evening and the prospects ahead. A couple of dogfish rattled the rod tips and were brought to the surface often just hanging onto the baits letting go at the side of the boat.
Dan was first to hook into a hard fighting tope bringing a fish of perhaps twenty five pounds to the boat after a good tussle in the strong tide.
Jonathon hooked a good fish that came off after a few seconds. I felt a sharp rap on my rod tip and paid out a couple of yards of line. I waited until the rod tip ripped over hard and tightened into a powerful fish that headed off down tide at a rate of knots ripping several yards of line from the reel. I leant back bending the rod, relishing the powerful force at the end of the line.
After the initial powerful runs the fish started to succumb to constant pressure and I pumped a heavy weight to the surface. From time to time there came heavy lunges and I was forced to give a little line. As the fish neared the boat we peered into the depths to catch a glimpse of the sleek shark like creature.
The tope was a good fish and caused a few anxious moments as it thrashed at the surface demolishing Dan’s tailor in the process. Plan B of a large landing net eventually secured the prize.
The fish was carefully weighed in Dan’s capacious weigh sling registering a weight of 36lb. After a quick photo the tope was returned and swam strongly away.
The next couple of hours saw tope caught by all on board most around 25lb. Several fish were also lost as hook holds gave way or in one case the braid was severed as the fish probably rolled in the line.
Derek Steven’s was thrilled to catch his first tope and told me that he has fished all over the world but still relishes the beauty of the North Devon coast that is undoubtedly his home territory.
Weak sunshine broke through the grey sky illuminating the seascape. We chatted making plans for future fishing forays all keen to join with Dan on Predator 2. At present Dan is only doing a few trips for mates with a limited number of short range local charters. In the longer term Dan will expand his Chartering to compliment Ilfracombe’s fleet. Offering exciting options for both local and visiting anglers as Ilfracombe’s reputation as a recreational boat fishing destination grows.
As the tidal flow increased and holding bottom became difficult Dan suggested it was time to head back to port. The boat bounced over the calm water seagulls following in the slipstream as always keen to savour any discarded bait.
@gocatchfish gocatchfish and please read the rules before fishing…someone was caught using a bait boat and casting over other anglers lines and also had a friend with them that hadn’t booked…rule breaking is not tolerated at our fishery and will result in a ban at the Baliff’s discretion
(Above) Seth Tuson won Combe Martin SACs Open Lure Fishing competition with a fine bass measuring 62cm. The fish was tempted on a black back sparkle Chappy surface lure from High Street Tackle
Ross Stanway registered several bass up to 56cm and I caught four bass up to 52cm.
The competitors were hampered by strong North West Winds on the Saturday making fishing difficult across large sections of the coast.
July’s Rover Results
1st Stephen Found Thicklipped Mullet 6lb 5oz 157.812%
2nd Stephen Thicklipped Mullet 4lb 14oz 121.875%
3rd Andrew Clements Thicklipped Mullet 3lb 15oz 1/4 98.828%
4th Antony Smith Smoothhound 8lb 0 1/2oz 80.312%
5th Nathan Clements Smoothhound 7lb 5pz 73.125%
6th Nathan Clements Smoothhound 7lb 2 1/4pz 71.406%
The facts are indisputable. Norwegian salmon runs are shrinking dramatically. The Norwegian Environment Agency says this year’s run is a lot less than half of what it should be – and that 2023 was 30% down on 2022. This is a long-term trend going back years.
The Oslo government’s response is to ban rod fishing on 33 rivers. And it seems likely this ban will spread, although the phrase fiddling while Rome burns springs to mind.
The root problem is that for decades wild salmon stocks have been negligently mismanaged by the Norwegian Government – a confession that’s missing from the finger-pointing list of guilty parties it blames for the collapse. Ellen Hambr, the Environment Agency’s director, says the big threat is climate change and then a range of human activities that include hydro and other river barriers, disease, commercial exploitation and last a bracketed after-thought; (fish farming) – the gorilla on the table.
Some Norwegians underscore this position (it’s the climate, stupid) by pointing to Sweden where there is very little salmon farming and a similar decline in the salmon run. They don’t mention that the almost land-locked Baltic Sea, home to Sweden’s salmon, is becoming a cesspit with a huge and growing dead zone caused by pollution. The Baltic is not a good place to be a salmon.
Climate change, to state the obvious, is universal. Warmer river temperatures reduce smolt size which in turn increases mortality and reduces the numbers returning successfully to sea. Once back in the ocean, the record-high temperatures in the North Atlantic suppress food chains and further impact salmon growth and health. Salmon are an indicator species for climate impacts and, for this reason, their future looks grim.
So we need to act on climate, but that’s not something Norway can do on its own. Cue hand-wringing and empathetic green tears. The poor salmon are victims of a global crisis, what’s a small country meant to do? Shrug,Sigh. More hand-wringing.
So what is the Norwegian Government up to? Why flag climate change, on which Norway has a decent track record but little influence, and treat fish farming as a bracketed afterthought?
As ever, the answer is money. Fish farming is a mainstay of the Norwegian economy. The Government licences an industry that produces half of all the world’s farmed salmon, worth $8b a year (2nd only to its oil and gas earnings). That’s before factoring in the benefits to the domestic economy. It’s not a business with a good track record in anything except generating profits. Last year the fish-farm mortality rate was nearly 63m fish (17% of the total stock). Would you trust these cowboys with your river? How about a chicken farm?
Sea lice, the major by-product of salmon farming, don’t restrict themselves to killing millions of farmed salmon. Many of the fish pens are in Fjords that connect ocean-run Atlantic Salmon with their home rivers, bringing wild fish into contact with farmed lice. According to the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, fish-farm lice killed an estimated 50,000 wild salmon in 2019 – as many as 30% of the run in some rivers. Since then, fish farming has grown.
Aquaculture has devasting impacts on wild salmon populations and it’s the gorilla on the table the government can’t or won’t see.
Closing rivers can help, and it delivers a financial body blow for fisheries, hotels, guides and all the small businesses that depend on their summer trade from anglers. However, their collective contribution to Norway’s economy is about US$1.25b. A drop in the Atlantic when compared with the wealth-generating fish farms. So no prizes for guessing why wild salmon are sacrificed to keep their farmed cousins in business.
The ban on the 33 rivers is open-ended, and it is assumed it will remain in place until the stocks show sufficient recovery. This could be never, because if Hambr is right and it’s down mostly to climate change, then closing a handful of rivers won’t improve anything much. If, instead, the government curbs the shit-show fish farms then there can be a significant revival, albeit within the context of slower long-term climate decline.
The choice facing the Norwegian government is simple. It can carry on with business as usual and hurry the wild salmon into marginal irrelevance, or it can improve it’s own act. And it’s not just the fish farms that fall within their purview. Take Catch and Release: In 2023, 51,000 out of the 70,000 rod-caught Atlantic Salmon in Norway were killed. What’s that about?
So the bottom line for saving the Atlantic Salmon is money, and the Norwegian government won’t achieve anything much until it reigns in its multi-billion $ fish-farming money monster. Meanwhile, I’m hoping the gorilla on the table will finally throw a temper tantrum and bloody some noses. We can but hope.
There is one small consolation: For the fish that successfully make the run up-river this year the prospects are good. River flows are healthy and, so far, water temperatures are lower than in recent years. The conditions are favourable for those fish that make it to the redds. And in 33 rivers there will also be, because of the bans, more returning smolts for the sea lice to latch onto. We can thank the Norwegian Government for that.
